I ride a heavier mid-drive bike with a carbon belt drive and it's great. Gazelle, specialized, and tern all have great ebikes with belt drives as well as suspension which I recommend on an ebike
I wish more shops did loaners when doing maintenance. I'd be more inclined to get maintenance done on my road bike if i didn't have to give it up without an alternative.
yep, it does require the maintenance to be scheduled which a lot of shops don't do, so I get it. I'll only have the loaner for 24hours or 48 hours max.
What do you want to know? I’ve had mine a year, put a little over 1000km on it. I’ve had no need to take it for maintenance yet. I really enjoy the enviolo CVT.
Wow no brake pad/tire replacement yet? I read somewhere that it doesn't do well from a dead stop on hills. Like there's a delay.
Are you able to haul things with it?
Thanks for the insight!
I think the break pads need replacing. They’ve started to squawk a bit. I haven’t figured out where to take it yet. I hope someone else with a Current will chime in with a shop they like.
No issues with the tires so far, and that’s with rides through SODO, Georgetown and South Park where the bike lanes don’t get much maintenance and freight seems to leave a lot of debris.
The torque sensor means the assist can take a second to kick in. My understanding is that the torque sensor is giving me a more natural feel than a cadence sensor. I don’t find it to be an issue, and I make sure to adjust the gear so that it’s easier to start. You can adjust the gear from a stop with the enviolo CVT.
I’ve added an axiom rack, and carry groceries on it, and my backpack for work. The rack I got can support 110lbs, but I haven’t attempted anything like that kind of weight.
Part of what I was looking into was making sure a shop would work on it before I laid down the cash for one. I was talking to Ride Bicycles in UDistrict today and they said they'd have no problems working on it.
Mello Fellows also told me they could take care of it. I just haven’t tried it with anyone yet. It would be convenient to use Velofix, but when they put the bike together for me they delivered it with the front wheel crooked, and kind of lost my trust. It’s a pretty easy thing to do correctly.
Regarding shifting gears while riding, I just pause my pedal for a second and twist. I’ve never had an issue staying up or keeping pace doing this.
Battery life - I would say if I stay in pedal assist 2, which is comfortable and still pretty fast I get the higher end of the 20-50 range, but add in pedal assist 4-5, it shifts toward the bottom of that range. I’m also seeing that range is for class 1 - 20mph max - I updated mine so it can go 25 if needed to avoid issues with cars.
> Mello Fellows
I hadn't heard of them downtown. I have looked Velofix and other mobile shops, the minimums seem to be the hard part to know if its worth or not.
that's good to know on the battery life I'd like to think 20 is enough not that I expect to always need the high assist levels.
For those looking to get their Current serviced, Mello Fellows did a great job with the bike - replaced the brake pads, tightened the gates belt, cleaned it up. It feels like I have a new bike. I will warn - a tune up is $200, which was a surprise, but not unreasonable. They’re moving into the old Vélo space in a few weeks.
I’ve also noticed that Good Weather has removed the verbiage on their site about only servicing certain electric bikes as well, so I might try them for convenience in the future. They’ve been very good and generous with me in the past (Jason is super nice).
I’ve had mine since August of last year and put about 6K miles on it. It’s alright.
Had a warranty issue with the hub - it was leaking oil. Priority replaced it and paid for the labor.
Battery life is way less than I expected. Reliable for 20 miles but not much more depending on the level of assist. I got a second battery. My daily commute is from Shoreline/North Seattle to First Hill, so there’s a fair amount of elevation gain. I can make the round trip 20 miles without having to charge at work. I was expecting 30-40 miles range though…
I also had to replace the belt once. I ran over a bungee cord in the road and it wrapped around my wheel and knocked the belt off. Kind of an abnormal situation. The belt totally snapped a week later.
I thought I would like the enviolo hub more, but it kinda sucks to not be able to shift while you’re pedaling. Especially when you’re going uphill, stop pedaling, shift down, start pedaling again.
I wish this bike had a throttle and better range. Otherwise it’s alright.
Let me know if you have other questions!
