Aventon Abound SR Review

New to Aventons cargo line up is the Aventon Abound SR. This is a shorter tail version of the Aventon Abound, which came out earlier last year. We enjoyed the Abound and still have one of our testers riding it today. Here is our review of the Aventon Abound SR

The Abound SR is a class 2 or 3 ebike, depending on how you set it in the menu. The motor is a 36v, 750w rear hub motor with peak power of 950w and this motor produces 80nm of torque. The battery is a Aventon 36v, 20ah, 708wh battery. Both the battery and bike are UL certified.

This bike features a new display unit to pick your three levels of pedal assist along with seeing other information. You can connect to the bike via bluetooth and the Aventon app to fine tune your pedal assist settings as well. The Abound SR is also equipped with the Aventon electronic control unit that offers intelligent safety features like 4G and GPS tracking, remote locking, an alarm system and more. 

Than handlebars are BMX style handlebars and the quill stem has up to 140mm of vertical adjustment. Up front there is a suspension fork with a lockout and the suspension seatpost has 50mm of travel.

The drivetrain is a Shimano Altus 8 speed drivetrain and it uses Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors up front and a 203mm rotor in the rear. It has 20” wheels that have 20×3” tires with reflective sidewalls. There is also a front and a rear light. Included accessories include the rear rack, fenders, rear wheel mesh guards and an e-lock kickstand. On our bike we have some aftermarket accessories which are the Captains chair ($135.99) and passenger pegs($23.99). There are other accessories available as well, like a front rack, panniers, etc.

 The bike comes in weighing 80lbs with a max payload of 440lbs. The estimated range is up to 60mi and the price is $2199

The Abound SR is a solid bike, and right out of the box you can see that it is built well and with intention. Having experience on the original Abound, it was nice to see some of the updates they have made to Abound SR. 

The finish and quality of the bike is solid and has a good component spec with the Shimano 8 speed altus and Tektro brakes. The bike right out of the box was comfortable for me, coming in at 5’8”. I like the BMX style handlebars. Having the vertical adjustability of the stem will make the fit comfortable for riders carrying in size, so can work for multiple people in the household. 

Overall, the cockpit looks nice with the small display, it shows all the info you would want, like speed/distance/pedal assist level. If you really want to take advantage of the some of the bike’s features, you can connect to the Aventon app, where you can see a lot more info and it is easier to navigate the menus on the phone.

After some initial rides I went into the app and adjusted the ride characteristics in the Ride Tune part of the app. I wanted to get more pedal assist with initial pedaling, so I upped that in the curve and now I get a fast response to my initial pedal strokes. It’s cool to be able to do this in each pedal assist level, so you can tune it to your liking. Say you wanted Eco to be stronger and more like sport, you can set that. Or, you could tune eco down more, to get more of an exercise if that is what you want. 

The bike handles well at low speeds when navigating in tighter spaces with the help of the 20” wheels and shorter wheelbase. When going faster the bike also handles well at top speed, and importantly it stops well. Having the rear rack with a few options of accessories enables you to choose how you want to use your bike. Our setup has the captain’s chair and foot pegs, which can hold one passenger in the rear. This chair is solid for a small person that is comfortable on the back of a bike. Since it isn’t full enclosed, you want to make sure the passenger has been on a bike and is able to keep themselves in there safely. I have kept the captain’s chair on as it is also easy enough to strap a backpack to it for riding around town or getting some groceries. There is also a front rack and basket available so you could carry cargo up front and have a passenger on back.

Now for some of the tech features on the bike, one that I have used and is pretty neat is the auto locking kickstand. In the app, you can set the kickstand to lock when you turn the bike off. You can also manually lock it via the app. This won’t fully deter a thief, so make sure you also lock your bike up securely. But it is one extra thing to inconvenience someone from stealing your bike. 

There really wasn’t anything specific that we didn’t enjoy about the Abound SR. One thing of note is that it is a heavier bike, coming in at 80lbs. This will make it more difficult to put on the a more standard car bike rack, which usually max out between 50-60lbs. Additionally that weight makes it harder to lift up any stairs.

The Aventon Abound SR is a great bike to consider for those looking for a more compact, but still capable electric cargo bike. From trips to the market, or commuting to work, the Abound SR can do it all well and with plenty of features to make riding more enjoyable. If you are looking for an electric cargo bike that is capable of your everyday riding and with some cool tech features, the Aventon Abound SR may be the bike for you. 

Price: $2199
Sizes: One Size
Weight: 80lbs
Website: www.Aventon.com