Design 
Quality of Materials 
Value for Money 
Craftsmanship 
Packaging 
Customer Service I have a simple problem.
Everything is a mile or two from my house.
Driving is overkill.
Walking is great, till you’re crunched for time and suddenly out for a sweaty, impromptu run.
Sadly, I like my face just a little too much to barrel downhill on a skateboard.
And after watching enough people whizz by on ebikes—having as much fun as a kid who grew just tall enough to ride a roller coaster—I caved in and got one.
I’ve been cruising around on Aventon’s Pace 500 Next-Gen, an ebike that’s touted as having the perfect balance between comfort, power, and price. I’ve noted pros, cons, and everything you’d possibly need to know about this ebike to decide if it’s for you.
Here’s where the rubber meets the road.
What is Aventon?
“Form. Freedom. Function.” is Aventon’s mantra and the approach they take in designing and executing every product they produce.
Aventon was founded in Los Angeles in 2012 by two friends with a fierce passion for and knowledge of the cycling industry.
Juanwei Zhang and Augusto Peraza III had an inkling that, even amidst a crowded and growing market, they could elevate ebike technology and performance to new heights.
Today, Aventon is one of the best makers of ebikes on the market, with a snazzy lineup of ebikes for various riding needs and styles. Aventon also sells equipment ranging from lights, locks, and helmets, to bags, baskets, and racks to deck out your ride exactly how you like.
In Spanish, “Aventón” means to “give a ride” or “a push,” a fitting name for the brand the founders envisioned.
Things to Consider Before Buying an eBike from Aventon
A great ebike gives you a serious boost that would toast an ordinary bicycle and come closer to matching the power of a basic moped.
Some ebikes only offer pedal assist, in which the motor is engaged to boost you forward and help you pedal. Others also offer a throttle, in which you can crank on a handle or knob to take off without pedaling at all.
Aventon makes seven different models with categories for commuting, fat tire, folding, off road, road & cruise, and step-through.
Most of their ebikes have about a 40-mile range and top out at 28mph. All of Aventon’s ebikes feature sleek, ergonomic designs that are both comfortable and stylish.
Depending on the model, these ebikes are a terrific solution for guys looking to zip to and from work, do some off-roading, take a lounge set-up to the beach, or just explore their city on two wheels. This is a sporty commuter cruiser that toes the line between a performance ebike and something you can respectably wheel into the office.
The Pace 500 Next-Gen is the follow-up to Aventon’s original, award-winning Pace 500 and what I’ve been flying around on for the past couple of weeks. Keep reading for my detailed breakdown.
The Pace 500 Next-Gen is a remarkably sleek, comfortable, and powerful cruiser with an impressive top speed and range for its price point. If you’re new to ebikes but want to enter the game with some serious momentum, this bad boy serves up the ideal mix of features.
Aventon Pace 500 Next-Gen Review
I live in sunny Santa Barbara, California where we’ve got hills and trails, bumpy boardwalks, and sandy cement. I took the Pace 500 Next-Gen across all of it to see how it held up.
Assembly & First Impression
The Pace 500 Next-Gen comes in well, a really big box. I slid this onto my patio, cut it open, and laid out the various pieces.
The frame, rear tire and motor, and handlebars come as one piece, and the front tire and seat come as separate pieces. You’ll also find two small boxes. One houses the charger, the other houses the pedals and tools you’ll need to assemble this bad boy.
It took me about an hour and some change to fully assemble the bike, adjust it to my preferences, and double-check each nut and bolt were tight before I hit the streets.
There’s a printed manual you can reference or a handy QR code to scan directly inside the small box with the tools in it. The QR code leads you to a tutorial video. I opted for that, pausing the video as needed to complete each step in the sequence.
Most of the steps are fairly straightforward but there’s a couple to take extra care in.
When you lift the forks onto the front wheel, look between the two forks to be sure the tire is centered and going to spin smoothly. It might take a bit of finagling to get the wheel perfectly centered before you tighten down the lug nuts.
When you’re attaching the handlebars, make sure the height and angle feel comfortable for you and ensure they are aligned with the front tire before you tighten everything down.
Comfort, Handling & Ride Quality
Soaring over train tracks like a getaway film.
Unlike some performance ebikes that force you to crouch forward and scrunch yourself up, the Pace 500 Next-Gen features an upright cruiser frame geometry that keeps your back straight.
Let the teenager punks enjoy their hunched-over performance models and stick to an upright seating position for a world of difference in terms of comfort and practicality. If you’re going to be biking for several miles at a time or wearing a tucked-in shirt, this is the way to go.
