Aventon Ramblas Review

The Aventon Ramblas is a rare example of a “budget” brand successfully crashing a high-stakes party. By forgoing the motorcycle pricing that has thus far defined the e-MTB category, Aventon has delivered a machine that doesn't just look the part; it performs. With a mid-drive motor delivering a staggering 100 Nm of torque, it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with titans like Brose, Bosch, and Shimano, offering the kind of raw climbing power previously locked behind a $6,000+ paywall.

The spec sheet reads like a bike twice its price: a RockShox 130mm fork with 35mm stanchions, SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain, SRAM DB6 brakes, and a sizeable 708Wh battery. While the integrated taillights in the seat stays feel like a quirky carryover from Aventon's commuter roots, they represent the brand's unique philosophy: high-end trail performance shouldn't mean sacrificing practical, real-world features. In a market full of “price-is-no-object” bikes, the Ramblas is a legitimate, trail-ready disruptor that proves you don't need a second mortgage to get a top-tier ride. The addition of tubeless-compatible wheels makes the Ramblas an even more attractive option for those with trail-riding ambitions.

Downhill Performance

The Aventon Ramblas is an aluminum hardtail 29er that strikes a balance between versatile “do-it-all” capability and descending prowess, thanks to its 66.5-degree head tube angle and 130mm RockShox 35 fork. While the tapered headtube and thru-axle give the front end legitimate trail credibility, the 35mm stanchions house a coil spring that lacks the fine-tuning of higher-end air forks, offering only rebound adjustment. This one-spring-fits-all setup can feel a bit firm for lighter riders and reaches its limits when the trail gets rowdy, or speeds climb high enough to make the steering feel twitchy.

Fortunately, the inclusion of a dropper post significantly boosts its technical abilities, allowing you to lower your center of gravity and let the bike's 54-pound mass carry momentum with confidence through bumpy sections. While the non-tubeless 2.4-inch Maxxis Rekon tires provide a solid baseline, they lack the extra grip and damping of a tubeless setup. However, the SRAM DB6 brakes and 200/180mm rotors deliver impressive stopping power and a consistent lever feel, even as heat builds up on long descents.

//Note: The Ramblas ADV comes with tubeless-compatible tires and wheels, a big win for comfort and traction.

Let's consider the Ramblas downhill performance with respect to its target audience. This isn't a rowdy, slack, all-mountain hardtail or replacement for the svelte 5-figure e-bikes. I've been riding this bike on aggressive singletrack, with challenging lines and not always keeping the rubber on the ground. It's handled my lines adequately, but where this bike shines is on milder cross-country ribbons, fire-road ascents, and buffed-out forest trails. At lower speeds, the bike feels more composed and in its element; if you gravitate toward smoother lines, the Ramblas rewards you with an exhilarating experience that exceeds expectations. The Ramblas trades some sportiness for stability, owing much of that stability to 465mm long chainstays. The bike isn't quick to pivot or change directions; manuals and wheelies aren't its forte. Long, wide berms, on the other hand, are this bike's breakfast; its 1230mm wheelbase is as long as many of the full-suspension bikes we test, giving it a calm, stable disposition.

Where the Ramblas really excels is pulling out of corners and tearing through the flats; the bike's ample assist gives you a punch of acceleration like you borrowed legs from a pro. The built-in torque sensor feels a little slower than those on the TQ, Fazua, Brose, or Bosch motors, but it engages within a fraction of a pedal stroke. Its performance will wow those without experience with a more expensive mid-drive. With 455mm of reach on our large test bike, there's plenty of room for bike/body separation, and using the dropper post further increases it.

Climbing Performance

You might be tempted to think the motor is handling the climbing, but this is a pedal-ASSIST bike, and you're very much an active part of the ascents. The Ramblas has a 74.5-degree seat tube, which favors less extreme climbs, but it also has long chainstays that keep the rider fore of the rear axle at a greater pitch. The geometry is fairly conservative for a trail mountain bike, but this bike is likely to see more than single-track service. While a steeper seat tube would provide better power transfer in steeper sections, the Ramblas has abundant torque to fall back on.

