LEVA Reviews EVELO Aries
Explanation of LEVA Re- views The Light Electric Vehicle Association has about 330 members from about 29 countries. Most are companies or individuals involved in the design, manufacture, distribution, and use of electric bikes and their components. The mission of the LEVA is to promote Light Electric Vehicles. And to provide service to and networking opportunities for the participants. The mission of the LEVA is to promote Light Electric Vehicles. And to provide service to and networking opportunities for the participants in the industry. A often heard request from our members has been that we work toward consistent ways of describing the performance of an electric bike. copyright 2016, Light Electric Vehicle Association may be used with attribution and link to www.levassociation.com This is regarded as a problem, especially at the point of sale. The easiest way to sell an electric bike is to exaggerate the performance! say members. Range, speed, durability, are all subjective, and consumers have little to guide them. A few years ago, LEVA released a testing protocol that quite precisely measures the performance of electric bikes in a laboratory setting. This test is performed for a fee by a third party lab operated by SGS. The result of that test is repeatable, consistent, and accurate. Accompanying that, LEVA issued a protocol for describing the performance of an electric bike. Hopes were that many ebike brands would adopt this protocol and thus enable consumers to reliably compare electric bike performance.
However, the initiative to have the bike tested, the cost, the time involved, and the large numbers of ebike models - each with differing performance - has resulted in only a few bikes being so tested. While LEVA continues to support this objective and accurate approach, performed by SGS, we also heard a demand from our members for a less intensive, but honest and objective, testing / review process. LEVA Reviews is the response to that demand. Test bikes will be tested on a course in Fort Myers, Florida, by one of a handful of test riders, with a data logger installed. The test riders will collect objective data via the data logger, and create subjective evaluations based on their experience and opinions. This information will be written up by LEVA Chairman Edward Benjamin. Errors may occur, the process is not secret, we will listen to criticism. It could be more accurate (the more accurate SGS testing is still available), and we will be frank about possible conflicts of interest. LEVA test results are not for sale, are insulated from influence by members, sponsors, and relationships as much as is humanly possible. Mistakes may be made, and when LEVA is aware of such, they will be corrected. Chairman Ed Benjamin will personally work toward this. LEVA Reviews program results will be published in the LEVA Newsletter, on the LEVA website, and offered to any publication for their use so long as correct attribution is made, and the entire Review is published or linked to. Cost to Ebike brands during the summer of 2016 is small. One bike is needed for the test. LEVA will not return them. Once testing is complete, the bikes will be sold or otherwise disposed of by LEVA. Starting in the fall of 2016, LEVA Reviews program will require said bikes, plus a fee yet to be determined. www.levassociation.com
How to use a LEVA Review: 1. Do not regard the test data as the only possible result. We deliberately run the bike on an unrealistic course. Flat, as close to 20 MPH as we can manage, sunny and hot. The range of any ebike will vary with terrain, temperature, hills, wind, and more. Regard the range as a point of reference - probably the SHORTEST range that the bike will give in typical use. The way the rider operates the bike is important. We do not pedal when the bike has a throttle, and we push for maximum acceleration at each intersection and turn around. 2. Our comments on such things as construction, component selection, appearance may seem casual. But we are experts on the ebike product, its sourcing, and our 40 plus years of experience are working for the reader. 3. Comparing LEVA Reviews is valid. Comparing a LEVA Review to a review from another source is useful, but do not regard it as an absolutely valid comparison. Different process, different people. But if we say it is a good bike, you have a good starting point.
EVELO Aries Supercharged Date: July 28, 2016 This bike is full suspension model, with the 500 watt continuos motor and he 48V 14.5 AH battery. It was equipped as described by the manufacturer s website. Notable equipment: The NuVinci hub is an expensive component, and a very nice enhancement to both convenience and performance. This bike uses a mid mount motor that operates the bicycle crank, chain, and internal hub gear system. That allows a true hybrid of the human and electric power, as well as taking advantage of the bicycle gears (in this case the NuVinci hub) to enhance vehicle performance. This bike also has both a throttle and a speed sensor. When the bike is pedaled, the speed sensor will detect that, and apply power from the motor. However, the throttle overrides that control input, and allows the rider to simply use throttle control. An important point about this bike: The combination of sensor, throttle, and infinitely variable gear hub is both fun, and versatile. We controlled our speed more with the NuVinci hub during the Sunday ride, than with the throttle. We believe that if we configured the choice of throttle setting and gear ratio selection for max range, we would have met the claims for range on EVELO s website. For the data logger ride on the flat bike path... We decided to test the bike using only the throttle. This, we thought, would make the test more comparable to other bikes. But we note that if the rider pedals the range of the bike would be greatly extended. This would be the result if the rider depended upon the speed sensor rather than the throttle. We kept the bike in highest gear, for the most part. This is a harsh test of range.
