Aventon Current ADV Electric Mountain Bike Review: Feels Just Like the Real Thing

While Aventon is best known as an ebike brand, the company started out by making fixies in 2013. This gives it some authenticity when it comes to creating an enjoyable ride for experienced cyclists. (In addition to the current ADV, there is also a higher-end model, the current EXP, with a more expensive carbon frame and better components.) Since its first venture into e-MTB with the Ramblas in 2024, the company has continued to develop very well-specced electric mountain bikes for the price.

The designers behind the latest iterations did an excellent job. The current ADV looks 100 percent contemporary mountain bike. With its 6061 aluminum frame, SRAM Eagle groupset, tubeless-ready Maxxis Minion tyres, wrapping a pair of double-walled 29-inch wheels, a 170-mm It would be easy to confuse the current ADV.

Photograph: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani

It is worth noting that the motor is owned by Aventon, but the components are not. It may be difficult to get to your local bike shop to look at the battery and motor, but assuming they’re OK, it won’t be difficult to replace anything else if you need it repaired.

Despite its design and riding experience, all of these things can easily make you forget you’re riding electric The current ADV is a Class 1 e-MTB (which can be toggled to Class 3 via the brand’s app), and which gives hours of riding on a single charge.

The 800 watt-hour battery is tucked neatly into the bike’s relatively short downtube, giving a claimed range of up to 105 miles. Of course, I almost didn’t get it, because I was constantly switching through any of the current ADV’s five power modes (Auto, Eco, Trail, Turbo, and a new, 30-second boost mode for extra torque on big hills). Still, I spent the longest day, about three hours, in the bike’s super-comfortable Selle Royal SRX saddle. In that time, the battery dropped only 20 percent.

eyes up

The biggest flaw I found with the Current was small and seemingly innocuous, but it still had a big impact on my trips. The fact is that, upon clicking the power setting, the bike beeps, and all those beeps sound the same.

When I’m mountain biking (and probably when you’re mountain biking too), the last thing I want to do is take my eyes off the trail. Those beeps being exactly the same in tone meant I instinctively looked down at the top-tube-mounted display to see what mode I was in.