The pedal assist and throttle allow you to decide how much of a boost you want at any given time.
This ebike comes with curvy, s-shaped handlebars that look sporty and feel great to hold on to. In fact, the Pace 500 Next-Gen is Aventon’s only model with an adjustable stem, meaning you can raise and lower the handlebars to your ideal position.
This ebike is what’s called a fully rigid bike, which means it doesn’t have any shocks or form of suspension. This usually leads to a bumpier ride, but Aventon has smoothed it out with several features.
The 2.2” puncture-proof tires significantly soften your ride along with a cushy yet firm Velo Comfort saddle that provides ample support. But, since there isn’t any suspension or shocks on the front fork, I think a suspension seat would have been a simple add that would have better damped bumps or changes in terrain.
At 50lbs, this ebike is ridiculously light for the power and range it gives you, and you’ll appreciate that lightness around corners and up hills. It gives the Pace 500 Next-Gen a certain nimbleness that clunkier ebikes lack.
Launching forward on straight aways and quickly taking turns all while sitting upright is the bread and butter of the Pace 500 Next-Gen.
This has the comfort of a beach cruiser with the power and speed of any model on the market. If Tommy Bahama and Tesla teamed up to make an ebike, this might be it.
Motor, Battery, and Drivetrain Performance
Ready to sink your teeth into the technical details and geek out a little?
When you lift up the hood, or excuse me, check the back tire, you’ll find a 48V, 500w brushless rear motor hub. This propels the ebike forward through the rear wheel and provides enough power that without pedaling, you can hit 20mph and stay there for 30 miles with just the throttle alone.
The battery is a removable lithium-ion 48V with LG cells that sits beautifully flush against the ebike and unlocks with a key to pop out for convenient charging. The battery on the first generation Pace 500 sat on top of the frame and stuck out like a sore thumb.
Visually, this is a big upgrade from this ebike’s predecessor. You can tell the Aventon team went to great lengths to fix this aesthetic and the result is a sleek, flush battery that flows with the shape of the frame.
Maybe it’s because I’ve only held the dainty battery of my electric shaver or because my roommate doesn’t let me get close to his electric car, but the Pace 500’s battery feels super substantial and well-built in your hands.
You are given two keys with each ebike to unlock the battery and slide it off the frame for charging. It typically takes only 4-5 hours to fully charge the battery.
The Pace 500 Next-Gen is equipped with a Shimano Altus 8-speed Drivetrain. If you haven’t heard of them, Shimano is an ultra-respected performance cycling manufacturer that’s been producing high-end cycling parts since 1921.
What’s worth noting is that Aventon didn’t cheap out on the good stuff. The cassette, derailleur, and shifter are all made by Shimano. This makes for smoother shifting, smoother pedaling, and really smoother everything.
Braking and Safety Features
One of the most impressive features about the Pace 500 Next-Gen is that it has hydraulic disk brakes. These can be costly to add on and aren’t typically found on more affordable ebikes.
Disk brakes give you a faster, more secure halt and are much better than the little rubber stopper breaks you’ve probably seen on cheaper bikes. That being said, fresh out of the box, the back breaks emitted a high-pitched squeal when I squeezed them slowly to a stop. I’m hoping this lets up as they “break” in (yeah, pun intended).
It’s recommended that you “bed in” new brakes to avoid that high-pitched squeal. Bedding in brakes is the process of heating up your brakes and cooling them down to even out the material and get rid of squeals or vibrations. You can do this by intentionally speeding up, then slowing back down with your brakes, using friction to create some heat.
Let’s talk about lights.
The Pace 500 Next-Gen comes with integrated red tail lights that turn on when you brake and a 40 lux headlight that might make someone think a BMW is tailing them, until they turn around and realize they’re about to get burned by an ebike.
Smartphone App
By downloading the Aventon app, you can see where your ebike’s battery stands, track miles and rides, and even turn the headlight on and off remotely.
The app also features an odometer, total cycling time, total calories, max speed, average speed, and total C02 you’ve reduced by riding an ebike instead of driving.
Data on the app is synced through the color display screen on the center of the handlebars.
The app is a nice way to see how much you’ve been riding and track your ebike if it got stolen. Although, I wish Aventon designed a way to lock up the ebike through the app, which would add increased protection.
Customer Service and Warranty
Aventon gives you a standard 1-year warranty on the Pace 500 Next-Gen and customer support through tutorial videos and messaging with their customer support team.
