Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have been riding the Altai R500 for 3 weeks now and i´m really enjoying it. The Ebike is well built, feels robust and responds seamessly. The only mistake i made when buying is not reading the real life use specs concerning how many miles you can travel using just the throttle. The information is not deceiving...you just have to carefuly read every scenario (pedal assist, throttle only, full speed, etc). I was planning to do a 60 mile cruise (full speed, throttle only), but ended up with an almost empty battery by mile 29. No fault from the Bike...just me not reading carefuly. Other reviews state what to love about the Ebike, which i totally agree. So i´ll go ahead and mention the areas of opportunity, or some issues you´ll encounter (nothing bad tho): - There is no comfortable space for add-ons, like saddlebags, frame bag, bike trunk or even a U Lock. Being a fat tire bike, you´re facing the possibility of getting a flat tire eventually...and if you do, you can´t ride nor even walk the bike (like with a regular motorcycle with inner tubes). So you need to carry sealant, portable tire inflator and some tools to work on the valve and get the bike going; but you can´t because there is no space in the frame to add saddlebags or a small trunk. You can carry a backpack, but it´s not comfortable if you´re just cruising for fun. - The seat is comfortable for the first 20-30 minutes, but if you do a long commute, you´ll start to feel uncomfortable. - It´s good to have pedals just in case you´re running out of battery and need to get home. But in reality, it´s impossible to pedal the bike for more than a couple blocks. I had the bad luck of getting a flat tire on my 4th ride. It was impossible to walk the bike, so i had to call my wife to bring the SUV so i could take it home. The Bike is really heavy. So (just in case) figure out a way to carry sealant and a portable inflator. Besides that, this is a beautiful, fast and versatile Ebike.

H-1 Altai 500 has been a great bike for the past month that I've owned it. We were a bit skeptical at first since Hover1 had a good amount of bad reviews and recalls on their hoverboards. This bike has been nothing but a great experience so far. We’ve taken it out on a camping trip and Lake Estes. The battery life is amazing. Didn’t need to charge it once for the whole trip. I would highly recommend buying one. Maybe order directly from Hover1 as opposed to Best Buy though, since there was a month delay to even receive it.

