Pedego Interceptor eBike Review – 2024

In-Depth Review

Frame

The Pedego Interceptor is a very sturdy eBike, and that is because of its 6061 aluminum alloy frame. 6061 aluminum is the same alloy used to make cars, boats, and even airplanes, with Pedego going the extra mile and incorporating T-6 aircraft level aluminum to build their eBike. As a result, it’s very durable while only weighing an average of 55 lbs fully assembled and with the motor and battery. This eBike also comes in 17 unique color options, allowing you to personalize your eBike to a greater degree than almost any other eBike out on the market.

To further help you find an eBike that is the perfect fit for you, the Pedego Interceptor is available in four different frame sizes. They are the 24’’ step thru, the 26’’ step thru, the 26’’ classic, and the 29’’ classic. Overall rider height and weight will determine the best frame for you, and while there are some general recommendations Pedego wants you to try the eBikes out for yourself! Just visit their website and fill out their form, and Pedego will help you find the easiest way to ride a Pedego Interceptor in order to determine the best frame style for you.

Motor & Battery

The Pedego Interceptor is a class 2 eBike with throttle motor assist up to 20 MPH.

Whichever model of the Pedego Interceptor you go with, it comes with a 48 V 500 W brushless rear geared hub motor, featuring 45 Nm of torque. While 45 Nm is a bit weaker compared to many of the other eBikes we’ve reviewed, it’s still enough power that you won’t have a problem if you stick to your traditional urban environment or the occasional dirt road or beach. Having a smaller motor also means that the battery doesn’t drain as fast, with the Pedego Interceptor available with a 48 V 10 Ah battery and a 48 V 15 Ah battery. Ultimately, you can typically go between 50 to 60 miles on a full charge depending on road conditions and which battery size you install into your eBike, which should be more than enough to get to work or your favorite restaurant.

Interestingly, the battery is actually mounted just below the rear cargo rack in a cradle specially designed for the Samsung lithium ion battery. This ensures that the battery is protected if you suffer a major crash, and also makes it very easy to remove. The only negative to having the battery in the rear cargo rack is that it makes the eBike even more tail heavy, since the rear gear hub motor is also weighing the backside of the cruiser down. Returning to the battery’s performance, a 3 Amp smart charger is also included that will recharge the battery from 0% to 100% in about 4 to 5 hours. You’ll rarely drain your battery entirely, so it’s easy enough to take the battery off, go to work, let your battery charge while you’re in your office, and then remount the battery and head home with a full charge.

Display/Assist Modes

A 3.5’’ backlit LCD display is used to change your speed modes while tracking your key riding metrics. It’s a good size to make it real easy to track your readouts, without being so large as to overwhelm and weigh down your handlebars. The left mounted LCD display does have one problem, and it’s that you can’t remove it from your eBike. For most bikers this isn’t a big issue, but if you want to store your cruiser bike long term you will find that you often need a specialized cover just to protect the LCD display, and that some bags don’t fit as well over the frame due to the non-removable display.

The key readouts you can track with your Pedego Interceptor LCD display are as follows:

Pedego Interceptor LCD Riding Readout Metrics:

• Current Speed
• Odometer
• Trip Distance
• Ride Time
• Battery Power
• Pedal Assist Level

As a Class 2 eBike, you can use the throttle to boost your riding speed up to 20 MPH, at which point the motor will cut itself off automatically. The reason why you have a 20 MPH speed cap is so that you can ride the Pedego Interceptor without needing a special motor licence to operate it. With manual pedaling, you can still exceed the 20 MPH speed limit anyway, and once you fall below 20 MPH just use your throttle to get back to it again. The Pedego Interceptor pedals like normal even when you turn the motor off or you run out of battery life, so it’s a good option even for the occasional motorless bike ride.

There are five levels of automatic pedal assist, along with a manual throttle only mode and throttle override. The higher you set your pedal assist to, the stronger your motor power if you don’t mind your battery draining faster. Alternatively, you can set your pedal assist to a lower level, extending your battery range but limiting your overall motor power. As such, we recommend traditionally sticking to a lower pedal assist level, and using the throttle when you need a short, quick boost to climb over difficult terrain and roads.

Handling

• On Streets- The Pedego Interceptor is an electric bike built for cruising through the streets, with large, thick tires that provide plenty of shock absorption for loose terrain. Whether you’re on a flat paved road or hit the occasional patch of cobblestone, loose gravel, or just the occasional pothole you’ll retain control and feel comfortable as you ride. Further suspension comes from the rigid front fork and suspension seat, ensuring you can enjoy navigating almost every part of the city with the Pedego Interceptor.
• Turn Radius- The one major area where the Pedego Interceptor does struggle is with its turn radius. Between the extra wide handlebars and the Schwalbe Fat Frank tires, this is not an eBike that can make a tight turn easily. It’s good enough for trying to explore around the city, but it will have difficulty getting through an especially narrow door or alleyway to get through. Take your time though, and you’ll be able to get through almost anything with the Pedego Interceptor.
• Low Speed Handling- Cruisers are designed with low speed handling in mind, and given this is a lighter eBike you won’t have much trouble walking it around either. You can also set the pedal assistance to just 1 for minimal motor support, allowing you to get a small boost that will make low speed handling even better.

