HOVSCO Electric Bike for Adults, 1000W Motor Torque Sensor Ebike 28Mph, 48V 15AH Removable Battery 60Miles Electric Cargo Bike, 20" Fat Tire Commuter Electric Bicycle, 7-Speed Gear,450lbs Playload

It's my first e-bike, I chose the cargo since I wanted to drop off and pick up my little ones at school. The school is located on top of the hill but this bike makes it so easy. I get lots of compliments on how cool this bike looks. It looks great, functions great, my kids enjoy the ride, I'm very happy with my purchase. I'm a petit woman (5'2 105lb), so before receiving the bike I was little concerned that it could be too big and heavy to push around but surprisingly it's not that heavy and not that hard to handle even with the kids on the back. While it's on the move it's very balanced and stable even when I go very slow speed. It arrived with a minor damage on a fender but the customer support responds in a timely manner and I'm waiting on a replacement to be stocked.

> NOTE: Due to the issue with my first controller this bike still has few miles on it. I will absolutely update this review accordingly if anything changes.Overall summary (tl;dr):This bike looks and performs exceptionally for its price bracket. The customer service has been amazing by my measure. They use high-quality components like hydraulic brakes and integrated lights that you'll actually want to use. If you're expecting to carry 300+lbs and live in a mountainous area you won't get the advertised range but this is true for *all* ebikes (yes, even lectric who specifically advertises they don't misrepresent range - see range section). If you expect to carry lots of weight and live in an area with steep hillls I recommend following the "1 mile per AH" rule of thumb instead. The 15AH battery ended up being almost exactly 15miles range for me with ~380lbs combined rider+cargo weight on these treacherous Seattle hills. They do offer a 20AH battery for a bit more range on the website if you need it - I think I may order one.See the end for a list of the accessories I use.Customer service experienceI ordered my bike some time ago but got unlucky so I've waited to write this review. My bike had a bad controller that burnt out after my 3rd actual trip on it (test drives around the block omitted). Customer support quickly identified the problem and after a few basic troubleshooting steps + pictures sent. Unfortunately, I did have to wait quite some time to get the part due to supply chain issues but the process was painless overall. I finally replaced the controller yesterday and the bike is back to new again!Out of box experienceI consider the out of box experience average. There are some parts to put together, but the bike comes mostly pre-assembled. It comes with all the tools you need for assembly and should be able to be put together somewhat effortlessly. For me specifically, I customized several things so it took me quite a while. I'll list those customizations and accessories in a later section. I highly recommend using wire snips to remove all of the zip ties, as I used a knife and nicked the paint before realizing I should have done that instead. The paint was exceptional and bright, I get several compliments from random strangers as I ride. I'm guessing like with everything new, once it gets a good layer of dirt on it people won't be stopping me so often.AppThe app for android honestly sucks. It wouldn't scan the QR code for me no matter what I did, and I have a current-year flagship phone so I know it isn't the phone. I ended up needing to call customer support, but the answer was simply to use my fingers to pinch to zoom in then it would scan. Once I was in, I was able to change from class 2 to class 3 and basically never used the app again. That said, I also see no need for the app - everything is accessible to you right there using the buttons on the handlebars.Overall bike performanceThe performance and handling of this bike I would consider way better than expected. I'm a big guy, so not just any bike is up to the task of lugging me + my cargo up and down these hills. I already said this in the tl;dr up top, but it's worth repeating that It comes with more premium components such as hydraulic brakes and japanese shimano drive-train. It also has a built-in headlight and tail light that indicates braking that I find very sufficient. Other bikes I've gotten have come with these just to "check a box" and they weren't actually any good.Features/ProsThis bike has all the features you might expect from a modern day ebike with many upgraded components. Examples:- Throttle- Torque sensor- Front suspension with lockout- Fixed