Despite what you think, Scrambler style electric bikes have some really serious fan base. The reasons might seem a bit obscure to know why anyone would want electric bare bones of a bike, but once you look at them more closely the advantages of riding a Scrambler e-bike are quite apparent. So today, I am going to review the Ariel Rider D-Class scrambler e-bike, which is the first one of its sort on this blog and for good reason. This bike is one of the perfect bikes you could get your hands on as a beginner and let me tell you why.
Before anything, just a little heads up! this review is based on what I think of this bike and needless to say that this is not a sponsored review. The following thoughts and insights are without any discrepancies and we just hope that this ariel rider d-class review helped you in some way. If it did help you or you have some cool stories to share, feel free to do so in the comments down below. We are always excited to hear your thoughts and questions.
With that out of the way, one of the main advantages or features I would say with riding a bike like this is :surprise surprise: FUN. This bike a lot of fun to ride and its one of those things you are kind of hesitant about at first but will surely enjoy once you do it.
I will try my best in detailing the features/specs of this bike and why you might find them helpful in an everyday situation. Use the Table of contents to switch/skip between the sections you are interested in, though I recommend reading the whole thing.
Frame
Starting with the frame, Ariel Rider D class comes with a high-step, whole aluminum alloy purpose-built frame. The first impression of this bike is that it’s built for heavy-duty stuff and it comes as no surprise that it has a maximum weight capacity of around 320lbs. Along with the long seat this bike comes with, this essentially means you can carry another person in the rear (or two just kidding).
The D-Class is built for functionality over everything else and many decisions on this bike come across as thoughtful. The frame is designed to be modular for adding additional accessories to make the bike suit the riders’ needs.
The wide Double heat-treated tubes provide enough strength to support front and rear racks with no problem. You’ll also be delighted with the cup holder this thing comes with. Delighted? with a cup holder? you might think but this is an adjustable cup holder and it is secured by two big top tubes. This means you can put your Starbucks coffee(not to the brim) without worrying that it would spill and cause sticky mayhem. They also have a built-in bottle cage bosses if you want to carry an extra water bottle.
To give the bike a clean look most of the cables are internally routed apart from a single cable running below the bottom tube for rear brakes. The cables are also well organized with retro telephone-style cable organizers which keeps the whole thing look clean. The frame also has a lifetime warranty which shows the trust of Ariel Rider in their products.
Fork and Stem
The fork on Ariel Rider D Class is a Double Crown fork made of rigid aluminum alloy. The stem is integrated directly into the fork and makes it look like the fork to handlebar is one single piece of solid aluminum. The Stem is height adjustable and I also think the long saddle offers a lot of seat positions to compensate for the lack of angle adjustability.
Saddle
The saddle on this scramble bike is a custom made Faux Leather Banana stitch-style saddle. This has a sense of nostalgia with that retro Honda motorbikes and they are surprisingly comfy and long with a capital L.
As I was half-joking this bike can carry 3 people, as long as the whole weight adds up to less than the recommended weight limit of 320lbs (and its legal to do so) you can do it. But this could be a great vehicle for picking up your kids from school and they won’t be mad.
You can also extend the seat space by adding an additional rear rack. Talking about carrying people, this e-bike as comes with footpegs but not the sort you’d think, they are really sturdy and really comfortable for passengers’ feet in the back.
Drivetrain
The Drivetrain on Ariel Rider D-Class is not amazing but as expected of a Scrambler style bike. When building this bike, choosing the top of the line Shimano drivetrain components is not their priorities and rightfully so. This is for people who want to commute on the urban roads and have some fun offroading now and then with an emphasis on commute and fun.
This e-bike comes with a Shimano Tourney 7 speed rear derailleur with a 14-28 tooth 7-speed cassette and 48 tooth steel chainring crank. I think this is a balanced drivetrain for a bike like this. I would even be okay with a single-speed on this bike. But Shimano Tourney shifter is reliable and even if you run into any issues with it along the line you can replace it without spending a fortune.
A good call on this bike is to add a plastic guide for the steel crank, which is a very good idea unless you want to go everywhere with your cycling shorts on. Apart from preventing your clothes get stuck in the cranks, it can also avoid some serious situations with exposed cranks(without the chain on top) during maintenance.
Aluminum wellgo pedals are also a good addition and extra points for not throwing some plastic pedals and calling it a day. The shifter is a Shimano SIS Index thumb shifter like the ones you see on motorbikes.