Gears/DriveTrain

The drivetrain is mostly made out of Shimano components, with a Shimano HG200 7 Speed 12-32 T Cassette that connects to a 44 T chainring via a KMC HG40 eBike optimized chain. If you’re curious about shifting with the Pedego Interceptor, you do it with a Shimano FT55 left handle thumb shifter, which works in tandem with the Shimano Acera RD-M360 derailleur. Overall, the drivetrain is very reliable given how popular Shimano is among eBikes, and as long as you stick to urban riding with the occasional foray onto the beach or light trail you won’t have to do much to maintain it. However, the one word of caution is that the 24’’ and 26’’ step thru cruiser bikes do have a chain that rides closer to the ground and is a bit more exposed than the larger 26’’ and 29’’ classic designs. You probably don’t need fenders or a more serious chainring guard on the larger eBikes, but it might be helpful to add them to the smaller models if you are riding in muddier or less than stellar areas.

Brakes

We’re genuinely kind of surprised at the impressive brakes included with the Pedego Interceptor electric cruiser bike. You can expect Shimano BR-M375 mechanical disc brakes along with Shimano SM-RT26 180 mm front and rear rotors, with Tektro ergonomic levers to control them. 180 mm Shimano mechanical disc brakes is something we see more in light mountain and cross-country bikes, so to have them on a cruiser is more than enough to help you come to a quick and steady stop. Additionally, the braking system is integrated into the motor system, so the moment you apply the brakes the motor system will cut itself off automatically. Having an integrated system not only ensures that you can come to a quicker and safer stop, but extends the life of the brakes and motor as well.

Suspension

While you may not have as much suspension as say a mountain bike, there are several different systems at play to make you have a more comfortable ride through the city. There is a rigid fork that connects to the front wheel that provides small shock absorption, along with a coil spring suspension seatpost with 40 mm of travel and adjustable preload. Taken together, you don’t want to tackle steep hills or mountain paths, but with the thick tires you’ll feel great even if you hit some rougher or uneven road sections, like with loose gravel or cobblestone.

Pedals

Many of the electric bikes we review either utilize inexpensive plastic pedals or more premium aluminum based platform pedals: the Pedego Interceptor went with the durable aluminum option. Aluminum platform pedals not only provide a superior feel to plastic pedals while you rest your feet on them, but provide a better grip as you pedal as well. If you suffer a crash, the aluminum pedal platform is far less likely to suffer any major damage forcing you to replace them immediately. Lastly, pedal reflectors are integrated into the sides, and is one of several reflective and illumination features that makes the Pedego Interceptor a safer eBike to ride.

Grips and Saddle

High quality ergonomic synthetic leather grips with foam padding make for very cushy grips that you can hold onto while you pedal. While you are unlikely to push yourself with a cruiser bike, they are well made so that if you are riding at high speeds or find your hands getting sweaty, they won’t just slip off the included grips. As for the saddle, it is an extra wide cruiser saddle made with soft foam, designed so that even larger riders can still feel nice and snug while they ride. The suspension post also helps the saddle feel better to ride overall, ensuring you have a great time whenever you go out cruising with the Pedego Interceptor electric bike.

Wheels and Tires

The Schwalbe Fat Frank tires deserve the name, measuring 26’’ by 2.35’’ in the most common Pedego Interceptor model. The 24’’ step thru model has 24’’ by 2.0’’ tires, while the 29’’ Pedego Interceptor comes in at 29’’ by 2.35’’. All tires are built with race guard kevlar flat protection, with a slime inner tube sealant to help protect against the occasional hole or tear in order to reduce the chance of being stuck with a flat. 12 Gauge Stainless Steel Spokes support the double wall, 36 hole rims, and are designed to make servicing quite easy when you want to finetune your eBike. With these tires, you can enjoy your time riding around the city and on the occasional rough terrain path without much issue, though the more you stick to flat concrete roads the more likely you’ll be to enjoy the Pedego Interceptor electric bike.

Accessories/Upgrades

The Pedego Interceptor electric bike has almost everything you could want in an eBike in its base model, with a great headlight and tail light system, integrated bell, rear cargo rack, kickstand, and more. Fenders are one missing accessory you might be interested in, but because it’s a cruiser bike you probably won’t need to rely on them much to protect your wheels. Pedego makes some other great accessories as well that are worth considering, including the following;

The RadRover 5 is one of the most affordable eBikes we’ve reviewed, and comes packed with a ton of features and add-ons that you don’t see often even in premium eBikes. The eBike already has a full fender system, along with a powerful 80 lumens headlight and brake activated battery powered tail light for improved rider visibility. There are still a few upgrades and add-ons we would recommend considering from Rad Power Bikes if you want to make it even better, with a few of our favorite accessories including the following:

• Pedego Fenders
• Pedego Commuter Bags
• Pedego Handlebar and Rear Baskets
• Pedego Child Seat
• Pedego Handlebar Mirror
• Pedego Charger Caddy
• Pedego Lock

Recommendation

The Pedego Interceptor is a fantastic cruiser bike, and with 17 color options and 4 different frame sizes you’re sure to find at least one combination that is a perfect fit for you. The 6061 aircraft rated aluminum frame makes this one of the lighter eBikes we’ve reviewed, while still providing great support for a rider and their stuff thanks to the rear cargo rack. You can travel up to 60 miles on a single charge, making use of the throttle or pedal motor assistance and five motor power settings. The Shimano brakes are more than enough to bring the Pedego Interceptor to a quick and steady stop, while the Shimano HG200 drivetrain will keep your gears turning as you explore towns and cities near and dear to you. The faux leather grips look great, while the oversized seat is gonna be comfortable to ride in due to the suspension system and Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. So, if you want to get out and enjoy your local cityscape with an eBike that’s made for cruising, then take a hard look at the Pedego Interceptor electric bike!

Would you like to see us do a full review and video review of the Pedego Interceptor? Let us know in the comments below!