2021 Tower Beach Bum 2 Review

Video Review

Written Review

Power — 500 nominal watts, 750 peak watts, 65 Nm torque

Speed  — 25 mph (Unlocked

Battery and Range — 48 volt 14 ah, 50 miles

Pedal assist sensor — Cadence sensor

Display — Greyscale, LCD

Frame and weight — 6061 Aluminum alloy, 52 lbs

Suspension —  Solid forks

Gearing — Skilful, 7 speed

Brakes — Tektro, hydraulic disc, 160 mm rotors

Warranty — 12 month comprehensive

Price — Starting at $1,895 USD

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Electrified Reviews! If this is your first time here then welcome to the channel. 

Today we’re reviewing the Beach Bum 2 from Tower Electric Bikes. This is a beach cruiser that is truly fit for the beach. It’s got quality components all around, is incredibly comfortable to ride and is surprisingly lightweight at just 51 pounds.

The Beach Bum 2 has a starting price of $1,895 USD and comes in one color, black, and one frame size. Tower is keeping things short and sweet with this ride, and that simplicity is part of what helps to keep the price down, which is a nice bonus. Something worth noting here is that Tower offers a 1 year comprehensive warranty on these bikes, and that’s not something you always see at ebikes at this price point. So 10 points to Tower!

Alright, let’s dive into the specs!

The Beach Bum 2 has a 500 nominal watt geared hub motor with 65 Newton meters of torque. And this motor configuration is kind of in the Goldie locks zone where it doesn’t have so much power that it drains the battery in 5 minutes, but not so little power that it can’t make it up hills. With 500 watts and 65 Newton meters of torque, you can pretty easily cruise around at the 25 mph top speed with just the throttle. No pedaling necessary, which is nice for those scenic beach routes. But, when it comes to big hills, you’ll probably have start pedaling if you want to stay at top speed.

This drive system is paired with a cadence sensor with does have some latency with motor activation and deactivation, but since you’ve got the throttle on the Beach Bum 2 and also motor inhibitors on the brakes, you can overcome that pretty easily when you need to.

The battery on the Beach Bum 2 isa. 48 volt 14 amp hour battery with Samsung cells, which is another thing you don’t always see on ebikes at this price point. Normally we see something like LG cells, which are great, but generally speaking you’ll get a little extra longevity out of Samsung cells. This battery gives the Beach Bum 2 an advertised max range of 60 miles, which might be possible if you stay on the lowest pedal assist setting and pedal the entire time. But let’s be honest, real world range is normally about half the advertised range. Still, during our testing we road around quite for about 15 miles on the max pedal assist setting and with little pedaling and the battery indicator barely moved. That’s a great sign.

The battery is locking and removable and is located behind the seat post. I really like this location because it just looks cleaner compared to having it in front of the seat post, which is where they normally are. On the other hand, it does shift the weight a bit more towards the back of the Beach Bum 2 which does make it unbalanced when you’re trying to carry it around. 

Speaking of carrying it around, the Beach Bum 2 weighs in at just 51 pounds but still has a max carry capacity of 350 pounds. Now, that’s impressive, and I immediately could feel the difference compared to heavier ebikes when I picked it up. You can see the extra gusset forking down from the top tube, and this gives the frame some added strength and stiffness and helps to reduce frame flex when you’re at higher speeds. 

Now, there’s no suspension on the Beach Bum 2 so it’s a bit of a stiff ride. If you wanted to smooth it out you could grab an aftermarket seat post suspension for under $100 and those work surprisingly well. 

The tires on the Beach Bum 2 are honestly just awesome. The Schwalbe Fat Franks have K-Guard puncture protection and slime, so if you are able to get a flat on this bike, let’s just it was well earned. If you live somewhere like me that has a ton of goat heads in the summer, then I’m sure you know exactly how important good tires are. 

The derailleur on the Beach Bum 2 is a Skilful 7-speed with a Shimano SIS Index Thumb shifter. This is the first time we’ve tested a Skilful derailleur and I’m happy to say it’s pretty snappy. Even better though, Tower got the gearing right on this bike and pedaling at 25 mph in top gear feels absolutely perfect. 

To bring the Beach Bum 2 to a stop we’ve got Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with 160 mm rotors in the front and rear. These brakes offer ample stopping power, especially with the Schwalbe tires, and there’s also motor inhibitors built into the brake levers which helps ensure you have the shortest possible stopping distance. A great safety feature, especially with a bike like this that goes 25 mph and has a cadence sensor. 

There is a headlight on the Beach Bum 2 and while it does a good job at increasing visibility, it’s not really powerful enough for night riding. 

Wire management is great, with everything bundled nicely and wrapped in plastic, with most of the wires being internally routed. 

The display is on the left side of the handlebars and is easy to read even in direct sunlight. It’s a greyscale LCD with not much information, but it gets the job done. 

Overall, the Beach Bum 2 is just a super fun cruiser electric bike. It’s fast, has good power and torque and range, and despite the lack of suspension, it’s comfortable to ride for extended periods. This is a great choice for who enjoys cruisers, and with the components on this ride, at this price point, it’s hard to beat.

See more of the Beach Bum 2: https://www.towerelectricbikes.com/electric-cruis