The bike is extremely responsive. It’s a stiff bike with a rigid fork and a 680mm handlebar. It feels lively and light on the road, yet it corners really well and inspires confidence when riding at speed.
The handling has a downside – it’s a rougher ride overall, and you’ll feel more bumps in the road. In truth, this was the type of bike I hated when I first got into cycling. Still, over the years, I’ve appreciated the handling characteristics, and, well, my backside has toughened up over thousands of miles, so the sharper handling is a worthy tradeoff for me.
The bike rocks a clean aesthetic. Ride1Up has always had nice paint jobs, but they’ve nearly eliminated any visible cables, so the Roadster V3 is about as sleek and visually appealing as anything they’ve produced.
Riders of different heights can pick from three frame sizes. The brand has often opted for just two – a high step and a low step – so this is further growing and evolving. As a 6’1″ rider, I felt great on the size large high step model.
The previous Roadster was only available in a single-speed option. This time around, you can choose either the single-speed belt drive or the Shimano Deore 10-speed. Our tester was the 10-speed, and it had a great and practical range to work with.
I realize I’ve largely praised the bike so far, and rightfully so. I’ll be updating my recommendations of the top city e-bikes here soon to include this bike, but it isn’t without a blemish or two.
Unless you’re riding a beach cruiser in flip flops, I’m not a big fan of flat pedals and grip tape. Chalk that take up to personal preference if you like, but I think fully rigid rides should have a little something to hook your shoes into for some better grip at the pedals. I’m complaining about pedals, though, which indicates that there’s not much worth getting up in arms about over the bike.
While I like the bright head and taillights, I thought it was curious that the taillight wasn’t also a brake light. Both are easily fixable for Ride1Up or for you if you purchase the bike.
Ride1Up has a handful of accessories that’ll pair with the bike. There are mounts for a rear rack, and you could then slap some panniers on this to make it more convenient to go about the city.
The Roadster V2 came in a gravel variant. Here with the V3, there isn’t any “gravel edition” at launch, but out of the box this would make for a highly serviceable gravel e-bike. It has the Deore cassette for efficiency, a bit of a wider clearance and sturdy front fork. Of course, it already has the Schwalbe gravel tires and wide handlebars. You may choose to pop the fenders off to fit a more purist gravel vibe, but all the essentials for getting started are there.
Ride1Up does have a dedicated gravel bike, the Ride1Up CF Racer 1, which is an already absurdly low-priced carbon frame with excellent components. But if you want to go even more affordable and are good with an aluminum frame, the Roadster V3’s performance will undoubtedly do for gravel rides.
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