Amflow TL Carbon Review

Amflow arrived just a few years ago with industry-disrupting technology and a value proposition that heavily influenced the market. With a couple of smashing successes (the PL and PX) under their belts, they turned their sights toward this seemingly niche market of off-road touring electric bikes. At first glance, I hate it. It's everything modern mountain bikes have evolved from: tech and standards that we left behind for good reasons. 27.5" wheels, a 66.9-degree headtube angle, 70-degree seat tube angle, 25mm rims, suspension without damping adjustments, a kickstand, the list goes on.

But then I started noticing the riders at my local trailheads. They had always been there, but I had paid little attention to what they were riding. A largely older demographic has benefited from e-mountain bikes; it's brought them back onto the trails and out into nature. They bought some really nice bikes, added stem extenders, high-rise handlebars, and comfort saddles, and didn't really care about the myriad anodized dials on their suspension. They had tubeless wheels and tires but hadn't bothered to set them up with sealant. They added frame bags and lights, fenders, and handlebar mounts for their gadgets. As a former bike shop owner and performance enthusiast, these bikes caused me anxiety; these riders weren't tapping the bike's potential.

The reality is that they were doing something better; they were making these bikes work for them in a way that enhanced their experience. They didn't need a 64-degree headtube angle or low-speed compression damping. They bought these bikes as imperfect starting points because there really weren't better options. Until now. Yes, there is a Specialized Levo 4X, but that isn't a different bike; it's the same Levo with racks bolted on. There is a Specialized Vado 3X, but it leans so far into the urban capabilities that it feels awkward off-road.

The TL Carbon is a completely fresh take on off-road e-biking. This isn't built for ripping technical lines and clearing the gaps. Like the first AWD SUVs that hit the market, they defied conventional categorization and spoke to what people actually wanted in a vehicle. This is a capable, highly comfortable off-road utility bike built for how a growing segment of the market actually uses it. Once I got over myself and the idea of what this bike wasn't, I found joy in traversing the landscape, incredible comfort from the bike's geometry and touchpoints, and a newfound appreciation for how the Avinox motor could enhance another type of cycling.

Downhill Performance

To assess base-level performance, we ride all the electric mountain bikes we test on the same 7 or 8 trails to see how they stack up, where they lack, and who they might be best for. Some of the trails we ride would be considered black diamond territory: gnarly boulder fields, gap jumps, and chunky technical lines. This is not where the TL excels. To keep things fair, we rode the TL on all of those same trails, and while we made it through, our testers had whiter knuckles and slower times through the more difficult terrain.

We'll score the bike lower in this assessment, but it's important to note that this isn't what the TL was designed for. On mellower terrain, the bike's 66.9-degree headtube angle and 27.5" front wheel give it agility and quick handling. It feels sporty, and thanks to its geometry, you feel upright, aware, and remarkably comfortable. You don't have as much weight on the handlebars, and combined with the 27.5 x 2.35" Maxxis Crossmark, there isn't an abundance of traction from the front end. While the bike has an adjustable speed limit, the real speed limit comes from its geometry and part specs. Would you be surprised to find out that a Subaru Outback doesn't perform all that well on a jeep trail? Probably not, and subjecting this bike to the same gruesome lines we've tested other bikes on almost felt unfair.

To be clear, if you want cutting-edge mountain bike performance, this is not the bike for you. But if comfort, capability, power, and range are items at the top of your wish list, you might be on to something. We tested this bike all over the Lake Tahoe area, a place with at least as many unnamed neighborhood trails as world-class mountain bike trails. It was on those ubiquitous neighborhood trails that this bike really came alive. Without built-up features and tall berms, these trails cater as much to hikers and dog walkers as they do commuting locals. Think of bucolic hiking trails that skirt and connect different parts of the town through tracts of forest land. These twisting ribbons of singletrack that connect with bike paths became the real testing ground for the TL, and it was impressive.

The bike has just enough suspension (120mm up front and 105mm in the rear) to take the edge off of most terrain without feeling like you're riding a bounce house. Even when loaded with gear, the suspension provides comfort and traction in spades. The shocks can (and should) be adjusted for rider and gear weight (up to 440 pounds), but aside from air pressure and rebound damping, there are no suspension adjustments to speak of. No lockouts, no compression damping, no climb switches, and it's honestly just fine. Other than airing up for additional weight, you don't need to do anything with the suspension, and it always feels like it's doing what it's supposed to do.

