Today we’re going to review something a little new. We’re used to checking out gaming peripherals and tech like speakers and headphones, but today, we’re checking out an eBike. More specifically, the A Dece Oasis (ADO) A20 eBike, which stands for, you guessed it, electric bike.
Now you may have seen more people using these around, or noticed schemes set up in city centres where they’re encouraging people to use electric scooters to travel. This is obviously all about trying to help reduce our carbon footprint by reducing traffic in built-up areas and encouraging people to go electric when it comes to public transport.
And ADO was a brand we’d never heard of until they approached us to do this review. However, we’ve obviously learned a little about them since, and they’re essentially a company looking to bring an affordable range of electric vehicles to the market. Currently, they supply a range of eBikes you can find on their website HERE, but there are plans for the future too. Including releasing a range of electric scooters like the ones we mentioned above.
To save you time, we’ve put together a short video review for you where we show a clip of us on a test ride, as well as discussing some of the eBikes features. But as always with our review, you’ll find a more in-depth version of it right here in the written word on our website.
We’ll go into a bit about the specifics of the A20 eBike shortly, covering some of the features of the model we were sent. But first a little about our experience receiving the bike.
On arrival
So when it first turned up, which took about five days to arrive, it looked securely packaged. But upon opening it, we noticed the LED light on the front was broken, and the battery case was cracked when we tried to set the bike up, as the battery was misaligned. But fair play to the folks at ADO, because without hesitation, they sent out a replacement LED light and brand new battery as soon as they saw the pictures.
So in terms of customer service, we really couldn’t fault them at all. They went above and beyond to ensure that we were happy with what we received at no cost to us as they could clearly see that the damage was through no fault of our own. Once that arrived, we were able to set the A20 eBike up and get on our merry way.
So without further delay, let’s check out what ADO have sent us.
Checking out the bike
Let’s start with a few of the features of the ADO A20 eBike.
To keep you safe and ensure you can stop quickly, the bike comes fitted with front and back disc brakes, which if you’re into your cycling, you will know how much better they perform compared to traditional V-brakes. These are fitted to two 20″ wheels, which have a six-axis design for their spokes in order to ensure they are strong and stable. And we mean actual strong and stable, not the joke strong and stable that Teresa May insisted her Government was.
The centre of the bike is where the battery is contained, which takes about 4-6 hours to charge fully, giving it a 60km (37 miles) range in hybrid mode, that can be extended by another 20km (12 miles) using pedal-assist which we’ll come to in a second. The battery extends the range by recycling energy in the pedal-assist mode. When you pedal, it needs less energy to make the motor work, so it puts what is wasted back into the battery recycling it for an extremely efficient ride.
As well as being packed which disc brakes, the A20 eBike also has a Shimano 7-speed transmission system to help the rider on all-terrain, which is what this bike is built for. It’s a cross country bike. It can be used on roads, to ride
over fields and through parks, as well as off-road on a bit more rocky terrain. And you can see a few glimpses of us testing it out in the video review above.
The A20 also features dual shock suspension on the front forks, as well as saddle suspension below the seat, which is gel-cushioned to protect your tush. There is also a rear LED light just behind it the back seat, with a front-facing headlight on the front of the bike to make it safer to ride at night. Back to the seat though, it is fully height
adjustable, so is suitable for riders of varying heights. And combined with the gel padding and the suspension, makes for a comfortable ride.
Upon the handlebars, there is an HD LCD display, which not only allows you to monitor things such as speed but allows you to switch between the eBikes dual-mode operation. This means you can use the eBike one of two
ways. Firstly, you can use a hybrid mode that allows you to use a throttle on the right-hand side of the handlebar to enjoy the easy life, by pulling back and letting the motor do the work for you. Excellent for when you reach those steep inclines.
