Van Moof Power Bank
- Thread starter Biker man
- Start date
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Jenkins
Legendary Member
- Location
- Felixstowe
There was a review in the last Cycling Plus issue: https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/electric-bikes/vanmoof-s3-review/
I've also test ridden a VanMoof S3 without the powerbank and, if they did one with conventional gearing instead of the automatic change, I'd have purchased it as a commuter bike. It's a comfortable ride, good brakes and, as set up at the London shop, a surprising turn of speed from standstill but that may have been due to the power settings which I was sent out with. They look to have a decent range on the lower power setting and the powerbank would add a decent chunk or allow a good range on the higher settings.
I love the distinctive styling, but where it went wrong was the automatic gearbox. You can set it up in the app to change at whatever speed you want, but there is no manual override (or I was not told of one) so, if you went over the 15.5mph assistance cut off and the road started to up a bit, there was no way to drop a gear or two to keep the speed by increasing your cadence. That may just be me having a bit of a 'push on' style of riding 'though.
However if you are happy to keep to around the assistance cut off speed, this would make an ideal around town or commuting bike and I've still not ruled one out completely. It's one of these or the Ribble Hybrid AL e at some point.
I've also test ridden a VanMoof S3 without the powerbank and, if they did one with conventional gearing instead of the automatic change, I'd have purchased it as a commuter bike. It's a comfortable ride, good brakes and, as set up at the London shop, a surprising turn of speed from standstill but that may have been due to the power settings which I was sent out with. They look to have a decent range on the lower power setting and the powerbank would add a decent chunk or allow a good range on the higher settings.
I love the distinctive styling, but where it went wrong was the automatic gearbox. You can set it up in the app to change at whatever speed you want, but there is no manual override (or I was not told of one) so, if you went over the 15.5mph assistance cut off and the road started to up a bit, there was no way to drop a gear or two to keep the speed by increasing your cadence. That may just be me having a bit of a 'push on' style of riding 'though.
However if you are happy to keep to around the assistance cut off speed, this would make an ideal around town or commuting bike and I've still not ruled one out completely. It's one of these or the Ribble Hybrid AL e at some point.
