The very first thing most cyclists do earlier than driving a brand new bike is to accurately dimension the body, adjusting to verify the standover clearance, seat tube size, and attain are all the best match. The Bronco has a one-size-fits-all body marketed to suit heights from 5′ 4” to six’ 5”. My 5′ 9” self was too tall to comfortably pedal, my knees virtually hitting my chest on each stroke.
Once I stopped pedaling, nonetheless, tooling round city utilizing solely the throttle, straddling the bike far again on the seat like I used to be driving a Ducati, it was a fabulously enjoyable journey.
Seashore Burner
There’s a downside to a throttle-only pleasure journey on a Class II bike, nonetheless. First, the bike feels prefer it ought to fly, however legally it tops out at 20 mph, which is mostly slower than pedaling an analog bike on flats. I additionally rapidly chewed via 25 % of the battery energy in lower than an hour whereas driving on steep metropolis streets. (No off-road testing was obtainable on account of snowy trails.)
{Photograph}: Stephanie Pearson
Chilly temperatures are notoriously onerous on ebike batteries, so the diminishing battery might be the results of 30-degree and beneath temperatures on testing days, however I nonetheless needed to flip again on my meant take a look at route as a result of I feared being caught out in the dead of night with a lifeless battery.
The wintry testing circumstances weren’t optimum, so I attempted to offer the bike the advantage of the doubt. What’s a extra excellent state of affairs for this bucking Bronco? The optimum rider is somebody both shorter than 5′ 9”, who can lengthen the battery life with pedaling, or it’s a Bronco fan who has a pair grand to burn on nostalgia-provoking toys.
Particularly, it’s for somebody who needs to take the Bronco tenting south of the border, the place the bike is supposed to journey wild and free over stretches of sandy again roads to a neighborhood market that sells recent ceviche and chilly beer.
