The HOVSCO HovAlpha has turned out to be a really fun well-built bike. For most of my riding I’ve had the peddle assist (PAS) set to one. With PAS set to one and using the top three gears I was able to get up most inclines with little extra effort. We have a half mile long 9% grade leading up to our house and this is only area where I kick up the PAS up to 5 and down shift. I could likely make it with a lower PAS setting, but the climb is on the return trip home. The fat tires and front shocks make is a comfortable bike to ride. Overall, the build quality, paint, mechanicals (gears, brakes etc.) are at or above what I would expect at this price point. My wife’s bike has a cadence sensor where the HovAlpha has a torque sensor. The torque sensor seems to have a more natural peddle “feel”.
Minor gripes are the rear light and the seat on long rides. The rear light runs off its own batteries and has to be turned on and off with a switch on the light itself. Another issue with the rear light is that it’s mounted on the seat post and it is blocked if you have anything on the rear rack. The seat isn’t bad, but I think I’m going to upgrade to something like a Cloud 9.
