You may have heard of EVELO Electric Bikes from the TransAmerican Electric Bike Tour (from New York City to San Francisco).  That is because the CEO, Boris Mordkovich, was one of the riders on the tour!

Boris and his riding partner, Anna Mostovetsky, completed their tour earlier this year and they definitely raised awareness about electric bikes across the U.S.

Boris and Anna rode EVELO’s Aries and Aurora on their 4,000 mile trek.  Here is an interview with Boris about their trip.

I recently had a chance to put some miles on their Luna electric bike.  The Luna is a commuter/casual recreational type of electric bike.

It has the step through frame that makes it easy to get on and off of and it comes with almost every accessory you can think of!

The Luna is not super high performance but it is a smooth, quiet and mellow ride.  This can be a perfect fit if you are looking for a trusty, predictable, and comfortable commuter to get you around town.

Make sure you check out the video, large pictures and specifications of the EVELO Luna.

What you can expect from this electric bike:

The Luna uses a mid drive motor that provides power to the cranks of the bike.  There is a throttle option (you have the choice of pedaling or not) and there is the pedal assist that provides power while you are pedaling.

You can vary the throttle power via the twist grip on the left side of the handlebar.  If you elect not to pedal in the throttle mode, the chainring will turn but the cranks will remain stationary via a freewheel in the crankset.

The pedal assist feature has 3 settings (low, medium and high) that can be adjusted on the display on the left side of the handlebar.  Changing these settings will vary the pedal assist the bike provides and can increase the bikes range by using a lower assist setting.

The 3 speed internal hub keeps things simple by providing just a few gears to choose from for climbing hills and cruising on the flats.  The twist grip on the right side of the handlebars shifts the gears and there is a gear indicator that will show you what gear you are in.

The ride test results:

Here is the real world information on how this bike performed on my typical riding circuit that includes hills, flats, traffic, wind (when available) etc.

The results below are based on a paved circuit that I use for testing other electric bikes.

Here is the range and elevation info using the highest pedal assist setting.

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.

Range:  As you can see from the GPS info that I recorded, the bike traveled 27 miles and did a total elevation gain/loss of around 2000 ft. Considering that I weight 190 lbs and I pedaled very lightly this is very good range for a 36 Volt 10 ah battery pack (360 Watt Hours)!

This big range is probably due to the fact that the Luna tops out at around 15 mph (less wind drag or “losses” compared to higher speeds) and the mid drive systems can be more efficient when climbing hills.

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, weight 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 EVELO Luna is no speed demon.  The Luna provides power up to 15-16 mph.  Most e-bikes in the U.S. top out at 20 mph, but this bike was intended to be a casual, comfortable commuter with a lower speed.  The other EVELO models, the Aries and Aurora, top out around 20 mph because they use higher gearing.

Weight:  This bike tips the scales at 65 lbs.

The weight distribution on this bike is pretty good because the motor is centered in the middle of the bike and low to the ground.  The battery pack is on the rear rack.

Shifting under pressure:  One of the biggest issues with mid drive motors and some internal gear hubs (not the NuVinci) is that they don’t shift well under pressure.  When trying to shift to an easier gear on a climb it can be hard to get the hub to shift to that lower gear because of the pressure the motor puts on the chain.  Even if you stop pedaling there is a little delay until the motor stops assisting, so you can loose your momentum on a climb.

I did find that using the throttle on a climb worked better because the motor would turn off as soon as the throttle was released and I could shift to an easier gear and then hit the throttle again.  You can still be pedaling in this scenario too.

Please note that if you elect for the upgrade to the NuVinci N360 hub that you will not have any problems because the NuVinci shifts well under pressure.

Also, please note that I have experienced this on other electric bikes with a similar mid drive motor and an internally geared hub (excluding the NuVinci N360).

Brakes:  The front and rear brakes had differ amounts of power.  The front V-brake is more powerful than the rear roller brake.  This is something you can get used to but personally I like to have a balanced amount of power between the front and rear brakes.

Assist settings:  Even though there are 3 assist settings I found myself only using the high assist because it seemed to provide the right amount of power (remember this bike is mellow!).  If you ride in areas that have a lot of pedestrian traffic then these lower assist settings will probably be useful, but for general street and bike path riding they seem too low.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a casual and comfortable electric bike the Luna should be one that you consider.  The step through frame, upright position, simple 3 speed hub, and well equipped accessory package make the Luna a great e-bike to get on and go!

If you can afford the upgrade to the NuVinci N360 hub I would recommend it because it would smooth out some of the shifting issues.  I have ridden the NuVinci N360 many times and it is a very smooth system!

Overall I really enjoyed riding the EVELO Luna.  It was an easy bike to ride and it felt very comfortable.

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 get the EVELO Luna?  Check with the EVELO website for a dealer near you.  You can also buy the Luna online if there is not a dealer near you.

Do you have any questions about the EVELO Luna?  Do you own the Luna?  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.

P.S. Don’t forget to join the Electric Bike Report community for updates from the electric bike world, plus ebike riding and maintenance tips!