Three Things I Noticed About the Carrera Vengeance-E 3.0
This e-MTB is a serious stunner in the field
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Riding an e-bike for the first time is something of a game-changer, and there are plenty of us at T3 who feel like it’s one of the single biggest tech upgrades anyone can make – it’ll change your relationship to your whole neighbourhood and beyond. Swap that up for an e-MTB (mountain bike), though, and you’re into a whole new world.
First thing noticed:
the assist makes climbs feel less punishing
We already mentioned it in our intro, but it bears repeating – cycling back to the start of a trail can be pretty knackering, and the same goes for the average leisure ride or even a daily commute. Sure, bikes are miles more efficient than walking, but they’re still powered entirely by your muscles, which can mean you arrive at the end of your ride feeling hot and tired.
With the Carrera Vengeance-E 3.0, that sort of problem is a thing of the past. Its Bafang rear hub motor gives you such a huge boost while cycling that uphills are no struggle at all – in fact, with 45Nm of torque behind you, you’ll be amazed at how effortless they feel. Frankly, perhaps the only issue it brings is the jealousy of other riders as you zip past them.
That motor is paired with a really great battery to give you between 25 and 40 miles of range on a charge, which should be more than enough to see you through even the busiest day of cycling, whether it’s on trails or more urban.
It’s not just the e-bike parts, though. You get Tektro mechanical disc brakes to make controlling your speed really easy, Kenda tyres for great durability on that side, and a Suntour XCM32-DS fork, with 120mm travel in its suspension to ensure that you’re not left jarred and shaken as you ride. That adds up to some crazy value given the whole bike’s just £1099 from Halfords, including setup.
For one thing, its battery is really sleekly integrated into its frame, but that doesn’t stop it from being fully removable for charging and storage. We always love this feature since it also means you can lock a bike up securely and remove the battery as a deterrent for thieves, but it’s also brilliant for charging flexibility.
It’s also really comfortable, and that suspension makes it far more forgiving to ride on mixed terrain – whether it’s over rocky trails or speed bumps on the way to the shops.
A bike that’s great off-road but useless around town can be a bit of a burden, but the Carrera Vengeance-E 3.0 feels way too cleverly designed to fall into that trap. It has a bunch of features to make your life easier in regular use.
SECOND thing noticed:
it feels built for real-world weekend riding
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This gives you loads of control over your ride and how much effort you want to add to it, as well as letting you tune whether you want maximum power or maximum range at any given moment.
The aforementioned removable battery also means that if you’re out on a ride and want to top up while you have lunch, for instance, you could find a power point and do so without needing to drag the whole bike to it (though you would need to remember to take the charger with you). That’s the sort of convenience that really makes a difference when you’re on rides instead of just dreaming of them.
When you’re using an e-bike, there can be a real range of complexity, but the best bikes generally make things user-friendly in our experience. We found the Carrera Vengeance-E 3.0 definitely ticked that box, with a simple interface on its handlebar-mounted TFT display. This little display features some easy buttons to let you swap between assist levels, and there are five to choose from.
Plus, of course, since this bike’s exclusive to Halfords, you can also really easily add some affordable extras to it to make it even better. Something as simple as a Plastic Bottle Cage can give you a handy bottle holder for long days (which you can pair with an Elite Fly Tex Bottle), while some Rechargeable LED Bike Lights will have you able to ride safely at all times, at great prices.
Even once you’re all set up, the fact that you can head back to Halfords for advice or aftercare if you ever need it is a great reason to pick up the Carrera Vengeance-E 3.0, and it’s really just the cherry on top of a pretty phenomenal offering.
THIRD thing noticed:
the tech made simple
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Elite Fly Tex Bottle, 550ml Clear
£5.99
Halfords Plastic Bottle Cage, Black
£6.00
HALFORDS USB Rechargeable LED Bike Light Set
£15.00
Anyone who bikes off-road even occasionally will know the pain of slogging back uphill after a great trail, and will also probably know how unsuitable many mountain bikes can be for regular use. Enter the Carrera Vengeance-E 3.0, an electric mountain bike that we had the pleasure of testing as part of a team-up with Halfords recently.
It’s been a pretty superb experience, and we’re here now to give you a quick glimpse into just what made it such an impressive prospect to use. Here are three big things we noticed while riding it.