The Hover-1 Altai R500 E-Bike has surprised me in so many ways, and I credit that to the design and engineering team at Hover-1. They decided to move away from the traditional “take a bike and make it electric” approach and designed something from the ground up that speaks more like a motorcycle than a bike. As a motorcyclist, this e-bike feels very close to home. Styling is always subjective, but I for once am a very huge fan of it. The seat and rear cowl gives cues of a cafe racer, the handlebars and headlight gives cues of a cruiser, and the frame itself gives cues of a moped. Then there are the oversized tires, which remind me of an all-terrain scrambler. This e-bike gives me all the feels…and the only thing missing is a hint of supersport! But overall, styling wins big for me. Functionality is a big subject to talk about here. At a very minimum, it is a bicycle after all. So we need to talk about the creature comforts as a bicycle. The first thing you’ll notice is that the seat height is fixed. For us vertically challenged (I’m guessing 28” inseam and below), it can be a tiny bit challenging once at a stop. The bike is only equipped with front spring forks, and will probably sag just a bit based on your weight, and hopefully that helps get your feet planted enough when a stop is needed. Peg-legging is probably a new technique you’ll have to learn. As far as the seat is concerned, it is long…so you’ll be able to scoot back and forth to get a comfortable grasp of the handlebars. A typical bike has a tiny seat and you can’t really shift your position much. Moving to the handlebars, there is adjustability there, allowing you to pivot the bars closer, if needed. The spring loaded front forks do a great job at absorbing shock and uneven surfaces, and moving from pavement to grass/dirt is very effortless on this bike. The R500 comes with a 7-speed Shimano drivetrain, and upshifts/downshifts are done effortlessly with your right thumb. Finally, there are the front and rear disc brakes which are activated by the left and right handlebar levers, and they bite enough to get you to stop at a moment's notice, but at the same time not send you over the handlebars. As an e-bike, this is where the R500 kind of blows my mind. My daily driver to work is a motorcycle, so when I threw a leg over this e-bike, it was a huge surprise to see all the controls of a motorcycle. Starting with the obvious, the right-hand twist throttle was a welcoming feature as other e-bikes I’ve tried have some thumb-activated throttle. And the throttle itself can be modulated; twist a little, and the bike will move a little…give it more “gas”, and the bike will move faster. Then there are the left hand controls, which include low/high beam headlight controls, turn signals and even a horn! Dude, that’s awesome. Moving back to throttle, there is a feature that is definitely something I need to get used to, and that’s pedal assist. When activated, a simple pedal will activate the motor and “assist” you on your ride. With 5 speed settings, the motor will activate with your pedal push at that speed setting, so hold on tight because that 500W motor is not messing around. Other great mentions are the informative LCD screen that provides information such as speed, battery life and motor power level. Performance is equally mind blowing. Although advertised at max speeds of up to 28 mph, I’ve been able to clock just shy of 33 mph, which is pretty darn fast and scary. I’m actually more afraid of going 33 mph on a bike than 80mph on a motorcycle! Of course, it takes time and practice to get comfortable on two wheels, so take it easy at first. The bike is about 80 pounds in weight, but moving about is very effortless and overall the bike feels very, very nimble. As far as battery life is concerned, I’m not planning to use this as a daily commuter, but more of a weekend ride to the beach; since owning, I haven’t had to charge the battery and I've logged quite a few miles thus far. As with anything out there released into the market, some things can be improved. The R500 is as close to perfect as you can get with an e-bike, but there was one concern that I had while testing (and found that I can help mitigate the concern with help of a software setting change). Pedal assist is very aggressive, especially when you’re at a stopped state. Imagine coming to a light and waiting for your light to turn green. If you give it a bit of “pedal”, the bike will activate the motor and begin moving forward at full power. Scary! Luckily, there is a setting in the LCD panel that allows you to turn on “Pedal to Start”, which requires the bike to be moving at least 3 mph before any type of motor assist is activated. By default, this setting is off, so that means hand throttle and pedal assist will be activated from a stop. So I was gonna dock a star off here……but it looks like we can change this setting easily. Make sure to read the manual, folks! The only ONLY other thing that I would have liked on this e-bike is a pair of side view mirrors. The bigger brother does have them equipped, and I think it would have been smart to add them to the R500 as a safety thing. I ended up buying a pair of clip-on mirrors to allow me to see what’s behind me while riding. Overall, I’m extremely happy with the Alta R500 e–bike.

Amazing! Very smooth ride. Easy to pedal and maneuver. If you get tired of peddling, simply press the “+” sign to engage the pedal assist, e.g. electric battery. It’s like riding a minibike (had a Yamaha 80 as a kid) but the Hover-1 Altai R500 is not nearly as heavy or loud as a minibike. Can I just say it? I love this bike! I didn’t get the whole electric bike thing but now that I have one, I get it! So fun. The wheels are nice and wide (fat tires), I think that’s why it rides so smoothly. There is a nice big light on the front that even has a high beam. There is toggle you move right to left to indicate you are turning, yep that’s right it has blinkers. And if needed the horn, it is quite loud. I just love this bike! It took about 2 hours to unpack and put together. The tires needed to have air added, as expected. I am 5.2” and sitting on the bike my tip toes touch the floor. My neighbor is 5.5” and sitting on the bike her feet are flat on the floor. As the manufacturer states this is for 15 year olds and up, maximum weight of 264 lbs. The seat is not adjustable. The handlebars can be adjusted. According to the manual the bike is set to a top speed of just under 19.88 mph which makes it legal to ride on most bike paths in the US without a license or insurance. The manual says you can go up to 28 mph in unlimited mode. The online manual is the exact same manual that comes with the Altai R500, page 40 has all the specifications.

