Decathlon Riverside Test 500 E: a slightly raw tapping electric bike

Standard Delivery in Belgium Costs € 49, and Express Delivery € 79. Delivery Time Depends On Where The Bike is Stored: Allow 2 to 3 Working Days for Express Delivery, and 3 to 8 Working Days for Standard Delivery. If you wish to purchase A Cargo Bike or An Accessory, Delivery Charge May Differ.
The Bike is delivered with a loader, Battery Keys and All Original Accessories (visible in the photos). Your bike will be delivered 99% Assembled, so all you have to do is follow our guide to screew the pedals back on, turn the handlebars 90 ° and retighten the stem using the tools we provide. We’ll be happy to assist you via cat if necessary.

Riverside 500E

Standard Delivery in Belgium Costs € 49, and Express Delivery € 79. Delivery Time Depends On Where The Bike is Stored: Allow 2 to 3 Working Days for Express Delivery, and 3 to 8 Working Days for Standard Delivery. If you wish to purchase A Cargo Bike or An Accessory, Delivery Charge May Differ.
The Bike is delivered with a loader, Battery Keys and All Original Accessories (visible in the photos). Your bike will be delivered 99% Assembled, so all you have to do is follow our guide to screew the pedals back on, turn the handlebars 90 ° and retighten the stem using the tools we provide. We’ll be happy to assist you via cat if necessary.

How Are Electric Bikes Reconditioned?

At Upway, Every Electric Bike Pass Through The Hands of A Professional Mechanic. The Mechanic Begins by Inspecting 20 Different Points on the Bike, then Proceeds to repair and replace mechanical parts in order to restore it to condition as possible to new: new tires, new chain, brake bleeding. The Motor, Battery and Charger, and All Electronic Components are then diagnosed. The Battery is replaced when its life is deemed insufficient.
Finallly, the bike is added, checked again and cleaned before before online on our website! To find out More, Visit Our Page Dedicated To Upway Reconditioning.

What payment methods do you accept? Is it possible to pay in installations?

You can pay by credit card in one or more installations, free of charge. Please check that your credit card limited is sufficient for the love of the bike. We also Accept Payment by Bancontact.
If your card limit is insufficient, you can choose to pay in 2, 3, 4 or 10 installations free of charge via our partner alma, or opt for a separate bank transfer via our partner mollie. An invvoice will be feel to you automatically after your purchase.

How do the One-Year Upway Warranty Work?

Our One-Year Warranty Covers Your Bike’s Frame, Battery, Motor and Electronics. If you experience a problem with any of these components within the first twelve months, we’ll take care of repairing your electric bike so you can get back on the road as quickly as possible.
We will redirect you to one of Our many Partner Bike Shops Near You or, if necessary, arrange for the bike to be re -rootshops.
When you buy your bike, you can also protect it against theft and breakage (accident, vandalism. ), so you can ride with complete peace of mind.

Can i return the bike if i’m not satisfied?

Yes, we fully understand that a purchased bike may not follow your needs. In this case, we’ll be happy to take the bike back withn 14 days and refund Your Purchase Price, Less Shipping Costs. Return shipping Costs 69 €.
In order to be return, your bike must have been used in a reasonable manner (distance covered less than 50 kilometers) and must be in the condition in which you receive it. Donation forget to keep the original cardboard box to facilitate the return of your bike.

Decathlon Riverside Test 500 E: a slightly raw tapping electric bike

In good all-alive bike that he is, the riverside 500 e is intended to ride both on the road and on the trails. Neither mountain bike nor road bike, he targets family hiking rather than sports exit.

Presentation

The Riverside 500 E of Decathlon is a versatile electrical assistance bike, intended for a rather leisure typed practice, but also capable of turning into a utility bike. It will then be equipped with a mudguard and a luggage rack, the bicycle only equipped with a crutch and a basic lighting system.

Based on the riverside 500 whose main lines of design and geometry it takes up, this electric version nevertheless uses a suitable frame to support a battery on its diagonal tube. It is logically heavier, reaching 22.7 kg in size M, against 14.1 kg for the muscle version.

