Leitner Aria
Verified9 reviews
The saddle is extremely uncomfortable. Worse for lack of suspension. Apart from that it's a great little bike. Does everything I need locally.
Commuters Dream – Absolutely adore this bike. I use this bike everyday to and from the train station twice a day including taking it on the train. All up have done 600km now. The 250w motor packs just enough punch to make my commute relatively easy even while going up some steep hills. Battery life isn’t great, I am charging it roughly every 20km / every two days… Read more
but I do rely on pedal assist heavily during some parts of my journey (but typically switching between option 2 & 3).
The bike folds up relatively nicely and as a bonus feature can be used as a seat when fully folded, which is incredibly handy on a packed train. My biggest complaint with this bike is when folded you are unable to push it around nicely, so it must be carried. The centre of gravity is off, so the bike sways from side to side when attempting to push it folded up, making it incredibly hard to push anymore than a metre or two.
Leitner has also got a great, responsive, and easy to deal with customer support and spare parts division.
All up this is indeed a relatively light weight and compact little bike which has saved me a lot of death stares on public transport peak hour due to its compact nature. I would purchase again!
Excellent Guidance and product – Lovely electric bike. Perfect for me as I can fold up to fit in my boot and can also fit without folding in the back of my sedan. The delivery was super fast and relatively easy to put together. The team was great in helping me choose one that suited my needs. Able to take to different rivers so after riding I can put in my car and go swimming.… Read more
And back home. I live in a hillside area so I can take it to flat areas to ride. After over 35 years of not riding I am relearning to balance and become more confident and compadent at riding safely. The team was great to listen and to assist in buying the correct bike for me and my needs and finance. I truly appreciate their help and guidance.
Nice compact ebike – Got the e-bike for over 3 months and hopefully a reasonable review can be given below: Pros: - Nice design, fit into the boot of our mid-size sedan car. Fit in the back seat ok too. - Should last 50+ km as claimed (to be sure, recharge after every 35-40 kms). Comments: - Assembling was minimal but the attachment of the mudguard was a bit fiddly.… Read more
- Need to check the tyre pressures at the start (they came a bit flat). Not much room for air pumping hose. Bought a hose adaptor to make the job easier. - Tight room for plugging into charging socket (below the seat) but OK when you get used to with it. - Got all lights replaced with rechargeable/compact/brighter units to provide various flashing modes for safety (always turned on while riding).
- One day in the first week, being unfamiliar with the bike, when riding over a huge -but gentle- dip, the seat dropped. This is dangerous so other users may need to beware to really tighten the seat securing bolt. - After 1 month, the chain got very loose and dislodged, need tensioning by loosing the bolts and manually pull the rear wheel further. The bolts were very tight & a good suitable ring socket was purchased just for this job (the provided spanner in the tool kit was too weak and got opened up (could not take the required force). - Last week, the front disc brake made noisy at every wheel revolution. A simple wooden stand was fabricated to raise the bike up for disc brake adjustment. - Need to tighten the handle well otherwise you can have rattling noise & the handle bar may drop "little-by-little" at every road bumps . - Understandly this bike has no spring suspension so a padded seat cover & padded underwear are recommended.
Final remarks: A nice & compact folding e-bike. May need to pay attention to a few things. Generally quite happy with the purchase.
Fun but not a serious commuting bike – I bought this bike because it was the only one with a folding width small enough to fit in the boot of my Subaru sedan. I was right it only just fit with an inch or so to spare. The other 20" folding bikes would not have fit. I am 170cm tall which is a couple inches below maximum size recommendation. However, there is no way I can get myself into… Read more
a powerful leg-extended riding position. If I put the seat up high I find myself stretching too far to reach the handlebars, and lumbar in a unhealthy position. The only comfortable/ergonomic seating position (for me) is a more vertical position with lower seat and higher handlebar. That would normally mean more stress on knees but with motor-assistance it is fine.
No gearing (and vertical riding position) means a lower speed cruising/sightseeing proposition only and is how you should view this bike. You will struggle to get much above 20km/h. With higher motor-assistance you might go slightly faster to the detriment of battery usage. IMO bike is too slow to ride on a busy road safely. It is a dedicated cycleway bike only.
Tiny seat = sore butt. Especially given what I said about vertical riding position. You will have more bodyweight on the seat. Unless you can crack walnuts with your butt cheeks you will probably need a softgel seat cover. Mine was around $20 from Big-W and it is a big improvement.
Tiny wheels are twitchy as expected, and dangerous as expected going over potholes and bumps. You need to pay attention when riding.
Assistance levels are not that intuitive. On lowest assistance level the motor still kicks in riding downhill. Moderate assistance level is not enough for the steeper hills. I found myself constantly switching assistance levels. I eventually decided to leave it on lowest assistance level, and just use the throttle for everything else. Although connecting the throttle now makes it illegal.
