Velotric Summit 2 Review | Feature-Heavy Hybrid Bike

The Summit 2’s down tube integrated battery is large, with 802Wh of capacity. That’s a great pairing with a 750W motor that can peak at nearly double that figure.

We tested out the battery’s capabilities on our local bike paths kept to the bike’s class 2 speed limits of 20 mph, and kept the bike in its middle power output for both tests.

On max power, the bike went 35.1 miles. On its Minimum Eco setting, it went 78.1.

That is a bit short of the advertised 95-mile claim, but again, there are more conservative settings you can tap into that’ll help stretch out that range, and something in the approaching 90 doesn’t seem out of the question.

I’d say that much range is great. Efficiency-wise, it’s about average, but this motor has a bit more peak power than most in its class. Again, it’s a pretty big battery, but the bike keeps the weight reasonable, which makes the handling better (and transportation simpler) and can be charged off the bike if needed too.

The three-amp charger will also get you back to full from dead in under six hours, so charge times are reasonable. Overall, it’s the type of bike most people are charging up once a week with a bit of mixed power usage.

I was expecting good hill climbing performance, but the Summit 2 had great performance: both by feel, and by the numbers, but lets start with the numbers.

With 1300W peak and a whole 100Nm of torque to work with, that’s a lot of power potential for the ride. When taken to our standard hill test at Devil’s Backbone, it made the half-mile, 8% grade hill look easy.

The throttle finished in a time of 1:42 for a 17.8 mph average. That’s the fourth-best result we’ve measured out of over 60 throttles that made it up the hill.

The pedal results were even better – like, it held nearly the full 20mph Class 2 limit up the hill better. It made it in a time of 1:35 seconds for a 19.1 mph average while using the torque sensor. That’s now second all-time since we made this our standard test hill, which, as of this writing, is 100 e-bikes tested on the hill.
Yowza!

Those numbers prove a lot of things. If you’re afraid of hills, you don’t need to be, even the throttle alone can scale the hill easily, and you won’t really break a sweat if you put some leg into it to help.

The Summit 2’s payload capacity of 440 lbs is pretty high, but with that type of hill-climbing performance, you can safely feel like you can move higher payloads without a problem.

For my part, I felt the hill-climbing performance was great. I rode predominantly with the torque sensor on, and felt it matched my output with a clear multiple in the higher modes, and still helped me climb intuitively and more powerfully in lower power too.

Smooth riding, or offroading, the bike can eat up hills with the best we’ve ever tested.

Shimano MT200 hydraulic brakes are a fairly common and popular stopping setup. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s reliable too, which is what you want when riding.

In our standard test, the bike stopped in an average result of 20’9”, which places it’s performance about a foot better than the all-ebike average. Hard to be mad at those results. It’s actually a slightly better result than the Summit one as well, so maybe some weight savings overall vs the last model is showing some dividends here too.

For the all-around nature of the Summit 2, I like the brake choice. They’re practical for mixed terrain usage, just don’t get too wild with your off-road choices. This isn’t a full blown eMTB so don’t ask the brakes to do too much, but on your average fir road, double track, or old country lane, they’ll do great.

Velotric includes brake lights in the chainstays. We’re advocates for enhanced visibility, so we’re always happy to see those included. Velotric goes the extra mile here with you ability to customize the rear light behavior in the app, so you can play with that too to find a setting that you feel keeps you best in sight.

Velotric packs more features in the Summi 2 than you could shake a stick at, and they make it adaptable enough to be crowd-pleasing. It’s part of what is baked into their DNA at this point, and it does a lot to pad the overall value of the Summit 2. It’s a lot of bike for the dollar you’re spending.

Air forks aren’t a given for a bike around the $2k mark, and I prefer them to coil forks for their ability to better adapt to riders of different sizes. The RST Glide is a solid performer and holds up well on your average gravel road while doing great in most city path and road environments.

I had some doubts at first about the adjustable stem. I usually like bikes with any amount of off-road intention to go with a rigid stem, but this one is fairly robust to the point I’d trust it off-road. I found the overall reach a little on the short side for me personally, but I’m more torso than leg in my 6’1”. Still doable, but I think I like the handlebars more upright in cruising mode for me.

The Cues system is a great choice for a hybrid e-bike with solid performance a range that works well for torque sensor riders.

The Kenda tires were another good choice. 27.5” diameter keeps sizing easier for most riders, while the 2.4” width is stable and supportive without putting too much drag into the equation and adding noise. It worked well on dirt and gravel, and hasn’t had a puncture in all the miles we’ve put it through.

I liked that a lot of things that were add-ons from the original Summit are now included. The kickstand, fenders, and front and rear lighting are all standard now, with the really bright 500 lumen headlight standing out, and the integrated rear lighting gives you turn signals too. Basically, all the tertiary features were pretty good, although the pedals weren’t my first choice as my feet seemed to pump off them frequently off-road. Simple enough to swap to something more aggressive if you need, though.

The NFC unlock is pretty easy security if you don’t mind keeping the card with you, and Android users will rejoice that the Summit does both Apple and Android Find My for some tracking, should the bike go wandering off, you’ll be able to track it down again when it’s within range of Bluetooth somewhere.

The screen is solid as well. It’s a smaller 2” display, which is what I find is all the size you really need. The interface can feel a bit chunky with the power buttons and turn signals, but you can access a host of settings on the bike to make the ride more your own, or dive into the app instead.

The app layout is pretty clean and easy to navigate for just about anybody. You can alter the bike settings, establish some of the security features, dive into the Smart modes, and more. OTA updates are nice too, as it’ll ensure any enhancements to the motor can happen over time.

The frame is well-made, comes in nice color options, and a couple of different sizes. I like that you have two different mounting locations for waterbottles or other items, too.

Handling in general is solid. The bike holds its speed well without feeling too many vibrations. It’s neither sharp nor loose into turns, but pretty respectably middle of the road.

In a vacuum, the Summit 2 is just a really impressive ride. It’s as feature-rich as you’ll find on a budget that makes the value more than fair. Dare I say, it’s just plain good value?

The Summit 2 is a lot of bike. It’s really fun to ride around town, and it’ll blend right in with the dirt once the road ends. The adjustability of the ride means once you’ve found your frame size, there’s a pretty good and easy fit to find on the bike itself, with tons of power settings (manual, or Smart) to ensure you get the ride that’ll fit you.

And comparatively? I’m pretty blown away. The price is only $100 more than the original, while it enhanced the drivetrain, tires, fork, programming, increased the battery capacity, and standardized accessories that were once extras. That’s a serious value upgrade in my opinion.

I love bikes like the Summit 2 for their flexibility. They can wear many proverbial hats (or helmets) and adapt to different sorts of riding. They’re great for a mountain bike look that wouldn’t have you overspending, dropping real eMTB money when you really just want a solid commuter with a fun and aggressive edge for going off the beaten path occasionally.

Prospective buyers should take a hard look if they want something that’s got some serious top-end power, can adapt to different riding scenarios, or change up the feel depending on what you’re wanting, and of course, those who like feature-rich experiences.

Happy Riding! Make sure to let us know if you have any questions or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Velotric Summit 2 down in our comments section.