Great for Commuters on Smooth Roads – Review Geek

Though you can order the City Vanture pre-assembled, you can also opt to build it yourself from about 20 pieces and save a bit of money. This city commuter ebike can easily handle smooth roads and sidewalks, has a battery range of 50 miles and a max speed of 25 mph, and comfortably fits riders between five-foot-eight-inches and six-foot-three-inches.

Testing ebikes is easily one of the best parts of my job, and just when I think I’ve seen everything, Vanpowers reaches out about trying out the LEGO-like City Vanture ebike. I built this thing from scratch, and it’s a great contender among other commuter ebikes—as long as you’re tall enough.

The ideal rider height Vanpowers recommends for this ebike is between 5’8″ and 6’3″, which doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for smaller riders. I’m hoping there may be a smaller frame option in the future because building this ebike was a fun experience. If anyone complimented me on my City Vanture ebike, I loved being able to say, “Thanks, I built it.”

With thin tires, a slim frame, and a quiet motor and belt drive, Vanpowers’ City Vanture was made to be a stealthy, undercover ebike. The only way people will be able to tell you’re on an ebike is when you zoom past them going almost 25 mph. When you’re going that fast though, you’d hope for a comfier seat, gears to switch between, or a suspension system—all things the City Vanture lacks.

If you’re interested in the City Vanture, here’s everything you need to know about its features, battery life, and how it rides.

Specs

Assembly: It’s Like Advanced LEGOs!

Typically, the assembly required for an ebike is minimal. You may have to affix and tighten handlebars, put the seat post in place, or even attach the front and/or back tire. With Vanpowers’ City Vanture ebike, all of the assembly is in your hands—if you want it to be.

For a little extra money, you could order the City Vanture pre-assembled and 90% of the work is done for you. But if you’re adventurous or just interested in seeing how an ebike goes together, the LEGO-like, assemble-it-yourself version is pretty cool. There’s an official City Vanture assembly video you can watch before buying to see if building it yourself looks doable.

All of the major parts are numbered, and there are 20 parts in total, not including any screws or other small pieces. The instruction manual is thorough, and you’re constantly reminded through little notes to ensure that all the numbers are facing up and all arrows are pointing in the correct direction. With all the helpful tips and color-coded port connections, it’d be pretty difficult to build this thing incorrectly.

One of the toughest parts of the entire assembly was in the beginning when feeding the cable through different part holes. Luckily, there’s a zip tie around this port that makes it much easier to pop the cable through. Everything past this point was super simple and just like building a regular piece of furniture.

I had to air up both the tires because they were too low when I finished assembling the ebike, but they haven’t deflated since they’ve been aired up. I also had to retighten the bolts in the handlebars at one point, though this could’ve been due to not properly tightening it in the first place.

The instructions recommend tightening bolts—in both the handlebars and the frame itself—in a very specific pattern for at least five cycles. I’m sure that I either didn’t tighten them in the proper cycle the first time or things got jostled a bit when I transported the ebike in my car.

Vanpowers also recommends a certain Nm measure for torque with all screws and bolts, but the company doesn’t include a torque wrench to do so with. All other necessary tools are included, and tightening to the point of resistance is an option in lieu of a torque wrench.

My only minor complaint with the assembly process was with how the bottom bracket joint was packaged. This part was packed in a cardboard box and taped up, requiring a knife or some other sharp tool to open it. Because I was unaware that the part was right next to the tape and there was nothing protective between the part and the tape, I scratched it. As you can see in the picture above, it’s a decent scratch, but luckily it’s not too noticeable from afar.

In hindsight, I could have cut through the tape just on the short sides of the box and just enough on the long side so I could pull the box open with my hands. But there was no indication on the box that the part would be that close to the surface and to be careful when opening to avoid scratching.

Design & Adjustability: It Barely Looks Like an Ebike

The City Vanture has a sleek, minimalistic design that doesn’t look much like an ebike. It’s very inconspicuous because many of the cables are hidden and the battery is thin and stored in the downtube.

