Hands-On: The Aspire Camillien Electric Bike
Hands-On: The Aspire Camillien Electric Bike
8:02

Hands-On: The Aspire Camillien Electric Bike

Tech
Speaker 1: This is the aspire chameleon from IGO electric. It's a fantastic recreational e-bike, that's perfect for any length of commute and looks just as nice as it rides. And if you're a tech enthusiast, then I think you'll really love it. Speaker 1: The aspire chameleon is an all-purpose electric bike, meaning you can ride it on roads, dirt, and gravel with ease and with its two by nine gear range. It allows for a lot of versatility with tackling tough Hills or terrain, [00:00:30] but what's really exciting is how you can tweak and customize the amount of power the rear electric motor will produce. I was lucky enough to have Montreal based. I go electric, shout out to the Homeland, send me this bike to ride and review and spoilers. I love it. First off, the chameleon is gorgeous. At first, when I saw this tan colored bike online, I thought it didn't look all that pleasing, but after seeing it in person me, like in fact, I've had strangers come up to me while I'm locking or unlocking this bike to compliment how nice it looks. [00:01:00] Part of what makes this bike so pretty is it's aluminum alloy frame, which also gives it the added benefit of being lightweight and durable and the smooth welds and aerodynamic flourishes are just the icing on the cake. And just look at this battery. I absolutely love how sleek and compact it is while being integrated right into the frame and handling this 36 volt battery is easy. You just unlock it with the key and it folds out for safe keeping or charging, but you do have the option to charge it while it's connected to the bike. And while plugged in, it has a battery indicator on the [00:01:30] outside. So, you know, when it's ready, Speaker 1: My favorite aspect and arguably the most important is how it feels riding. I'm happy to report that this is one of the smoothest bikes I've ever ridden. When the battery is off, it feels identical to a typical bike. So losing power should be no concern of yours. And with the assist on Hills, turn to butter, especially when paired with one of the lower gears, the chameleon has Shao gear shifters, which I'm not really used to but quickly got the hang of. And they sit right at home with the bikes included, alloy drop handlebar. The [00:02:00] chameleon features five levels of pedal assist that you can control through the display unit on the handlebar. It does not have a throtle. This thing gives you a lot of information and I'm happy to report that it reads fine and bright sunlight on the left. You can see how much voltage you're currently using while riding in the middle is your current speed on the right will be your remaining battery power. Speaker 1: And you can swap this between either a percentage or the remaining voltage in the middle is your current speed. And below it, you can cycle between an odometer, your average speed, [00:02:30] your max speed, length of trip and distance of ride. And since this is a Canadian brand, you can switch everything to metric. Like the majority of the planet uses. It also features a walk mode that went on, pushes the bike at around four miles per hour and is used for when you're walking your bike up a steep hill. There's not much other use for it since four miles per hour is faster than your typical walk speed. So you wouldn't use this on a flat surface. You also have to keep the button held down for it, to stay in this mode and this results in kind of an uncomfortable position for you to [00:03:00] one hand, push it. And for those who like to tinker and tune with their settings, pay attention to this next part. Speaker 1: The chameleon features torque sensors to help assist your ride. This means the bike will push itself forward only when it detects you pedaling. You can choose between three settings for how fast you want the assistance to kick in. When you begin to pedal economy takes the longest at around four seconds to start, but it uses the least amount of power sport mode kicks in right away, but uses the most and standard sits right in the middle. What's very cool is if you want even [00:03:30] more granular control, you can set your own profile for how long you want that delay to be. And you can choose between zero and 10,000 milliseconds. Now, why would you care about how fast the pedal assist turns on? I found that with riding e-bikes, there's a comfort level with knowing when the pedal assist will turn on. If I know I'll be riding up, a lot of Hills sports mode is ideal so that the bike won't wait to help out. Speaker 1: If I happen to stop at a crosswalk or can't always be moving, this mode really helps get me going again from a standstill when gravity is against me. On the [00:04:00] other hand, economy is nice when just commuting around so that my bike doesn't jerk forward when I'm proceeding after a red light, or just slowly weaving around various traffic and other obstacles. For the most part, I left the bike on standby mode for most of the rides, regardless of which setting you choose the bike does a good job of smoothly assisting you. I've also found that you can really accelerate on this thing from a standstill with minimal effort, IGO estimates that the batteries max range is around 56 miles. I was able to use this thing for almost two weeks on a single charge, riding [00:04:30] it for many short trips to and from the gym or the park. Speaker 1: All of these settings can also be adjusted in the IGO connect app that the bike can link to through Bluetooth. The app shows a lot of the same information as the display unit, but on a much larger screen. I will warn you though that the chameleons handle bars don't allow for much additional space. If you're wanting to Mount your phone, you will probably have to secure it to the grip tape portion. So make sure your Mount can support a thicker bar than usual. Apart from being able to customize and set your [00:05:00] writer profile, you can watch a simulation of the app on the go change your language between English and French and have quick access to IGOs, various FAQs and manuals. Lastly, from the main screen, if you swipe left, you can enable off-road mode, which allows the bike to increase the maximum speed from 20 miles per hour to 28 miles per hour, but make sure to check your local regulations before doing this in order not to break any speed limits. One thing I wish the app had is a GPS tracker. Speaker 1: [00:05:30] This brings me to the only real downside with this bike it's price. The aspire chameleon runs for $2,500, which is a lot of money, but it's also a lot of bike. I don't mean to say it's price year than what you're getting. In fact, $2,500 is right in the middle of what an electric bike with these features usually costs. I'm just saying this is an expensive bike to ride around town with as someone whose usual bike only cost him $300. I was a little uncomfortable locking this [00:06:00] bike up and leaving it outside with a product that's expensive. I would highly recommend getting an air tag or some other tracker that you can attach to this and take the battery with you. So no one damages your bike, trying to unlock and steal one of the most expensive parts, which brings me to my next point. Speaker 1: I would never leave this bike outside. The chameleon is waterproof. So weather shouldn't be much of an issue except for ins ensuring the battery doesn't get submerged in water. But with this price tag, I was much more comfortable storing this bike in a secure indoor location. [00:06:30] So you'll wanna make sure you have space for a full bike indoors. I live in a tiny apartment where I barely have enough room for my own bike, let alone this one I'm reviewing. And if stairs are a concern, then you should note that the chameleon weighs 40 pounds, 35 for the bike and five for the battery. Another perk since this is definitely on the lighter side, luckily I go, electric has a slightly cheaper model with almost all of the same features. Aspire refers to a category of e-bike that IGO offers with the chameleon being designed as an all-purpose [00:07:00] ride. Speaker 1: Its sister bike is the aspire VE dome and it focuses more on city riding. The VE dome is a bit cheaper at $2,200 and comes with a built in headlight, fend and rear rack and slimmer road tires. It also has nine gears compared to the chameleons 18. Definitely take a look at both models. If either of them are of interest to you, IGO even offers a seven day try at home policy where they will cover all the return shipping costs. No questions asked. I really loved my time with the aspire [00:07:30] chameleon and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a good all-purpose bike. The versatility it offers between its gear range and the pedal assist customization is great. And of course, it's just so nice to look at. It's definitely become my go-to ride. If you wanna even more e-bike information, then check out our playlist of e-bike videos in there. You'll find lots of examples on more off-road friendly models or even ones that can fold and be stored easily. Thanks so much for watching.

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