2022 Evelo Atlas Review

The Evelo Atlas is a long-range commuter with enough power and torque to destroy even the gnarliest of hills, and with the near-silent mid-drive motor, front suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, and comfortable riding posture, nothing is off limits.

Video Review

Written Review

The Evelo Atlas is a long-range commuter with enough power and torque to destroy even the gnarliest of hills, and with the near-silent mid-drive motor, front suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, and comfortable riding posture, nothing is off limits.

The Atlas has a starting price of $4,699 USD. There’s also the option to upgrade to a secondary battery system for an impressive 100 mile real-world range for an additional $1,000, and again, Evelo is offering another $200 off here when purchasing the battery upgrade along with the Atlas. Pretty groovy.

Evelo is one of those o.g. e-bike brands that’s been around for nearly a decade, and the experience they’ve gained in the e-bike world shows in their new lineup. 

Some cool perks that come with buying from Evelo are an industry-leading 4-year warranty, and e-bikes that come almost completely assembled. This is a huge plus for those who want to have the Atlas delivered directly to their home. Honestly, you can get these e-bikes out of the box and onto the road in less than 20 minutes. 

Right. Let’s take a look at these specs. 

The Evelo Atlas is powered by a near-silent Bafang M600 mid-drive motor that churns out an impressive 600 nominal watts of power, with the ability to boost up to 1,200 watts. That’s a lot of power, and it makes cruising at top 28 mph top speed incredibly easy. 

The M600 mid-drive also has 120 Newton meters of torque on tap, and you can really feel it when accelerating and tackling hills. 

This mid-drive is equipped with both cadence and torque sensors, making for a remarkably snappy and responsive ride. There’s virtually zero motor latency here and the moment you start putting pressure on the cranks, that motor just comes alive. 

As most of you probably have figured out by now, we here at Electrified Reviews really like torque sensors, like, really really like them, and we consider it a huge bonus whenever we see it on an e-bike. So, we’re giving Evelo 10 points for this. Nicely done, folks. 

The Atlas we received for review didn’t come with a throttle, but there is the option to pick up one up from Evelo for an extra $35. The only catch is that you have to install it yourself, which takes all of about 5 minutes. They’re completely plug and play.

Honestly, if there was any e-bike that I would say DOESN’T need a throttle, it would be the Atlas. This motor is so smooth and pedaling the Atlas is a total blast. 

Another great component setup with the Evelo Atlas is the Gates Carbon Belt Drive system. Man, between the motor and whisper quiet belt drive, this e-bike has one of the lowest noise signatures of any e-bike we’ve tested. It’s THAT quiet. 

One of the awesome aspects of a belt drive is the lack of maintenance. Unlock a derailleur, there’s really nothing that needs to be adjusted, and since there’s no grease, your pants and skirts will remain as clean as the day you bought them. 

To shift gears, the Atlas utilizes an Evniolo continuously variable transmission. The internally geared hub is located in the rear wheel, and at the handlebars we’ve got the Enviolo twist shifter. Twist your wrist up to increase the gearing, and twist your wrist down to decrease the gearing. It’s that easy. And because it’s a CVT, there’s no clicking noises, no derailments, and no hassle. Again, this is one quiet ride, my friends. 

The primary 48 volt, 15 amp hour locking and removable battery with Samsung cells is seamlessly housed at the bottom of the downtube, making for a super streamlined look. And because of the battery’s location on the frame, the Atlas is very well balanced. 

This battery offers a max estimated real-world range of nearly 60 miles in a low pedal assist setting, but if you throw on that extra battery you can up the range to approximately 100 miles. That’s a long road trip. 

The second battery attaches to the top of the optional bolt-on rear rack, which does increase the center of gravity some. That extra weight also puts constant stress on the rack, and if you plan on using the Atlas as an off-road machine, those bolts might come loose over time. Definitely something to watch out for, and it might be a good idea to add some thread lock on there. 

If I could change one thing about the Atlas, it would be a welded rack. Of course, you would loose the option to take the rack off, but it would increase the structural integrity and allow for even heavier loads.

Still, even with this setup, the rear rack is probably sturdy enough to throw a passenger on the back for short trips. Of course, this is something we don’t recommend, but let’s just say we tested it out to see if it would work. And it did. Kind of.

Let’s take a look at the frame. In the stock configuration, the Atlas weighs in at nearly 64 points, and with the second battery we’re looking at nearly 74 pounds. Pretty light considering the component layout here. 

I also appreciate the angled top tube on the Atlas as it allows for a relatively low standover height of 28 inches. That’s great for people like me with shorter inseams. It means I can straddle the frame and place both feet flat on the ground while still clearing the top tube. 

The minimum seat height is also quite low at 32.5 inches, and you can drop the saddle all the way to the bottom even with the rear rack attached. Very nice. 

At the front of the frame we have a Zoom 868 Boost Air suspension fork with Evelo branding, and this suspension works great for dampening the chatter from pot-hole ridden roads. It also works well for light trail riding, but we don’t recommend taking the Atlas out on anything too extreme.

The overall ride geometry on the Atlas is really nice. It’s not quite a fully upright riding position, and it’s not a super aggressive mountain bike position either. It’s right in middle, and I think Evelo found the sweet spot here. 

Between the ride geometry, suspension, Schwalbe Moto 27.5 inch by 2.8 inch road tires, and swept back handlebars with ergonomic grips, the Atlas is a comfortable ride. And that’s important if you plan on taking a 100-mile road trip. That being said, adding an aftermarket seat suspension might be a nice touch.

To bring the Evelo Atlas to a stop we’ve got Zoom hydraulic disc brakes with a 180 mm rotor in the front wheel and 160 mm rotor in the rear wheel. There’s more than enough stopping power here, and with the built-in motor inhibitors, which instantly cut power to the motor whenever you hit the brakes, you’ll always have the shortest possible stopping distance,

The Atlas has an integrated headlight with a nice output of 400 lumens, and an integrated tail light. The overall visibility here is great, and the headlight is bright enough to adequately illuminate the trail at night.

I love that all the wires are internally routed, as this adds to the streamlined look, and also helps to keep the wires from getting snagged. However, on the Atlas we received for review, the cable that connects the display to the electrical system was a tad short and when turning the handlebars as far as they can go, the cable comes unplugged. We tried pulling some more cabling out, but it felt pretty snug and we didn’t want to cause any damage. 

Moving to the handlebars we’ve got the independent button bad on the left side, and this is also where you would want to put the optional throttle, and on the right side we’ve got that beautiful Enviolo shifter. 

In the middle of the handlebars is the display, which is stunningly easy to read in direct sunlight. The glass isn’t polarized, which means you’re free to wear polarized sunglasses without sacrificing visibility of the screen.

Overall, the Evelo Atlas is a fantastic ride with a well-thought-out component layout. This electric bike is well suited for long commutes, and is really going to shine in areas with steep hills and less-than-ideal roads. If you’re looking for a high-quality city commuter that you can also take off the beaten path, the Atlas is definitely worth considering.