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Summary
Priority Bicycles’ e-Coast cruiser is an exceptional ebike. With its large seat, wide handlebar, and fat tires, the ride is incredibly comfortable. You don’t have to exert too much effort while riding because of the bike’s cadence sensor and powerful throttle. This ebike has a max speed, when unlocked, of 28 mph. The battery life is great, but you need to make sure the ebike’s charged at all times because pedaling without power is pretty tough.
Thee-Coast from Priority Bicyclesis all about doing the work for you, letting you just cruise along and take in the sights of your beautiful surroundings. With its twist throttle, five pedal-assist modes, and comfortable handling, you won’t want to stop riding this ebike.
Its $1,999.99 price tag might make your eyes water a little bit, but you get a lot of great built-in features and components for that high price. The e-Coast is equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, a powerful 500W hub motor capable of reaching speeds up to 28 mph, an integrated rear rack, and a silent, rust-free Gates Carbon Drive belt. At those high speeds, you’ll be thankful for the bike’s comfortable upright riding position and roomy saddle with shock absorbers.
I found more to like than dislike with this ebike, despite the fact that its cadence sensor isn’t my personal preference (over a torque sensor). Plus, the fact that the e-Coast is currently the only electric belt drive beach cruiser you can buy makes it pretty dang special.
Specs
Assembly
Assembling Priority Bicycles' e-Coastis a breeze, thanks to the company’s helpful instruction video and a PDF with tips on navigating the ebike’s settings. I love that there was a step-by-step assembly video rather than a printed manual because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the equation. Plus, if the company notices that people are consistently struggling with the same step, it makes it easy to edit the video for clarity.
Though I was fine without printed assembly instructions, I would’ve enjoyed getting the PDF with tips in printed form. I’ve needed to reference this sheet quite a bit to unlock the maximum speed, remind myself where certain settings are, and double-check other recommendations.
Priority Bicycles does include a rider’s manual in the box, but it’s not specific to the e-Coast, which was a bit confusing. In addition to general rider safety recommendations, there’s information on different types of bikes and their needed maintenance, max rider weight, and more—but the e-Coast was never mentioned by name.
All in all, it took about 1.5 to 2 hours to fully assemble the e-Coast, and that includes the time it took to open the box. I didn’t look at the assembly video until after I had the e-Coast out of the box, which took a long time, and the first thing they talk about in the video is how the box is designed to easily lift off with the helpful plastic tabs on the front and back of the box. Despite this rocky start, the rest of assembly was super easy.
I removed all the protective packing materials from the bike and unboxed the tools, papers, lights, pedals, extra paint, and the battery charger. The only pieces of the bike that need to be installed after unboxing are the handlebar, front tire, lights, fenders, and pedals. Having instructions and clearly labeled hardware for the fenders was a nice change of pace from other ebikes I’ve tried, and the double kickstand helped immensely with installing the front tire.
Throughout the video, the Priority Bicycles employee gave easy-to-follow instructions and helpful ways of checking that what you did was correct. At the beginning of the video and in a few other pieces of e-Coast literature I read, it’s recommended that you have your bike assembled by a professional or assessed by a professional if you decide to build it yourself. You can order the e-Coast to a local bike shop in your area, and pick it up once it’s fully assembled by the employees.
Design and Adjustability
The most notable aspect of the e-Coast’s design is obviously its beach-cruiser style. There aren’t many electric beach cruisers out there, and the e-Coast is the only one with a belt drive. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of compliments I got on the look of this ebike, but I should have been because it’s stunning. This is a strange compliment of my own to Priority Bicycles, but the welds on the e-Coast’s frame are beautifully done.
I received the sleek white version, which contrasts nicely with the light brown tires, seat, and handlebar grips. There are a few color variations, and every color comes with the same light brown accent elements. The Diamond (step-over) frame comes in white, indigo, or charcoal, and the Step-Through frame comes in white, indigo, or mint. The indigo and mint colors make an absolutely gorgeous statement, but the white and charcoal colors are beautifully subtle alternatives.
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In line with the cruiser style, the e-Coast is equipped with fat 26-inch x 3-inch CST Big Boat tires, an integrated rear rack for up to 50 pounds of cargo, and a large, plush seat with shock absorbers. Even without any extra weight packed onto the rear rack, the e-Coast weighs 56 pounds, making it the heaviest ebike I’ve tested to date. There are definitely heavier ebikes out there, but manually maneuvering the e-Coast will require some muscle.
Though the frame and battery add to the weight, the biggest weight likely comes from the 500W rear hub motor. Luckily, there’s a double kickstand that makes it easier to work on the bike if you need to adjust brake calipers or maintain anything else. One thing you won’t have to maintain, however, is the rust-free Gates Carbon Drive belt that’s silent and low- to no-maintenance. The e-Coast’s frame and fork are rust-resistant as well, which is especially helpful for coastal areas.
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On the e-Coast, you’re able to adjust the seat height as well as how far forward the seat is. Then, the handlebar stem can rotate to essentially adjust its overall height to accommodate different rider heights.