This is an amazing electric bicycle, one of the first times I’ve ever used anything electric. I was stunned at how heavy this bicycle is. When it arrived in the box, it was heavy but not too heavy. Unpacking was easy and the majority of it was already assembled. The only portions that I needed to put together was the screwing in the pedals and then placing the handle bars. The tires were already inflated but I made sure that it was at the 25-30 psi. When checked at first, it was at 23psi. The battery took about five hours to fully charge. Assembly again was really simple. The bicycle is a good size, where it is higher than my normal type. At 5’5” I can swing my legs over with ease and can fully stand with it upright with no issues. Sitting on it with the long seat, makes it feel like I am on a motorcycle. The LCD screen in front of you is easy to see in the sunlight, and it didn’t take too long to memorize the various nobs and switches. On the Left handle, you have the headlight control, turn signals, horn, power button, power levels and back break. The Right handle has the gear change, Cruise Control and front break. The pedals do not have a break, something that I was used to on my standard bicycle. The center is where the battery attaches, so you can’t put a water bottle. The headlamp is pretty bright and you can have different angles for the beam. The rear underneath the seat is the turn lights and break lights. The kickstand is more towards the back left and is pretty durable. Connecting this to my iPhone App was an added bonus to this bicycle. Unfortunately, there isn’t a slot for your phone so I ended up getting one online. The App is great as it offers a map and GPS location, Cruise Control, Odometer and shows you the current battery level. Bringing smart technology to your bicycle ride is a great feature. Riding has been such a joy. It may be heavy, but I was surprised at how responsive and well this is to ride. It flies on the road and feels great to be on. The turn signals and horn are loud enough for me to hear when on the open road with traffic around me. It is slated for 28 mph, but I was clocking myself at most at 15 mph which was fast for me. Thankfully, our suburb has made a lot of bike lanes now. The battery is also rated for 65 miles so technically, I can ride this to work (which is 18 miles away) and I know this can easily get up the Sepulveda Pass to the city. Even if I run out of juice, I can remove the battery and charge it while at work or I can use the good old fashion pedal system. Overall, this has been such a joy to ride around the area and even going to places close to home without using my car.

Great purchase, is very good to be driving at the parks and the streets.

Fantastic ride and sturdy. Love it and very fast for what it is

Recently I decided to give the personal electric vehicles (PEV's) a try to see what all the raving was about. At first it was a simple cheap electric scooter, then a better one, then another better one. And I had a lot of fun on those scooters. Speeding around town streets and on the asphalt bike trail was a blast! Eventually I wanted to see if that fun was the same on Electric bicycles. (E-Bikes). And the short answer is YES! You get all the fun of an electric vehicle in a more comfortable position with much more you can do. And with the Hover-1 Altai that same fun transferred from not only on road, but off road which opens a whole different realm of electric vehicle fun. When I was a kid I had a lot of hobbies that came and went, but one that was always there and my favorite was bicycles. I was always riding, trying tricks, jumping, etc. And now that Im a lot older I cant exactly just hop on a BMX bike and get that same level of fun. But with the Altai I get pretty close to that same thrill. There are a lot of places where I live to ride, and like I said Im not restricted to just streets anymore. I can take a street route to the dirt trail and just keep on going! The Altai was very simple to assemble, it was almost fully assembled in the box. Took about a half hour to get it up and going after checking the tires, installing the handlebars, cables, and pedals, etc, then going through the set up. With most of the other EV's Ive had I always had to buy an extra LED headlight to see at night. This has the best headlight Ive had. So that fun doesnt have to stop when the sun goes down. And another issue I ran into with the scooters was battery longevity. I cant tell you how many times I was out and about and had to come back sooner than I wanted because I knew the battery only had enough to get me home. Well Ive never run into that issue here. Its rated at up to 60 miles and under the right conditions Im sure it could do that. Im 5'11” and weight about 230, and I still never had to worry about the battery running out while I was riding. And there are times when I get back from a nice ride and dont need to immediately connect the charger. Sometimes it still has the juice for another ride! The Altai is also plenty fast. Rated at 28mph. But one thing I really like is that this is still a complete bike as well. Its not missing anything you need to just ride it as a regular bike. So if you do happen to run out of battery (rare chance) you can still ride home. And as a bike its awesome as well. It has excellent hydraulic brakes for easy and accurate braking. Nice shifting and derailleur, excellent suspension, turn signals, high and low headlights, horn, and awesome fat tires for off roading. And the display is very nice and bright, well laid out, with lots of settings you can adjust to get it the way you want. If your in the market for an electric bike this a great choice. Its got everything you need to get going. Doesnt need any mods or other parts like lights, etc. Awesome ride, top notch equipment, amazing mileage, and great features. And for me the most important thing was that its just plain fun. Its been awhile since something gave me some of that giddiness I had as a kid while riding a new bike. So its well worth it.

