Aventon Sinch Step-Through Review

The Aventon Sinch Step-Through is a slick folding electric bike that combines style and riding performance very well. It's a Class 2 e-bike that can be configured to Class 3. It has a 500-watt motor and 672-watt-hour battery on a 6061 aluminum frame with 20-inch tires and mechanical disc brakes. Bonus features include a 45-millimeter suspension fork and connectivity with the Aventon app.

Performance Comparison

Ride

Gosh, we like riding this bike. It is unrivaled in its smooth and damp ride while remaining comfortable and stable. While it has some minor drawbacks due to its lack of features and a more limited height range that affects taller riders, this bike feels awfully nice to ride.

The Aventon is supremely smooth and comfortable to ride, with plenty of stability for a folding model. The RST Guide ML-20 suspension fork does its job dampening the ride over bumps and cracks in the road, even with just 45 millimeters of travel. You can lock out the fork if you don't want the suspension's dampening effect. Thick 4-inch tires provide plenty of air volume to further improve the cushy ride. This bike remains stable at high speeds, too, giving the rider confidence to make turns and handle obstacles. The Tektro mechanical disc brakes might be a touch less powerful than hydraulic disc brakes, but we had no issue controlling speed and stopping quickly. It's also a quiet ride, emitting virtually no noticeable noise underway.

The claimed height range is 4'11" to 6'3", but our long-legged, six-foot-tall lead tester still had bent knees while pedaling after maxing out the seat post height. Folks six feet tall and more may want to consider replacing the seatport with a longer one aftermarket. Still, our lead tester liked riding this bike, which rides upright and casually. The saddle is well-padded while the handlebar grips are thinner and firm, losing a point in comfort but not a deal-breaker.

Beyond the much-appreciated suspension fork, this bike doesn't have many other features. Other models come equipped with lights powered by the bike's battery, but you'll have to find other lighting solutions for this model. The pedals do fold in, helping with portability and stowing, and it comes with an extra derailleur hanger and a folding multi-tool for repairs and adjustments. There are some compatible accessories sold on the Aventon site, like fenders and a rear rack, should you want to boost the overall package of this model.

Range

If you value distance on top of a smooth ride, the Aventon Sinch also provides. Ranking at the top of the heap in our range tests, this bike travels far on a single charge. The large-capacity 672-watt battery impressed our testers.

We assess range on the same circuit by only using the throttle (no pedaling) for every bike we test. The Aventon went 30.13 miles while gaining 1,558 in elevation with an average speed of 16.9 mph. That's far and fast compared to most of the competition. It held strong until petering out only in the last few minutes of charge. Oddly, even when the battery power showed 0%, we still got 5-10 minutes of riding before it actually died. We felt confident trusting this bike to get us where we were going without running out of battery life, which is a big advantage. Knowing that utilizing some pedal power will save battery, we expect the range of this bike to extend significantly further than 30 miles if you're putting in some of your own effort. The manufacturer's website claims a 38-mile range while pedaling at 15 mph on flat terrain.

Power

The Sinch is also fast and powerful. Only using the throttle paddle, it hits 20 mph top speed, while pedaling got us to 24.5 mph with maximum effort. The only minor drawback is a noticeable lag in throttle response, as well as a slower response with pedal assist.

Once the throttle engages, it is perky and gains speed quickly. We did notice a lag of 0.5-1 seconds after hitting the throttle and it actually engaging, though, which is midly annoying, but something you get used to fairly quickly. In our acceleration test, we hit a top speed of 20 mph in 12 seconds while only employing the throttle, no pedaling. It hit 16 mph on our uphill power test, slowing only to 15 mph in the steepest section, which is barely shy of the best in our test fleet. We imagine that the heavier weight might be holding it back a touch in this aspect, as well as the larger tires that increase friction and reduce torque to some degree. Of course, we're splitting hairs here, and we expect the vast majority of riders to find this model plenty powerful and quick when starting from a stop or charging uphill.

There are five levels of pedal assist on the Sinch, and the power of the assistance increases incrementally with each level. The cadence sensor is the basis for pedal assist engagement, and like the throttle, we felt a small delay between starting to pedal and the power kicking in. In an improvement over other models, we felt less jumpiness when activating the pedal assist, and shifts between levels were nice and smooth.

