The E-Bike That Costs One Cent Less Than a Grand
The Takeaway: The Pace 350 is a Class 2 e-bike with big wheels, wide tires, and a long enough range (30 miles) to run around town or commute to work—for (finally!) less than a grand.
At $999.99, it’s one of the most affordable e-bikes on the market right now.
It’s Class 2, meaning its pedal assist tops out at 20 mph—and it has a throttle.
You get a 7-speed drivetrain, 27.5-inch wheels, and 2.2-inch wide tires.
Price: $1,000 (minus a penny)
Weight: 45.9 lb. (M)
If you’ve been an electric-bike window shopper all these years, now is the time to step inside and consider a purchase. The Aventon Pace 350 just made it easier (as in more affordable) to stop wishing and start riding. For a thousand bucks you get a Class 2 e-bike (that means it tops out at 20 mph and has a throttle), 27.5-inch wheels that move you forward even faster, a 7-speed Shimano Tourney drivetrain, and five levels of e-assist. Aventon claims you’ll get about 30 miles on one charge depending on how you’re using your Pace 350. (As with any e-bike, when you factor in hills, wind, assist mode, rider weight, and all that fun stuff, range isn’t an exact science.)
Aventon Pace 350 Details
Style: E-bike, Class 2, commuter/city/urban
Material: Double-butted aluminum alloy
Drivetrain: Shimano Tourney 7-speed
Motor: Rear-hub, 350-watt, 20mph brushless motor
Battery: Lithium-ion, 36v with Samsung cells
Range: 30 miles, claimed
Chainring: 44t
Cassette: 14-28t
Wheel size: 27.5-inch
Brakes: Tektro mechanical disc w/safety motor cut-off sensor
Tires: Kenda Kwick Seven.5 e-rated, 2.2-inch
Of course, almost anytime something is cheaper than its more expensive counterparts, there are sure to be trade-offs—which isn’t to say the Pace 350 isn’t up for the job, it merely means that in order to keep the price low, Aventon had to find places to save money. To keep the 350 under a grand, says Aventon’s VP of eCommerce Justin Christopher, the company spec’d it with more economical components than its more expensive Pace 500 (which, at $1,400, is also a helluva deal). “The Pace 350 will be a good choice for riders who don’t want or need the very peppy acceleration of the Pace 500.”
Even so, the bike certainly is peppy enough to hang with the best of them. Quick (but not too) off the start line, steady as she goes, geared to handle moderate (even slightly steep) climbs, comfortable upright position, and a throttle to boot. It’s not for the all-or-nothing cyclist who wants to step on the gas and break land-speed records; it’s aimed at the casual one who rides mostly bike paths, rail trails, or boardwalks and wants a little help when the road heads skyward. According to Christopher, Aventon expects the 350 to be ridden at the top end of its speed range less often [than the 500].
Aventon’s Other E-Bike Model (the 500)
For an additional $400, you can opt for the Pace 500, which goes 28 mph (8 more than the 350) and comes with a Shimano Altus 8-speed drivetrain (one step and one speed up from the 350’s Shimano Tourney 7-speed drivetrain). The 500 gets hydraulic disc brakes (compared with the 350’s mechanical discs), a 500w hub-driven motor (versus the 350’s 350w motor), and a 48v battery (the 350’s is 36v). Both models share the same frame and geometry and are available in step-through and non-ST (Aventon calls it traditional) models. The 500 comes in white and celeste (step-through) and black and sand (non-ST); the 350 comes in white and amethyst (step-through) and black and white (non-ST). Both step-through models come in sizes small and medium; the traditional models come in small, medium, and large.
5 Things We Love About the Pace 350
Customizable Display
A large (3¾ x 2¼-inch) display unit, mounted on the stem, puts all of your functions directly in front of you for easier viewing. In addition to the typical data you need to know on the kind of bike that could leave you stranded far from home—remaining battery life, current speed, assist mode, and trip distance—it also tells you max and average speed, system mileage, and whether or not walk mode is engaged. The screen has a backlight option with three levels of brightness, will alert you if something’s screwy, and offers two trip-distance logs (A and B). Toggling between all of these functions is done using the up, down, and M buttons on the control unit. It’s a lot to remember. Thankfully, you also have the ability to customize the screen—with five of the six functions—so it shows only what you want the moment you turn it on. Or just check out Aventon’s useful how-to video.
Riding the Pace 350
First things first: You can ride this bike while wearing a skirt. The extremely low standover, thanks to the total lack of any sort of top tube, makes the 350 step-through model a breeze to, well, step through. In fact, everything about the 350 is comfortable: ergo grips, wide seat, 15-degree sweptback handlebar, casual upright position.
Unlike some other hub-driven e-bikes, which can take off with a jolt, and some mid-drive e-bikes that are a little slow to get going, the Pace 350 quickly but steadily ramps up speed as soon as you turn the cranks. It has five pedal-assist levels, numbered 1 through 5 (no fancy mode names here), with the highest maxing out at 20mph and zero/on acting as walk mode (to engage this, hold the down arrow for 3 seconds and the bike moves along at 3.5 mph). If Aventon had stopped there, the Pace 350 would be considered a Class 1 e-bike. But a throttle on the left side of the handlebar bumps it up into Class 2 territory. Simply start pedaling in any assist mode (except walk, for safety reasons), hold down the throttle, and off you go at a steady 20 mph (give or take). Tap the brakes and you’re back where you started (again, for safety reasons). Start pedaling to engage the throttle again. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll actually find the throttle to be a useful feature—especially on uninterrupted country roads where stop signs are scarce—and not nearly the nuisance you think a thumb paddle might be to hold down while riding.
If you ride this bike with the intent of seeing how fast you can go on the flats, you might find yourself wishing for higher gear combos—44x14 is the highest you’ll get with the 44t chainring and 14-28 cassette. But that isn’t what the Pace 350 was designed for. It was designed with the casual cyclist in mind. According to Christopher, Aventon has identified that the typical e-bike buyer is someone who struggles on hills and wants the extra power specifically to help with that challenge. “The specific range on the freewheel is definitely skewed toward the low gears for ease of climbing as opposed to the higher gears for top speeds,” says Christopher. On gradual climbs, slight inclines, even short and semi-steep ones covered in stones and rutted washouts, the 350 zips to the top with pep. Overall, the 350’s ride is balanced and controlled, and the low standover makes foot-down stops at lights no-sweat situations for inexperienced e-riders.
Aventon’s goal here wasn’t to create a high-end e-bike with high-end components and a price to match. Its goal was to make a reliable, good-looking, economically spec’d e-bike for the lot of us who have been patiently waiting to get in on the fun but who have bills to pay first. Lucky for us, it did so without making huge sacrifices in quality.
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