The 100 Nm of torque from the A100 motor masks the bike's weight, giving it a lively, caffeinated feel on the climbs. In ECO mode, the bike does more than compensate for its weight; you feel like you're riding a bike that weighs a fraction of what it actually does. In TRAIL mode, the power arrives with a noticeable boost; the bike feels sportier, the front end comes up with less effort, and the whir sound of the motor reminds you that the bike is fueling the fun. Any lag in your pedaling is met with a drop in power that can feel abrupt and discontinuous; you get used to the power and almost take credit for it. In TURBO mode, the whir is turned up a few decibels, and the bike pulls from beneath you; you feel the front edges of the grips and saddle as the bike conveys a whole new dynamic. This bike puts out more power than any of the other electric mountain bikes we've tested. The torque was enough to break the chain; after several rides, we opted to be very careful while shifting in TURBO mode. The SRAM NX Eagle e-bike shifter shifts only one gear at a time, and generally, this is fine; it puts less load on the chain, and that turns out to be important. This is the only bike we've ever broken a SRAM Eagle chain on.

Conquering uphill technical challenges is easy with the bike's brute force; turbo mode feels less conducive to finessing the problems, instead, crushing them. There's enough power that you need to focus on maintaining rear-wheel traction. The combination of high power and non-tubeless tires causes rocks and sand to be spat backward. Uphill corners are thrilling as you lean into them with the same body dynamics you'd utilize while descending. Switchbacks aren't where this bike excels; its length, coupled with less-refined motor dynamics, can leave the rider feeling precarious. You can adjust most of the motor dynamics, but it still feels slightly less refined than others. If you learn to maintain your torque on the drivetrain, sometimes with a bit of braking, the motor's power can be harnessed for maximum benefit.

You can ride the Ramblas with no assistance at all, and you don't even need to power the bike on to do so. The A100 motor doesn't feel like it's adding much drivetrain friction, but the bike's mass makes you feel like less of an athlete than you probably are. When the battery dies, or you simply switch the bike off, it feels like being at a fun dance club when the music stops, and the house lights come on. The party is over, but if you're a glutton for punishment, there is certainly a workout to be had. There is no lockout on the fork, so your standing climbs feel less efficient, even with its 130mm of travel.

Range

A 708Wh battery and Aventon's own A100 motor give the bike significant torque and a respectable range. During our normal testing rides, we never fully depleted the battery; we sometimes lowered its power to conserve energy but may not have needed to. We conquered some fairly large rides with significant vertical gain and our hands needed a rest before the battery did.

We were able to ride the Ramblas for 30.1 miles, conquering 5980 feet of vertical gain in 99 minutes. Perhaps most surprisingly, the A100 motor continually pushed us to its top speed of 20 mph throughout the test. There were times when we thought the battery was faltering, only to look down and realize that we had topped 19.9 mph on a steep grade. The bike maintained full “turbo” power until we hit 10% of the battery life, at which point, our assist was limited to “trail” power, which it maintained until about 40 seconds after the bike's display registered 0% charge.

Power Output

The most surprising aspect of the Ramblas is its torque figure; the A100 motor produces a claimed 100 Nm of torque, which is more than any other Class 1 mountain bike currently advertises. Using a modified motorcycle dynamometer and Garmin power meter pedals, we set out to test this figure. The power rating of the motor is never equal to the power at the wheel due to drivetrain inefficiencies, which can sometimes tax as much as 80% of the power coming from the drive unit. We found that the A100 motor generates 27Nm of torque at the wheel. In plain English, this is the most powerful electric mountain bike we've ridden.

The Ramblas runs on a 36V system, which provides enough power to the motor to deliver 250W of constant output. However, it's capable of a peak output of 750W, which is a full horsepower. The three levels of power output can each be tuned; the Aventon App allows you to adjust the Torque, Assistance, and Pedal Response of each level independently. Adjusting the torque is fairly straightforward; the factory settings provide the bike with 60, 75, and 100Nm of power. The assistance level is tunable from 0 to 100%, and it “dictates the motor's support based on your pedal input.” More torque or assistance requires more battery power, so tuning your values higher will result in less range. Pedal response is also tunable from 20-100% and refers to how fast the motor reacts to your pedaling input; tuning this higher results in a more responsive ride feel. Overall, an impressive amount of adjustments can be made to tune the ride quality and power output of this motor; we were almost able to tune away our criticism of the motor.

The A100 motor generates a bit more noise than others we've tested, but it has an overall whir instead of whine sound that we didn't find annoying, but we realize that it can be subjective. As expected, the motor's noise ramps up with its power output, but even at high torque, it isn't too loud. It isn't exactly stealthy; anyone you pass on the trail will know that you're on an e-bike, but it doesn't distract from trail chat.

E-Bike Controls

The Ramblas uses its own display and remote. While the form and function are very similar to a Shimano EP system, there are some key differences. The three-button wired remote sits next to the lever clamp on the left side of the handlebar. The top button powers the system on or off, while the lower two are plus/minus buttons that control your power setting or navigate the bike's settings. The ergonomics of the remote are excellent and easily accessible with your thumb. The dropper lever uses a matchmaker mount attached to the brake lever clamp, so there aren't a bunch of clamps vying for space.

