Aventon's Abound Brings E-Cargo Bikes to a Bigger Audience
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Takeaway: Aventon’s Abound is highly capable and competitively priced. And it has the features and power needed for carrying almost anything by bike. The Abound has a zippy ride feel, strong brakes, and optional accessories to customize to your needs.
One size fits most, mid-tail style e-cargo bike.
Powerful 750W rear hub motor.
Includes rear rack, dropper post, fenders, and lights.
Two colors: Polaris (blue) and Sage (light green)
Price: $2,200
Weight: 82.3 lb. (one size)
Abound
$2200.00
aventon.com
What are Cargo Bikes?
Do you need to haul a week's-worth of stuff home from the grocery store? Or you may have to take a kid to daycare or school. How about dropping off some boxes at the post office?
Cargo bikes are an excellent option for carrying practically anything by bike that is too heavy or unwieldy to stick in a messenger bag or backpack or tie down to a small front or rear rack. They are simple to use, take up far less space than a car or truck, and are great for getting-in extra miles on the bike.
Since they get tasked with carrying more than just the weight of a rider (and perhaps a couple of small bags), cargo bikes need robust construction. And with geometry optimized for balancing loads (versus for speed or efficiency), they often aren’t the easiest or fastest bikes to ride—especially if you have to go up any hills. Thus, most Americans (even many die-hard cyclists) opt to drive their car or truck for the short trips that could probably be by bike rather than own and use a cargo bike.
Over the past decade, e-bikes revolutionized how bikes of all types are perceived, designed, ridden, and enjoyed by millions. The small (but mighty) power of these bikes’ electric assist motors allows cyclists to go faster with the same effort, more easily tackle hills, and travel further distances. E-bikes have introduced bike riding to many and opened up cycling to many who thought it wasn’t for them.
Cargo bikes benefit immensely from the addition of pedaling assistance, more so than most other styles of bikes in how they transform the platform’s potential. E-bike motors help cargo bikes overcome their added weight, size, and sometimes awkward handling traits compared to traditional bike options—removing most (though not all) barriers to cargo bike use. It’s required (for most riders) that cargo bikes are e-bikes.
E-bikes and cargo bikes are not inexpensive. And finding a high-quality, “affordable” e-cargo bike can sometimes seem impossible—some of the best options available cost upwards of $3,000 or even $5,000. However, over the past couple of years, bikes like the Rad Power Radwagon and Blix Packa Genie entered the market, offering a combination of hauling capacity and sharp pricing.
With its new Abound model priced at $2,200, Aventon looks to give these brands some healthy competition.
Styles of E-Cargo Bikes
Shopping for any bike can be daunting. And for cargo bikes, there are added layers of nuance that need navigating to ensure you purchase the right bike to meet your carrying or transportation needs. Before diving into brands, features, or prices, you need to determine which style of cargo bike you want.
There are a few main styles: Longtails, mid-tails, bakfiets, cycle trucks, and trikes. It’s always good to research your options before committing to any purchase. But for the lower-priced options, you will mostly find your choices to be longtail or mid-tail styles. Longtail (like the previously mentioned Radwagon and Packa) models look much like traditional bikes but with extended rear triangles that enable you to carry racks, baskets, car seats, or anything else. Plus, the added length provides extra stability and balances the weight of the load. Mid-tail cargo bikes are a lot like longtails, only shorter.
Some find longtail bikes challenging to ride due to the bikes’ long wheelbases and hefty mass (many e-cargo can weigh over 100 pounds). These same issues of size and weight also can be problematic when storing a cargo bike, and if you don’t have access to a garage, shed, or bike room, finding a place to put it can be an issue. With their shorter overall proportions, mid-tail bikes are a half-step between longtail models and standard bikes. Popular mid-tails like the Benno Boost and Tern GSD-series offer similar functionality to longtails but in a smaller, easier-to-ride package.
With twenty-inch wheels, a truncated wheelbase, and a folding stem, the mid-tail Aventon Abound shares a similar layout to the GSD. But at $1,500 less than Tern’s opening GSD model, the Abound is an attractive option for many aspiring cargo bike riders.
Abound Details
At $2,200, the Abound is Aventon’s priciest bike. But it’s also probably the brand’s most unique and stylish offering. The Abound looks fantastic and well-prepared for the designated assignment. The bike’s squat appearance and stout-built frame practically beg you to load it up with every possible parcel, payload, or accessory. Also included in the Abound’s base price are a sturdy rear rack, footboards for a passenger, a center-mount kickstand, and an SR Suntour suspension fork.
More importantly than its looks, the Abound functions outstandingly as well. The list of stock features is very compelling for the price. For the drive unit, a 750-watt rear hub motor powered by an integrated downtube battery pushes the bike to a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph (which can also be throttle operated to 20 mph). As on the Level.2 model released last year, Aventon equips the Abound with a torque sensor to regular power to the rear hub motor ensuring a smooth and natural pedaling feel. Another high-quality touch is Aventon’s updated backlit color LCD head unit.
