2022 Evelo Galaxy SL Review

The Evelo Galaxy SL is a light, nimble, electric bike that is jam-packed with excellent specs! Right off the bat, we can see the custom frame geometry that Evelo designed for a more stable, upright riding position. It has a mid-drive motor, removable battery, and Enviolo stepless gearing, but we’ll dive into the specs later in this video.

Video Review

Written Review

The Evelo Galaxy SL is a light, nimble, electric bike that is jam-packed with excellent specs! Right off the bat, we can see the custom frame geometry that Evelo designed for a more stable, upright riding position. It has a mid-drive motor, removable battery, and Enviolo stepless gearing, but we’ll dive into the specs later in this video. 

Aside from great components and a well-thought-out design, the Galaxy SL also comes with a seriously impressive 4-year warranty. It’s always nice to see companies who believe in their product, and back it up with extra long warranties.

Evelo is also known for their excellent customer service. They’ve been around for over a decade, and are honestly looking better than ever.

Evelo also offers a 21-day at-home trial and free shipping, as well as a white-glove assembly at your local bike shop for just $95 bucks. That’s a good deal for assembly, but the truth is, Evelo’s electric bikes arrive nearly fully assembled and are pretty easy to put together. The Galaxy SL comes in at a starting price of $2,899 USD, at the time of recording. 

And with that. Let’s jump into the specs! 

The Galaxy SL comes equipped with a 500-watt, Dapu Mid-drive motor, and utilizes both torque and cadence sensors. This translates to a natural and responsive riding experience, where all inputs are accounted for! But, we’re curious, which motor type do you prefer? Hub drives or Mid drives? Let us know in the comments below!

The motor is capable of 500 nominal watts of power and 740 peak watts of power, and is able to produce around 90nM of torque. When you’re riding around on the hills this extra torque and power will immediately be apparent. The hill-climbing capabilities of mid-drive motors are something that you really have to experience to fully appreciate. Mid drive’s ability to leverage gearing is something that hub drives just can’t do.

Similar to other Evelo models, you’re able to reach a max speed of 25 MPH. You can reach this top speed using the torque and cadence-sensing pedal assist, or the thumb throttle. Cadence sensors are notorious for their latency with motor activation and deactivation, but thanks to the addition of the torque sensor here, the Galaxy SL doesn’t have that problem. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite. The moment you put pressure on the cranks, the motor sparks to life.

You’d think with a 48 volt, 13 amp hour battery, that the range wouldn’t be anything to note, but Evelo’s advanced battery management system (BMS) squeezes every last electron from the cells for an impressive max estimated range of 35 miles with throttle only, and 50 miles with pedal assist. 

This battery is locking and removable and slides easily in and out of the rear rack. When it comes to weight distribution, having extra weight so high and behind you can be an issue, but I found that the relaxed geometry and execution here seemed to mitigate some of that. Overall, the Galaxy SL is still surprisingly agile, especially given the fact that the riding posture is so upright. Normally with a cruiser-style body position you have to sacrifice a bit of maneuverability, but not so with the Galaxy SL.

Speaking of cruising, that’s exactly what this bike was designed to do. We don’t get any front fork suspension or offroad tires, but the 24” x 2.4 CST Cyclops tires are pretty sweet! If you’re not going to be doing any off-roading, having a gummy, fast-rolling tire was the way to go, in my opinion. 

Part of the reason the Galaxy SL feels so sturdy because of the frame construction. It’s beefy, with excellent welds, a quick-release front axle, and great geometry. Evelo says that the Galaxy models are designed for smaller riders, but they didn’t just make a smaller bike. No, no, no! That simply won't do. Everything from the wheel selection, handlebar curvature, and wheelbase was crafted to fit smaller riders like a glove. So, if you fit into this category, this might be a good option for you! 

Given that the Galaxy SL is a step-through, that only adds to the approachability here. It’s geared for riders from 4'10'' to 5'10'' and has a minimum standover height of just 16.5 inches, which is pretty dang low!

The Galaxy SL’s total weight is about 54 pounds and can support riders up to 350 pounds. And for riders more than 350 pounds, Evelo has custom options for the frame, which is a very cool offering.

The minimum saddle height is exceptionally low at just 29 inches, with a max of 36 inches. And with a reach of only 22 inches, I can definitely see this bike fitting a smaller rider who is looking to get out in the world and tackle some hills!

When it comes to brakes, the Evelo Galaxy SL is outfitted with Zoom hydraulic disc brakes. It has a 180 mm rotor in the front wheel and 160 mm rotor in the rear wheel. The stopping power on the Galaxy SL is fantastic. Maybe I could see them upgrading to 180mm rotors all around, but it’s not anything to complain about, as this thing can stop on a dime. I could lock the tires out on any surface, meaning that I have all the control in the world, and that’s exactly what you want from a braking system. 

If you were wondering how many gears this bike has, the answer may surprise you! It appears to be a single-speed bike, and mechanically, maybe you could argue that’s even true. However, the Galaxy SL features the revolutionary Enviolo stepless shifting hub. Unlike the Evelo Omega, which we recently reviewed, the Galaxy is a manual shifter. It’s an elevated experience compared to a traditional gearing setup on a bike and allows for an almost limitless selection of gearing.

 The manual shifter is located on the right side of the handlebars, and on the other side we’ve got the independent button pad and the thumb throttle, and right in the middle, we’ve got the LCD display, which is plenty bright to easily read in direct sunlight.

Overall, the Evelo Galaxy SL has quite a few amazing features! It has a bit of a premium price, but when you calculate what you’re actually getting at that price, it ends up feeling like a value-buy Ebike. I for one and definitely excited to see what Evelo does next!