The Revv 1 Electric Bike is Super Fun, Not Super Practical

The Revv 1 from Ride1Up is an electric bike that looks more like a moped. It features front and rear suspension, along with a very large, comfortable seat to make cruising feel smooth even when reaching speeds of over 30 miles per hour. It's super fun to ride but for a lot of people it won't be super practical for everyday use.

The Revv 1 retails for $2,400, on the higher end of standard e-bike prices, but I feel like you get more than just standard features with this bike. I tested the graphite gray model with full suspension, 20-by-4-inch e-moped fat tires, front and rear fenders and a kickstand.

The bike also comes in a cheaper $1,900 hardtail variant (without rear suspension) as well as a moss green color option. The hardtail also has slightly different tires and a bit smaller battery. 

I think if you're already considering dropping two grand on an ebike you might as well splurge a bit and get the full suspension model, unless the extra 10 pounds (4.5kg) makes a difference to you. 

Pedal power

The Revv 1 is a single gear e-bike with five levels of pedal assist. About a year ago, my co-worker Logan Moy reviewed Segway's C80 eMoped; he believed including pedals allowed the C80 to sidestep similar restrictions of a gas-powered moped, such as needing insurance, and I think that's what's happening here. 

But I don't find the pedals on the Revv 1 very comfortable. They position my feet a little too far back and my legs can't extend far enough for me to get much power out of them. The seat is a motorcycle-like, cafe-style saddle, so you can scooch back in order to straighten your legs a bit more, but then you have to lean farther to reach the handlebars. There isn't a perfect solution. 

As a result, I feel like I'm riding a kid's bike or just one that's too small for me. I know it's not an issue with the bike's frame size, since the height range for the Revv 1 is 5.2 to 6.3 feet (1.6 - 1.9m) and I'm exactly 6 feet/1.8m tall. 

Even though I don't use the pedals that much, they're still a nice backup if the battery runs out. However, pedaling this is kinda rough since you probably won't be able to use the full force of your legs and the bike is so heavy at 93 pounds/42.2kg.

I haven't tried it myself, but you might even be able to fit two people on the seat? Just keep in mind that Ride1Up says this bike's max weight load is 350 lbs.

I pretty much use the throttle exclusively when riding it. By twisting the right-side handlebar, the throttle engages and the bike takes off immediately and quite smoothly. In that regard, I am pretty much treating this bike like a moped. In fact, my rep at Ride1Up even recommends not using the pedals and focusing primarily on the throttle.

Whether you're pedaling using the assist or just relying on the throttle, this bike offers a couple of speed options. Ride1Up ships the Revv 1 preprogrammed as a Class 2 e-bike, allowing for speeds of up to 20 miles per hour (32.2 kph). The bike also has a Class 3 off-road mode you enable through the display, which unlocks speeds up to about 30 mph (48.3 kph); it's one of the main reasons this bike is so fun to ride. 

A massive 52-volt, 20-Ah battery powers a 750-watt geared-hub Bafang motor. Ride1Up claims that this provides around 30 to 60 miles (48.3 to 96.6 km) on a single charge, but the ranges vary based on how much assist you're using. In my case, this is the longest running battery I've experienced, since I normally don't use the throttle as often as I do with the Revv 1. That's not surprising since this is also the biggest and heaviest e-bike battery I've spent time with. 

Handlebar controls

The Revv1 is equipped with both front and rear lights. That rear light brightens when either of the brakes are pressed, and you can boost the headlight brightness by pressing the power button. From there, you can then toggle the light's beam up and down using a switch on the right handlebar.

Under that toggle is another switch that controls the turn signals located at the front and rear of the bike. I haven't tested an e-bike with turn signals before, so this was novel for me. Below that switch is a button that triggers the horn -- one that's really loud.

On the left handlebar, hidden below the power button is a secret USB port. When the battery is on, pressing the M button will drive power to it for charging a device. This is really useful if you have a phone mount and want to use Google Maps or Pokemon Go while riding, for example. Ride1Up offers a $24 standard vice-grip phone mount. It does hold my phone fairly securely, but my inner worrywort wishes something was holding the top of the phone as well. 

The bike features a two-tone LCD display, probably the nicest looking one I've seen on an e-bike. The large number in the middle is your current speed while the left side shows your current pedal assist. You can adjust those by pressing the plus and minus buttons above the power button. Holding down the minus button will enable the bike's walk mode, which helps propel the bike up hills if you're not riding it. Under the current speed is a distance section that automatically toggles between an odometer and your trip length. Next to that is a speed section that toggles between your ride's average and maximum speeds. The top-right corner shows the remaining battery life.

Ride1Up also sells an optional $100 storage cage that fits into the center gap of the bike. It's useful for carrying extra stuff since you can't attach a standard rear bicycle rack to the Revv 1. It attaches to the four screws located on top of the motor. These screws are also positioned so you can fit other accessories, like a water bottle holder.

Fun, but a confusing buy

The Revv 1 sits in a weird middle ground between bike and moped. But it's heavy, which makes it a tough sell if you live in a tiny walk up like I do and need to store your bike inside your apartment. Since it's technically still a bicycle with pedals, you can't just leave it outside without chaining it to something. A standard moped won't work without the key in the ignition so you have more options for where to park, but someone could just pedal away with the Revv 1, whether the battery is attached or not. 

The size also makes locking it to standard bike stands a bit more awkward since it won't fit everywhere and takes up so much space. On top of that, the speed you can achieve on this thing almost makes using bike lanes feel counterproductive since you move so fast through them. Even if you ride slowly, the bike still looks like a motorcycle, which belongs on the road with the cars. 

So when operating on throttle, it all leads to a funny visual: I try to ride mainly in the vehicle lane, but I can only go around 30 miles an hour, yet I'm riding something that looks like it should be as fast as a motorcycle. 

I've had a ton of fun riding around on the Revv 1, reaching speeds I've never hit on a bike or e-bike before and which has all those cool features in the handlebar. It's hard to compare this to a typical e-bike since it's so much closer to an electric moped, but even then it lacks some of the features you'd expect from a model in that category. I'm very happy I got to try this thing out and had a lot of fun zooming around, but I don't know how practical it actually is.