In addition to the frame and power features, the Abound is well-appointed for the price. Stopping the bike are Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors. The bike has front and rear fenders to minimize road spray from getting you too wet and head and tail lights to see the road and be seen by traffic. A particularly nifty feature of the rear lighting is the Abound’s integrated turn signals, operated via the left-side controller. A small frame bag also comes with the bike that can carry items like a lock or the battery’s charger.
The Abound’s cockpit also has some clever and practical features. Up front, the bike has a telescoping stem (to adjust the height up or down) that also folds down to make the Abound easier to store. The saddle is a wide-profile, comfortable Selle Royal model. It has an integrated handle that is a grab point for moving the bike or can be a grab handle for a passenger.
The bike also comes equipped with a dropper seatpost. Commonly found on mountain bikes, this post allows the saddle to raise or lower when riding the bike (via a switch lever under the nose of the saddle). The dropper enables riders to get on or off the Abound when it has a full cargo load.
Drivetrain on the Abound is a 7-speed Shimano Tourney rear derailleur with a Revo twist shifter. While both performed well during our test period, given the bike’s price and cargo bike use, we would have preferred to see a more robust 8-speed derailleur and trigger shifter.
Aventon also offers several accessories to customize the Abound to your cargo-hauling needs or budget. We tried some of these on our test bikes (though not every item was available at test time or did not meet our circumstances).
Front Utility Rack - $70
Front Basket - $70
Front Rack Bag - $67
Front Bag - $60
Handrail - $122
Rear Rack Bamboo Board - $65
Seatpad - $63
Pannier Large - $85
Rear Rack Basket - $159
Handrail + Seat Pad Kit - $155
Riding the Abound
Over several weeks, we rode the Abound for daily commuting and running errands near our Easton, Pennsylvania headquarters. Our testing included riding some of the steeper hills in the area, riding in the rain and snow, doing grocery runs, and kid-carrying. Overall, the Abound scored praise from testers for its speed, power, and hauling capabilities.
Runner’s World’s Jeff Dengate, who owns and regularly rides a Rad Power RadRunner, found the Aventon to have plenty of power on tap. He tested the Abound for over a week. With himself and a 100 lb. passenger on the back, he scaled a particularly challenging local ⅛-mile, 13.5% gradient at a speed of 10 mph—a stretch where his RadRunner would have stalled out.
I found the Abound similarly adept at tackling short to medium-sized hills, often able to power up them only using the throttle. (Though admittedly, pedaling with assist both netted a faster ascent and saved on battery power.) Compared to other similarly priced commuter e-bikes, the Abound is easy to ride without the throttle. Aventon’s torque sensor provides an even power distribution to the motor without the on/off feeling of many hub motor-equipped bikes.
One feature universally appreciated by test riders was the dropper post. It allows riders of different heights to jump on the bike to run a quick errand without fussing with bike adjustments.
We tested the Abound with the standard rear rack and the optional rear handrail and pad kit. Our child passenger proved to be too big for the handrail package. So if your kids are on the tall side, skip the rails and opt for the seat pad. While we did not test the rear basket option (we used the handrails paired with different bags and crates), it is probably the best option unless you plan to carry passengers.
When choosing bags and panniers for the Abound’s rear rack, check the sizing to ensure they are compatible. Aventon accidentally shipped its medium panniers; they did not fit on the bike’s wider rear rack. We used them, but they less than optimally slid around during use.
Aventon claims “up to 50 miles range” for the Abound. E-bike battery ranges depend on the rider and cargo weight, the terrain where ridden, and the level of power assist used. With a 200 lb. rider, over a combination of hills and flat surfaces, and being quite liberal with using the throttle and highest power setting, we averaged about 25 miles range per charge on the Abound’s battery. So, quite literally, YMMV.
Feedback on the Abound’s handling was a mixed bag. While I found the handling to be steady, though responsive, others thought the handling needed improvement. When riding one-handed (while carrying a coffee, for example,) the steering might feel twitchy. This feeling is due to the zero-offset stem and a tall, somewhat flexy design.
While the adjustable height and foldable setup might be necessary for those who store the Abound in smaller spaces, it has some creaks, clicks, and flex. After taking it apart, checking, and retightening, the stem still made noise. The adjustable stem never felt unsafe, just annoying. Given the robust nature of the rest of the Abound, this part seems like a mismatch for the bike.
The Aventon Abound is a capable e-cargo bike that will fit the needs of many riders. While not perfect, it is an overall great bike. The Abound is competitively priced, well-equipped, and has lots of power and hauling ability. If you were fence-sitting about purchasing a cargo bike due to price or because longtail models are too unwieldy, this might be the bike that will get you ditching the car for those short trips around town.
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