Aventon Aventure 2 Review, 2024

Intro

Aventon has updated its popular Aventure model, designating it the Aventure.2. The new Aventure.2 is largely the same e-bike. In our Aventon Aventure.2 we will look at how it’s spec’d with a 750W hub motor, a 720Wh battery, an 8-speed drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes, just like the original. And it looks the same thanks to an unchanged frame, fork and 4-in.-wide tires.

The Aventon Aventure.2 is what we classify as an all-terrain e-bike. It’s a versatile ride, and suitable to riding unpaved roads and trails, as well as commuting for work and running errands around town. It ships as a Class 2 bike, that is, it has a maximum assist speed of 20 mph and includes a throttle that will also take it up to 20 mph. Thanks to the smartphone app that Aventon produces, though, riders can adjust many performance parameters according to their needs; one of the possible changes that riders can make is to “unlock” the Aventure.2 so that it can zoom up to a Class 3 top speed of 28 mph, making it an above average commuter.

The biggest single change to the Aventon Aventure.2 from the original Aventure can’t be seen, but can’t be missed when someone rides one: It has been upgraded to include a torque sensor. The advantage that a torque sensor provides really can’t be appreciated until someone has first ridden an e-bike with a cadence sensor and then climbed on an e-bike with torque sensor. The difference can be felt in how the motor applies power. More on that in a bit.

The Aventon Aventure.2 includes some other changes that are definitely upgrades. There’s plenty to dig into with this e-bike, so let’s get started.

E-Bike Category: All-terrain

Who the Aventon Aventure.2 Electric Bike Is for:

This is a great option for anyone who wants a versatile e-bike that will allow a rider to commute to work, run errands and explore wilder places.

Aventon Aventure.2 E-Bike Specs

• Battery: 720Wh lithium-ion
• Expected Range: Up to 60 mi. estimated
• Charger: 48V, 3A fast charger
• Motor: 48V, 750W brushless, geared hub motor
• Pedal Assist: 4 PAS Levels
• Throttle: Thumb button
• Display: Color LED
• Headlight: Included
• Taillight: Included, wired for brake light
• Frame: 6061 Aluminum
• Fork: 80mm travel suspension fork, coil spring
• Fenders: Included
• Kickstand: Included
• Handlebars: Alloy
• Grips: Ergonomic comfort
• Drivetrain: 8-speed Shimano
• Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors
• Pedals: Alloy with reflectors
• Saddle: Aventon by Velo
• Tires: 26 x 4-in.

In-Depth Aventon Aventure.2 Review

Aventon Aventure.2 Review: Comfort, Handling, and Ride Qualities

We liked the original version of the Aventon Aventure. It’s a terrific all-terrain e-bike with a suspension fork and 4-in.-wide tires that offer a cushy ride and great traction on soft or loose surfaces. In this regard, and in most regards, the Aventon Aventure.2 is unchanged from its predecessor.

Aventon makes the Aventure.2 in two different frame designs. They offer a traditional version as well as one with a step-thru design. Both designs are made in two sizes—regular and large. Unfortunately, they’ve discontinued the small in both frame designs, but the fact that they offer two frame designs and two sizes puts them way ahead of most of their competition.

For an e-bike in the $1500-$2000 price range, there isn’t much more that a brand can do to make an e-bike comfortable. A suspension seatpost can be added and wider tires (5-in. instead of 4-in.) and a suspension fork with more travel (say, 100mm or 120mm instead of 80mm), but that’s it. And those are improvements by degree; this is an e-bike that out of the box offers an easy ride.

E-bikes like the Aventon Aventure.2 with fat tires share in common and fairly relaxed ride quality. Due to the suspension and wide tires, they aren’t suited to racy handling and tight turns, so they tend to have handling that makes for easy-carving turns.

Aventon ships the Aventure.2 as a Class 2 e-bike, but it can be “unlocked” in the app so that it can be ridden as a Class 3 e-bike with a top speed of 28 mph. At 28 mph a bike that offers nimble handling at low speed can feel nervous, even unstable, and riders are well-served by handling that remains calm at speed, which is precisely what the Aventure.2 offers.

