Ride1Up Roadster V3 Review | Light, Nimble, and Surprising

For those who appreciate a to-the-point explanation: the Roadster V3 has a good, practical range, and the motor makes good use of its battery. The battery is a bit small, but it keeps the weight low, and in the greater balance of all things on an e-bike, it just felt like the appropriate choice.

If you want to dive into a short explanation and some math, I invite you to keep reading.

If one area of the spec sheet had me a little skeptical, it was in the battery efficiency department. On paper, we often prefer an e-bike’s capacity (a battery’s watt hours) to match or exceed the bike’s nominal motor wattage. So a 500W motor and a 360Wh battery appeared lacking. But again, that’s on paper.

Surprisingly, the Range Test for the Roadster V3 was pretty solid. After a bit of digging through the data, it looked even better. Ride1Up quotes a range of 20-40 miles. With 17-49 in our testing, it’s a little high and a little low of the claim.

Compared to the other e-bikes we’ve tested, the V3’s range efficiency score (miles divided by watt hours, similar to how you get MPG ratings for a car) was 0.14 on the Min Test. Right now, the average of all e-bikes is at .09, so the V3 is roughly 36% more battery efficient than your average e-bike while still giving appreciable amounts of power.

Even when you get a little more apples-to-apples and look just at city bikes, it’s still about 15% better than its peers when riding on Eco.

There’s not as much to explore on the max power range side. It scored a .06, which is spot on with our current average for all bikes and all city bikes.

The deep dive may seem like overkill, but it is one area where my inner geek couldn’t be contained. The bike makes great use of its design to provide a lot of mileage for a lightweight ride.

Of the two hill tests, the Roadster V3 both met and exceeded our expectations. Two times, actually, as both our tests of the ST and Highstep model had the exact same times.

In the throttle test, the bike was unable to make it up the hill. Far from shocking, the next city e-bike with a hub motor in the 250-500W range that makes it up our hill test will be the first.

On the pedal test, though, this bike is amongst the best from the city class with a time of barely over a minute and a half. That is our second fastest city bike, only one second behind the leader, and it comfortably beats the average for its class by a full 21 seconds.

So, what’s the secret sauce in this recipe? The motor had the most torque of any other city bike Justin had tested up this hill, which was definitely an advantage. It also had more gearing options than most, so it’s easier to find the ideal, efficient gear while climbing, too, which helps.

We haven’t seen a lot of MIVICE motors in the past, but our first impression is definitely good.

The bottom line here is that the Roadster V3, both by the number and by feel, is one of the best climbing city e-bikes we’ve tested.

You can read about how we do our brake tests up above. In this test, the Roadster V3 scored an average of 24’4″ when we tested the highstep and 22’ 2” when we tested the Low step which gives us a combined bike average of 23’ 3”. The current city bike average of 23’6″. So overall, it’s hitting around what we’d expect for a city bike.

Usually, when I test two variants of the same bike, they stop within a foot of each other. So while I might have had a slightly better day on the brakes with the Low Step, I also suspect the Pirelli tires played a role.

They’re similar to the Schwalbe tires used on the highstep model, but the tread pattern and construction are different enough that it could affect grip.

Either way, the takeaway is this: both bikes stopped within safe parameters, and they felt great while doing it, so no complaints from me.

I also want to call out the value here. I’m generally an advocate for hydraulic disc brakes on e-bikes. City bikes, being on the lighter side, often get stuck with cheaper mechanical brakes, which contributes to their typically longer stopping distances. So I’m glad to see Ride1Up bucked that trend and went with a more capable braking setup here.

Ride1Up nailed the feel of the Roadster V3. First, let’s talk about the frame. 44 lbs is light by e-bike standards, and the geometry puts you into a forward-leaning position on the flat handlebar. It’s semi-aggressive but something you can ride relatively relaxed on for longer rides without feeling your back start to tire.

The bike is extremely responsive. It’s a stiff bike with a rigid fork and a 680mm handlebar. It feels lively and light on the road, yet it corners really well and inspires confidence when riding at speed.

The handling has a downside – it’s a rougher ride overall, and you’ll feel more bumps in the road. In truth, this was the type of bike I hated when I first got into cycling. Still, over the years, I’ve appreciated the handling characteristics, and, well, my backside has toughened up over thousands of miles, so the sharper handling is a worthy tradeoff for me.

The bike rocks a clean aesthetic. Ride1Up has always had nice paint jobs, but they’ve nearly eliminated any visible cables, so the Roadster V3 is about as sleek and visually appealing as anything they’ve produced. It could make maintenance trickier, but I’ll take that tradeoff any day.