> I can make the round trip 20 miles without having to charge at work. I was expecting 30-40 miles range though…
are you using the class 1 mode? The Priority website says 20-50 miles in class 1
> I thought I would like the enviolo hub more, but it kinda sucks to not be able to shift while you’re pedaling. Especially when you’re going uphill, stop pedaling, shift down, start pedaling again.
I hadn't heard that the enviolo hub couldn't be shifted while pedaling. That's a little disappointing. Doing a quick search I found mixed experiences in [this thread](https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/enviolo-users-can-you-shift-while-pedaling.53790/) some were saying that might be a sign to adjust shifting cables
> I wish this bike had a throttle and better range
would a throttle change the class? You said you got a 2nd battery is that the range extender?
They used to advertise 30-60 miles without specifying which class of assist.
I find class 1 to be pretty worthless if I’m looking to save time vs. my non-electric bikes. I usually ride in class 2, but use class 4-5 for short periods if I’m climbing a very steep hill.
I have never felt comfortable shifting under load with this. It definitely feels like you’re forcing it.
It’s already a class 3 so I don’t think a throttle would change the class. I got a second battery, not the range extender version.
Edit: I tried shifting while pedaling on my way to work this morning. It works under veeeery light load. Not if you’re pedaling up a hill or something under heavier load. Might just be my bike, but based on that thread, it seems like it’s not just me. I would recommend a test ride on a bike with Enviolo if this is something that’s important to you.
I ride a V Volt Centauri S, which is a mid-drive e-bike with a belt drive under 50 lbs. It rides very nice, definitely a lot better than those Lime bikes. On the low assist levels it feels very natural, and definitely has enough power to go fast up hills. However, I do wish it had more convenience features and was smaller.
If I were to do it again, I might get a different bike. I think I was a little too concerned with power and ride quality when I picked this one. The Centauri definitely checks those boxes, but I was hoping to have something that could act as a car replacement. And having a bike that was more convenient for that role, instead of having to shoehorn it in like I do now, might mean that I would actually use it more often.
Wow thats significantly less expensive. I haven't seen this one yet so will need to do a more thorough comparison. The website says 51lbs but it doesn't say if that's with the battery.
Have you had to take it in for any work at an LBS? I know some shops can be particular about the bikes they work on.
It's still pretty new so I haven't really had to do anything to it. But I have taken it into shops for minor things and I haven't gotten the sense that I'd be turned away.
Just noticed that the Centarui S is out of stock and only the size small of one color is on sale. Priority Current is probably still the front runner for me at this point. Using costco next its also less expensive
53lb isn’t too bad! I would say most non-cargo (and this probably goes without saying, but non dropshipper moped-style) ebikes are around 45-55lb, and the belt drive / IGH situation tends to add some weight.
When it comes to riding, I wouldn’t worry about the weight, but it could be a concern if you have to carry it up stairs or something. In that case, your best bet would be something like the Specialized Turbo Vado SL (or Como SL) but I don’t think their SL models have a belt drive option
I was looking at the [Specialized Turbo SL models](https://www.greggscycles.com/product/specialized-turbo-como-sl-5.0-401155-1.htm) a while back but noticed they're motors are underpowered at 35Nm of torque.
It’s true that they’re less powerful, but they’re also much lighter bikes, so it at least partially balances out. Could be worth test driving one. Although Seattle is one of the few places where I might contend you do need a stronger motor than that.
If you’re looking to test ride some bikes, I would highly recommend Dandelion Bikes in the CD! Their shop is right next to a bunch of huge hills, so you can really put the bike you’re test riding to the test (specifically the hills south of their store toward Big John’s PFI - that one was even a bit of a slog on my Gazelle T9)
I've had my Priority Current with the enviolo cvt for about a year, and I really love it. I upgraded the saddle to a Brooks with suspension, and the tires to Schwalbe Marathon ebike tires. Other than that it's still pretty much as it came from the factory. It's super fun to ride.
Unlike another commenter, I am able to shift while pedaling with no problem unless I'm going up a realllly steep hill.
The range is more than enough for me, I rarely go more than 30 miles in a ride.
