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I've written a lot of e-bike reviews for Lifehacker, and almost all of the bikes have come from established companies like Canyon, Aventon, and Specialized. Though they came from big brands, you generally can't buy these bikes from large retailers like Amazon or Best Buy; you gotta buy 'em direct or through a bike shop. That means you have to put in a little more legwork to get one, but it's worth it. I always recommend test riding as many bikes as you can, and since those big box retailers tend to sell lower-priced e-bikes, the quality can vary wildly.

To demonstrate this (and provide a general guide of red flags to look for in an e-bike), I'm comparing a fat-tire e-bike you can get at Walmart, The Magicyle Ocelot Pro, against a comparable, straight-to-consumer ride, The Aventon Aventure 3. At first glance, they seems similar—both are fat-tire trail bikes designed to be ridden on both local bike paths and a gravel roads—but there's a world of difference between them.

The price of an e-bike

E-bikes are not cheap. For a reliable-but-not-flashy ride, you'll probably spend at least $1,500. You can buy e-bikes on Amazon for ridiculously low prices, like this e-mountain bike for $355, but I wouldn't ride this particular bike anywhere, let alone down a mountain. I'm a big fan of semi-disposable consumer goods in most cases, but not when it comes to safety; a powered vehicle that can reach speeds of nearly 30mph is not where you want to skimp.

The Magicycle Ocelot Pro isn't one of these dirt-cheap bikes. They seem like they're somewhere between a no-name-special and a bike from a more established company. Unlike most bicycle companies, you can get Magicycles through larger retailers. The company lists the Ocelot Pro at $2,399 with a markdown to $1,499, but Walmart says the list price is $1,699. An Aventon Aventure 3 costs $1999, and can only be purchased through the company and partnered bike shops.

Many people might think that because the Magicycle is cheaper and easier to purchase, the choice is obvious—but that $500 or so is the difference between one of the best e-bikes I've tested and one of the worst.

Profit margins and cut corners

Manufacturers who sell through retail chains have a much larger base of potential buyers, but the downside is, generally, whippet-skinny profit margins. While I obviously don't know what Magicycle's profit-margins are like, my first impression of the Ocelot Pro was "corners were cut."

Before I even gave it a test drive, I spun the front wheel. It's not aligned properly, which I noticed immediately:

Getting a wheel sorted costs about $20 at your local bike shop, but many bike shops flat-out won't work on bicycles with parts that aren't from established companies. The Ocelot Pro is a mishmash of lower end components from brands like Shimano and parts with no manufacturer listed, so you could run into problems with repairs down the road.

Speaking of non-name-brand parts, both WalMart's site and Magicycle's picture an Ocelot Pro with 20X4" tires from Kenda, a reputable tire company, but the tires on the actual bike have no name. Look:

These anonymous tires might be fine, but how could you know? As promised, Aventon's bike has 26x4" Inova tires.

Speaking of parts, the Aventure's suspension fork was made by Zoom. While not a top-of-the-line component, Zoom forks are a solid, lower-end component. Like its tires, the Ocelot's fork was made by no one, so who knows how it will perform? For casual riding, it would likely never make a difference, but these are both ostensibly all-terrain bikes that you can ride on gravel, which suggests a level of ruggedness that I wouldn't feel comfortable trusting to a mystery suspension fork.

Speed test

Both the Aventure 3 and the the Ocelot Pro are legally classified as "class 3" e-bikes. That means the motor assistance should stop at 28 mph from pedaling, and the throttle-only assistance is supposed to top out at 20 mph. But on my first ride on the Ocelot, I twisted the throttle and the thing accelerated to nearly 23 mph. For comparison, the Aventure 3 tops out at 20 mph. Check it out:

That makes the Ocelot Pro the fastest throttled e-bike I've ever tested for Lifehacker. "It goes faster" might be a selling point for some, but it makes this bike technically illegal to ride on the streets of California. Cops aren't likely to be radar-checking to make sure your e-bike never breaks 20 mph, but going over the limit by anything suggests a lack of quality control, a corner that has been cut. Another point of comparison in the video above: while both bikes output around the same amount of power, the Ocelot Pro's motor is a lot louder than the Aventon's.

And then there's the battery gauge. For technical reasons involving voltage and amperages, the "fuel gauges" on e-bikes are never that accurate, but the Ocelot's is among the worst I've experienced. It's all over the place: when I left to take the above video, the gauge read 67%. It was 32% half a mile later, then down to 22% after a mile ride. I turned the thing on and off, and it was at 56%:

Everything else

Beyond parts and performance, there are the intangibles that separate a budget e-bike from a premium one, and they matter, particularly when you're playing between $1,500 and $2,000 for a product.

Overall, the Aventure 3 looks and rides like a premium e-bike: the welds are clean and the paint is sharp. The Ocelot Pro feels thrown together. It's not something you can measure on a spec sheet, but I've tested many e-bikes for Lifehacker, and I can feel the difference between a janky bike and a solid one. The Aventon feels like a bike you could trust on a long ride; the Ocelot feels like a bike you’d be nervous to take too far from home.

The Aventure 3 comes with an app that connects to the bike via Bluetooth, letting you track rides, tweak settings (including getting granular with the pedal assist levels), and update firmware. It also features a suite of built-in anti-theft features—like disabling the motor if the bike is stolen and GPS tracking—for extra peace of mind. There's even a mini social media feature to check out what other Aventon riders are up to. The Magicycle has none of that. You’re buying a single product, not something that feels supported or maintained over time.

Be careful where you buy your bike

On paper, the Aventon Aventure 3 and the Magicycle Ocelot Pro look like they’re playing in the same league, but they just ain't. The Aventure delivers reliable performance, thoughtful features, and long-term support, while the Ocelot cuts corners in ways you might not notice, especially if you haven't ridden a ton of e-bikes. If you’re spending $1,500 or more on a bike, it’s worth spending a little extra for a brand with a reputation for producing worthwhile products. So my advice remains the same: test ride as many bikes as you can, and before you buy an e-bike from Target (or Walmart, or Amazon), make very sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

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