Aventon Soltera 3 Electric Bike Review: A Fun Hybrid Single-Speed | WIRED

Skip to main content$1,499 at AventonSave this storySave this storyRating:8/10Open rating explainerWIREDLow-maintenance Gates carbon belt drive. Plenty of power. Refined, low-key looks. Fits a wide range of sizes.TIREDNo gears is not great for hills.The Soltera 3, the new single-speed, hybrid-style commuter from electric bike brand Aventon, is the brand’s answer to the ever-growing bulk and heft of modern ebikes. In my opinion, Aventon has made the least ebikey bike on the ebike market, which provides the most fun I’ve yet had riding an electrically powered bicycle. (Sorry, I couldn’t in good conscience write “ebike” in that sentence a third time.)The Soltera 3 is a class 1 electric bike, meaning it has a top speed of 20 miles per hour. (Motor-assisted, of course. Your legs combined with a downhill can get this thing going a whole lot faster.) It also lacks any sort of throttle control. However, the bike's pedal assist is super responsive and offers immediate aid with the slightest bit of rider input.It has a claimed range of up to 70 miles—though, given how hilly my area is and how much assistance I typically use on an ebike, I got closer to 50 on a full charge—and takes less than two hours to charge its integrated battery from flat to full.Carbon BeltPhotograph: Michael Venutolo-MantovaniOK, now that all of the spec sheet info is out of the way, we can talk about the coolest part of the Soltera 3: It has a carbon belt in place of a chain.Belt-drive bikes offer some huge upsides. First, they usually require less maintenance, with many belts often lasting twice as long as a typical chain. Second, there’s no grease to speak of, and therefore, no black smudges on your work pants. Third, in the case of the Soltera 3, the belt comes from the Gates brand, whose drivetrain belts are as good as it gets. Belt-drive bikes are silent and often smoother than their chain-driven counterparts.That said, the inclusion of a low-maintenance element such as a belt drive paired with hydraulic disc brakes, which require bleeding roughly every year, struck me as an odd choice. If Aventon wanted to make the Soltera 3 as hands-off as possible, cable-actuated brakes would have been a more intuitive choice.The other thing that immediately jumps out about the Soltera 3 is its relatively light weight. At 37 pounds, the Soltera 3 is heavy for an analog bike. But it’s certainly not heavy for an ebike, and it’s nearly as stiff, nimble, and navigable as a conventional bicycle. One issue I’ve always had with ebikes is their heft. Given that they’re often made to replace a car, they’re built with load bearing in mind. Also, ebike batteries are heavy.Adding to that sense of “this is just like my other bikes,” the Soltera 3 simply looks cool, which is often not the case when it comes to ebikes. The matte black my tester bike arrived in looks cool because matte black almost never doesn’t look cool. (Additionally, the Soltera 3 is available in dark matte blue and a sleek silver.) But beyond the finish, the bike’s geometry; its wide, almost perfectly flat handlebars; and its narrow (by ebike standards) 700 x 36 tires make it feel closer in DNA to a road bike than a traditional ebike.Button PressPhotograph: Michael Venutolo-MantovaniI’m 6′4′′, and the extra large Soltera 3 that I tested was at a maximum saddle height. It was suitable for me, but I couldn’t recommend anyone bigger than me riding the Soltera 3. That said, with four sizes ranging from small to extra large, the line covers a wide swath of riders, ranging from my height all the way down to 5′ tall.Speaking of being extra large, one of the very few complaints I have about the Soltera 3 is how the operating computer’s relatively small buttons led me to mashing the wrong button a little too often. (There are five power assist levels, and I used them all.) I will grant that perhaps my thumbs are a little larger than average. However, regardless of how fat my thumbs are or aren’t, the buttons were almost impossible to get right on those chilly mornings I commuted with thicker gloves on.I love, love, love the Soltera 3.Photograph: Michael Venutolo-MantovaniIt’s a hybrid, urban, commuter bike that feels closer to a road bike than anything I’ve yet ridden on the ebike market. At just under 40 pounds, it’s easy to pilot around town, to weave when you need to weave, and even to navigate onto and off of crowded bike racks. It looks cool, and it offers a responsive ride when you want it and a comfortable one when you don’t.There is one major drawback of the Soltera 3. That is the fact that it boasts a single-speed drivetrain.There’s a saying in my town in North Carolina (one that I hate, to be clear) that says “They don’t call it Chapel Flat.” While it makes my skin crawl, it is quite accurate. On all but a few roads in Chapel Hill, you’re either going up or you’re going down. Unfortunately, one speed left me, a strong climber, struggling to get up some local hills.Even in the maximum Turbo mode, I found myself making well in excess of 400 watts myself (which is a lot to the uninitiated) to get up a relatively steep grade. So, if you’re reading this in a flat-ish area, I cannot recommend the Soltera 3 enough. But if you need to climb, you might want something with a few gears.$1,499 at AventonCommentsBack to topMichael Venutolo-Mantovani has written for The New York Times, National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, and many others. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife and their two children. ... 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