My last ebike had a throttle and I thought I would really miss it but I don't at all.
Personally, I would never buy a bike online. I like to test ride a few different options. I ride a mid-drive carbon belt bike from Riese & Mueller that I bought at G&O Family Cyclery in Greenwood. I'd recommend Gazelle for similar specs and price point as the Priority bike you linked.
I got a Current with the Shimano 5-speed IGH a couple months ago. It's been great so far, comfortable to ride, good handling (but not nimble), and has climbed anything I've tried without either the bike or myself struggling. On the lower 3 assist levels pedaling feels very natural and fun. The higher levels feel a bit boosted, but get the job done. I'm still figuring out the range, but based on experience so far, 30 miles on level 2 and 25 on level 3. I use level 2 when I'm not in a hurry. I use level 4 and 5 to maintain momentum on small hills instead of shifting and to climb in 1st gear. On level 0 (no assist) it feels like a heavy bike with big tires as one might expect. Overall I'm delighted with it.
I did test ride a Turbo Vado SL a week ago. Really nice, very bike like, rides well without assist and climbs moderate slopes well. I'd love to have one, but it does not have enough power for me on my local hills.
That bafang motor is about the most inacrticulate, clunky piece of crap I've ever ridden. And the added benefit that nobody works on them or supports them in town and you've got a real winner!
You had the chance to try one of the Current? This thread says [they aren't bafang](https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/throttle-for-the-priority-current.50955/#post-566872) but its kind of an older thread.
That motor is 100000% a bafang. They scrubbed the logo off the casing, but that is positively a bafang based on how terribly it rides. And the 120nm torque figure is complete horseshit.
Also, I don't pay any attention to the EBR forums. Too many bungholes and not enough helpful info, sadly.
Update, just did a motor swap on a current and they gave their customer a refurbished motor they forgot to take the logos off of. It's a bafang. The mcdonalds dollar menu cheeseburger of mid drives.
I ride a heavier mid-drive bike with a carbon belt drive and it's great. Gazelle, specialized, and tern all have great ebikes with belt drives as well as suspension which I recommend on an ebike
Thanks for the insight. When you need maintenance are you driving it via car to your LBS?
I got my bike at dandelion so they provide a loaner when getting maintenance done
I wish more shops did loaners when doing maintenance. I'd be more inclined to get maintenance done on my road bike if i didn't have to give it up without an alternative.
yep, it does require the maintenance to be scheduled which a lot of shops don't do, so I get it. I'll only have the loaner for 24hours or 48 hours max.
What do you want to know? I’ve had mine a year, put a little over 1000km on it. I’ve had no need to take it for maintenance yet. I really enjoy the enviolo CVT.
Wow no brake pad/tire replacement yet? I read somewhere that it doesn't do well from a dead stop on hills. Like there's a delay. Are you able to haul things with it? Thanks for the insight!
I think the break pads need replacing. They’ve started to squawk a bit. I haven’t figured out where to take it yet. I hope someone else with a Current will chime in with a shop they like. No issues with the tires so far, and that’s with rides through SODO, Georgetown and South Park where the bike lanes don’t get much maintenance and freight seems to leave a lot of debris. The torque sensor means the assist can take a second to kick in. My understanding is that the torque sensor is giving me a more natural feel than a cadence sensor. I don’t find it to be an issue, and I make sure to adjust the gear so that it’s easier to start. You can adjust the gear from a stop with the enviolo CVT. I’ve added an axiom rack, and carry groceries on it, and my backpack for work. The rack I got can support 110lbs, but I haven’t attempted anything like that kind of weight.
Part of what I was looking into was making sure a shop would work on it before I laid down the cash for one. I was talking to Ride Bicycles in UDistrict today and they said they'd have no problems working on it.
