The handling at that top speed was excellent. Thanks to the comfortable upright position and frame geometry, cruising along at 28 miles per hour felt smooth and comfortable. Turning at speed and quickly adjusting to avoid a pothole was also easy and smooth, even when I was gunning the throttle. The thrill of riding fast on the H/T comes from the exhilaration of speed, not the fear of losing control.

I appreciate that there’s no app to go along with the H/T. It makes hopping on the bike and going for a ride feel much more natural than it does with the app-controlled bikes I’ve tested. The handlebar-mounted screen is also very intuitive and easy to use, and it has a personal passcode for added security. There’s also a USB-C charging port if you decide to get a handlebar mount for your phone. The bike has a front daytime running light that automatically brightens when the sun goes down, two front- and rear-turn signal lights, and a brake light. The front and rear hydraulic disc brakes are responsive and have excellent stopping power.

Add Ons

It’s easy to customize the bike and add utility. Pedal offers a range of accessories, but my favorite is the dual-battery system. This $850 system isn’t cheap, but it adds another battery to the frame, which ups the range by another 40 miles. If you’re not taking this bike on long rides, it may not be worth the expense, but I appreciated the chance to maximize its range.

The rest of the accessory line focuses on storage. These include a cool in-frame rack, front and rear racks and boxes, and, for the beach bums, a very cool surfboard rack that mounts your board on the side of the bike.

Rough Ride

Photograph: Billy Brown

The H/T comes with five levels of pedal assist, but I mostly used the throttle, partly because I’m lazy and partly because the pedal-assist response could be wildly inconsistent. For levels 1 through 3, the pedal assist was smooth; it just felt like a little boost to my pedaling. On levels 4 and 5, however, the bike seemed to jerk forward every time I pressed down on the pedal. It felt more like my bike was leaping forward rather than assisting, to the point that I almost wobbled off the bike the first time I tried level 5. If you’re a chronic pedaler who’s looking for a more traditional cycling experience, this may not be the bike for you.