Commuter bikes don’t come with the same limitations that many other bikes do. Mountain bikes must glide gracefully over all kinds of abusive terrain; road bikes need to blend high performance with enough comfort to allow riders to stay in the saddle for hours. All a commuter bike needs to do is get you from A to B comfortably and reliably on regular roads with minimal fuss.
So it was surprising how rarely the commuter bikes I tested got it right. At the lower end of the price scale, as you might expect, the compromises required take a toll on the experience. The high-end overcomes these shortcomings, but at prices comparable to high-end bikes from specialized categories. I’ve never come across something in the middle of the two: affordable, uncompromising.
But maybe I just found my ideal commuter bike: Velotric Discover 3. It’s comfortable, has a great combination of components, and comes in at just under $2,000.
Improvements all around
Velotric’s first entry into this line, discovery 1It was a promising start for the company. While definitely in the “compromises needed” category, the flaws were relatively minor and carefully chosen. Since then, the company has expanded considerably, introduced many new models, started working with local dealers in the US, and went a little higher.
The third iteration of Discover shows high-level action. It’s about twice the price of the original Discover, but you get a lot for the price. Gone is the hub motor, replaced by a mid-frame motor made under contract for Velotric.
While there’s still a cadence sensor you can select through the menu, the Discover uses a torque sensor by default, which provides more integration with pedaling. Cadence sensors simply register when pedaling; a torque sensor records how much power you apply to the cranks. The latter makes the electric assist feel more like this: an aid to your legs rather than a replacement for effort.