Most of my cycling around Parramatta Cycleway. Rhodes -> Meadowbank -> Silverwater bridge, Olympic park. A couple moderate hills including Silverwater bridge. Motor is powerful enough to assist. Battery range seems to be around 40-50kms on this terrain with low-moderate assistance level.
The only other thing worth mentioning is even at 15kg it is not that easy to carry. When folded the centre of gravity is a few inches away from your body. Easier to carry when unfolded but the centre of gravity seems to be in an awkward position to grab with your hand. Many of you (elderly or untrained) will struggle to carry this bike upstairs.
Overall the bike is still fun to ride. Definitely not a 5-star as rated by others. The appeal with this bike is the compact size. If I had my way again I would keep searching for a bigger bike with Shimano gearing that would fit in my car. I would probably give that priority over an electric motor. I would also ask questions about costs and self-replacement of electric motor which will seemingly inevitably break one day.
Best value lightweight folding e-bike available in Australia! – I was looking for an e-bike I can take on public transport, and was a little wary of getting this one given how much cheaper it is compared to similar bikes, and how few reviews are available online. I took the plunge and bought it, and am so glad I did. It feels surprisingly sturdy for something so light, and I've been able to ride it around the… Read more
city and through parks and bike trails for the last two months without issues. I bought the optional rack, and have been able to carry two large paneer bags without difficulty, which makes it easy to do the shopping. Also make sure you purchase the optional seat post lock if you plan to lock it outside without taking the seat with you, as otherwise someone could easily steal the battery (which is in the seat post).
My wife bought a Leitner Tirol around the same time and we've been able to compare the Aria to the Tirol - we both prefer the Aria. We don't miss the gears on the Tirol as the motor allows it to go up hills easily, and it feels much easier to ride compared with the Tirol - it feels like it moves by the correct amount depending on how much you pedal, however the Tirol will suddenly jerk forwards if you pedal a little bit which makes it difficult to control and feels dangerous.
Only minor quibbles are that the handlebars are still a little low even when adjusted to their highest setting, and the included seat is not at all comfortable. It's possible to get used to the handlebars though, and Kmart's $11 foam saddle cover fits onto the seat nicely and makes it much more comfortable.
Battery life is excellent - it's definitely getting more towards the 50km end of the "30-50km" range quoted, although I haven't done extensive testing and don't go for extremely long bike rides. The longest I've ridden for in one day without charging is 4 hours, and it was able to make the entire journey without running out of battery. It also charges surprisingly fast in just a couple of hours.
Regarding after-sales service - there was a problem with my seat post lock and it broke after a couple of weeks. I filled in the form on the Leitner website on a Sunday evening, got a response on Monday morning, and a replacement was immediately posted express, and arrived on Tuesday. Very happy with Leitner's service.
This is my first bike (apart from children's bikes when I was younger) and I'm incredibly happy with it. Don't feel too wary given how cheap it is - it's excellent value and I feel like Leitner could easily be selling a bike of this quality for a much higher price.
Excellent folding e-bike, significantly lighter – Excellent folding e-bike, significantly lighter than the competition (15kg) and folds to a really compact size. Great customer service from Zane at Leitner. Copes with surprisingly steep hills. I used the technique described in the manual to connect the throttle (strictly for off-road use!), which makes the bike much easier to get going from a … Read more
standing start especially for somebody like me with bad balance. I did a lot of research before buying the Aria and I’m very pleased with the product.
Exceptionally engineered quality – I was absolutely blown away by Your Leitner Aria bike. I am a retired engineer who was born in Holland, 1951. Some European countries are known for their fine engineering and always pushing the envelope. A person from California, United States says the name Leitner is of German origin and means "The person who lit the lights in lighthouses,… Read more
centuries ago".
You all at Leitner have certainly lit my lights.
The bike just oozes quality, perfect finish and exceptional engineering, the latter I assume is forever ongoing.
How can you possibly contain the ever increasing costs ???
Feel free to use this letter to promote your product. Use 'JohnO from Sydney.'
I injured my back when 8 years old and cannot walk far with full body weight on my back.
However I am OK sitting down and my hips, knees and feet have not been affected by the 60 year old accident. Doctors could do nothing in 1958 and now it is too late. Due to bone deterioration, fusing, etc.
Thankyou so much and hope to keep in touch occasionally.
Good things come in small packets – Makes cycling fun . Nice to ride, compact and lightweight enough for taking along with us in the car for camping . Small enough to leave inside our house . In our opinion - a great looking ,Neat design , with a well thought out folding mechanism and good construction. Show details
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