Aventon Pace 500 Electric Bike Review Part 2: Ride & Range Test [VIDEO]

After many miles of testing the Aventon Pace 500 it has proven to be a fun and comfortable eCruiser with high performance capabilities!

This is a fairly unique eBike because it combines the relaxed cruiser ride style with up to 28 mph of pedal assist and throttle up to 20 mph. 

That combination of features makes the Pace 500 a highly versatile eBike that can give a fun mellow ride around the neighborhood and a quick zip around town.

In this second part of the full review you will get an idea of the ride characteristics, range test results, pros, cons, and overall thoughts on this electric bike.

Make sure you check out part 1 of this review with large pictures and specifications to get a detailed look at this e-bike.

What you can expect from the Aventon Pace 500:

To get acquainted with the Aventon Pace 500, checkout this video:

Riding the Aventon Pace 500:

Overall there are some characteristics of the Aventon Pace 500 that really stand out when riding this eBike. To summarize they are: 

• Comfortable and casual ride style and fit
• Fast and powerful 28 mph pedal assist 
• Easy going ride performance at the lower assist levels

The Look & Feel of the Aventon Pace 500

Overall the Pace 500 has a casual look with its swept back cruiser style handlebars and relaxed frame geometry.

While it may look casual, it also has that high performance capability! More on that in a bit. 

The seat tube has a laid back angle that makes for a comfortable ride and it helps with being able to place your feet on the ground when stopped. 

Speaking of the frame, it uses 6061 hydroformed aluminum tubing that has been shaped to provide more material where it is needed at high stress locations.

For instance the top and down tubes are enlarged at the connection of the head tube.

Aventon has done a nice job of smoothing the welds to create a very cohesive look at the tube connections. 

Furthering that cohesive look is the battery (48V 11.6ah) integration into the downtube that also is a good location for the overall handling of the bike. 

Positioning the 7.3 pound battery low and centered on the bike helps with the balance and handling of the bike. 

In addition the integration of the battery into the downtube of the frame provides some additional protection of the battery.

The battery case is aluminum and it has a durable look and feel. 

The downtube of the frame also features internal cable routing for a majority of the cables. This keeps the looks of the bike clean and provides some protection of the cables. 

Similar to the frame, the aluminum fork has smoothed welds for a clean and cohesive look that blends in well with the frame. 

The Pace 500 is offered in 3 different frame sizes to fit a wide range of riders.  

Small for riders in height 5′-1″ to 5′-7″

Medium for riders in height 5′-7″ to 5′-11″

Large for riders in height 5′-11″ to 6′-4″

The bike is this testing & review is the Large frame size. 

In addition to the Deep Black color there is the SoCal Sand color option.

There is also the step-thru frame option that comes in 2 different sizes:

Small for riders in height 4′-11″ to 5′-4″

Medium for riders in height 5′-4″ to 5′-10″

The step-thru model comes in Celeste or Chalk White color options. 

Now let’s take a look at the performance capabilities of the Aventon Pace 500!

While it has a casual and relaxed look and feel, the Pace 500 can really get up and go if you want it to. 

At the higher levels of pedal assist the bike can quickly accelerate up to 28 mph with its 500 watt geared rear hub motor. 

Combining this high performance capability with the casual cruiser style makes the Aventon Pace 500 a very fun ride!

The Pace 500 uses a cadence sensor based pedal assist system that provides a substantial amount of initial acceleration that is helpful for getting through an intersection quickly or for help with getting started on a hill.

In pedal assist level 5 the bike cruises comfortably at 28 mph on the flat roads. At this speed the pedaling cadence is a bit high as the 42t chainring and 11t cog are about maxed out. It would be nice to have a little more gear range for a speed pedelec like this to make pedaling at the higher speeds a little more comfortable. 

On moderate climbs in pedal assist level 5 the Pace 500 can maintain 25 mph pretty well and on steeper climbs it still does well to get you up and over with a substantial amount of assist. 