Riders of different heights can pick from three frame sizes. The brand has often opted for just two – a high step and a low step – so this is further growing and evolving. As a 6’1″ rider, I felt great on the size large high-step model, and surprisingly not too large on the lower step option.

The previous Roadster was only available in a single-speed option. This time around, you can choose either the single-speed belt drive or the Microshift 9-speed. Our tester was the 9-speed, and it had a great and practical range to work with.

I realize I’ve largely praised the bike so far, and rightfully so. I’ll be updating my recommendations of the top city e-bikes here soon to include this bike, but it isn’t without a blemish or two.

Unless you’re riding a beach cruiser in flip flops, I’m not a big fan of flat pedals and grip tape. Chalk that take up to personal preference if you like, but I think fully rigid rides should have a little something to hook your shoes into for some better grip at the pedals. I’m complaining about pedals, though, which indicates that there’s not much worth getting up in arms about over the bike.

While I like the bright head and taillights, I thought it was curious that the taillight wasn’t also a brake light. That’s due to not having a motor cutoff on the brakes. It’s not needed, but I’d have liked it for the brake light’s sake.

Ride1Up has a handful of accessories that’ll pair with the bike. There are mounts for a rear rack, and you could then slap some panniers on this to make it more convenient to go about the city.

Ride1Up Roadster V3 HS vs ST Version

We reviewed both frame options of the Roadster V3: the Large high-step and the single-size low-step.

The geometry differences are relatively minor, primarily affecting reach and wheelbase. In general, a longer wheelbase adds stability, while a shorter one makes the bike more nimble. I only really noticed a difference when I was hyper-focused on it—and even then, the distinction was subtle. I was actually surprised by how well the low-step fit me, especially considering how comfortable the high-step felt (for reference, I’m 6’1” with a 32” inseam). Despite its smaller size, the low-step still felt appropriately sized for me, albeit just barely in a comfort zone.

The biggest visual and functional change is the top tube. It’s just a 23” stepover height on the low-step frame, compared to 30.5” or 31.5” on the two high-step sizes. That makes the low-step a better fit for shorter riders or those with limited hip mobility.

A tradeoff of that lower angle of the top tube is a bit more frame flex in corners. It’s a slight loss in stiffness, but the difference is marginal—I doubt most newer to cycling would notice it at all.

This isn’t unique to the frames per se, but we did have drivetrain differences between our two test models. The low-step came equipped with a Microshift Advent 9-speed system instead of the Shimano Deore. It’s a change in spec that was made shortly after we reviewed the highstep at launch.

While it’s one less gear, I didn’t find that to be a drawback. Gear spacing felt a bit different, but overall performance was similar. The biggest difference for me was the shifter feel—I prefer the lever action of the Deore, but that’s a personal preference.

Bottom line on the frames: both inspire confidence while riding. The low-step is easier to mount and has a touch more flex, while the high-step is a bit stiffer and slightly better suited for taller riders.

Can You Make The Ride1Up Roadster V3 A Gravel Bike?

The Roadster V2 came in a gravel variant. Here with the V3, there isn’t any “gravel edition” just yet, but out of the box, this would make for a highly serviceable gravel e-bike. It has a 327% range of the cassette for efficiency, a bit of a wider tire clearance, and a sturdy front fork. Of course, it already has the gravel tires and wide handlebars. You may choose to pop the fenders off to fit a more purist gravel vibe, but all the essentials for getting started are there.

Ride1Up does have a dedicated gravel bike, the Ride1Up CF Racer 1, which is an already absurdly low-priced carbon frame with excellent components. But if you want to go even more affordable and are good with an aluminum frame, the Roadster V3’s performance will undoubtedly do for gravel rides.

If you’ve come this far in our Ride1Up Roadster V3 review (thanks!!!), let me just recap all the big need-to-know points.

The motor was fantastic; the MIVICE hub motor had great speed, control, and power for making hill-climbing duties light and breezy vs labored and sweaty.

The handling of this bike is sharp. Cornering feels great even at speed, the tires provide nice grip and efficient rolling speeds. As a bonus, those tires have a tubeless-ready kevlar bead. Just add a tubeless Schrader valve and you’re in business.

The price point is very, very competitive for what you’re getting. It’ll likely be a few hundred bucks less than what you’ll find with bikes bearing similar parts. This is a win for DTC brands and a win for saving customers’ cash.

The things that detracted from the ride were so petty and easily remedied that they weren’t worth listing twice. They’re all low-hanging fruit for the brand to fix down the line, or an easy DIY job you can make and amend yourself in minutes.

The Roadster V3 is a well-crafted ride and arguably one of the best e-bikes I’ve ridden all year.

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 theRide1Up Roadster V3 down in our comments section.