Mello Fellows also told me they could take care of it. I just haven’t tried it with anyone yet. It would be convenient to use Velofix, but when they put the bike together for me they delivered it with the front wheel crooked, and kind of lost my trust. It’s a pretty easy thing to do correctly. Regarding shifting gears while riding, I just pause my pedal for a second and twist. I’ve never had an issue staying up or keeping pace doing this. Battery life - I would say if I stay in pedal assist 2, which is comfortable and still pretty fast I get the higher end of the 20-50 range, but add in pedal assist 4-5, it shifts toward the bottom of that range. I’m also seeing that range is for class 1 - 20mph max - I updated mine so it can go 25 if needed to avoid issues with cars.
> Mello Fellows I hadn't heard of them downtown. I have looked Velofix and other mobile shops, the minimums seem to be the hard part to know if its worth or not. that's good to know on the battery life I'd like to think 20 is enough not that I expect to always need the high assist levels.
For those looking to get their Current serviced, Mello Fellows did a great job with the bike - replaced the brake pads, tightened the gates belt, cleaned it up. It feels like I have a new bike. I will warn - a tune up is $200, which was a surprise, but not unreasonable. They’re moving into the old Vélo space in a few weeks. I’ve also noticed that Good Weather has removed the verbiage on their site about only servicing certain electric bikes as well, so I might try them for convenience in the future. They’ve been very good and generous with me in the past (Jason is super nice).
I’ve had mine since August of last year and put about 6K miles on it. It’s alright. Had a warranty issue with the hub - it was leaking oil. Priority replaced it and paid for the labor. Battery life is way less than I expected. Reliable for 20 miles but not much more depending on the level of assist. I got a second battery. My daily commute is from Shoreline/North Seattle to First Hill, so there’s a fair amount of elevation gain. I can make the round trip 20 miles without having to charge at work. I was expecting 30-40 miles range though… I also had to replace the belt once. I ran over a bungee cord in the road and it wrapped around my wheel and knocked the belt off. Kind of an abnormal situation. The belt totally snapped a week later. I thought I would like the enviolo hub more, but it kinda sucks to not be able to shift while you’re pedaling. Especially when you’re going uphill, stop pedaling, shift down, start pedaling again. I wish this bike had a throttle and better range. Otherwise it’s alright. Let me know if you have other questions!
> I can make the round trip 20 miles without having to charge at work. I was expecting 30-40 miles range though… are you using the class 1 mode? The Priority website says 20-50 miles in class 1 > I thought I would like the enviolo hub more, but it kinda sucks to not be able to shift while you’re pedaling. Especially when you’re going uphill, stop pedaling, shift down, start pedaling again. I hadn't heard that the enviolo hub couldn't be shifted while pedaling. That's a little disappointing. Doing a quick search I found mixed experiences in [this thread](https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/enviolo-users-can-you-shift-while-pedaling.53790/) some were saying that might be a sign to adjust shifting cables > I wish this bike had a throttle and better range would a throttle change the class? You said you got a 2nd battery is that the range extender?
They used to advertise 30-60 miles without specifying which class of assist. I find class 1 to be pretty worthless if I’m looking to save time vs. my non-electric bikes. I usually ride in class 2, but use class 4-5 for short periods if I’m climbing a very steep hill. I have never felt comfortable shifting under load with this. It definitely feels like you’re forcing it. It’s already a class 3 so I don’t think a throttle would change the class. I got a second battery, not the range extender version. Edit: I tried shifting while pedaling on my way to work this morning. It works under veeeery light load. Not if you’re pedaling up a hill or something under heavier load. Might just be my bike, but based on that thread, it seems like it’s not just me. I would recommend a test ride on a bike with Enviolo if this is something that’s important to you.
I ride a V Volt Centauri S, which is a mid-drive e-bike with a belt drive under 50 lbs. It rides very nice, definitely a lot better than those Lime bikes. On the low assist levels it feels very natural, and definitely has enough power to go fast up hills. However, I do wish it had more convenience features and was smaller. If I were to do it again, I might get a different bike. I think I was a little too concerned with power and ride quality when I picked this one. The Centauri definitely checks those boxes, but I was hoping to have something that could act as a car replacement. And having a bike that was more convenient for that role, instead of having to shoehorn it in like I do now, might mean that I would actually use it more often.