The Riverside 500 E is marketed at a rate of € 1249 and offered in 4 sizes (S, M, L and XL) for cyclists measuring between 1.5 m and 2.01 m.

Comfort and ergonomics

Without trying to reach the comfort of a city bike, the 500 E riverside aims for a more relaxing driving position than on a mountain bike. The geometry of its frame is thus designed to avoid being too tilted towards the handlebars. A semi-raised hanger with ergonomic handles helps keep a relatively relaxing position.

It is of course not a Dutch bicycle which would offer a completely straightened driving position, but the occasional cyclists will find an easy bike there and not too tiring on hiking.

We cannot say that the 500 E riverside is a comfortable bike. Very rigid, it does not filter the vibrations transmitted to its aluminum framework. Its hanging fork does not change much and is mainly used to collect the hollows and bumps.

On a bike, however, the bulk of the filtration work is provided by its tires. With their dimensions of 700 x 40c, the CST tires shoot that equip this 500 e are unfortunately not a great help at this level. We will opt for wider tires authorizing a lower pressure if you want to gain a little comfort and improve the behavior of the bicycle on paths.

To preserve our posterior, this riverside is equipped with a Btwin Ergofit Trekking 500 house saddle which offers satisfactory reception. It will not make miracles, however, on degraded coatings and we will therefore recommend replacing the seatpost with a suspended rod if you want to enjoy a real cushioning.

In terms of equipment, the 500 E riverside made in the minimum service. No mudguard and even fewer luggage racks, but still a crutch fixed at the pedals and which offers good stability. Decathlon nevertheless has the good idea to offer a configurator on his website, in order to order his bike with certain compatible accessories. These will unfortunately be mounted and it will therefore be necessary to do it yourself or pay a service in store for this.

In order to comply with the regulations, Decathlon provides front and rear lighting with its bicycle, but these are rudimentary and will only serve to point out the presence of the bicycle on the road. Better to plan to change at a minimum The lighthouse to ride from night outside agglomeration.

Conduct

Despite its start-up positioning all-out, the Riverside 500 e shows honorable dynamic behavior. Quite agile, it is well balanced and does not suffer too much from the overweight of electrification. We of course feel his almost 23 kg, but we do not have the impression of a clumsy bike.

It is better to be able to count on its electrical assistance, provided here by an engine housed in the hub of the rear wheel, and not by an engine associated with the crankset, price constraints oblige – the central engine bikes are generally negotiated at more than € 1,500. This engine offers a power of 250 W and a torque of 42 Nm which, failing to catapult us effortlessly at the top of the largest climbs, still offers enough to climb without suffering too much. Although he is heard, he remains discreet enough not to disturb the walks in the countryside and is forgotten if we drive in the middle of the automotive traffic.

Unlike some entry -level VAEs which only use a rotation sensor to determine when the assistance must start – and therefore offer no progressiveness (all or nothing type assistance) – the riverside 500 E benefits from a torque sensor allowing to measure the force applied at the level of the crankset axis. Electric assistance is thus proportional to the user’s pedaling force, which allows more natural pedaling – without however reaching the natural and responsiveness of a central engine system. The 3 levels of assistance thus make it possible to choose which effort we want to provide, which allows in particular to be content with a level 1 or 2 to roll on dish and reserve level 3 for the largest climbs, for example.

The change of mode is done with the “more” and “less” buttons of the on -board computer. We have seen better in terms of ergonomics, but these buttons remain relatively accessible with the end of the left thumb.

However, we regret the lack of sweetness of the assistance, the engine tends to start suddenly, including at low speed. Without being dangerous, this behavior somewhat harms the flexibility of the pedaling. It does not help things either when driving on damp paths, because of mediocre adhesion of tires.