Versatility is perhaps the best descriptor for the Aventon Aventure.2. It can do a bit of everything; it’s great for commuting; thanks to the rear rack, riders can carry work items or stop at a store to pick up a few things for dinner; it’s also well-suited to exploring dirt roads and unpaved paths and even gentler trails. It might be easier to define what it can’t do, which isn’t much.

Aventon Aventure.2 Review: Motor, Battery, and Drivetrain Performance

Like the original Aventon Aventure, the Aventon Aventure.2 is spec’d with a 750W brushless, geared hub motor. This is the same powerful motor we’ve seen in other Aventon models. It has the same terrific acceleration as its predecessor thanks to the 80Nm of torque the motor produces. It’s also a terrific climber thanks to all that torque (80Nm is on the higher end of what we typically see in hub motors).

Aventon e-bikes can be unlocked to assist up to a Class 3 maximum speed of 28 mph, which isn’t hard for this hub motor to hit, thanks to its maximum output of 1130W.

What is different about the Aventure.2 compared to the original Aventure is that the new version includes a torque sensor. This one component change alters how this e-bike rides so significantly that many people could easily be fooled into thinking that this version was given a different motor. Thanks to the torque sensor, acceleration is immediate; there is no lag between when the rider begins pedaling and when the motor kicks in. Also, a torque sensor is very different in how it applies power. With cadence sensors, each PAS level corresponds to a specific wattage output. PAS 1 may be 100W, PAS 2 might be 200W, and so on. With a torque sensor, the motor applies power in proportion to how hard the rider is going, so the harder the rider is going, the harder the motor will work. Acceleration with a torque sensor is a pretty magical experience. When there is a torque sensor present, the different PAS levels define just how much of the motor’s total wattage can be used, rather than a steady output.

The Aventon Aventure.2 is spec’d with the same 720Wh battery found on the original. With the previous version, Aventon estimated that a rider would see 45 mi., on average. With the Aventure.2 they increased that estimate to 60 mi., and that will probably hold true for many riders; we’ll tell you why.

Our colleagues at Electric Bike Report reviewed the Aventure.2 and achieved impressive results in their range test. With a 150-lb. rider piloting the e-bike, the Aventure.2 covered 31 mi. in Turbo mode (PAS 5). That’s a terrific result for such a powerful e-bike. And in Eco mode (PAS 1), a 200-lb. rider pedaled 59 mi. before the battery said no mas. Again, that was with a 200-lb. rider, which makes this a terrific result and shows just what an efficient e-bike the Aventon Aventure.2 is.

It doesn’t take a supergenius to notice that the original Aventon Aventure had a maximum projected range of 45 mi. on a single charge and that the new Aventure.2 boasts a range of up to 60 mi. on a single charge. How did they do that with the same motor and same battery? Well, here again, the torque sensor pays dividends by applying power in a smoother fashion, as well as often using less power when possible.

The drivetrain features a couple of minor changes from the previous version, but the basics are the same: The Aventure.2 comes equipped with a Shimano 8-speed drivetrain with a 12-32 gear cluster in the rear. This is a wider array of gears than we typically see in most e-bikes in this price range, not to mention including one more cog. The shifter is still a below-the-bar trigger shifter, and compared to the thumb shifter we often see, we like this shifter loads better.

Aventon Aventure.2 Review: Braking, Safety & Warranty

Aventon equipped the Aventure.2 with Tektro hydraulic disc brakes paired with 180mm rotors. This is a slight upgrade from the Bengal Ares 3 brake on the original Aventure. The caliper is larger and holds a bit more brake fluid for more consistent brake response on long hills, not to mention a bit more brake power overall.

When we review an e-bike, we try to look at it from every angle a potential buyer will (hopefully) consider. Safety is a point that we never want to skip, and that’s why we don’t review many e-bikes that go for less than $1000; whether it’s a wiring harness with no water resistance or a battery with poor reliability, some e-bikes are so inexpensive that they skip items we think are essential to an e-bike’s safe operation. We want to make sure than an e-bike we review will operate reliably and safely for the buyer. From the tires to the brakes to the electronics, Aventon has done a terrific job with the Aventure.2.

