Find the right e-bike to get you zooming from A to B.
City
Low step
While Sinch is a new kid on the New Zealand e-bike block, its founders have a long record of making bicycles – they were behind the Avanti brand.
The Jaunt 2 hits a price point significantly below top-end bikes and, while there are compromises with some of the parts, its performance doesn’t suffer much for it. The step-through design is well-suited to urban riding, but it also handles well at speed and is efficient to pedal.
The bike uses a Shimano drive system that has lots of “oomph”, but it feels a bit unrefined and “pulse-y” unless you turn the pedals smoothly. We didn’t want for power on hills, though, and the assistance kept pushing up to 32km/h. The motor interface is one of the best we tried – the display is clear and thumb controls are very easy to use.
Despite the lower price, you get 9-speed gears, hydraulic disc brakes, a suspension fork, mudguards, a kickstand, built-in lights and a rear rack. Though there’s nothing flashy about the Jaunt 2, there are no weak links either – it’s a bike that should rack up many kilometres without trouble.
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No obvious bad points.
Each e-bike was taken on a test route by two riders. The 5km route in and around Wellington’s CBD included city traffic, fast flat roads, hills, kerbs, wooden bridges and a busy waterfront path shared with pedestrians.
We also put the e-bikes through a gruelling 20km route around Wellington’s Wadestown and Northland suburbs. The main challenge was climbing a 2km-long hill five times at a steady 20km/h (a kilometre of vertical ascent) and descending the same twisty narrow road between climbs. It also included a short, steep section of rough path with a narrow barrier negotiated at walking pace, an undulating 5km of suburban streets, and a steep descent requiring brakes to keep the e-bike to the 50km/h speed limit.
Our riding tests, along with a static assessment of the features and functions of each e-bike, were used to score the performance of the motor system and the bike. Overall score includes:
Motor system (50% of overall score)
Bike (50% of overall score)
$3400
City
Low step
No
S-M / M-L
Shimano
STEPS 6100
Mid
250W
60Nm
32km/h
3
418Wh
Down tube
700mm
50mm
Road
Plastic
Rear mount
9 / Trigger
Suntour 63mm
Disc (hydraulic)
The Right Stuff
Pros
AS featured in your review, this bike is the right combination of high quality equipment and good price. I have owned this bike for 2 months now and would recommend to members.
Cons
No cons or downsides. However you need to be aware that you have to deal with a third party on line sale only. The appointed service agents are well respected, and they take delivery of your purchase directly. They do the demo rides and the after sale check and any service.
Recommend it?
Yes, I recommend this product.
Geoff R.
Used 1 - 3 months