Aventon Pace 500.2 Step-Through Review 2024

As we hinted at earlier, the battery is one of the few hard components that appears entirely changed from the last version of the Pace 500.

Not only is it now integrated into the frame — a big aesthetic improvement — but it’s larger. The new Pace 500 is spec’d with a 48V, 12.8Ah (614.4Wh) battery that’s about 10 percent larger than the old 556.8Wh battery in the previous model. As you’d expect, that larger battery yielded some better results in our range testing.

We did two range tests, one in PAS 3 and the other in PAS 5. In the PAS 3 test, the Pace 500 lasted for 57.75 miles at an average speed of 13.4 mph. In PAS 5, we saw a 27.88 mile range with an average speed of 16.9 mph.

Those results are solid improvements over the battery range of the previous bike, which in low PAS tests were around 51 miles and about 24 miles in high PAS tests.

It’s not uncommon that our test hill, Hell Hole, pushes a 500W rear hub e-bike to its limit; the new generation of the Pace 500 is no exception.

We do two hill tests on our review bikes, one on the highest pedal assist setting ( PAS 5 in this case) and again using just the throttle. Among 500W rear hub-driven e-bikes, we typically see them clear the top of Hell Hole in PAS 5 with little trouble, but it’s the throttle only test where things can get tricky. That’s where the Pace had its issues.

In PAS 5, the Pace 500 cleared the top of Hell Hole in 1:37.00 with an average speed of 11.2 mph. But in the throttle only test, it made it about one-third of the way before the hill got the best of it.

Before you all use that data to peg the Pace 500 as a bad hill climber, let’s add some context to the numbers.

For starters, we chose our test hill specifically because it’s extraordinarily long and steep. Many 500w e-bikes have struggled and even failed on this hill, especially in the throttle only test when they rely exclusively on motor power alone.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that it took very little pedaling from me to get the Pace 500 to clear Hell Hole in the PAS 5 test. All it needed was a little additional torque from my legs and the Pace 500 had no issues getting to the top.

Slowing the Pace 500 down is a set of Tektro HD-E350E hydraulic disk brakes with 180mm rotors front and rear, a reliable name brand setup that we know well and very much trust.

They perform well, too.

In our brake test, which takes the average of five full power stops from 20 mph, the Aventon came to a stop in 11-feet-11 inches, which is several feet better than our current all-time braking average of 15-feet-11-inches.

Obviously the Tektro brakes can be largely credited for this result, but brakes aren’t the only factor that determines whether an e-bike stops well. Not only is the bike relatively light at 53 lbs, the Kenda tires did a fantastic job at keeping the bike stuck to the ground even when they locked up and began to skid.

It’s also worth noting here the importance of having name-brand componentry on your bike for when something goes wrong and you need maintenance. Tektro is one of the largest brake manufacturers in the world, and it’s very likely your local bike shop is equipped to service them. The same cannot be said for all affordable hydraulic disk brakes.

The handling of the Pace 500 has always been a highlight for me, and I’m happy to report that it appears little has changed in this department.

Like its predecessor, this bike’s handling is very light and neutral. It’s intuitive to ride and extremely forgiving — one of the biggest reasons we highly recommend this bike for newer riders, those looking for something very dependable and even senior riders.

It’s built on a fully-rigid chassis, which means there is no suspension, but again I’d actually say this is a good thing. Suspension forks can be nice when it comes to taking the edge off bumps, but they can be expensive, and cheap versions pose reliability issues and sometimes are more of an aesthetic choice than something that’s actually functional.

In the case of the Pace 500, the rigid fork is comfortable, definitely contributes to the bike’s good handling and also just looks very nice — to me, it looks very similar to the bladed fork we saw on the new Soltera.

Cockpit wise, the highlight is Aventon’s full color LCD display. Other companies have started putting color LCDs on their more affordable models, but this one is just a step higher than some of the other ones I’ve seen.

From a functionality perspective, it’s very clean and easy to read. I also like how well it integrates with the touchpad, so there’s little if any odd cheat code-like button combinations you have to press to turn the lights on or change settings. It also has some fun features, like how many trees youve saved or KGs of carbon reduced, which are cool touches.

The Pace 500 was Aventon’s first e-bike, and to this day it’s arguably their most successful model. It’s an award winning e-bike that’s not just Aventon’s best seller, but it’s one of Electric Bike Report’s most highly recommended affordable e-bikes we’ve reviewed.

It’s always tricky when a brand tries to reinvent a classic; you run the risk of ruining a fan favorite simply by changing it. But that’s not what Aventon’s done here with the newest generation of the Pace 500. In this case, they made a good e-bike better.

They accomplished this by not changing too much. Much of the old Pace 500 still shines through in this most recent iteration — it’s the same snappy handling, the same upright yet compact frame and the same quick motor. Much of what Aventon has changed are aesthetic details, or details targeted to improve the user interface. This includes the updated design, the hidden battery and new features in the cockpit like the full color LCD and nicely done grips. The one notable componentry change was simply making the battery larger, which gives that snappy motor more juice.

All in, I’m incredibly pleased with the new Aventon Pace 500, and I’d bet the die-hard fans of the bike will be, too. If you like the Pace 500, it can be bought online on Aventon’s website and shipped to your door.

‘Happy Riding, make sure to let us know if you have any questions down in our comments section or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Aventon Pace 500.