ergonomic handlebar grips- 180mm tektro hydraulic brakes- Shimano drive train with derailleur guard (guard is super important)- Class 2 & 3 toggle-able- Headlight + functional tail light- Fat knobby tires with good grip (3") - caution, 2" is the limit for many bike racks (in particular, public transportation)- Walk mode (hold "PAS minus" for several seconds while in PAS level 0 to activate)- Double kickstand prevents tipping- Easy upright riding position with high rise handlebars- Very high quality battery with large bright LED strip that's actually useful in breakdown or camping situationsDesign flaws/Cons- The handlebars have no cross-member and honestly should because you really can't mount a cell phone without one.- The handlebars being high-rise cause interference with whatever is in the front cargo basket forcing you to keep pretty short luggage in the front cargo basket. You may need to store shorter items than you would have otherwise expected, or find a way to store it safely- Storing things in the front cargo basket can easily block the headlight. If this impacts you I recommend considering adding a cross-member with a secondary headlight to it.- The battery is honestly a touch too small for a bike with this capacity if you ask me. Although my circumstances are very unusual, I fully expected to easily make my 17 mile commute to work with a range advertised as 60 miles - more than 3x my commute. Imagine my surprise when at 15 miles I found myself having to charge at a coffee shop on a shady part of town explaining to my boss why I was going to be an hour late to work.Torque vs Cadence Sensor - SafetyWhat sets this bike apart from most bikes like it is the fact that it uses a torque sensor. I would wager you'll want this even if you don't care about the exercise aspect.I would go as far as to say I consider cadence sensors to be so impractical in slow precise movement scenarios (i.e. around pedestrians) that they are dangerous and entirely unsafe in these scenarios.For example, I was riding a bike with a cadence sensor on PAS level 5 up a very steep hill. Near the top I slowed to the point that I got off and began walking the bike for the final bit. When I reached the top there was a large 4 way stop so I pressed the pedestrian crosswalk button to safely get to the side I needed to be. My shin pressed up against the pedal just enough to activate the cadence sensor giving it full power, thrusting the bike and me nearly into traffic. Had that happened on this bike it would have still given power but not even close to as much because the pressure on the pedal was so little.I also found I simply need to dismount when in situations where I'm near a crowd of pedestrians because of the lack of precise control. There are some ways you can improve these things on some cadence sensor bikes, but - in my opinion - the fact remains it's an inferior technology and these are really just management techniques employed only to compensate for using the wrong type of mechanism.Torque vs Cadence Sensor - How they workMost ebikes (like my other ebike which I won't name), especially the cargo variety, use a cadence sensor. Even if you're familiar with a cadence sensor, I'm going to explain because I think most descriptions I've heard suck. Keep in mind in the following section I am breezing over the details and giving an idealized example here. Cadence sensors have lots of bonus features that help with these shortcomings such as ramp-up speed, but I've intentionally omitted these details in favor of a more crisp explanation since none of these features come close to becoming an equivalent to a torque sensor.Essentially, most ebikes (torque and cadence sensors alike) have a PAS (pedal assist) level of 0-5. 0 is off, 1 is up to say 4 miles per hour, all the way up to 5 being max miles per hour (20mph for class b, 28mph for class c). With a cadence sensor, so long as the pedals are moving *at all* it will give you 100% power until you reach the target speed, then for any speed exceeding that give you 0% power. This results in what essentially amounts to the bike locking you to the speed for that PAS level.The way a torque sensor works is essentially it adds additional power in proportion to the input power with the amount of additional power being scaled by the set PAS level, capping out at the PAS level's max mph value (i.e. 28mph for cadence). This may on the surface seem very similar but the implications are deeper than they sound. This makes the riding experience very different from a cadence sensor, because you can, for example, pedal lighter/slower to go slower (on a cadence sensor bike