The Riding Experience
Riding the e-Coast is an absolute blast. It’s the first ebike I’ve ever ridden that has a comfortable seat. With its wider, cushier saddle and shock absorbers, going over minor bumps was perfectly fine, and I didn’t feel sore at all after half-hour rides.
Plus, the handlebar is set higher than other ebikes, so it’s easy to stay in an upright position. If you need to raise the seat to accommodate your height, sitting in an upright position might not be possible. For reference, I’m 5'5", and I preferred riding with the seat almost as low as it could go, and any pictures in this review reflect that seat height.
The e-Coast’s fat tires may not bode well for the turning radius, but man, they make the overall ride so much better. I could still feel every bump, but the impact felt lower on the e-Coast than on other ebikes. Both the shock-absorbing saddle and the 3-inch tires play a role in the bike handling well on pavement and light grass. Seeing as it’s a beach cruiser, the e-Coast can also ride well on sandy terrain, but I don’t live near a beach to try that out.
There are five pedal-assist levels, and I typically hovered around pedal-assist level two or three, which averaged about 10 and 15 mph max, respectively. The e-Coast uses a cadence sensor, which can be great if you’re looking for an ebike that doesn’t require much manual work from you. It takes a bit more effort to start pedaling on an ebike with a cadence sensor, whereas the alternative, a torque sensor, responds more immediately and intuitively to your manual pedaling.
Torque sensors are generally seen as the better technology, but they’re more expensive and, for what the e-Coast is marketed as, I can see why Priority Bicycles went for a cadence sensor. The e-Coast is meant to provide a fun, leisurely experience, and not a full-blown workout with a gearing system and a torque sensor.
Personally, cadence sensors feel strange to me because how hard you’re pedaling doesn’t affect your max speed. Having ridden a traditional bike for many years, it feels weird to be pedaling slowly while my bike is speeding down the road. At higher pedal-assist levels, I really have to remind myself to barely pedal or pedal slowly so I don’t feel like my legs are flailing.
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Luckily, the e-Coast comes with a throttle. I liked using pedal-assist level two or three to reach speeds of 10 or 15 mph, and then switching to the throttle for any speed higher than that. The e-Coast ships as a Class 2 ebike with a max speed of 20mph, but if you’re in an area that allows for Class 3 ebikes, you can unlock the max speed to 28mph. You can also lower the max speed if you don’t feel comfortable going as fast as the ebike allows.
Trying to ride the e-Coast in pedal-assist level zero, or as a traditional bike with no power, reminded me of my time withFiido’s D3 Pro, which also had a throttle and pedal-assist modes. Both of these bikes are pretty difficult to ride without any power. If the battery ever died while I was out with the e-Coast—which doesn’t seem like a possibility—I’d rather walk it home than try to ride it on pedal-assist level zero.
The e-Coast’s motor is powerful, but quiet. I can definitely notice it kick on when I start pedaling, but it’s not loud at all. Then, for stopping power, this ebike is equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, which are superior to the alternative, mechanical disc brakes. I stopped from high speeds with no issue, and although I had to adjust the brake calipers after my first few rides so they stopped rubbing the rotors, the instructions and tips in the assembly video made this process simple.
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Finally, I love an ebike with integrated lights and the e-Coast has two. There’s a front light that you’re able to turn on and off as you need, and a rear light on the battery that lights up brighter when it senses you braking, just like a car would.
Battery Life and Charging
With a throttle and a pedal-assist cadence sensor, the e-Coast’s battery may not last as long as other ebikes with torque sensors. However, it still has a solid range of 20 to 60 miles, depending on which pedal-assist mode you’re in, if you’re using the throttle consistently, and which terrain you’re riding on.
After fully charging the e-Coast, I went for a half-hour ride and primarily used the throttle and pedal-assist level three over about 10 miles. At the end of my ride, the display indicated I still had five out of five battery ticks. When the ebike isn’t in use, there’s a handy on/off switch on the battery to help you preserve as much charge as possible.
To fully charge the bike from a low percentage, it takes about two to three hours, which is on par with other ebikes. What’s different about the e-Coast is that the battery is removable. Using the included key, you can unlock and slide the battery out from under the rear rack, and then take it inside to charge it. Not having a battery probably won’t dissuade people from stealing the bike if you leave it outside, but at least it’s difficult to pedal on with no power.
Should You Buy the Priority Bicycles e-Coast?
For what thePriority Bicycles e-Coastis designed to be, it’s absolutely phenomenal. It’s thoughtfully crafted to provide a comfortable riding experience at high speeds, with a large seat, an incredibly powerful motor, and fat tires. Plus, it has a throttle, which always makes ebikes super fun to ride.
Is it my personal favorite ebike I’ve tested so far? No, but I prefer an ebike that adds to the traditional biking experience with gears and a torque sensor, giving that natural resistance you come to expect from pedaling a bike. That said, the addition of a throttle kind of makes up for its cadence sensor because you don’t have to pedal at all, eliminating the jarring experience of pedaling slowly while the bike is speeding down the road.
