Welcome back to Just Fun Tech, our column dedicated to the wider world of just plain fun technology. Today, we’re diving back into the second half of our outdoor tech series with the Veloctric T1 ST, a lightweight e-bike that can speed you up to 25 MPH, but only if you pedal along! It was a blast to get outside and away from the PC with. Join us as we explore just how much fun an e-bike can be.
Specifications
Current Price: $1,299 (Velotric)
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Here at MMORPG, we often get requests to review products that fall outside of our scope. Beauty products, clothes driers, couches, thermal cameras… the works. Most of the time, these are just not a good fit, but every now and again, we get a request for something that looks genuinely fun and interesting. We believe that though it is PC gaming that draws us together, our audience is interested in fun and exciting technology. Rather than let those opportunities pass, we decided to share them with you as part of this special series.
With many of these products, we don’t claim to be the expert authority. Instead, we approach them from the newcomer’s perspective with two core questions: Are they fun and do they bring joy that enhances your life? Just Cool Tech is about highlighting and exploring these products.
This feature is the second half of our JFT series on e-vehicles we began with the Ninebot F2 Pro. Both of these were originally planned as part of a summer fun series, but with global shipping being what it is, we missed that season. Still, Velotric Thunder T1 ST is a great example of the fun and practical life enhancement these personal EVs can be.
Velotric T1 ST - Off to the Races
The Velotric T1 ST surprised me almost right away. It arrived in a thin, bicycle-sized box, almost completely assembled. Having heard horror stories about buying bikes on the internet, I expected to devote an afternoon to putting it together and making all of the necessary adjustments. Instead, I was up and riding in less than an hour.
The company includes everything you’ll need in the box, so you don’t need to provide your own tools. Assembly really consists of slotting the front tire, attaching the pedals and seat, and mounting the reflectors, bell, and lights. It’s genuinely easy enough that anyone can do it. Also helpfully, Velotric includes basic maintenance and adjustment guides right in the box.
With the bike fully built, I was able to really appreciate that the T1 ST isn’t just an e-bike, it’s also a great hybrid road bike all on its own. Unlike most e-bikes, it’s not exceptionally heavy. At only 36 pounds, it’s only about five pounds heavier than my Trek hybrid bicycle. It can be lifted with one hand and ridden completely normally, even without battery power, and doesn’t feel sluggish in the way many others do.
That light weight really is its secret weapon and ties in with the rest of its design. When you look closely at it, you realize that it’s using the same components you would find on competing manual bikes for this price. TEKTRO disc brakes, an 8-speed SHIMANO gear stack and shifter, a PROWHEEL chain, and more. This is a bike first and an e-bike second. You can ride it standalone or engage pedal assist, carry it or push it with ease, and actually use it for exercise. Other e-bikes are so heavy you virtually have to use the throttle. The Thunder T1 ST doesn’t even have one.
Instead, it uses pedal assist technology. This system only engages the electric motor when you’re actively pedaling and meeting certain levels of torque. There are five levels of assistance that scale up in intensity. On its lowest setting, the motor doesn’t engage at all. On its highest, it speeds you up to 20-25 MPH in seconds and keeps you there as long as your feet are moving. It’s perfect when you need to get somewhere quickly, shoot up a hill without breaking a sweat, or when you’re looking to use it as a completely normal bike and burn some calories.
The motor is quite powerful. It’s rated for 350 watts and peaks at 600 watts, so when you need it to kick in, it does so fast and with a surprising amount of thrust on its highest setting. It can reach a top speed of 20 MPH by default and can be unlocked to reach 25 MPH with a quick press and hold combination. It’s rated for a maximum of 52 miles, though this rating is likely on the lowest pedal assist setting or standard mode. I have taken to charging it about once a week with around 20 miles of use on standard to turbo speed settings and its meter usually reads about 50% remaining.
