Read on for the full review.
The Discover 1 comes safely wrapped in tons of recyclable materials and cardboard, which I appreciated.
Understandably, the thought of “putting it together” might sound scary.
The entire process is relatively simple.
The bike comes with a set of easy-to-follow instructions and a little zipper bag for the tools.
You’re not putting an entire e-bike together.
You don’t have to install any wires, shifter cables, or components.
Power up the screen, select how much you want the battery to help, and start pedaling.
Just be ready to feel the 500W motor kick into action and propel you forward.
It only has three pedal-assist levels, with the lowest just giving you a little help as you ride.
The push-throttle, display, and gear-shifter are well thought out and easy to access.
It even comes with a little bell which I installed on the left handlebar.
Click it for a little bing, bing.
Quickly stepping on, cruising around, or tossing a cooler or backpack on the back is great.
The screen always shows your speed, battery life, and assist level.
Not all e-bikes have a big screen, so this is a welcomed addition.
Class 2 e-bikes top out at 20mph.
Don’t forget your helmet.
The bike is a bit big and bulky, but it also rides pretty smoothly.
In fact, it effortlessly cruises down the road.
Plus, every aspect of the design has a purpose.
All the wires are built-in and routed through the aluminum frame to keep it clean and simple.
The battery also integrates into the frame, keeping the appearance minimal.
Veoltric went with tires bigger than most but not quite fat-tire style, which I prefer.
It can be hard to find replacement tubes for some fat-tire bikes.
Many e-bikesdon’t have front suspension, or any suspension for that matter, which is silly.
Overall, the Velotric e-bike delivers a smooth, comfortable, and enjoyable ride that surprised me a bit.
About Those Disc Brakes…
I do have to mention the brakes.
Velotric went with unbranded mechanical disc brakes on the Discover 1 rather than more expensive and better hydraulic brakes.
The brakes are my only real complaint on this otherwise excellent bike.
For starters, the front brakes were extremely tight out of the box, so they barely worked.
I had to manually unscrew and realign the brake caliper, but it worked fine after that.
And that’s the best way to describe the front and the rear brakes; they’re fine.
Nothing spectacular, or even solid, but not awful either.
I do wish the brakes had better stopping power and didn’t feel so squishy.
Maybe we’ll get that on the next model.
Obviously, your mileage may vary depending on throttle usage and the driving or road conditions.
That’s seriously impressive.
It’s nice to see, again, at this affordable price point.
The company website says it’ll fully charge in about six hours, which was precisely my experience.
It reached 100% in just under six hours.
Conclusion
The Discover 1 checks many boxes that make it an excellent commuter e-bike.
Anyone can hop on and hit the throttle.
More importantly, it’s an absolute blast to ride.
We’ve also seen the price dip to $1,399 during the initial launch.
At that price, this bike is incredibly tough to beat.
As the company promised, it’s an excellent and affordable commuter e-bike that anyone can enjoy.