Tires
The Kenda Krusade Sport tires on this thing make up for a lack of suspension if you are getting the baseline variant. They are 20″ x 4″ wide tires with extra treads which are a common sight on dirt bikes for extra traction and shock absorption.
The Kenda Krusades come with reflective logos that look pretty cool at night. Another advantage of shorter and wider tires like this is you get to rock a huge range of tire pressure. These tires can be inflated with 5 PSI to 30 PSI depending upon the terrain you are riding this on.
If you are commuting on well-paved roads then try to keep the pressure around 25-30 PSI this gives you the best mileage and efficiency. But if you are in an offroad setting, running a lower pressure helps in reducing that bumpy ride feeling. But keep in mind not to go below the acceptable range because you will have a chance of getting a pinch flat.
Brakes
Ariel Rider D Class comes with Tektro’s 160mm Hydraulic Disc brakes with dual-piston calipers. They might seem a little bit short compared to other electric bikes, but they are perfect for the shorter tires. These brakes also have an adjustable reach and motor inhibitors which won’t give you stiff finger joints if you have to hit the brakes often.
Electric Parts
Well, these are juicy parts of the bike, so I saved them for last. This bike is ridiculously extra in all good ways.
Motor
Speaking of extra, there are two Dapu M155 Geared Hub motors each having a capacity of 750-watt nominal and 900-watt peak output. These motors have a combined torque rating of 150 Newton meters which is insane and one of the coolest things to do on any electric bike is Burnouts. Yes, you heard me right with the level cranked to high you can do actual burnouts on this scrambler bike.
You can use a toggle/switch on the handlebar to select which motors to use which is not usually found on other bikes but functional. To use the front motor toggle the switch to left and to right for the rear and balance the switch for using them both.
The combined torque of the two motors is too high, so just as a precaution while starting from rest use the back motor. Eventually, after reaching a comfortable speed around 8-12 mph you can turn the front motor for that extra surge of power.
Being a (class 4 ebike disguised as a)class 2 electric bike, this can reach speeds of up to 20 mph and maintain it on the throttle. But another surprise is this bike ships with a speed limit, to disable the speed limit you have to enter the password 1919.
With the speed limit disabled you can reach speeds upwards of 30 mph which is ridiculous for an electric bike and a scrambler bike at that. Before doing so check with your local laws that there might be a restriction with an e-bike’s speed limits.
Battery
To power these power-hungry motors you need to have a big size battery and that’s what you get on this bike. Even on the baseline model, you get a comfortable 14.5 ah or 686 wh battery which can get you to all the places. But if you are riding with a passenger at the back, getting the higher variant with 17.6 ah or 844.8 wh battery is not a bad deal. They both are rated 48-volt Lithium-ion batteries and are made of trusty Samsung cells.
The battery charges from 0 to 100 in about 5.5 hours which seems to be the standard charging time for any other electric bike. But considering this is a larger battery than its counterparts, the 5.5 hour charging time is justified.
The range of a bike differs from the settings you are running this bike like what pedal assist you are using, how many motors you are using etc. So this bike has a min range of 20 miles with all the settings cranked up to high and a max range of 60 miles with generous pedal assist and throttle.
You can remove the battery by inserting the key and turning it to release the battery. You can turn on and check the battery by long pressing on the power button.
Display and Lights
Ariel Rider D-Class electric bike comes with a color LCD with a backlight for dark conditions. Everything from brightness to units can be configured with the buttons on the left side of your handlebar.
The LCD shows useful stats like the odometer info, speed, mode you are currently in, battery percentage, and others. You can switch between them by pressing the arrow buttons on the handlebar. You can also long-press the same up arrow button to turn on the super bright lights.
There are 12 LEDs inside and this kind of falls in between the region of be-seen to aware of the landscape which is quite impressive. The backlights are present on the battery which act as an indicator for your bike.
There is a potential to add another mount below the LED for your phone as there is also a USB charging hub for your phone.
The sensor used to enable the pedal assist is a 12 magnet cadence sensor which apart from discretely providing speed boosts there is nothing to complain about.
This is a solid bike and definitely worth the money you are paying. This has the potential to become a reliable commuter or a fun offroading hobby. In comparison to other scramble e-bikes, this stood out to me the most. Mainly because of the value and unique features it is offering at a relatively affordable price.
Hopefully, see you in the comments below and have a nice ride!