you absolutely must reduce the PAS level to something matching the desired mph because pedaling slower will not slow you down). When you need to do slow and precise movements, like going around pedestrians or positioning yourself to hit a pedestrian crosswalk button, you will have WAY more control over the bike than a cadence sensor (see previous section on safety).Torque vs Cadence Sensor - ExerciseThe torque sensor + throttle gives the rider the ability to exercise as much as they like (or, more accurately, as much as they can) then switch to having the bike do the work. This was a must-have feature for me as the entire reason I wanted an e-bike is to be more active and get in shape while still being able to make it to my destination if I don't have the strength to do it alone.With a cadence sensor, since it simply gets you to the given mph for the current PAS level it does not incentive you to exercise. At first, the trick of just giving power until a certain speed works because your brain thinks pedaling is helping you go faster. Sadly, eventually you will consciously and subconsciously figure out that it doesn't matter how hard or soft you turn the pedals, the actual speed you go is functionally identical and there's really no point in pedaling harder. So if you're fat and lazy like me, you will find yourself automatically not pedaling harder because why bother.With a torque sensor the bike actually responds to you which breaks this lazy brain cycle where I find myself mindlessly not helping the bike move along.Recommended Accessories- Handlebar crossbar "GoolRC Universal Strengthen 22-25mm Hand Motorcycle Strengthen Balance Handlebar Crossbar Motocross Handle Bar Balance Beam B"- Helmet rated for class 3 bikes- Handlebar Jack- Cell phone mount "COICER Bike Phone Holder, Motorcycle Phone Mount Motorcycle Handlebar Cell Phone Clamp"- Cup holders "MIZATTO 2 Pack Bike Cup Holder - Water Bottle Holder for Bike, Boat, Scooter, Wheelchair etc"- Seat suspension post - "Zoom Mountain Bike Suspension Seatpost SP405TW". Requires 27.2 to 30.4 seatpost shim to fit. The one I got was "GANOPPER 100mm Long Seatpot Shim 22.2 25.4 26.6 27.2 to 28.6 30 30.4 30.9 31.6 31.8 33.9 34.9 36 Alloy Bicycle Seat Post Tube Adapter"- Horn/alarm "SOWUNO 126Db Bicycle Electric Horn Rechargeable Bike Alarm Bells Loud Bike Horns for Adults Waterproof Motorcycle Horn Anti-Theft Vibration Alarm for Road Mountain Bike|Motorcycle|Scooters etc"- Front panniers "Rhinowalk Bike Front Pannier Bag Fork Bag Waterproof Bicycle Rack Bag Shoulder Bag for E-Scooter Mountain Bike Accessories -Black, 4L"x2- Bone conduction headphones (the cheap ones work great, actually) "PURERINA Bone Conduction Headphones Open Ear Headphones Bluetooth 5.2 Sports Wireless Earphones with Built-in Mic, Sweat Resistant Headset for Running, Cycling, Hiking, Driving"- Portable air pump/battery bank "CYCPLUS Electric Air Compressor Portable Bicycle Pump Car Tire Inflator, Max 150 PSI, Auto Shut-Off Air Pump with Presta and Schrader Valves for All Bicycles Motorcycles and Cars（White)"- Flat Out tire sealant- Tannus tire armor "Tannus Unisex's Armour Puncture Round Protection, high Grip with Low Rolling Resistance, Easy Assembly, Reusable, Free tyre and Tread Selection, red, 20 x 3.0-4.0"- Dog trailer - "Sepnine & Leonpets Dog cart of 2 in1 Large Pet Dog Bike Trailer Bicycle Carrier and Jogger,Orange" (perfect color match) - also requires larger trailer hitch designed for ebikes "15 mm/.60 inch Angled Booyah Bike Bicycle Trailer Hitch for Electric Bikes"if you plan to ride below 40F- Handlebar Mittens- Rain pants "33,000ft Men's Rain Pants, Waterproof Rain Over Pants, Windproof Outdoor Pants for Hiking, Fishing"- Proper cold-weather riding gear, i.e. merino wool socks, balaclava, wind and water proof outer shell with warm down inner layer, rain pants, shoe gaiters, goggles, etc.

You can get more specs on other cargos for the price but at reduced quality and performance. Some of the stand-out features are a torque sensor, 450 lb. load, Sutto motor, and a 2 year warranty.

Pros- Beautiful bike with integrated battery. In my opinion it is the best looking cargo bike out there. Hydraulic brakes. Front suspension. Torque sensor. Top notch finishes. HOVSCO app for you iPhone is pretty cool. Excellent customer service before and after the purchase.Cons- I have other e-bikes and the Sutto rear hub motor on this cargo bike is not as smooth and quiet as the Bafang motor on my other bikes. The handlebars should have a crossbar to mount a cup holder, cell phone holder etc.Overall the pros overwhelm the cons. I love this bike and would definitely purchase again.