The Ride1Up Café Cruiser is a quality eBike that is great for cruising, light cargo, and carrying a second passenger. With the option to easily add an additional seat on the built-in rack, the Ride1Up quickly transforms into a Ride2up!
Out of the box, the Cafe Cruiser performs well and comes in at a budget-friendly price. With the option to carry an extra passenger, it opens the door for fun with friends, family, and date nights.
If you’re looking for a commuter eBike that doubles up as a passenger eBike, you’ll definitely want to have the Café Cruiser on your radar! In this review, we will tell you what we hate and love about the Café Cruiser.
Click herefor the current pricing and availability on the Ride1Up.
Use coupon code jc_50 to save $50
How is the ride quality carrying an extra passenger with the Ride1Up Café Cruiser?
The Café Cruiser is a well-balanced bike that has swooped handlebars that allows you to cruise around in a nice upright stance.
My favorite thing about this ebike is the option to add a passenger seat that is well designed, comfortable, and easy to use. The Cafe Cruiser Passenger Kit comes with a comfy quick connect seat, pegs, and wheel covers.
When adding a passenger on the rear seat with the optional upgrade, the bike feels stable and it’s easy to ride 2up.
By being in an upright position with the ability to throttle, the Café Cruiser is very comfortable when carrying an extra passenger.
The pegs in the rear allow a comfortable place for the passenger to rest their feet and the plastic guards shielding the rear wheel prevent clothes and body parts from getting tangled into the moving parts of the ebike.
How big is the motor on the Ride1Up Café Cruiser?
The Café Cruiser has a sustained 750-watt motor that has an output of 60 Nm.
The motor exceeds a lot of the 1000-watt motor eBikes we have reviewed in the past. It is quiet and almost has a subtle blow-off valve sound when using pedal-assist or throttle.
I am beyond impressed with how quickly the Café Cruiser accelerates.
High quality components on the Ride1Up Café Cruiser
Ride1Up makes quality eBikes with great paint jobs and uses hardened alloy fenders.
I love the tire choices on their bikes especially the 26″x3″ Chaoyang SandStone balloon tires on the Café Cruiser.
The tread on the tires grips well and handles sand with ease. A lot of eBike manufacturers cheap out on tires but Ride1up always sources great tires with a grippy compound.
The large comfy seat helps a ton when cruising for hours. Most eBikes have hard seats that can become painful over bumps and long rides. The Café Cruiser uses Zoom hydraulic disc brakes and a Shimano Acera Derailleur.
Overall, we commend Ride1Up for choosing quality components over profits.
How much suspension travel does the Ride1Up Café Cruiser have?
The Café Cruiser’s front Mozo hydraulic suspension has 80mm of travel and is much better than the suspension we find on the Aventon Level and Pace.
I tend to bottom out easily on Aventon front suspension forks but I never have an issue with bottoming out on the Café Cruiser. Ride1UP actually uses hydraulic suspension while most budget eBike companies choose the less expensive coil suspension.
Does the Ride1Up Café Cruiser ride like a traditional bike?
One of my favorite things about the Café Cruiser is the ride quality. The bike actually feels like a traditional bike when riding it. The geometry is on point with the Café Cruiser so you can cruise along without pedal assist perfectly fine.
Click herefor the current pricing on the Ride1Up.
Use coupon code jc_50 to save $50
What I hate about the Ride1Up Café Cruiser?
Black and white display
Front light is not that bright
Pedal assist delay
Extra runoff after you stop pedaling
Passenger’s feet can hit your feet when pedaling
Protector was not drilled correctly
It’s 2022 and the 1990s are asking for their display back
I wish all eBikes would offer a color display. It’s not that much more for color displays, and the black and white ones used on the Cafe Cruiser remind me of Casio watch from the 1990s.
I love all the components on the Café Cruiser except for the display.
Does the Ride1Up Café Cruiser have pedal assist delay?
The simple answer is yes.
All cadence sensor eBikes we have reviewed in the past have a pedal assist delay, and the Café Cruiser is no exception.
Cadence sensors sense the rotations in the pedal, so you have to make a few pedal revolutions for it to kick in. Once you stop pedaling, you are going to experience a short runoff as the motor continues for a little longer.
The short runoffs can be scary in certain situations, such as if you are in a crowded area or near a cliff’s edge. You can always engage the brakes and the motor will stop, but novice eBike riders may be caught by surprise by the runoff and forget to brake.
Just understand that pedal-assist delay is an inherent trait of cadence sensors.
Is the light on the Ride1Up Café Cruiser safe for night riding?
The light on the Café Cruiser is meh.
It’s not that bright and the throw isn’t that big. If you are going to be doing a lot of night riding, I would highly suggest getting an upgraded light for the handlebars.
Click herefor the current pricing on the Ride1Up
Use coupon code jc_50 to save $50
Final Thoughts
If you are wanting an eBike that you can use to as a cruiser or a commuter that can easily be upgraded to pick up the kids or take your significant other on a date, the Ride1Up Café Cruiser is the perfect match for you.
With the ability to take the extra seat off quickly, you can use it as a cruiser-type commuter eBike and change it to a passenger eBike in a few seconds.
The bike is powerful enough to cruise up hills, and the nice comfy seat will all you to cruise around for hours.
Ride1Up makes quality eBikes and is backed by great US-based service teams. You can’t go wrong picking up the Ride1Up Café Cruiser.
Ride1Up Café Cruiser Discount Codes, Coupon Codes, and Pricing
Click herefor the current pricing on the Ride1Up
Use coupon code jc_50 to save $50
Click here to view all our coupons and discounts on scooters and other PEVs.
Click here to view all the safety gear that Jimmy and I use.
Facebook – Please join our eBikepedia Facebook group for the most up-to-date information.
Interested in electric scooters, check out our gotscooter blog.
Click here to check out all our coupon codes for other PEVs.
Use our Freshly Charged E-bike Comparison Tool to evaluate this E-bike alongside more than 450 other E-bikes. Compare and organize bikes by factors such as price, pedal-assisted speed, battery size, weight, tire size, and more!
We are Andrew and Jimmy, two guys who love personal electric vehicles, and we hope to share our experiences and reviews to help you find the best next PEV for your needs.