Portability

This metric sees the Sinch fall back in the overall ranking. It weighs 67 pounds and 13 ounces. It is also the largest of all the models we tested in its folded size, measuring 46 (L) x 28 (W) x 30 (H) inches. This all makes this model slightly more difficult to lift into the back of an SUV or carry up steps. Considering that folding e-bikes are favored for their portability, this is a downside of the Aventon. Still, it will fit in more places that a non-folding model will not, and it has a few features that improve its portability.

This bike folds up like most other models in this category, utilizing quick-release levers. The pedals do fold upward, saving some packed width. The suspension fork, 4-inch wide tires, and beefy frame just give it more girth than others tested. We appreciate the metal bottom bracket bar that keeps this bike upright when folded. You can also remove the battery to make this bike a few pounds lighter. We recommend using some kind of strap to keep it in its folded position; otherwise, it may be prone to unfold.

User Interface

Great controls and an impressive display make user-friendliness and the interface a high point for the Aventon Sinch. The display has an elevated design, and the addition of mobile app compatibility makes it super easy to change settings over using the on-bike controls.

The bike's control unit is located on the left-hand side of the handlebar. The throttle is immediately next to the left grip and easy to reach and press with the left thumb. Just to the right is a small unit with five single-function buttons. The power button and the + and - buttons have very self-explanatory functions, and the additional buttons allow for engaging walk mode, while the info button changes two data fields on the lower part of the screen. Trip distance, odometer, average and max speed, trip time, and calories burned can be toggled through on the display using the control. For a feel-good vibe for riding your bike instead of driving a combustion engine automobile, you can even see the estimated trip carbon dioxide reduction and trip trees saved, as well as summations of CO2 reduced and trees saved over time.

We like the display on this bike, with a dark background and white numbers and letters in the main field, and the two data fields in white. The screen has some colors, too, in the battery graphic and a few other blue letters. The important information, such as current speed and assist level, are in large numbers that are relatively easy to read. However, some of the other info is small and may be challenging to view in bright light or for individuals living with vision impairments to read. Battery life is at the top of the screen shown as both a graphic with 5 bars that turn off as it gets depleted and also as a percentage, which should actually provide a more accurate battery life reading.

Aventon bikes stand out for their app compatibility, using their proprietary Aventon app. Through your phone, you can change settings like speed units, screen brightness, speed limit, and more. It also has the ability to record and track rides, and share pictures and stories with the Aventon community, should you want to do so. Even without the social media aspect, the app is a nice addition that most models in this category lack.

The streamlined, integrated battery helps this bike's visual appeal, but it's still removable. A keyhole on the upper left side of the frame allows you to unlock the battery and pull it up and out of the slot it rests in. Charging the battery can be done on or off the bike, and the charging port has a rubber cover to ward off dirt and moisture.

Ease of Assembly

We can hardly imagine assembly being any easier than with the Aventon model. All you need to do is remove it from the box, tear away packing materials, and unfold it. Of course, there is adjusting required of the handlebars and seat post to get the bike to fit your height, and you'll need to charge the battery and pump up the tires. And the additional weight of the bike makes the shipping package worthy of two people to carry to your assembly point. Still, it only took us 10 minutes to complete the setup from the box, which is top of the field.

Should You Buy the Aventon Sinch Step-Through?

There's a lot to like about the Aventon Sinch, and very little to dislike. It's arguably our favorite bike from a purely riding perspective due to its smooth feel. Add to that its exceptional range and suitable power, this is a great bike. And, heck, folding e-bikes don't often look very slick; this one does. Style points will add to the appeal for more than a few folks, we expect. The only real gripes we have are its limited feature set and heavier weight and bulk which make it somewhat less portable than some other options.

What Other Folding Electric Bikes Should You Consider?

We really like that the Blix Vika+ Flex comes with a full set of features on top of overall excellent performance in ride, range, power, and portability. This combo makes the Blix a great choice for commuters, as charging the battery also charges the lights, which never need to come off the bike, and features like the cargo rack make it a more complete replacement for a car in commuting around town. It's also easier to carry around due to its lower weight. Otherwise, if the price of the Blix and Aventon models are just too high to justify, the Lectric XP Step-Thru 2.0 comes at a significantly lower price point without having to sacrifice all that much performance.