Once we figured out the bike's purpose and utility, we dug into its capabilities. This is an Amflow, after all, and it's the prime showcase for the Avinox M2 motor. While the M2S seems to have generated most of this year's e-bike press, the M2 is impressive on its own. We'll dive into the exact specs below, but riding the bike is such a treat; the robust torque and power are always on tap, but it never feels overpowered. Riding inAuto mode lets you focus on your surroundings while the bike senses how much assistance you need and delivers it smoothly and silently. It never feels jumpy or lurching to start. Despite having one of the most powerful motors on the market, you rarely feel the g-forces of acceleration. The bike feels so incredibly refined, you can almost forget you're riding an e-bike and thank the ever-present tailwind.

Your positioning on the bike feels like a cross between riding a mountain bike and a hybrid; the higher front end and relaxed seat tube angle sit you upright with your weight further back than you would feel on a modern mountain bike. The wider Amflow touring saddle handles the extra weight you put on your behind. Aside from its width, the saddle doesn't look remarkably different, but our testers agreed riding it without padded bike shorts was viable for rides under 2 hours; your mileage may vary.

While the TL doesn't exactly excel on downhill trails, nor does it have adjustable geometry, the bike has a lot of room for changes. If you'd prefer a 29" front wheel, no problem. The larger wheel relaxes the headtube angle to about 65.9 degrees, which slows steering response and lets you roll over terrain with less effort. Want to run 29" wheels front and rear? Also, no problem. The bike has ample clearance for larger wheels and even knobbier tires for more purchase in loose soil.

Amflow builds two TL frames, a S/M and a L/XL instead of four actual sizes. To change your small to a medium or your large to an extra-large, you simply swap the included extra stem. Reducing the sizes of frames they build certainly makes good sense for manufacturing; it may not result in the most dialed fit for those at the edges of the bike's fit parameters. The Amflow geometry chart says that swapping either size to the longer stem adds about an inch of effective reach and effective stack. While the latter makes sense, effective reach doesn't increase with longer stem length. The larger stem helps accommodate taller riders, but the geometry chart doesn't represent it properly.

Keen-eyed readers may notice that the bottom bracket sits exceptionally low compared to most of the other electric mountain bikes we've tested. This is because the TL has just 105mm of rear travel and uses 155mm cranks on the S/M and 160mm cranks on the L/XL. This helps to keep the pedals off the ground and keep you rolling.

Weighed with an 800Wh battery, tubes in the tires, headlight, rack, and fenders, the TL Carbon came in at 59 pounds, 2 ounces. With rack, fenders, and kickstand removed, the bike weighed 51 pounds, 3 ounces.

The seat dropper post lets you lower your center of gravity when the bike is pointed downhill. Beyond the benefits while descending, the seat dropper lets you mount and dismount the bike with your feet flat on the ground.

Climbing Performance

If you're planning to climb under your own power, the bike's geometry doesn't do you many favors. The fairly relaxed seat tube angle puts you behind the bottom bracket, in a spot that is very comfortable for cruising but sub-optimal for putting the power down from your quadriceps. Fortunately, most people looking at this bike are not planning to ride with the motor turned off, and the tremendous power and torque more than compensate for the slightly relaxed position.

The effect of the slacker seat tube while climbing off-road is that on steeper inclines, your center of mass can drop behind the rear axle. When this happens, the front end becomes unweighted, and the steering becomes a bit squirrely. This is a bigger concern on trail bikes built to attack steep, technical climbs. The TL pushes the rider's bike into a place that prioritizes comfort over performance.

While geometry is a valid focus when discussing climbing abilities, this bad boy has an Avinox M2 motor. You could climb mountains on a recumbent with this motor. The motor doesn't just put out an absurd amount of power; it does so seamlessly in almost complete silence. We'll get into just how much power and torque below, but its delivery should be the highlight. Any motor can be powerful, but this lightweight, efficient powertrain provides such perfectly nuanced assistance that you can forget you're riding an ebike. Of course it's an ego check when you turn the assist off or hop on a non-electric bike.