Such a great e-bike that requires a minimal amount of assembly. The bike was delivered on a small pallet and was secured with metal like zip ties, so make sure to have something to cut the bike box loose from the pallet. For the most part, all you install are the pedals, and the handlebars then you’re ready to get going! Make sure you check the tire pressure and pump them to the recommended PSI. I would also recommend you start charging the battery while you are assembling the e-bike. The Altai Pro looks like an old school motorcycle with fat tires, meaning you don’t need to stick to paved roads on this bad boy. I have never been on an e-bike before, but it took me about 10 minutes to get used to the speed, braking, and handling capabilities. I never tested out the 55 mile total range, but I have gone 30 miles without any issues with performance. At first I thought the saddle bags were weird, but I used the to load up some groceries I purchased and they were very convenient to have. All of my rides have been comfortable due to the quality materials, and the display on the e-bike clearly shows me the level of pedal assist and how fast I am going. There are turn signals, headlights, brake lights, and a horn. I kept hitting the horn button by accident so it isn’t placed in the best spot for my hands. What shocked me the most is the amount of power the Altai Pro has. I didn’t expect it to knock me back as much as it did and I admit that there were many times I wasn’t pedaling at all while going 28MPH. Overall, I did not know what to expect from this e-bike, but it is nice to be able to go to the grocery store, my friend’s house, or my parent’s house without needing to drive my truck. In addition I don’t feel to bad about riding the e-bike at night since thanks to the headlight and brake light included. I would definitely recommend getting a helmet that is rated for e-bike speeds. I did not think I would like this e-bike as much as I do and I can say that I have had to go through roads/paths that weren’t paved which I didn’t worry about due to the included tires on the Altai Pro. This is a great addition to anyone looking to ride around town and run errands without worrying about parking, or spending money on their gas guzzler (like my truck).

I would routinely ride my bike but that all changed recently when I moved to an extremely hilly area. My leisurely bike rides became a little more painful since I had to bike quite a steep hill in order to get home. But the Altai R500 has Brough back my joy I would have from my weekend bike rides. Now I didn't have to struggle to get up the hills as the electric peddle assist propelled me forward. The bike comes mostly assembled aside from the minor assembly of the handle bars and installing the battery. The battery comes partially charged but it's a great idea to fully charge the battery before the first use. You should also check the tire pressure and inflate the tires to the correct psi. I also checked all the preassembled fasteners to assure everything was tightened properly during assembly. I great thing about the battery is that you have the ability to lock the battery in place so that it can not be removed. The bike has 20 inch tires and a spring suspension which makes the ride very comfortable, even on uneven terrain. There is a 7 speed shifter and a 5 level pedal assist that allows you to choose the proper amount of assist. The throttle is also a very simple twist throttle on the handle bar. With the ability to go 28mph you will be grateful that this bike is equipped with dual hydraulic disc brakes. These brakes bring you to a quick stop with ease. The led head light is plenty bright and the brake light has high visibility. The turn signals are an added bonus as well as the horn, but I kept inadvertnly pressing the horn during my first few rides. This is not my firs Hover 1 product and I am continued to be impressed by their build quality and attention to detail. I would definitely recommend this e-bike to anyone who is in the market for one

