Centauri II

I am in love with my Centauri II. In two months of owning it I've ridden 450miles! This has been such a pleasant surprise because I didn't bike much before. I've been riding my e-bike for all my errands, summer fun, and often to work. If something is 35min or closer to my home, I'm hopping on my e-bike. I don't arrive exhausted, and hills are a breeze. The auto-shift feature is really seamless. It gives me one less thing to think about while riding and I always feel really immersed in being outside! Having a mid-drive motor is fantastic, it makes riding the e-bike feel really natural. The assist is working in proportion to how much effort I'm putting into pedaling. It's a very smooth ride. The suspension on the front wheel is absolutely key for Portland streets. When I used to rent the City e-bikes, I'd always get off with a headache because our streets are so bumpy. But the Centauri can handle it! I asked for the handlebars to be switched out for their Easy City Handlebars for a more upright riding position and that's very comfortable for me. The staff at V Volt are top notch. I was very relaxed when I went to the store to test ride. They answered all my questions and paid great attention to detail assembling my bike for me to pick up. It feels great knowing it will be worry-free to reach out if I ever have any issues. Public transit tips: Picture is of my e-bike riding the FX2 bus in Portland, OR. I can usually bet on getting on the green bendy FX2 bus where you can roll your bike on through the back door (pictured). After a few rides, the bus's rack did mess with my front fender. So keep an eye on that. I have also been able to load my e-bike onto the front rack of a regular bus. The hardest part there is that since the Centauri tires are a little thicker than normal, they got really cozy in the bus front rack. I had to really pull to pull the bike up and out of the rack. The employee who sold me the bike gave me some tips for hanging the Centauri on MAX, but I haven't tried that yet.

I rode my last e-bike for 10,000+km to commute through snow and salt for three winters in upstate new york. I purchased mint-green Lyra because she is a better fit for new jersey's laws after my move and I liked the internal transmission and higher torque but lower horsepower for mountain road recreational riding. Less horsepower means that I am moving a bit slower in Lyra, but the roads here often demand this anyway. I was impressed by how comfortable and effortless she is on level ground. Lyra glides very well on level terrain. Lyra is impressively nimble and sure-footed even when going down this area's rugged and somewhat eroded gravel roads. With the higher torque motor, I do find that she continues to deliver noticeable assistance on steeper inclines than my last bike and is better balanced and easier to control. I like that the designers were consistent in sizing so that a limited number of tools needed to be carried for maintenance and repairwork. I am carrying 1/4 the tools with me that I used to in case of emergency and it's glorious. This would be a glowing 5-star review if not for one big problem. What brings this bike down to 3/5 stars is that the drivetrain isn't engineered to a proper specification of force that a human (me, a 90kg bookish nerd) can apply to a pedal. I keep pedalling with more force than the drivetrain can take and feeling it strip. This has now happened five times in my first 500 km, and this makes me fear for her longevity. It's a shame because I really like her in spite of this. Today's ride had her strip twice, once when I pedaled hard trying to start from a stop, and the second when I tried to add some extra oomph on a gentle incline. The rest of the way home after the second she was creaking with my pedal downstrokes independent of the pedal-assist level. This mirrors the quality of the omni-tool that came with the bike. It was a cool idea to make a single multi-tool that had everything that this bike needed. Unfortunately, the omni-tool kept breaking apart, and one of the allen wrenches stripped while replacing a fender that got damaged in shipping (they sent me a new one for free to replace it - thanks!). The tool was a cool idea, but it fell apart. At least it served as a great guide for assembling my final toolbag.

Cons: Not the most streamlined looking*. Battery, charging cable, and port handling is pretty finicky to get going in addition to carrying around as a whole; seal is difficult to open/close. Motor cut-off occurs after peddling has stopped, momentarily providing unwanted motion to the bike. Implementation of throttle “boost button” is unintuitive; not as straightforward as it should be. The included multitool falls apart often and is very cluttered. Care and maintenance of the bicycle is more commonly discoverable on the website rather than the physical manual—a lot of important information is not present upon product arrival. Wishes: Blinkers. An Included “café” lock. Seat post shock versus the mono fork shock perhaps. Non-plastic tube caps. Center mounted leg kick stand would be nice for loading/unloading, engaging on either side, and keeping the bike more stable. Bicycle headlights aren’t the most helpful compared to a helmet light that can be pointed in any direction or even a rear mounted helmet red light that won’t be blocked by rear cargo. Pros: *Very cute though! The speed options are perfectly tuned. Love the belt for all that it’s known for. This thing’s torque accelerates so fast that leg power might as well be obsolete. Very accessibly priced. Tires add ample cushion on various terrains. Including fenders is very helpful. Simple, unobtrusive tech. Capable tower. Aerodynamic enough that wind doesn’t knock you over. Coming from a VanMoof S3, (R.I.P.) though I’m not a professional rider I am experienced with bicycles in this category. And this bike is awesome!