We climbed more than 20,000 feet while testing this bike, and those climbs were on a mix of technical singletrack, dirt roads, and even some gravelly pavement. In Auto mode, the bike uses an array of sensors to decide just how much power to provide. The Avinox system knows your incline, the power you're providing, and, if you pair it with a heart rate monitor, exactly how hard you're working. Our testers loved riding in heart rate mode, where the bike automatically adjusts the assist to keep you in your desired heart rate zone.

The TL maintains traction while climbing using a relatively small amount (105mm) of 4-bar suspension and gives you just enough rubber on the ground to keep you ascending most terrain. The 2.35" rear tire is probably the most limiting aspect to the bike's climbing prowess. A wider tire, perhaps with a tubeless setup, would give you more traction, but most riders will find the Maxxis Crossmark tires offer a perfect trade-off between off-road traction and pavement efficiency.

Overall, the bike is a joy to climb on. It's not a hardcore trail bike, but not everyone is a hardcore trail rider. The bike stays approachable, mild-mannered, and if it's your first ebike, it's not overwhelming or overly specialized.

Power Output

Is more power better? Not necessarily, but the Avinox motor systems are, and they happen to produce more power with less weight and less noise. The M2 drive unit dishes out 110 Nm of torque and 125 Nm of torque in Boost mode. The motor produces 250W of nominal power but an astounding 1,100 W at peak. That is effectively 800% assistance, and no matter how much gear you strap to this machine, acceleration is effortless.

Having this much power doesn't mean you're always using it. Ask the owners of any new EV; they're likely not drag racing every day, but the extra power and acceleration make these models far more enjoyable to drive. The same is true for the TL: the ability to effortlessly glide up a steep mountain road while loaded down with gear feels revelational. This bike opens up new possibilities for where you can go and what you can bring along.

Boost mode seems like a novelty feature, since you really don't need that much power. Okay, maybe someone is going to want that much power; the bike has a recommended maximum rider weight of 275 pounds but can be loaded with up to 440 pounds total. At that weight, on steep terrain, the Boost feature may make sense, but we packed our heaviest rider and gear to 280 pounds with no real need to go beyond Trail mode. The rear rack can hold 59 pounds, and the bike is compatible with a front rack, making it ideal for assisted bike packing or ike touring.

To dial in the amount of power you want, the bike comes with 5 assist modes; Auto, Eco, Trail, Turbo, and Boost. The Auto feature works incredibly well, giving you just the right amount of assist and in times where it generates more power than the rear tire can handle, the bikes Traction Control prevents it from spinning out. The TL also haas several advanced featuers that lessen the wear on the drivetrain and can even advise you when to shift.

Range

To keep our ebike range comparisons as fair as possible, we do everything we can to isolates drive-system by controlling external variables. We alwys use the same fixed course with a fully charged battery in maximum assistance mode. In this case we used Turbo ride mode, while the bike does have a stronger Boost feature, it can only run for 60-seconds. Our test rider weighs 180 pouinds and in leaner months, he'll add weight to his CamelBak to achieve the same weight. Using power meter pedals and in the case of this bike, it's built in power meter, we strive for as close to 100 watts of input. This is enough power to keep the motor signaled but not enough to substantially effect the results. We also test in temperatures that are within 10-degreed Fahrenheit to lessen the effect of ambient temperature on the battery.

Our tester rode 28.8 miles in Turbo mode while climbing almost 5730' in elevation. This is an impressive amount of range, especially since the bike weighed 60+ pounds at the time of testing with full fenders, a rack, and a kickstand. We're also riding on 27.5" wheels, which in theory should slightly reduce the amount of range we achieved.

E-bike Controls

The Avinox 2" OLED touchscreen located on the top of the top tube gives you more control over the bike's functions than any other system currently on the market. Swiping through screens (even with gloves on) provides a tremendous amount of data from the bike's motor and onboard sensors. The ride modes are completely customizable; you can change the order of modes, delete ones you don't use, and even create brand-new modes. Within each mode, you can adjust the settings to create the feel and assistance that suit your riding style.