On the transmission side, the riverside is satisfied with entry -level components. Although gear passages lack sweetness and responsiveness, the system still reacts properly and we have not encountered a problem for use. We especially appreciate the right development beach offered by the 8 -gable cassette from 11 to 34 teeth associated with a single 36 teeth tray. The smallest gear thus makes it possible to overcome good climbs with the help of the assistance, while the largest offer enough lengthening to reach 40 km/h downhill without so much grinding.

When the time comes to brake, you can count on a Tektro TKD hydraulic system based on double piston calipers and 160 mm discs at the back and at the rear. Aluminum brake levers are basic, biting and endurance are not great and rather steep tires do not frankly help exercise, but that is enough to ensure safe braking in a little more Approximately 4 m, in emergency on dry soil.

Autonomy

Giving the impression of occupying practically the entire length of the diagonal tube, the Riverside 500 E battery offers only a fairly classic capacity of 418 Wh (36 V, 11.6 Ah). We therefore did not expect any feat on the part of the autonomy – which we assess by using the highest mode of assistance.

In mode 3 therefore, the riverside 500 E provided us with assistance for 53.5 km, on an essentially road route with 652 m of elevation gain. A great performance for such a battery capacity that can be put on the account of the progressiveness of the assistance and the very rolling character of the bicycle on the road (tires inflated to 4 bars, total load of about 85 kg on the bike )).

When the time comes to recharge the battery, you can count on a 36 V charger delivering 4 A which allows you to fill up with energy in 3 h 24 min; appreciable, insofar as many other entry bikes and even mid -range (this is the case for Elops urban models at Decathlon) are delivered with a 2 A charger (overall 2 times slower).

Decathlon Riverside 500 E

The Riverside 500 E electric VTC is equipped with a brushless engine of 250 watts integrated into the rear wheel hub. The engine has maximum torque of 42 nm. Regarding electrical assistance, it is active up to a speed of 25 km/h. Beyond this speed, the engine will no longer provide assistance, in accordance with European legislation on electrical assistance bikes (VAE).

Battery and autonomy of the Decathlon Riverside 500 E

The Riverside 500 E electric VTC has a 36V 11.6 Ah lithium-ion battery, offering an energy capacity of 418Wh. This battery is designed with a tightening system that limits vibrations during rolling, thus increasing the comfort and sustainability of the device.

Despite its relatively light weight of 2.82 kg, The battery offers maximum autonomy of 90 km, depending on the conditions of use. It also serves as a supply source for the backlit LCD screen which provides key information to the cyclist such as speed, duration, distances traveled and remaining, as well as the selected assistance mode. An additional asset is the presence of a USB socket that can be used to recharge a smartphone or any other electronic device.

Cycle part

The Decathlon Riverside 500 E electric VTC is designed to adapt to a range of cyclists, with four frames available: s for cyclists from 1.50 m to 1.65 m weighing 21.8 kg, m for Those from 1.66 m to 1.77 m weighing 21.9 kg, L for cyclists from 1.78 m to 1.89 m weighing 22.0 kg, and XL for those from 1.90 m to 2.01 M. It is important to note that the total weight (more cycling bike) must not exceed 120 kg.

Regarding the cycle part, the bicycle is equipped with a suspended fork SUNTOUR NCX SF17, adjustable and blockable, with an aluminum pivot 1/8 and a magnesium scratch, offering a 63 mm travel to effectively absorb shocks.

The Riverside 500 E uses a Microshift H081 cassette in 8 speeds, Associated with a 36 -teeth single -watershed and gables from 11 to 34. The KMC Z51 channel is equipped with a quick attachment to facilitate maintenance, and the rear derailleur is a BTWIN RD M25. The derailleur controller is a Btwin SL759 and it is also equipped with an anti-déralation ring to ensure stable and reliable speed changes.

The bicycle is delivered with a bell, front and rear lighting, wheels and pedals. The Baby Porte on frame is only available for sizes M and L.

Marketing and prices

In France, the Decathlon Riverside 500 E is marketed from 1,299 euros excluding government and local aid. The setting is guaranteed for life and the spare parts for two years.