In the lower assist levels it provides an easy going ride style that is good for casually cruising around the neighborhood or when navigating through busy areas. 

In addition to the pedal assist there is also a thumb throttle that can be used with or without pedaling. It provides assist up to 20 mph and to use it you must initially be pedaling a few mph. 

There is also a walk mode that moves the bike at 3.5 mph and helps when walking the bike up hill/stairs. 

The Aventon Pace 500 is a Class 3 electric bike per eBike laws that are applicable in many US states.

Like almost all geared hub motors this motor does create a whirring noise. The noise dissipates a little at the higher speeds due to wind noise. 

The drivetrain is an 8 speed Shimano Altus shifter, derailleur, and cogset that has an easy shifting feel with solid engagement when shifting. As mentioned before it would be nice to have a little more gear range for the speed range that the Pace 500 can assist to. 

Now let’s take a closer look at the integrated frame battery.

The 48V 11.6ah 557Wh lithium battery is composed of Samsung cells and as mentioned before its location in the downtube of the frame is good for overall balance and bike handling. 

Fully charging an empty battery takes about 4 hours and it can be charged on or off the bike. 

Removing the battery is accomplished by unlocking it from the frame with the supplied key (it comes with 2 keys) and then rotating it to the left side of the bike and off. 

The battery weighs 7.3 pounds and removing it brings the weight of the Aventon Pace 500 down to 42.8 pounds which makes it a little easier to load on a car rack. 

Now let’s take a look at the controls and display.

First of all the large LCD Smart Display is located in the center of the handlebars for easy visibility.

The display provides the following information:

• Battery level
• Current speed
• Average speed
• Max speed
• Pedal assist level
• Odometer
• Trip distance
• Battery voltage
• Ride time

The display has a backlight that is very bright for easy visibility in low light conditions. 

On the left side of the handlebars is the control pad and thumb throttle. 

The control pad adjusts the pedal assist levels with the up and down arrows and cycles through the lower on/off button cycles through information on the display like odometer, trip distance, etc. 

The thumb throttle has a wide range of assist that can give you just a little bit of boost up to a lot of acceleration up to 20 mph.

When using the lower pedal assist levels the throttle can give you additional boost to get through an intersection quickly or for some additional help getting over a hill. 

Now let’s take a closer look at the ride position on the Aventon Pace 500.

The casual and relaxed cruiser ride style is pretty fun with up to 28 mph of assist!

The swept back handlebars with ergonomic grips give the Pace 500 a stable and comfortable ride feel and the adjustable stem allows you to dial in the reach and height of the handlebar to fit your riding preferences. 

In the lowest position the handlebars are in more of a performance ride position with more reach.

At the higher positions with less reach it is a more comfortable position but the overall bike handling is not quite as agile when compared to the lower positions.

The 27.5″x2.2″ Kenda Kwik Seven 5 Sport tires have a stable ride feel that matches the cruiser style of the bike well. These are eBike rated tires as well.

They have an efficient ride feel with enough air volume to absorb a lot of bumps and cracks in the road when run at the lower tire pressures. 

At the higher speeds you can definitely feel the effects of rough roads. If you regularly ride on rougher roads it may be worth adding a suspension seat post, suspension stem or fork to bike. 

The Velo Comfort saddle is comfortable as the name implies! It has a wider profile with some elastomers springs to smooth the road out a bit. 

Managing the speed is handled by Tektro HD-T285 hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors. These have the solid feel and powerful braking typical of most hydraulic disc brakes.

The Tektro brakes are a great fit for a bike that can assist up to 28mph! They modulate well from just a little braking to a lot of power to slow down this high speed eBike. 

There are sensors in each brake lever that will stop the assist as soon as either brake lever is engaged.

Another nice fit feature of the bike is that the brake lever reach can be adjusted to fit your hand size with a small allen wrench on the back side of the brake lever.

The accessory grouping includes a water bottle cage and adjustable height kickstand.

The water bottle cage can be mounted on the frame or handlebar and it includes rubber shims to fit various tubing sizes. 