The website also features a “community” tab with tons of different videos showing how people are taking their Aventon ebikes on all types of adventures.
I noticed a few people complaining about experiencing delayed responses from Aventon’s customer service team, but every post I saw about that had since been addressed.
If you’re thinking about snagging a Pace 500 Next-Gen but want to take it for a spin first, you can find a dealer near you to go try one out.
Aventon Pace 500 vs 350: What Are the Key Differences?
The Pace 350 Next-Gen model is the less powerful version of the Pace 500 Next-Gen.
The Pace 350 is $300 cheaper, coming in at $1,399. As far as ebikes go, this is an exceptionally approachable price point and Aventon designed this model to help make ebikes accessible to everyone.
Visually, the two ebikes look the same—the difference is in the motor and battery capabilities.
The Pace 350 is cheaper because it has a 36V, 350w brushless hub motor and 36V battery as opposed to the Pace 500’s 48V, 500w brushless hub motor and 48V battery.
The Pace 350 is considered a class II ebike as it tops out at 20mph on pedal assist. The Pace 500 is a class III ebike that tops out at 28mph on pedal assist.
Lastly, the Pace 500 is an 8-speed ebike, while the Pace 350 is only 7-speeds and the Pace 500 has hydraulic disk brakes while the Pace 350 only has mechanical disk brakes.
What Do Other Reviewers Say?
The Pace 500 Next-Gen has thousands of 5-star reviews from men and women alike.
Some dudes happily pointed out that this model was more powerful than they expected. And a lot of guys who claimed to have done a ton of research on ebikes, deduced that the Pace 500 Next-Gen is one of the best bang for your buck options out there.
A few guys noted that while the ebike itself was excellent, Aventon’s customer service could use some work as they had to wait a while to get a response back from their team.
Most guys loved how quality the acceleration and brakes were and I agree with them on both of those fronts.
My Thoughts Overall on the Aventon Pace 500 Next-Gen
What I Like
Aventon nailed the balance of comfort, performance, and power in the Pace 500 Next-Gen.
A 40-mile range and 28mph top speed is extremely impressive for this price point.
This ebike is equipped with both 5-level pedal assist and a throttle for two different types of boost.
The upright cruiser frame puts you in an especially comfortable riding position.
The integrated rail and headlights are both sleek and safe to have directly on the ebike.
Having an 8-speed Shimano drivetrain, cassette, derailleur, and shifter makes for buttery-smooth shifting.
This ebike is lightweight given how powerful it is.
What I Don’t Like
The hydraulic disk brakes might squeal as you’re breaking them in.
There’s no suspension or shocks on this model.
The app doesn’t have a safety feature to lock the ebike remotely.
Who Is the Aventon Pace 500 eBike for?
The Pace 500 Next-Gen is a versatile ebike for guys who are commuting to and from work, wanting to jet around and explore their city, or just those going out for casual, cruisy rides.
The Pace 500 Next-Gen has a sleek, sporty frame that’s stylish, but also looks like something a put-together adult would ride. It’s not the knobby-tired Mad Max Fury Road racers you might see youngins rocketing by on in your neighborhood.
The Verdict
The Pace 500 Next-Gen is a powerful cruiser that strikes a fragile balance between performance, power, and comfort at a killer price point.
The upright cruiser frame geometry prevents you from hunching over into an uncomfortable balled-up riding position and the 2.2” puncture-proof tires soften bumps for a smooth ride.
The 48V motor and battery deliver a 40-mile range and a top speed of 20mph with the throttle alone, or up to 28mph with pedal assist. That’s a hugely impressive range and top speed for any ebike on the market.
The integrated tail lights and headlights built directly into the ebike are terrific safety features that give you great visibility on the road during day or night.
If you’re new to ebikes but want to enter the game with some serious momentum, the Aventon Pace 500 Next-Gen serves up the ideal mix of features.
The Pace 500 Next-Gen is a remarkably sleek, comfortable, and powerful cruiser with an impressive top speed and range for its price point. If you’re new to ebikes but want to enter the game with some serious momentum, this bad boy serves up the ideal mix of features.
FAQs
What class is an Aventon Pace 500 Next-Gen?
Are Aventon eBikes good quality?
Aventon was founded by two guys with plenty of cycling industry knowledge and it shows in their various ebikes. Aventon’s lineup favors “form, freedom, and function” and most of their ebikes pack serious power and range for their price point.
Are Aventon bikes made in China?
Aventon’s ebikes are made in their own factory in China and further assembled and inspected at the headquarters in Ontario, California.
