Review: Priority Current Plus Electric Bike

I’ve been an avid biker for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d cruise my BMX around town with friends all day during the summer, reveling in the freedom and autonomy that only comes from your own ride. Decades later, my introduction to the ebike scene has provided a renewed sense of that nostalgic joy for the open road.

As a relative newcomer, most of my ebike experience over the past year or so has been with relatively cheap ebikes, like the Propella 9S and Priority’s e-Classic Plus. So when Priority offered me a chance to try the much pricier Current Plus, my first question was, “What do you get from an ebike that costs over three grand?”

In this case, the short answer is range, style, features, and power. Lots of power, which may be the biggest key to the Current’s success. As a throttle-equipped Class 2 ebike that converts to Class 3, you can absolutely blaze on this thing at up to 28 mph with pedal assist, and there's virtually no hill that can slow you down.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Most importantly, the bike’s punchy motor keeps you safe in sketchy situations. Simply kick up the motor speed to level 5 and let the Current Plus fire you through traffic or cut through busy roads. I rarely pushed the motor above the midpoint, but when I needed the power, it swiftly arrived, affording me the freedom to cruise virtually anywhere on Portland, Oregon’s mean streets.

The Current’s impressive battery range adds to that go-anywhere feeling, letting me ride worry-free for days without the need to top it off. That kind of freedom and autonomy has brought back that BMX feeling, taking me from ebike tourist to true commuter.

Greaseless Lightning

As a direct-to-consumer bike, the Current Plus needs some assembly when it arrives. A local bike shop can do the job for you for around $150-200, which I recommend considering for beginners. If you’re more ambitious, you can assemble it yourself, but Priority still recommends having a shop give it a once-over for safety.

Otherwise, the Current Plus is extremely hands-off from a maintenance standpoint. The Gates Carbon Drive belt requires no lube or grease and is claimed to last up to “2-3 times longer” than chains, while Priority tested the 750 Wh battery for up to 90 miles per charge on the lowest pedal-assist speed. Letting the bike loose up and down the hills of southeast Portland for weeks, I squeezed out a still-impressive 60 miles per charge, give or take.

I tested the bike with the five-speed Shimano Nexus gear system, but for $200 more you can swap in the Enviolo CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). This is a swap that you might consider if you're hauling a lot of gear—it's much safer to be able to make tiny adjustments to the torque if your bike is heavy or off-balance—but if you don't have a kid or two clinging to the back, you probably won't need it.

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

While the bike’s mid-drive motor is much smoother than the front-mounted eClassic, I noticed some pedal buzz when starting the bike in higher gears. Downshifting to lower-tension gears eliminated the buzz, and the simplified belt drive made it brilliantly smooth to shift to any gear at a standstill. After a few rides, I was shifting and swapping through motor speeds without thinking, like driving a car with a manual transmission.

Before long, I was flying across town like a pro, increasingly leaving my car behind as Portland’s rainy winter turned to sunlit spring. And man, does this thing fly. When boxed in at 20 mph as a Class 2 bike, I was hitting the top speed in seconds from anything above the second pedal-assist motor speed, so you’ll likely want to convert it to Class 3 from the display settings if local laws allow. After converting, I still only hit around 26 mph on flats, but that was fast enough.

I spent the majority of my time between the first and second pedal-assist speeds, but when I got tired (or curious), moving to the fourth or fifth speeds was a blast. It’s empowering to know you can make any hill your … subordinate, allowing you to choose virtually any path to your destination. Need to catch up after a late start or get rid of a car on your tail? Punch up the speed and let it rip. It’s truly a joyful feeling.

The Current Plus does have its downsides. At 55 pounds, it can feel sluggish without pedal assist, and without shocks, rocky terrain gets rough. The hydraulic disc brakes, while smoother than both the eClassic and Propella 9S, get noisy when coming down big hills, and the front brake tends to stick on occasion. I also noticed the throttle making a soft clicking noise when engaged and I was freewheeling, but I rarely used it anyway since the pedal assist is faster and more efficient.

The Little Things

Those points aside, this is mostly a premium experience, from the seamless gears to the glitter-flecked, scratch-resistant paint. Touches like the gel-padded seat and composite fenders feel well-made, and the flanged handles provide an ergonomic grip flanked by convenient controls. If I’m judging on style points, I wouldn’t mind it if the front cables were smaller, but it’s still a sharp-looking bike for its price class.

The Current Plus’ big and bright center display is a huge step up from the smaller screens on cheaper models, making it easy to gauge your trip and futz with the settings and swap to Class 3 speeds between 21 and 28 mph (again, check local laws). The screen is so convenient, I found myself wishing I could add Apple CarPlay for mapping and controlling my latest pair of open earbuds, though you can always add a phone mount, of course.

My favorite extra is also the simplest: automated lighting. The 600 lumen front light reacts to your environment, so you’ll never need to dig through the settings or worry about visibility when it gets dark. Like the eClassic, the back light gets brighter as you brake, and braking disconnects the motor for safer stopping. It all adds up to a sweet ride that can power you through just about any crosstown trip or long-haul adventure. If you’re after an ebike with the range and speed to set you loose like the BMX days of old, the Current Plus has you covered.