It also doesn’t sound like an ebike, thanks to the Gates Carbon Drive belt. Unlike a metal chain, the drive belt makes your ride incredibly quiet, prevents rust, and reduces maintenance. The motor is whisper-quiet, too, despite it packing a 350W punch.

The 700C x 28C Kenda Tires are thin and made for the roads, but they handle flat grass pretty well too. When I came across holes or cracks in the concrete, the tires seemed to struggle slightly, so I wish they were just a little bit fatter. If you live in an area with great roads, this won’t be a concern, but if you have a lot of cracked sidewalks or potholes you can’t avoid on your way to work, this might not be the commuter bike for you.

As an ebike, the City Vanture isn’t lightweight at just under 35 pounds, but it’s lighter than many other ebikes on the market. That said, this ebike’s lighter weight isn’t surprising with its thin tires, thin frame, and lack of a suspension or gearing system.

One of the design elements I don’t like in the City Vanture is with how close the front tire can get to the pedal. When you start pedaling, you have to be aware of where your shoes are in relation to the front tire. There were a few times I tried to start pedaling with the front tire tilted in the direction I wanted to go, and I’d feel my shoe preventing the tire from moving.

I’d have to straighten the front tire out and roll the bike to face whichever direction I wanted to take off in. I didn’t experience this much at higher speeds because turns were more gentle, requiring the front wheel to turn only slightly.

I’m not a huge fan of the ideal rider height for the City Vanture either because it seems like too small of a range. The recommended height range for this ebike is between 5’8″ and 6’3″, though without being able to adjust the handlebars to a higher position, I don’t think the City Vanture would be as comfortable for those above 6-foot.

You can adjust the seat up and down, but that’s the only adjustment that can be made on Vanpowers’ City Vanture. There’s a rear reflector positioned under the saddle that can be removed to accommodate a slightly lower rider height, but it wasn’t recommended in the instructions. I’m 5’5″ and I was able to ride the bike relatively comfortably with the seat lowered all the way down and some hiking boots that gave me an extra inch-or-two boost in height.

The average height of a woman in the United States is 5’4″, and there are plenty of people who fall below this average. It’d be nice to see Vanpowers add a step-through frame or a smaller step-over frame to accommodate lower heights.

Lastly, if you order the Infinite Silver color, it comes with a Brown Justek Urban saddle, but any of the other four colors come with the Black Selle Royal saddle. The black saddle isn’t as uncomfortable as other ebikes, but I wish you could choose which saddle you received when you make your order because the brown saddle looks a lot wider and comfier, ideal for a long commute.

The Riding Experience: Good, But Could Be Better

For the most part, the City Vanture ebike provides a pleasant riding experience. It’s definitely commuter-focused, which is how it’s advertised. It’s great on smooth roads, and even decent on flat grass, but when you add in cracked sidewalks, bumpy roads, or steep inclines, things get a bit tougher.

I took the ebike offroad on a few small hills just to see how it would handle rougher terrain. I didn’t fall off the bike at all and I never felt too unstable to stop, but it wasn’t the smoothest ride. With no suspension system, this didn’t surprise me.

Even though the City Vanture isn’t meant to be an offroad bike, a suspension system would still have been a nice addition because roads aren’t always completely flat and free of potholes or cracks. With this ebike’s sturdy, slightly uncomfortable seat, a suspension system would have made the riding experience much smoother. Buying a plush seat cushion can help relieve some of the discomfort, though Vanpowers doesn’t offer any specifically for the City Vanture yet.

This ebike uses a cadence sensor, which responds as soon as you start pedaling and only increases motor power when you adjust the pedal-assist level. The alternative would be a torque sensor, which measures how much force you apply to the pedals and tells the motor to deliver more power the harder you pedal. Torque sensors are the better technology, but they are more expensive, so the City Vanture ebike keeps costs down by opting for a cadence sensor.