Okay, let’s see how the Aventon Pace 500 did out on the open road!

Aventon Pace 500 Range Test Results:

Here is the real world information on how the Aventon Pace 500 electric bike performed on a riding circuit that includes hills, flats, traffic, wind (when available) etc.

While testing these bikes I like to put them through the toughest conditions to see where their bottom line is in regards to range and speed. I tested the Aventon Pace 500 in the highest pedal assist level (Level 5) with average pedaling on paved roads.

Range: As you can see from the GPS info that I recorded, the Aventon Pace 500 traveled 25.7 miles and did a total elevation gain of around 2,000 ft. Considering that I weigh 190 lbs and I pedaled at an average pace this is pretty good range for a 48 Volt 11.6 ah battery pack (557 Watt Hours) with a 500 watt motor assisting up to 28 mph. 

Watt hours are the total energy in a battery pack and it is based on the volts x amp hours of a pack. This is a way to compare the size of the “gas tank” of electric bikes.

Please keep in mind that if you pedal more, weigh less than me, ride slower and/or you use the bike in terrain that is not as hilly you will get more range. These results are from tough testing.

Speed: The Aventon Pace 500 will assist up to 28 mph with pedal assist and there is the thumb throttle that will assist up to 20 mph.

Weight: The Aventon Pace 500 tips the scales at 50.1 lbs which is pretty good for an electric bike like this. Removing the battery brings it down to around 42.8 pounds which makes it a little easier to load onto a car rack.

The weight distribution of the Aventon Pace 500 is pretty good with the low and centered battery and a rear hub motor. 

Pros:

Comfortable Cruiser: The Aventon Pace 500 is a comfortable bike to ride with its swept back handlebars, balloon style tires, laid back frame geometry, and comfortable saddle. The adjustable stem is a nice feature for dialing in the ride style that fits your preferences. The balanced weight distribution gives it a nice overall bike handling feel as well. 

High Performance: What makes this eCruiser stand out is its high speed performance of up to 28 mph of pedal assist with the thumb throttle up to 20 mph. The wide range of pedal assist levels and throttle make this a versatile eBike that can give you an easy going ride all the way up to a high performance zip around town.

Price: Aventon gives you a lot of bike for the price you pay here!

Cons:

Motor Noise: The geared rear hub motor does make a whirring noise that is in the medium range when compared to other geared hub motors. The noise does dissipate a little at the higher speeds due to wind noise. 

Gear Range: It would be nice to have a little more gear range because at the 28 mph range the pedaling cadence was a little bit high. 

Conclusion:

Overall the Aventon Pace 500 is a fun and versatile eCruiser! 

The combination of the relaxed easy going ride style with high performance assist of up to 28 mph makes this a fairly unique eBike that gives you a lot of options. 

You can enjoy an easy going cruise in the lower assist levels (or throttle) all while being able to zip around town in the higher assist levels. 

The Aventon Pace 500’s  price point is very impressive considering all the features (28 mph, integrated frame battery) and quality components from Samsung, Shimano, Tektro, Kenda, etc. 

Please keep in mind that this is a relatively short term test. This testing can’t really give you the long term review of durability and reliability. My thoughts on the quality of this bike are from previous experiences with similar bikes. If you own this bike and have some input on the long term durability, please share your comments with the Electric Bike Report community below.

Where to buy a Aventon Pace 500? Check Aventon for purchasing online or at a dealer near you.

Do you have any questions about the Aventon Pace 500?  Do you own a Aventon Pace 500?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks!

-Pete

Review Note: Each company pays a fee for a review on Electric Bike Report because of the considerable amount of time that it takes to provide an in-depth review of each eBike. A lot of time is spent on the full range test with distance & elevation profile, the wide variety of detailed pictures, in-depth video, and the write up with the specifications, ride characteristics, pros, cons, and overall thoughts. The reviews on Electric Bike Report are focused on providing you with a detailed “virtual” look at each eBike to help you determine if it is the eBike for you or not.

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