Aventon’s warranty is better than most that we see from direct-to-consumer brands. In addition to offering a one-year warranty on all parts and factory labor, Aventon covers the frame and fork on the Aventure.2 for the lifetime of the e-bike; this is a level of coverage we typically only see on e-bikes from the big legacy manufacturers, like Specialized.

Buyers can also sign up for an extended warranty that will cover many of a rider’s needs for one, two or three years.

Aventon Aventure.2 Review: Recommendation/Final Verdict

This time last year, it’s possible there wasn’t a single e-bike on the market for less than $2000 that came with a torque sensor. Now, there are at least three? That tells us a few important things. First, the cost must be coming down because of amortizing the tooling—make enough of something and they get cheaper to make. Second, manufacturers are taking note of how popular they are with consumers. And the first two are true because of our third observation: It has been our firm belief that any time someone rides an e-bike with a cadence sensor and then ride an e-bike with the torque sensor, they invariably prefer the experience of riding an e-bike with a torque sensor.

To be fair, cadence sensors are pretty terrific. The first e-bikes this writer encountered in the 1990s didn’t have cadence sensors. The motor was either on or off, and some of them didn’t even have multiple PAS levels. A cadence sensor ties the motor’s output to the rider’s activity. The thing is, a torque sensor is to a cadence sensor what a cadence sensor is to an on/off switch.

With a torque sensor, the activity of the motor is nearly hidden from the rider. Because the motor starts exactly when a rider begins pedaling, they never feel it start and don’t get that bump that signals, “Oh, the power is on now.” Also, because it responds to the rider’s effort, the increases and decreases in motor output are every bit as smooth (or not) as the rider’s. With a torque sensor, the rider experiences more whee.

We liked the original Aventon Aventure. We think it was a terrific value and had a parts pick we really liked. The brakes are now better and while a couple of the drivetrain components have changed, it’s still an 8-speed Shimano drivetrain; most of the drivetrains we see in this price range feature a gear range of 200 percent, while the Aventure and the Aventure.2 feature a 266 percent gear range. We sometimes encounter bikes that claim Class 3 performance but then don’t have gears big enough to pedal at 28 mph; that’s not a problem for the Aventure.2.

Let’s not forget that among the many upgrades the Aventon Aventure.2 received, one of them was a 33 percent increase in range, from 45 mi. to 60 mi., estimated, on a single charge. Neat trick considering they didn’t change the motor or battery.

Our one real criticism of the Aventon Aventure.2 is that they discontinued one of the three frame sizes they offered for both the traditional frame and the step-thru version. It would be understandable if they’d discontinued the small in the traditional frame and kept it strictly in the step-thru, but discontinuing both will likely disappoint some smaller riders. That discontinuing one frame size is our biggest criticism makes its own statement about how much we like this e-bike.

Most of the time when we discuss a brand’s display, we are usually worried about where it is mounted, if we can read it easily and if it tells us enough about the battery level. The Aventon display features a large, color LCD screen that is distinctly upscale for this price range or, honestly, any price range. Better still is Aventon’s smartphone app which allows so much rider control and interaction that it is pretty entertaining in its own right.

We can’t help but notice that the extended warranty, while a very handy add-on, has increased in price. Ugh, inflation, amiright? Speaking of add-ons, Aventon now includes a rear rack, as well as fenders and lights.

Aventon’s remaining stock of the Aventure has been reduced in price and for the person on a super-tight budget, that’s a terrific e-bike to check out. That said, the upcharge for the Aventon Aventure.2 is worth every penny. No one ever regrets spending more on an e-bike equipped with a torque sensor. Far from regret, we expect that anyone who chooses this e-bike may have to watch for feelings of overt smugness for having made such a terrific purchase; the Aventon Aventure.2 is that good.

Thank you for reading through our review of the Aventon Aventure.2. Still have further questions? Wondering how it compares to a similar e-bike we’ve reviewed? Let us know in the comments below!