VTUVIA SX20 Review: Unleash Your Inner Antelope With The Folding E-Bike That Does It All

Today, let's take a look at an excellent review by Electrified Reviews about our VTUVIA SX20:

What is going on, awesome peeps, welcome back to another episode of Electrified Reviews! Today we’re reviewing the Antelope Step-Thru folding electric bike from VTUVIA. The Antelope has a style that we’re starting to see more in the industry and is very reminiscent of the Aventon Sinch Step-Thru, which we reviewed earlier this year. If we’re comparing this bike to others, I think the Sinch is a great rival here. We’ll keep popping back to compare the two to see which Ebike wins out here.

VTUVIA is an Ebike company that has tons of experience in the Ebike space. They’re primarily a manufacturer but have made their foray into the North American Ebike market, bringing their own branded bikes. The Antelope Step-Through comes in two colors, Moss Green, Bonfire Red, which we’re reviewing here today, and, and has a starting price of $1,899 USD. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, a 2-year warranty, and free shipping to the contiguous United States.

Right, let’s dive into the specs.

Powering this portable little folder is a 750-watt hub motor in the rear wheel. This motor will bring the Antelope Step-Through up to a top speed of 25 mph via the thumb throttle or cadence-sensing pedal assist, which makes this ride a Class 3 electric bike out of the box. In some configurations, it may ship as a Class 2 Ebike, and only reach a top speed of 20MPH, but that can be adjusted in the settings.

The Antelope Step-Through’s motor is powerful enough to ride the bike like a moped using just the throttle, and also climb some modest hills, maybe some moderate hills with some assistance from the rider.

When it comes to the batteries, the Antelope Step-Through is rockin’ a 48 volt, 14 amp hour locking removable battery that’s expertly fitted into the main tube. With 672 watt-hours, VTUVIA estimates the max range for this battery is 52 miles when using pedal assist level 1. Now, based on similar bikes, with similar batteries, that doesn’t seem too far-fetched. If you’re riding the bike with a mixture of throttle and pedal assist, you’ll probably get somewhere closer to the 30-40 miles range. Using throttle-only without pedaling will probably get you around 20 miles per charge.

Frame Type, Color options, weight, load capacity, STANDOVER + REACH, geometry, attachment points, additional accessories (baskets, etc)

The Antelope Step-Through is a stocky little folder with a curb weight of nearly 70 pounds. But with that higher-than-average curb weight comes a higher-than-average payload capacity of 350 pounds. This is perfect for those planning on loading the optional rear rack up with extra cargo.

One of my favorite things about the frame on the Antelope Step-Through is that it has internally routed wires. This is a hard feat to achieve with folding Ebikes, which is why most folders have externally routed wires. This is one of the main reasons this bike looks so clean. The charging port is also located in a nice spot, higher up on the frame, making it easier to plug in without having to bend over. to plug it in.

The Antelope has some VERY approachable geometry and will provide a comfortable ride for quite a few riders out there! The standover height is only 16”, which makes it easy to get on and off. The reach is right at 20”, so no need to stretch too far to reach the handlebars here. The total length is 65” and the folded dimensions here are 26” x 34” x 12”, meaning this will fit in most trunks, or back seats, or even on smaller cars.

We have attachments for a front basket and a rear rack, which means you could load this bad boy up with quite a few groceries or necessities. You also have the option to mount a bottle cage on the seat tube, which puts it in a pretty good spot to avoid taking away any of that precious standover height.

The Antelope has front suspension, which is a nice bonus on a bike like this. The front forks we have here have about 60mm of travel and have a lockout option as well. The front fork suspension, paired with the fat 20” x 4” tires creates a pretty smooth riding experience. The Innova tires, which we haven’t seen very often on bikes, are actually pretty nice! They are rated at 60 TPI (Threads Per Inch). 60 TPI tires are popular for gravel and MTB, as they strike a nice balance of ride comfort, durability, and tubeless reliability. They’re definitely on par with some of the industry standard tires we see, if not a step above, and even have the added bonus of having sidewall reflective stripes. These are great additions when we’re considering night-time safety. The saddle is a typical bike saddle. Nothing too wide, but not too thin either, right there in the middle. For most people, a wider comfort saddle might be a worthwhile upgrade, but for those of you who want an even cushier ride, we recommend a seat post-suspension. Those things work wonders.

To bring the Antelope Step-Through to a stop we’ve got Logan hydraulic disc brakes with 160 mm rotors in the front and rear wheels. These brakes have good stopping power and are an excellent upgrade when compared to the mechanical brakes option. They’ve also got motor inhibitors built into the brake levers so whenever you hit the brakes, the motor instantly shuts off. This is a huge safety feature and means you’ll never be fighting against 750 watts of power when you have to stop in an emergency situation. Totes ma goats.

In the back of the Antelope Step-Through, we’ve got a 7-speed cassette and a Shimano Tourney derailleur, and on the handlebars, we’ve got the ever-popular SIS Index thumb shifter. If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times, it’s always great to see name-brand Shimano parts. They’re reliable, easy to replace, and all that jazz. The whole drivetrain setup here is pretty sweet! Not a lot to critique!

The Antelope comes with an integrated front light, and that’s pretty much it. You have the option to add some transport items, like a front basket or rear rack, as we mentioned earlier, but we also don’t have any fenders included. There are mounting points for fenders, so you could easily install those if desired.

The display on the Antelope Step-Through is not necessarily the best screen we’ve tested this year, but it’s decently bright, and it’s easy to read in direct sunlight. It shows you the usual information such as speed, battery level, range, and most of the stats we’re used to seeing.

The handlebars are fairly straight, with a slight upsweep to them. The stem is adjustable to raise and lower the handlebar position, and VTUVIA left us plenty of cabling to take advantage of the full range of the stem here.

Overall, the Antelope Step-Through is a decent competitor for the Aventon Sinch and even wins out in a few of the categories, such as higher motor power, hydraulic brakes vs. mechanical brakes, higher payload capacity, and a bit more travel on the suspension. At the time of recording this review, the Sinch is about $1200 cheaper (depending on current sales and discount codes), but normally these bikes come in at the same price.

The Antelope seems to be a decent Ebike in its own right, but what do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below! Comment either Sinch or Antelope and let’s settle this once and for all. But for now, I think it’s time to head back out and do a bit more riding on this thing!

Thanks for the review: https://www.electrifiedreviews.com/blog/vtvuia-sx20-review-1799-unleash-your-inner-antelope-with-the-folding-e-bike-that-does-it-all