Pedal Electric AWD II Review (Ebike)
UPDATE (2023) I have had my bike for quite a while now and you know what? I love it! The first few months I was sour on the bike due to the issues described below, but I have forgiven Pedal and now I really enjoy riding it. It takes some practice to learn how to ride the bike in a battery-efficient manner (see related article) but once you get that down, you’ll really enjoy it. Honestly, I consider myself an “e-bike guy” now and center my entire personality around it. I am much more likely to hop on my bike and go to the store, Chipotle or what have you then drive. When it comes down to it, im not sure I would trade my Pedal AWD II for anything else.
I originally wrote this on the Pedal Electric website as a product review, but it never seemed to show up :(
DISCLAIMER: If you read other reviews on the Pedal website, it's evident that the majority of the people are happy with their bikes. This review only reflects my experience and I’ll reiterate that I think Pedal is full of good, well-meaning people. Scaling a company is hard!
The Review
It’s very hard to figure out how to score and review the bike since I received it in late February and have barely been able to ride it since it has been stuck in a repair shop since early March.
Strike 1, the instruction booklet they sent in the order email was incorrect and mentioned a skewer style wheel axle, but the bike I received used nuts and wheel stays, not a skewer. I guessed how the wheel should be fixed onto the frame and I’m pretty sure I got it right, but that was strike 1.
Strike 2, a bolt was missing to attach the rear cargo rack, I was able to get creative with a spare bolt I had lying around… but at this point, I was getting concerned.
Strike 3, the instruction booklet made no mention of how to attach the front fender. I scoured the website and got excited when I found a build video, but somehow it skipped over installing the front fender. Again, I guessed and I’m pretty sure I got it right, but I was highly annoyed that I had to guess.
Then the biggy (Strike 4)….once I had the bike assembled to the best of my ability, I was shocked to discover the right-hand-side brakes didn’t work. There was absolutely no resistance when I clenched the brake handle. In other words, I had only one set of working brakes. Holy smokes! Good thing I checked before I took a ride! Strikes 4, 5, 6, and 7.
I emailed their customer support about the brake issue and I got a response relatively quickly and I was passed off to a tech who could help.
The technician I emailed with is very nice and I believe meant well, but they only addressed my concern with the brakes while other concerns with the instructions and missing bolt seemed to be overlooked. In any case, after having to prod them for a response a couple of times it was determined the brakes were leaking and they sent me some replacement parts with the intention that they would reimburse me for the repair costs, which seemed fine with me.
However, after dropping off the bike I got a call a few days later that the brakes had been installed cross-threaded and the entire brake assembly needed to be replaced. Ugh. I received a new brake assembly in the mail after a few days and took it to the shop. Got a call a few days later from the shop that the motor cut-off switch was different…. GREAT! That was a few weeks ago, since then my bike shop has generously tried to get ahold of Pedal for me at their hello@pedalelectric.com email, it’s not their customer service email, but it is listed on the website and when I asked if their email was received I got a “nope”. Over the last few days, I have been trying to expedite things but I tend to get sparse responses, and sometimes it can take multiple follow-ups to get a response. I choose to believe they’re just busy.
I was able to get a replacement bolt for the rear cargo rack, but it did take some prodding.
I was able to get a few test rides in before getting it to the shop, but that’s a whole other level of disappointment. With only one working brake, I have to avoid any major hills and busy streets (hard in the Seattle suburbs).
Anyways, only my first ride I was making good headway on my test ride on flat-ish ground, and the battery life seemed in line with what was claimed for a while… until there was a STEEP drop on the meter after about 9–10 miles. It went from full to about 25% all of a sudden!
At that point, I had to turn around and head back. I ran out of battery about 4 miles from home and had to call for a ride. The total trip distance was about 14 miles according to google maps. I did go up and down a few small hills, but the crazy part was I pedaled a fair amount up the hills! So, about 45 miles short of their claimed battery life.
I thought it might be an anomaly, but the disappointing range has been consistent over 4 rides, sadly.
To be fair, I am a bigger dude and there are hills, but again, I did a fair amount of pedaling so there for sure is a mismatch of expectations. I would be fine with 30 miles of range… BUT 14 miles? Talk about range anxiety.
The Positives
- It’s a decent size bike that fits my 6’1 frame comfortably.
- Unlike a lot of other electric bikes, you can pedal it fairly comfortably… and be prepared to if your bike only gets about 15 miles of range!
- The ride is smooth, the rear suspension works great!
- It’s fun as hell to ride.
Other Small Nitpicks
- There was a dirty footprint on the seat. Actually kind of funny if you think about it. Cleaned off easy enough.
- The tracking number was incorrect. I emailed their support after the tracking number didn’t register for a few days. They got back to me with a new tracking number pretty quickly.
Youtube Video of a recent ride through Downtown Kirkland.
When the bike is working and you’re not about to run out of Battery (aka you the meter is at least half full) it really is a fun ride!
Update:
After getting my bike back (after being in the shop for several weeks), the left-hand side brakes stopped working. I had to take it back, wait again for the part to come, and get my brake pads changed after only a couple dozen miles.
The tech at the repair shop also pointed out the rotor adapter is incorrect and has been leading to a lot of the extra squeaks and noises I hear while riding.
Riding Tips
If you bought a Pedal or are thinking of buying a Pedal, this article may help!