A few months ago I was in a car accident, and had a few week where I was researching what to buy next. That time was filled with rental cars and electric scooters. Both were putting a nice dent in my bank account. It crossed my mind to buy and electric scooter for emergencies, but I never followed through. Glad I didn't as in comparison, this is so much better. First, let me mention, and please take note, the instructions for assembly are very easy. They are so easy that it is easy to overlook a simple step that could give you a headache. For example, the right pedal screws on clockwise, but the left counter clockwise. I just was skimming thorough and assumed they were the same. Minor things like that costed me many minutes trying to figure it out, so please, take your time. Once all was assembled, I hit the road. As soon as that throttle was hit, we were zipping through the streets. In comparison to the scooters, there is none. The acceleration is quite amazing and in seconds, I was cruising above 20mph. I'm a heavy guy, so not reaching 28mph off the bat wasn't much of a surprise. The bike handles great and the suspension kept me moving through al the nasty roads Los Angeles has to offer. I've been rolling for a few days, and have yet to charge up the battery, so I'm going to go on a limb and say it most likely lives up to the charging claims. Either way, not charging for days is a personal testament. Frame is solid and study, There is no thought of the bike collapsing or being shoddily constructed. Everything feels well made and built to last for some time. I have two cons. The first is the seat. Being the bike has 7 manual gears to choose from, I feel that they wanted it to be taken seriously as an actual bike. Not having an adjustable seat lessens that sentiment. People will have different femur lengths, leg length ratios, etc. and the comfort of pedaling with any amount of intensity can be hindered by inadequate seat height. That, to me, seems like an odd omission. When you're using the electric portion, no problem, all is comfy, but I definitely would prefer the ability to adjust. In relation to that is the second con. The handle bars. I followed the instructions to a "T," but during the first few outing the handlebars kept rolling forward/backward. Being that the seat can't adjust, when I hit a hill, I prefer to raise off the saddle and give the quads some extra work. Several times when I did this, the handle bar rolled forward and I stopped short of tipping over. I recently disassembled and reassembled hoping that maybe it wasn't on the grooves. We'll see. If not I may need to contact the manufacturer as right now, I don't trust the handlebars, and that is a big problem. Should that be fixed properly, we're in business, but until then, combined with the seat, that knocks it down a star. Besides those gripes, this is a great bike and a welcome addition to my commutes. Can't wait to really break it in!

Summary: The H-1 Altai R500 can easily get you to 28 mph and is fun to ride but can be a little short for 6ft and up riders. The bike can be a little heavy for anyone trying to lift this on to a bike carrier but this is mainly due fat tires and large battery pack. Overall, I'd recommend this e-bike for those looking for the fat tire, retro look bike. In the Box: Altai R500 Tools Manuals Setup/Assembly: The setup was pretty simple, the instructions given are easy to read and tell you almost everything you need to know. While setting it up I did have some issues with my twist throttle switch freely rotating, I thought I might have had some issues with a broken throttle switch. Luckily, I was able to get this resolved after contacting customer service, they let me know that there is a very small allen bolt on the side of the throttle that I could tighten to secure the throttle switch. Other than this small minor issue, the set up and assembly of the was very easy and intuitive. Use: I've owned 4 motorcycles and 3 mopeds in my life but this was my first e-bike. I tend to take a bike or skateboard to the board walk of my local beach and ride along the pavement so taking the Altai R500 was an absolute must for me. Transporting the R500 can be somewhat cumbersome. I have a very stout bike carrier attached to my hitch and had no issues with the weight of the R500 but with lower quality racks might have an issue. Another thing you have to watch out for is the weight. To put the any e-bike you might need to lift the e-bikes onto the carrier, heavier bikes might be a 2 person job if you're not used to lifting 50+ pounds items. Riding the R500 was a blast for me. I really liked the adjustability, being able to set the assistance of the motor from 0-5, 0 being no assistance to 5 which is fully motorized. I can see this helping older folks getting around town and anyone looking to actually get some exercise in without having the motor fully assist you. The level of assistance will also dictate the use of the battery. Most of the time I had the R500 at level 2, even at this level it felt too easy to get the bike going. I was able to easily get to 28mph, (please check your local beach speed posting cause you can still get a ticket on an e-bike). The battery lasted the entire 15 mile path and still had a lot of power left to keep going.

I spent some time with his bike. But I can say this thing is awesome this thing goes up to 30 mph and it’s the perfect speed for commuting. I have a semi short bike commute and I can ride it to and from work and have no problems and I don’t feel like I’m going really really slow I have another bike that only goes up to 20 and it feels that I’m going slow as molasses, so this bike really brings up the speed because most residential is 25 anyway so no one really should be trying to pass you the bike build is great. It took a minute to build actual bike. I would say the only gripe I had with the build process is that the handlebars do feel kind of loose I wish they were more tight. Or a better locking mechanism. It feels like over time it will become loose again because they use a regular bike locking mechanism and I don’t want to over tighten it and then strip the bolts and handle bar and then I can’t tighten it no more. That is my only major issue with the bike. It is a very comfortable ride. It has great suspension and the large tires help with the ride. I’m 6’2” and feel comfortable with the size. The lights are awesome!!! The headlight has a regular and bright setting. Man. The bright is bright! Cars have no choice but to see you! The brake light bar is soo cool. When turning on the blinker it wipes in the direction you are turning with a beeping sound for audible notification. This a great commuter bike and looks great!