Or, alternatively, you can use pedal assist mode, which still allows you to get your exercise in by just giving you a little boost so it is less strenuous on your muscles than riding a traditional bike. By switching to this mode, you not only get a better workout, but you also increase the range of the battery by 20km, which is equal to about 12 miles as mentioned. If the battery does die on you whilst out, do not worry either, because you can use the bike as normal too.
The A20 eBike also packs a host of other features as well, including front and back mudguards, a kickstand, and a free phone mount to attach to your bike. Which, also has a USB charging port so you can use your phone as a SatNav when out and about, and don’t have to worry about it dying and you getting yourself lost. They really have thought of everything.
What’s it like to ride?
So once the battery was fully charged, we took it for a quick spin around a local park. Apologies in advance for the footage if you check out our video review, we recorded this on a mobile phone, and didn’t use the free mount that came included with the bike. We don’t recommend trying to ride one-handed at home, it’s dangerous.
On our test ride, we went on a few different terrains, from tarmac and gravel paths, as well as across grass verges. What impressed us most was with the pedal-assist in play, no matter what terrain we went on, it didn’t
feel like it required more effort on one of the other, because the 350W motor is there to help. It’s almost like you’re always stuck
If you don’t want the pedal assist, you can use the hybrid mode. Which once any caps are removed, can reach up to 35Km/h or 22 mph, so you can get about swiftly, even if you can’t be bothered pedalling.
It really was an excellent bike to ride, it was nice and smooth due to the front and saddle suspension, combined with the gel-cushioned seat. I look forward to taking this out more often in the future and testing it further off-road.
But is it good value?
If I was to tell you that right now, this bike is available on the official ADO store at £699, that’s a saving of £100 off the full price. You’d probably think it was a rip-off. BUT! compare that to other electric bikes on the market. You can be spending anywhere between £1,200 to £4,000 on electric bikes. Sure the more expensive ones may be a little fancier, but whilst the price of this eBike is budget. Its quality is anything but.
Rather than feeling cheap and tacky, this eBike feels high quality. It doesn’t feel like it is flimsy and will break if a fat man like me hops on, it feels nice and secure and makes me feel like I’m not going to make the frame cave in. Not just that, but with all the features sit has, including the fact it is collapsible so you can take it anywhere with you, even on the train journey to work, it becomes all the more impressive.
So is it good value? No, it’s an excellent value buy at that price. And you can get an exclusive discount on their website across all their bikes using the code FULLSYNC30 to get $30 off. Available until the 10th of January, 2022. So we’re helping make it an even better value purchase.
Does it have a downside?
As with most things in life, this eBike is not perfect. Yes, it is nice and compact when it is folded, but it’s bloody heavy. The reason for it making you go “umph” every time you lift it up is the battery and the motor, which weigh an awful lot. They say you can take a spare battery with you, but in all honesty, I don’t think my back could take carrying around another on top of what I already have packed inside.
That’s not to say it’s impossible to carry around, it’s just if you’re not into your fitness then you may struggle if you don’t have the muscles. If they could somehow make the motor and battery a little lighter, and maybe use a lighter material for the frame, then it would be much more convenient, but to go to something like a carbon fibre body to make that happen would also likely mean the cost of it would increase too. But considering again the price of electric bikes at the moment, they may be able to make those improvements and still keep it in a friendly budget for people.
Overall opinion of the ADO A20 eBike
ADO is a new player in the electric bike market, but they’ve impressed us with this offering. And we’re intrigued to see how far they can go. They’ve created a budget-friendly eBike, that is packed full of premium features without the premium price tag. It’s incredibly well-built, looks decent albeit a little strange, is adjustable, collapsable and best of all comfortable to ride.
Electric modes of transport are clearly the way of the future. Whether it be a car, bike or scooter, you will see more of these types of electric vehicles on the roads soon enough. And we’re glad we’re jumping on the bandwagon now.
We’ve really enjoyed testing the A20 eBike out and can’t wait to take it on more adventures in the future. Cross your city with ADO eBike.
Liked our eBike review? Be sure to check out more of our tech reviews by clicking right HERE.