The Aerobic Cruiser is a powerful recumbent electric bike that offers a comfortable ride through adjustable seat, back rest and full suspension design elements. It’s not the lightest bike around at 100+lbs but the 1,000 watt hour battery and near silent 750 watt hub motor ensure you’ll never struggle with medium to large sized hills, large loads or windy conditions. It’s capable of 50+ miles of riding per charge which is great because transporting this thing is not easy. The battery isn’t designed to be taken off and the frame is long and unique so you basically need a truck and at least two people to load it up.
Powering this thing is a 750 watt geared rear hub motor. That’s as powerful as you can legally get on a fully assembled ebike in the USA while still qualifying as a bicycle; avoiding licensing and insurance. It operates very quietly and offers a lot of torque for acceleration and climbing. Considering its size, the motor is small and unobtrusive. It does add some unsprung weight on the rear swing arm but is lighter than a direct drive motor would have been and less complex than a mid-drive system.
The battery pack offers 49.8 volts of power and about 25 amp hours of capacity. It’s a 1,000 watt hour pack (that’s one kilowatt hour) which is enough to cruise for about two hours and around 50 miles depending on the terrain, rider and weather factors like wind. It uses Lithium Iron Phosphate LiFePO4 cells that are designed to last through more cycles and deal with heat better than some other chemistries. I love that they positioned the battery pack at the center of this bike down as low as it could go. This keeps the Aerobic Cruiser balanced and stable when mounting and riding. Somehow they were also able to fit a water bottle cage inside the top tube and down tube area which is awesome (you need water during rides and this is very convenient). The one downside to this battery is that it’s basically permanently fixed to the bike, you’d have to unscrew the plastic shields on both sides to get the cells out and that’s not recommended. This means you need a garage or large room in which to charge the bike and can’t make it lighter for transporting by taking the bike off. Keep in mind, Lithium batteries are sensitive to extreme cold and heat. If your garage gets really hot in the summer and that’s where the bike is parked you might shorten its life and getting a new one on there is going to take some work.
The seating position and control dashboard on this bike are superb. The saddle is oversized and very comfortable. The back rest angle is adjustable and the vented fabric keeps you cool. I mentioned the bottle cage earlier for transporting water and this becomes even more important with a bike that basically prohibits backpack wearing. You could always put a camelback on the front of your torso or use a hip pack. The handlebars are long and adjustable so they come to you vs. reaching and straining your back. All of your body weight is positioned over your hips and spread out through the back rest so my neck, back and shoulders all felt great when riding (especially with the full suspension design). Since the control panel is also front and center, it’s not difficult to read or adjust when riding. This ebike uses Cycle Analyst Pro 2.5 which lets you flip through different readouts to determine how far you’ve gone, what your voltage is at and how fast you’re traveling. It’s a great setup.
This bike is clearly not for everyone but for the right person it’s quiet extraordinary. Building an electric recumbent bike with full suspension that also feels balanced and unobtrusive is no small feat. Sure, the battery isn’t removable but at least it’s low, center and out of the way. Yeah, it’s heavy but the thing is quiet, powerful and capable of riding for miles and miles before running low. The Aerobic Cruiser is available in limited quantities and one shop that I know carries and services it is Certified Electric Bikes Specialists in Chattanooga, TN.
Mark Weedman
9 years agoI was apart of this team years ago . I can tell you the dedication and hard work has paid off…..What a product this Bike has turned out to be. WOW.. Congratulations to Charlie McVean and crew for making the most remarkable transportation and exercise bike on the face of this earth. Sincerely
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoWow! Thanks for sharing your involvement here Mark. Do you feel that anything was missed with this review? I’d love to hear your expert insider perspective. I agree that it was a well built machine and that it offered something truly special :)
ReplyWalter Brown
6 years agoAre there any successors being developed that might take the place of the Aerobic Cruiser which has been out of production for some time? I have seen a few “proto-types” from their Tennessee plant that were about 2/3 the size and weight of the original. Any news on possible production run? Anything on this development would be welcome news.
ReplyCourt
6 years agoHi Walter, I haven’t seen anything in this category but will keep an eye out. Maybe someone else will chime in here. You could post the same question in the EBR forums and link to this review, maybe someone there will be able to help you identify alternatives.
ReplyJames
4 years agoI own 2 Aerobic Cruisers. Need rear wheel motor due to a crash. Wires to rear hub motor damaged. Know anybody that has parts?
James Frye
ReplyCourt
4 years agoHi James! Unfortunately, I do not know of anyone with these specific parts for the Aerobic Cruiser, but I suspect that you could replace the rear hub motor entirely (possibly with a new rear wheel) and get your bike going again! I have seen the motor power cable damaged before (on many ebikes) if the bike tips or the bolts holding the rear wheel are loose and it spins. Check out Grin Technologies, as they sell motor kits and parts. Also check out the Electric Bike Outfitters company that sells many motors and sizes. You could then ask for advice and tips in the kits section of the EBR forums here.
jeff co
2 years agoDid you find the motor you are looking for? I have one i might consider parting with.. 1djeffco2 at g mail.. I have a cherished AC, ive been using a d.d. on the back. I will prob end up trying a cyclone or bbhd mid drive to see if any room for perfection, but, the AC is pretty close to perfect as designed, imho! A sincere thanks to everyone who helped design and build these!
David P
2 years agoWould anyone be able to email a owner’s manual to the Aerobics Cruiser Innovation eBike? barcenad@gmail.com
ReplyCourt
2 years agoHi David! This is such an old electric bike, I wish I had the manual for you, but I do not. Perhaps a local bicycle shop could help you with any questions, and you could tinker with it and figure out what is needed even without a manual? Good luck!
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