An honest review of the Velotric Thunder1 ST. A Fitness E-Bike.

First of all, great value for $1,000, the Black Friday sale is a steal.

The cons (few) Okay, I’ll start with the bad. 6 hours to charge for a projected 3 hours of riding time or “up to 52 miles” as velotric claimed themselves. If velotric were to release a newer, higher amperage charger, and/or a range extender, this would solve that problem. Secondly, this bike is 100% possible to pedal without assistance. I can easily push 18-20 mph on flats. No assistance. With incredibly minimal drag. Having an 8 speed gear range really helps to manage riding with no assistance. That being said, whether it’s the extra components in the drivetrain (the torque sensor.) Or possibly, it’s just some sort of reverse placebo effect with motor cutting out and me having to suddenly do all the work. But the bike feels…? ever so slightly harder to pedal than my acoustic Trek Marlin 5 which only weighs in 3 pounds less than this bike. A little harder than you would expect a 3 lb. difference to make. But, it is truly a bicycle. One that you can realistically pedal with no assistance with relative ease. If you’re used to riding bikes, you’ll never be stranded anywhere.

Lastly, top speed of 20 mph. Not that I really need to go faster than that, but the motor does cut out on at 22ish mph. And you can definitely feel that motor cutting out. This is unlockable up to 25 mph. But it voids the warranty!? I end up just turning it off once I go faster than the cut off or going downhill, or if I just wanna pedal on my own. This is honestly kind of a positive because this is after all a fitness e-bike.

The pros (many) Torque sensor! This thing is absolute butter. It is the same as riding a regular bike with much less resistance. Kinda like having super human strength. From a stand still, or from off mode to PAS. The motor slightly jolts you forward from. Starting from a lower gear from a stand still seems to be a little less jumpy. When riding and going from off mode to on, there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do. But, The kick is minimal and it might, at best, send you a foot or two a little faster than you expect The battery. (For context: I weigh 165 pounds) OOTB it came with 10 miles of range idk if that counts but. Anyway, First range test, with a pretty liberal use of all PAS modes, I was able to get 34 miles with about 1,100 feet of climbing at an average speed of 17 mph. Second range test I rode about 25% of the time with the bike in off mode. Mostly on flats where I already had a lot of speed and the motor cut out anyway, or downhills. & then about 70% of the other time in eco, the other 5% in various PAS modes. & I was able to achieve 44 miles with about 1,400 feet of climbing at an average speed of about 16 mph. So, I wasn’t able to get 52 miles. But, considering climbing along with my aggressive riding style. Pushing the bike to 22ish mph in eco, I think the battery is pretty in-line with my expectations. Velotric delivered here on that small battery. The power. For an avid acoustic cyclist like myself, A 350W motor on a 36 pound bike is plenty of power. Even up the steepest of hills, with the 8 range gear set, and five levels of PAS -effectively creating a quasi 35 range gear set- you’ll never find yourself in trouble, never leaving your saddle. Believe me, you’ll know you’re going uphill because it certainly will not be effortless. But, again, it’s a fitness e-bike, it’s made for a workout, you know what you’re getting yourself into with this style of e-bike. On the flats and even up slight inclines, I rarely find myself leaving the first PAS, green mode. Which I can easily push to that 22ish mph motor cut off speed. The other 4 I used simply to test. Occasionally, on the really steep hills I use PAS 2 and 3. But hey, it’s an e-bike after all! So why not!? The sound. The motor is incredibly quiet. There’s a very faint, teeny, tiny, very quiet, little jet engine like sound if you listen for it, but you block it out mostly. The bike. I’m about 5’9” and a medium bike fits me like a glove after a saddle adjustment. You get a Shimano Altus derailleur with an 8 speed cassette. A step up from their lowest level derailleur I believe. Works very nice and smoothly so far after a few barrel adjustments to fix 5th gear skipping. My Trek Marlin 5 has the Derailleur from Shimano a level below this one, and it’s lasted thousands of miles. So, this Altus should work fine here. The breaks are fantastic, really a lot of stopping power on them. Maybe because there is no motor sensor cut off like on other e-bikes. But, if you didn’t even know that’s a thing, you would be none the wiser as it makes no difference on this 350W, 36 pound bike. The frame is a rigid fork, no suspension, but bumps aren’t terrible, and welds are of good quality. Plus the closed thru axel on the front just looks so clean. The tires are good: 700x40c puncture proof road tires. But I think maybe a wider, more gravel-type tire might better suit my style of riding. The rims are pretty standard aluminum rims. The hub is fine. All in all, there is at least $500 of brand new bike here. Probably a little more.

Conclusion Again, An absolute steal if you’re in the market for this style of e bike, AND can get the Black Friday sale for $1,000. If you’re someone who is on the fence about e-bikes or think that they’re cheating because you “don’t exercise.” Then this is the e-bike to change your mind. My heart rate only dropped 15 bpm. My overall score on this e-bike is a 9/10. With a potential range extender and/or faster charger, then that score would increase. This bike has delivered on basically everything I had hoped for. As a first time e-biker, I wish I had made this switch sooner.