While Aventon is primarily known as an electric bike brand, the company began manufacturing fixies in 2013. This gives it some credibility when it comes to offering enjoyable rides to experienced cyclists. (In addition to the Current ADV, there is also a high-end model, the Current EXPwith a more expensive carbon frame and better components.) Since his first venture into electric mountain bikes with the The Ramblas in 2024the company has continued to develop electric mountain bikes that are very well designed for the price.
The designers behind the latest iterations have done a masterful job. The Current ADV looks 100 percent like the contemporary mountain bike. With its 6061 aluminum frame, SRAM Eagle groupset, Maxxis Minion tubeless-ready tires wrapping a pair of 29er double wall wheels, 170mm
Photography: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
It should be noted that while the engine is owned by Aventon, the components are not. It may be difficult to have your local bike shop look at the battery and motor, but assuming everything is fine, it won’t be difficult to swap in something else if you need to repair it.
Despite its design and driving feel, all of which can easily make you forget that you’re driving electric, the Current ADV is a class 1 e-MTB (which can be switched to class 3 via the brand’s app), and which offers hours and hours of driving on a single charge.
The 800 watt-hour battery is neatly stored in the bike’s relatively small downtube, providing a claimed range of up to 105 miles. Of course, I didn’t get that, as I was constantly switching between one of the Current ADV’s five power modes (Auto, Eco, Trail, Turbo, and a new 30-second mode). Boost mode for more torque on big hills). Yet the longest day I spent on the bike’s ultra-comfortable Selle Royal SRX saddle was around three hours. During this time, the battery only dropped about 20 percent.
Eyes up
The biggest flaw I found in the Current is small and seemingly simple, but it nonetheless had a major impact on my rides. It’s the fact that when you click on the power settings, 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. The fact that these beeps had the exact same tone meant that I instinctively kept looking at the top tube-mounted display to see what mode I was in.