Test Rider: Michael Chichester. Michael is an expert electric bike rider, having built and used ebikes for personal transport for several years. He is an LEVA Level 4 Technician. He weighs 138 pounds. The test course was the 10 Mile Canal Bicycle Path in Fort Myers Florida. The day was warm 95F / 35 C, with 50% humidity and 5-7 mph winds. During the test ride, it was sunny, and anything dark colored become too hot to touch. (This would result in higher temperatures in the battery box). This path is flat. There is a slight rise on one bridge. There are only a couple of intersecting roads. During the test ride, the bike was equipped with a data logger and a Cycle Analyst. We found that the average speed, vehicle weight, power of the motor, and battery capacity to be as advertised on the EVELO website. See summary below. Michael s subjective evaluation: Handsome and comfortable bike. Very good ride, powerful and smooth. The speed sensor was not as comfortable to use as the torque sensors on some bikes, but since this bike is primarily a throttle controlled bike, this did not seem important. Welds and paint all very nice. Components installed correctly and securely. A notable feature was the excellent packaging. (photos). The bike was securely fastened and padded, and then double boxed. Even though the outer box had been roughly treated and suffered damage in transit, the bike and inner box were pristine. And, The Sunday Ride Evaluation: Sunday Rides are less formal and without the data logger. In this case the rider was Edward Benjamin, 225 lbs, on a sunny, 90 f morning on the flat bike path. 2 hours of riding yielded these comments:
Quite comfortable. The suspension works well, the seat was a good choice, and the bike handled well. Powerful motor accelerated me through several larger intersections quite nicely. Bike can cruise above 20 mph, but I kept the speed down to a casual ride in the park. Two hours of riding, and the battery SOC indicator still indicated more than 75% full. The battery is a large, quality battery, but this was impressive performance even so. Bicycle equipment all worked well. Good component selection How to use the data supplied: In this Review, we supply a screen shot of the Cycle Analyst Data Logger report. This device is a product of Grin Technologies (www.ebikes.ca). Once a test ride is complete, we go to the Grin Technologies web- site, and upload the data on bike performance and GPS file to the Grin Trip Analyzer. http://www.ebikes.ca/tools/trip-analyzer.html Included in this report is a screen shot of the results. Which are summarized below.
copyright 2016, Light Electric Vehicle Association may be used with attribution and link to www.levassociation.com If the Reader wishes to have more info, simply send an email to info@l- EVAssociation.com. We will answer questions, and if requested, we will email you the data files so that you can examine them yourself.
copyright 2016, Light Electric Vehicle Association may be used with attribution and link to www.levassociation.com! Conflict of interest disclaimer: EVELO is a customer of ecycleelectric and a LEVA member. A friendly relationship exists. However, the data here is sincere and not affected by this history. The following specifications and images are from the EVELO website: 7 DAY AT-HOME TRIAL 20 MPH MAX SPEED 60 MILES MAX RANGE
TRANSFORM YOUR RIDING EXPERIENCE copyright 2016, Light Electric Vehicle Association may be used with attribution and link to www.levassociation.com Imagine instead of worrying about gears as you encounter a change in terrain, you make it easier to climb a hill or go faster on flat ground by the turn of a dial and a visual display. A big hill? Just turn up the volume and the NuVinci N380 will do the rest.
A MOTOR THAT WORKS WITH YOU Our Mid-Drive Motor system allows you to use your existing gears, so the motor works with you Enjoy the pedal-assist mode with the motor giving you a power boost or switch into electric-only mode and simply twist the throttle and the bike will propel itself. e SPECS SIZING MOTOR Patented Brushless Motor, 250W Continuous/400W Peak OR, 500W Continuous/750W Peak BATTERY Lithium Polymer 36V10Ah, 48V10Ah or 48V14.5Ah, depend- ing on model
CHARGER 36V 110-220V Lithium Battery Charger (4-6 hours for a full charge) MAXIMUM SPEED 20 miles per hour (can be increased to 25 MPH in off-road mode with SuperCharged 500W Motor) RANGE Estimated 40 miles on pedal-assist or 20 miles on electric- only (30-60 miles with 48V14.5Ah battery) ELECTRIC ASSIST Multiple levels, plus electric-only (via throttle) FRAME Aluminum Alloy Dual-Suspension (Leonis) The 250W model includes a rear spring coil shock (HTL-620); 500W models copyright 2016, Light Electric Vehicle Association may be used with attribution and link to www.levassociation.com are equipped with an A5 Kind Air Shock.
FORK RockShox XC28. WHEEL 26 Inch TIRE Kenda 26 x 1.95 BRAKES Avid BB5 Mechanical Disc Brake SEAT Velo STEM Tonaro TDS-C215 Adjustable
SPEEDS NuVinci Continuous Variable Transmission SHIFTERS NuVinci C8 PEDALS Wellgo LIGHTS Spinnga Front & Rear Lights SPEEDOMETER LCD Speedometer Included copyright 2016, Light Electric Vehicle Association may be used with attribution and link to www.levassociation.com FENDER
All-weather Front Fenders REAR RACK Full-Size Standard BICYCLE WEIGHT (WITHOUT BATTERY) 59 pounds (61 pounds with NuVinci) BATTERY WEIGHT 36V10Ah 8 pounds; 36V17Ah 9 pounds