Enlarge / Nothing fancy, but solid construction and lots of bonuses like fenders and a rack. (credit: John TImmer)

As someone who's not a car person, being told that a new offering is "the Honda Accord of e-bikes" doesn't have a lot of resonance. As near as I can tell, the implication here is that the bike is just a bit more expensive than low-end offerings yet provides something a lot closer to a high-end experience.

Even if that wasn't the intended message, it does seem to be what the bike—the $1,299 Velotric Discover 1 —delivers. There's nothing especially exciting about the ride, and the bike won't turn heads or invite questions. But in terms of the overall experience, it delivers something a bit closer to a high-end e-bike at a cost that's much closer to a no-frills budget option .

What you get

The Discover 1 has a standard U-shaped frame. There's no top bar, which makes getting on and off the seat simpler—and easier for people with limited mobility. If, like me, you have been irreversibly trained to throw your leg over the top bar when getting on a bike, it will lead to awkward moments halfway through the process where you realize you don't need to complete the movements your brain has just automatically started. In any case, the lack of a top bar means that the bike's other tubes and joints have to be significantly stronger to maintain a stable frame. This produces a pretty heavy bike unless you move up in price to where carbon fiber is an option—and it's not for the Velotric.

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Without a doubt, the Super73 R Series Brooklyn is the worst bicycle I've ever ridden. It's too small for many adults, it forces you into an awful riding position, it's unconscionably heavy, and it offers a grand total of one gear.

Riding it was also far and away the most fun I've had on an electric bike yet.

All that weight gets you a robust, dual-suspension frame and fat tires that swallow the bumps and cut confident turns on all sorts of surfaces. And it gets you a powerful motor that lets you blast away from stops despite the bike's weight. You also get a huge battery that supposedly offers a range of over 120 km when the bike is in "eco" mode—a mode nobody will ever use because it's far too much fun to rocket around with the electrical assist maxed out.