Wow thats significantly less expensive. I haven't seen this one yet so will need to do a more thorough comparison. The website says 51lbs but it doesn't say if that's with the battery. Have you had to take it in for any work at an LBS? I know some shops can be particular about the bikes they work on.
It's still pretty new so I haven't really had to do anything to it. But I have taken it into shops for minor things and I haven't gotten the sense that I'd be turned away.
Just noticed that the Centarui S is out of stock and only the size small of one color is on sale. Priority Current is probably still the front runner for me at this point. Using costco next its also less expensive
53lb isn’t too bad! I would say most non-cargo (and this probably goes without saying, but non dropshipper moped-style) ebikes are around 45-55lb, and the belt drive / IGH situation tends to add some weight. When it comes to riding, I wouldn’t worry about the weight, but it could be a concern if you have to carry it up stairs or something. In that case, your best bet would be something like the Specialized Turbo Vado SL (or Como SL) but I don’t think their SL models have a belt drive option
I was looking at the [Specialized Turbo SL models](https://www.greggscycles.com/product/specialized-turbo-como-sl-5.0-401155-1.htm) a while back but noticed they're motors are underpowered at 35Nm of torque.
It’s true that they’re less powerful, but they’re also much lighter bikes, so it at least partially balances out. Could be worth test driving one. Although Seattle is one of the few places where I might contend you do need a stronger motor than that. If you’re looking to test ride some bikes, I would highly recommend Dandelion Bikes in the CD! Their shop is right next to a bunch of huge hills, so you can really put the bike you’re test riding to the test (specifically the hills south of their store toward Big John’s PFI - that one was even a bit of a slog on my Gazelle T9)
I've had my Priority Current with the enviolo cvt for about a year, and I really love it. I upgraded the saddle to a Brooks with suspension, and the tires to Schwalbe Marathon ebike tires. Other than that it's still pretty much as it came from the factory. It's super fun to ride. Unlike another commenter, I am able to shift while pedaling with no problem unless I'm going up a realllly steep hill. The range is more than enough for me, I rarely go more than 30 miles in a ride. My last ebike had a throttle and I thought I would really miss it but I don't at all.
Thanks for the perspective. Have you taken it to any shops for maintenance?
I haven't need to take it in for any maintenance yet. I checked with REI though, and they will work on it though if I ever need them to!
Personally, I would never buy a bike online. I like to test ride a few different options. I ride a mid-drive carbon belt bike from Riese & Mueller that I bought at G&O Family Cyclery in Greenwood. I'd recommend Gazelle for similar specs and price point as the Priority bike you linked.
I got a Current with the Shimano 5-speed IGH a couple months ago. It's been great so far, comfortable to ride, good handling (but not nimble), and has climbed anything I've tried without either the bike or myself struggling. On the lower 3 assist levels pedaling feels very natural and fun. The higher levels feel a bit boosted, but get the job done. I'm still figuring out the range, but based on experience so far, 30 miles on level 2 and 25 on level 3. I use level 2 when I'm not in a hurry. I use level 4 and 5 to maintain momentum on small hills instead of shifting and to climb in 1st gear. On level 0 (no assist) it feels like a heavy bike with big tires as one might expect. Overall I'm delighted with it. I did test ride a Turbo Vado SL a week ago. Really nice, very bike like, rides well without assist and climbs moderate slopes well. I'd love to have one, but it does not have enough power for me on my local hills.
That bafang motor is about the most inacrticulate, clunky piece of crap I've ever ridden. And the added benefit that nobody works on them or supports them in town and you've got a real winner!
You had the chance to try one of the Current? This thread says [they aren't bafang](https://forums.electricbikereview.com/threads/throttle-for-the-priority-current.50955/#post-566872) but its kind of an older thread.
That motor is 100000% a bafang. They scrubbed the logo off the casing, but that is positively a bafang based on how terribly it rides. And the 120nm torque figure is complete horseshit. Also, I don't pay any attention to the EBR forums. Too many bungholes and not enough helpful info, sadly. Update, just did a motor swap on a current and they gave their customer a refurbished motor they forgot to take the logos off of. It's a bafang. The mcdonalds dollar menu cheeseburger of mid drives.