Something we found very interesting about this bike is that it doesn't use a conventional shifter. The standard Avinox wireless pod on the right side of the handlebar is programmed to shift the TRP/Avinox electric rear derailleur. Because this system runs through the bike's brain, it enables features like Smooth Shift. This briefly reduces the power fed into the drivetrain during a gear shift. This drastically reduces drivetrain wear and ensures a smooth shift even when you're pushing hard on the pedals.

While the bike offers tremendous customization through the top tube display, you can do even more through the Avinox app. One of the features that we found most exciting was Navigation. You can simply import a .GPX file directly to the bike, and the top tube display becomes a map that provides turn-by-turn directions. Our only gripe with the app is that you can only pair one bike at a time; this might not be an issue for most riders, but unpairing and re-pairing the app became frequent occurrences amongst our testers.

Amflow did something really cool with their two wireless remotes on this bike. Instead of having the right remote switch displays on the top tube screen, that remote shifts the electronic derailleur. While we were less fond of the shifting ergonomics on the bar instead of under the bar, it was a treat to see Avinox software being integrated into the rest of the drivetrain.

Through the touchscreen, you can adjust this Class 1 e-bikes speed limit to 28mph, effectively making it a Class 3 ebike. This adjustment defaults to 20mph each time the bike is switched off, and despite being a little bit of a hassle to change each time, it was nice to tap the higher speed limit on long stretches of roadway between trails.

The Avinox system includes a few features that help keep your bike secure. The bike is compatible with Apple FindMy, but can also accept a SIM card, which increases tracking accuracy. You can also passcode-protect your bike, so a stranger can't activate the motor. If this happens, an alert is sent to your phone, so you'll know about the unusual movement.

The Amflow TL 800Wh battery is not the same battery used in other Amflow bikes. This removable battery weighs 4071 grams, giving it an energy density of 5.09 grams/Wh, which is a few hundred grams heavier than n the pack used on the Amflow PX Carbon. Another big difference between these bikes is the battery charger: instead of the 12-amp/508-watt fast charger, the TL comes with a 4-amp/168 watt charger. A full charge takes about 6 hours. Since the RS800 pack is removable, you don't need to park next to an outlet; you can simply detach the battery and charge it wherever is convenient.

Build

The Amflow TL Carbon has a surprisingly nice build for its price point. A full carbon frame with a removable battery and 105mm of travel is complemented by.

-Fox Float Float Rhythm shock.
-Fox AWL Sport, 120mm fork with RAIL 2.0 damper.
-Avinox/TRP Wireless 10-speed drivetrain.
-Tektro 4-piston hydraulic brakes, 2.3mm thick rotors with integrated speed sensor.
-High-rise (93mm) handlebars with 2 stems included.

-Amflow TA Adjustable Dropper Post, 31.6mm (S/M Frame: 150mm L/XL Frame: 170 mm)

Should You Buy the Amflow TL Carbon?

This bike is unlike any other electric mountain bike we've reviewed, so instead of parsing over .2 degrees of headtube angle change, this is a wildly different product. Built for comfort, touring, and exploration, the TL doesn't pretend to be an enduro bike. Instead of just another bike, the TL is what consumers have been building from their overpriced, too-aggressive bikes for years. It feels odd to generalize by age, but at our local trailheads, a huge number of retired folks ride electric mountain bikes, and they all want what the TL offers. Instead, they've spent thousands more and ended up with heavily modified trail bikes that don't serve their purposes as well as this bike does. There is a huge segment of riders I wouldn't suggest this bike to, but those adrenaline-seeking trail rippers have plenty of bikes to choose from. The TL is a versatile, refined ride that appeals to those who want less extremity behind the handlebars. I'd highly encourage you to take a test ride if this bike is even remotely of interest, because it's likely the beginning of a wildly popular segment of accessibility and a shift in who these bikes are built for.

What Other Electric Mountain Bike Should You Consider?

This is the third Avinox-powered bike we've reviewed, and it's honestly hard to recommend something else after our experiences on them. A close second would be the Ultra-X-powered Aventon Current ADV. It's priced similarly but has more off-road chops than the TL, while not feeling like too much of a bike for a first electric mountain bike.