Because it’s equipped with a cadence sensor rather than a torque sensor, the City Vanture requires a bit more effort to get started. I didn’t find this to be an issue because I’d always make sure one pedal was all the way at the top so I could push off with max force. By riding this way, the bike’s motor always kicked in within a few seconds.

Although the City Vanture has a max speed of 25 mph, it doesn’t feel comfortable to ride that fast. The bike doesn’t have a gearing system, which by itself is a con, but this means that when you’re going above 20 mph, your feet are spinning wildly fast to make the bike go faster. If there was a gearing system, even something with only three gears, it’d be easier to pedal against resistance to reach a higher speed. On average, I stuck around 15 mph in pedal-assist level three while pedaling at a normal speed.

There are six pedal-assist levels to switch between. There’s a pedal-assist level zero, which means you won’t be getting any help from the motor. Then, switching between pedal-assist levels one through five affects how fast you’re going without changing the level of pedaling you’re already doing.

I think this is why it felt so weird to be in pedal-assist level five. Pedaling at a natural rate, at least for me, resulted in a max speed of about 18 mph. To try and reach the max of 25 mph, I had to pedal faster with no resistance, which felt like it could potentially be dangerous at such high speeds if my foot slipped off the pedal or I otherwise got tripped up.

With such a light frame, pedaling the City Vanture without any motor assistance felt pretty great. Because it’s heavier than a traditional bike, it feels a bit heavier to ride manually, especially right after you’ve experienced pedal-assist, but it’s doable and it’ll give you a good workout.

The Tektro Hydraulic Disc brakes feel great, and I felt comfortable stopping from any speed. There was one instance where I was going roughly 20 mph and my back wheel got caught in a crack in the middle of a residential street, and my back tire spun out a bit. Even in this panicked situation, I was able to regain control of the bike and come to a complete stop while I composed myself. With a commuter ebike like this, it’s great that Vanpowers opted for the more expensive hydraulic brake choice rather than mechanical brakes.

Another aspect of my riding experience I enjoyed was the display. I love that it’s waterproof, just in case you spill something or accidentally get caught in a bit of rain before you reach your destination. It looks quite stylish, and it’s a larger display, so everything you need to see at a glance while riding is right there.

Battery Range & Charging: Pretty Standard

With its built-in battery, the City Vanture ebike can last for up to 50 miles in between charges, depending on which pedal-assist level you use. If you purchase the additional battery, which attaches to the frame of your ebike just like a water bottle holder, you can get an extra 30 miles added to the City Vanture’s range.

Just like most ebikes, the City Vanture’s estimated range is pretty accurate. After riding for a little more than 10 miles and primarily using pedal-assist level two or three, I was down to four out of five battery percentage ticks on the display. It’s nice to know that even if the battery did run out, the ebike is easy to pedal with no power assist, provided your route is relatively smooth without much incline.

Fully charging the battery from zero takes about two to three hours. If your daily commute was about 10 miles in total, it may take you 30 minutes or so to top up the battery. You shouldn’t leave an ebike charging overnight, but if you plug it in as soon as you get home and go eat dinner, it’ll probably be charged by the time you’re done eating. The charging brick has an indicator light that stays red while charging and turns green when the bike is fully charged.

Verdict: A Great Option for Tall City Commuters

Overall, the Vanpowers City Vanture ebike provides a fairly well-balanced riding experience for commuters, but it seems to be made for a very specific group of customers. If you’re between 5’8″ and 6″ and in the market for an ebike to tackle smooth city roads, this ebike would be a smart, cost-effective option.

For riders above 6-foot, however, the lack of height adjustability in the handlebars might be a dealbreaker. The City Vanture does recommend an ideal rider height up to 6’3″ but it’s worth noting that my 5’8″ husband was complaining about being a little hunched over to reach the handlebars. For riders slightly below the 5’8″ mark, you could remove the rear reflector and wear taller shoes, but at that point, why not opt for another ebike like the Fiido X or the RadRunner 2.