The full-color display is mounted on the handlebar to the left side of the stem, where it is easy to read. Each mode has a different color, which makes it simple to differentiate. The main screen shows the current speed, a trip odometer, power setting, remaining battery life, and the time. It's odd to see an actual clock on a display, but we loved that they included it. The remaining power is shown as a percentage and as a bar chart.

Flipping through the screens, you can find an odometer, total time ridden on the bike, total average speed, and the bike's remaining range. While looking at the remaining range, if you press the plus/minus buttons, the range estimate changes based on the bike's power setting. There is also a trip odometer, trip time, average speed, and max speed field. Holding the plus button turns the lights on, which are conveniently powered by the bike's main battery. Holding the minus button engages walk mode, which allows the bike to “push itself” at up to 3 mph while you walk or hike a steep or treacherous section of trail.

The charge port on Ramblas is located on the non-drive side of the seat tube under a rubber cover. It's a reasonably good spot to connect the charger as it's mostly out of the mud and debris kicked up from riding. We're always weary of where charge ports are located, as the fewer opportunities for dirt and water intrusion, the better. The bike carries an IP-67 rating; the IP stands for ingress protection, and the 67 means that it's essentially waterproof or protected against short periods of immersion in water.

Build

Some aspects of this bike are incredibly well thought out, and we were frankly surprised to see. Headtube cable routing, while not fun to work on, gives this bike a simple, clean appearance. A 760mm handlebar with lock-on grips and a 40mm stem give the steering just the right amount of response. The SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain and DB8 brakes are nearly ubiquitous in the market but not on bikes at this price point. We're fond of both choices. The Eagle drivetrain provides a 500% gear range, and the brakes with 180mm rotors have ample stopping power; they'll please consumers of many different skill levels. The 150mm dropper post makes a huge contribution to the bike's performance, and while it's a heavier model, saving some grams here wouldn't have been noticeable on this bike. The 29 x 2.4" Maxxis Rekon tires are a solid choice for a variety of terrain, and while they hooked up well, it would have been nice to have them and the rims be tubeless compatible. Aggressive riders will likely want larger knobs and more width up front, which the fork can accommodate.

Other aspects of this bike have less mountain bike appeal but give the bike more versatility. The included kickstand doesn't feel at home on a mountain bike, but this bike will undoubtedly appeal to more than just trail riders. The included headlight is quite nice and illuminates the terrain sufficiently for night riding. The integrated tail lights feel right at home on Aventon's cargo bike but seem like a strange addition on the Ramblas. They probably don't add much weight, but we were the only ones with taillights on our night trail rides. The least impressive part of the build is the RockShox 35 Silver R because it lacks adjustability. The fork does have a tapered steerer, thru-axle, and adjustable rebound, but without adjustable compression or a lockout, it's a poor fit for some percentage of riders. Our testers for this bike range in size from 145 to 180 pounds, while the Ramblas has a maximum weight of 300 pounds. Having just one fork setting for everyone in this weight range doesn't yield optimal performance. That said, this is the least expensive electric mountain bike we've ever tested, so we expected some nits to pick; we did not expect its overwhelmingly powerful motor.

Should You Buy the Aventon Ramblas?

The Aventon Ramblas likely represents the best value available on a trail-worthy electric mountain bike. This bike has modern but neutral geometry, making it versatile enough for bike path cruising or sporty trail riding. The bike climbs and descends comfortably, and its tech is impressive yet user-friendly. It's heavy but not so heavy that it distracts from your ride or doesn't fit on a bike rack. The A100 motor impressed us with its torque but felt less refined than models that cost twice as much, which is totally acceptable. This bike is wildly versatile, fun to ride, and budget-friendly. This bike is going to please a wide swath of consumers and absolutely gets our recommendation.

What Other Electric Mountain Bike Should You Consider?

At this price, there aren't many legitimate electric mountain bikes to consider. Even non-electric bikes with these components sit at this price point, so where I could usually list off a slew of comparable bikes to consider, I'm left with only a few bikes to recommend. The Commencal Meta Power TR at twice the price provides full suspension comfort and handling in an attractive package. The build kit has changed slightly since we tested it, but the geometry is the same. Boasting 140mm of rear travel mated to a 150mm fork, there isn't much it can't conquer, and it's still a bit lighter than the Ramblas. The Specialized Turbo Levo Comp Alloy is also considered an outstanding value with the best motor and software integration on the market. The Specialized Levo starts at $5800 this year and while it's a great value, we're comparing it to a bike that costs half as much.