There’s very little electronic noise as it does its work, too. The bike utilizes Velotric’s Velopower E35 drive train system which is remarkably quiet. You can subtly hear the motor engage but it’s doubtful that anyone riding more than a few feet away would be able to pick up on it. The acceleration isn’t jarring or abrupt either. There’s a linear boost that admittedly takes some getting used to if you’ve never ridden a pedal-assist bike before. This was my first, but after a week of regular riding, I had a good grip on how it would respond to the touch and really began to have a lot of fun with it.
The T1 comes in two versions, the standard T1 and the T1 ST, which I was sent. The difference between the two models lies with their smart features and total range. The T1 supports the Velotric app and provides information such as your GPS location, anti-theft, and fingerprint unlock support. It also extends the maximum riding distance to 70 miles, but retails for $400 more at $1,699. The ST lacks app support but offers Apple Find My instead, so you can still have peace of mind on where your bike is at all times and remotely lock it down should it get stolen.
This is another area where the design pays dividends. It doesn’t look like an e-bike. If you examine the handlebars or main bar, you’ll find its speed controls, and down below a subtle charging port. But you kind of have to know what you’re looking for and looking at to see it without really leaning in and making it obvious that you’re judging the bike.
The downside to this design is that changing the battery appears to be quite involved. But it’s possible. You’ll need fishing line and masking tape to pull the battery out, but with a little patience, this bike is just as maintainable as other e-bikes, which is great to see.
Velotric T1 ST - Wind At Your Back
I’ve been lucky enough to have the bike for about a month at this point and have been struck at how good the experience has been. I’ve purchased many bikes in my life and am well aware that adjustments can be a problem if you’re not going to a dedicated bicycle shop. Chains rub, derailleurs slip gears, brakes need tweaking, and more besides. With the T1 ST, it’s as if you’ve purchased from a bicycle from a shop. It literally needed no adjustments at all, which I find kind of amazing given all the bumping and jostling that occurs in transit.
I have to admit, I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy pedal assist versus a having a throttle, but it doesn’t take long to see that this just isn’t that kind of bike. It’s a hybrid bike with a power option, not a powered bike with a pedal option.
Instead, pedal assist acts as a support that responds directly to the support you need at any given time. The system works with five levels (the first level is “off”) and responds to the pressure being applied to the pedals with a built-in torque sensor. This is important because the bike doesn’t jolt ahead at full blast simply because you’ve moved your feet. Instead, it senses the amount of pressure being applied and provides that amount of support.
Consider: you’re riding up a steep hill. The pressure to rotate the pedal is much higher, so the amount of support it provides is also higher. If you’re pedaling down that same hill, it won’t provide as much support because the torque is lower. The idea, as I’ve experienced it, is that the amount of force it requires to pedal is stabilized. The four levels of powered support increase or decrease this level accordingly.
Riding around has been an absolute blast. Turbo mode is downright addictive. It pulls you up to speed ridiculously fast and keeps you there with only minimal effort. I used this multiple times for trips to the store and more than once to locate my nine year old when he was missing dinner out on his own bike. For normal riding, I found it useful on its economy or standard speed settings.
As an owner of a relatively expensive bike, I was quite impressed with the just how nice the Velotric T1 ST was. It’s a genuinely great bike with an electric option that provides additional support that a standard bicycle cannot. It’s smooth, fluid, and fast, with or without power.
The only thing I wish is that it provided some additional level of app support. Perhaps not to the degree of the more expensive T1, but it would be nice have access to a speedometer and odometer, at the minimum.
Final Thoughts
The Velotric T1 ST was a joy to spend time with this fall. It set a new bar for ready-made bikes in terms of adjustments. Its light weight also puts it in a class of its own for e-bikes, making it viable to use as a normal bike when you don’t want powered support. Like all EVs, it comes at a premium, but it is a genuinely great bike that can power you through commutes, trails, and beyond. Most importantly, it gives you a great excuse to get outdoors, exercise, and enjoy the world.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
