Vanpowers City Vanture Ebike Review: Great for Commuters on Smooth Roads

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Specs

Assembly: It’s Like Advanced LEGOs!

Typically, the assembly required for an ebike is minimal. You may have to affix and tighten handlebars, put the seat post in place, or even attach the front and/or back tire. With Vanpowers’ City Vanture ebike, all of the assembly is in your hands—if you want it to be.

For a little extra money, you could order the City Vanture pre-assembled and 90% of the work is done for you. But if you’re adventurous or just interested in seeing how an ebike goes together, the LEGO-like, assemble-it-yourself version is pretty cool. There’s an official City Vanture assembly video you can watch before buying to see if building it yourself looks doable.

All of the major parts are numbered, and there are 20 parts in total, not including any screws or other small pieces. The instruction manual is thorough, and you’re constantly reminded through little notes to ensure that all the numbers are facing up and all arrows are pointing in the correct direction. With all the helpful tips and color-coded port connections, it’d be pretty difficult to build this thing incorrectly.

One of the toughest parts of the entire assembly was in the beginning when feeding the cable through different part holes. Luckily, there’s a zip tie around this port that makes it much easier to pop the cable through. Everything past this point was super simple and just like building a regular piece of furniture.

I had to air up both the tires because they were too low when I finished assembling the ebike, but they haven’t deflated since they’ve been aired up. I also had to retighten the bolts in the handlebars at one point, though this could’ve been due to not properly tightening it in the first place.

Vanpowers also recommends a certain Nm measure for torque with all screws and bolts, but the company doesn’t include a torque wrench to do so with. All other necessary tools are included, and tightening to the point of resistance is an option in lieu of a torque wrench.My only minor complaint with the assembly process was with how the bottom bracket joint was packaged. This part was packed in a cardboard box and taped up, requiring a knife or some other sharp tool to open it. Because I was unaware that the part was right next to the tape and there was nothing protective between the part and the tape, I scratched it. As you can see in the picture above, it’s a decent scratch, but luckily it’s not too noticeable from afar.

As an ebike, the City Vanture isn’t lightweight at just under 35 pounds, but it’s lighter than many other ebikes on the market. That said, this ebike’s lighter weight isn’t surprising with its thin tires, thin frame, and lack of a suspension or gearing system.

One of the design elements I don’t like in the City Vanture is with how close the front tire can get to the pedal. When you start pedaling, you have to be aware of where your shoes are in relation to the front tire. There were a few times I tried to start pedaling with the front tire tilted in the direction I wanted to go, and I’d feel my shoe preventing the tire from moving.

I’d have to straighten the front tire out and roll the bike to face whichever direction I wanted to take off in. I didn’t experience this much at higher speeds because turns were more gentle, requiring the front wheel to turn only slightly.