Ristretto 512
A CYC mid-drive e-bike Ben calls the Ferrari of e-bikes: one of the fastest accelerating bikes he owns, and one of the only ones he has kept. In this video he drops in a 72V battery and takes the top speed from under 40 mph to 54.
Watch the Review
Full Video Review
Watch on YouTube →
From the Review
Out on the Trail
Frames from Ben's video
Up Close
Detail Gallery
Shot in Ben's studio and on the road
The Engineering
What Makes The Ristretto 512 Tick
Mid-Drive & Battery
CYC mid-drive, 52V stock or 72V upgrade
72V transplant
Ben swapped the 52V pack for a 72V pack from Samsung 50S 21700 cells in the same form factor. Two nuts for the connector, four screws on the plate, a firmware setting in the app, and it was done.
Race vs street mode
In the app, street mode is 750 W and 20 mph. Race mode gives low, mid and high throttle levels of 2,000, 4,000 and 6,000 W.
Fast charger
A new 84V 10A charger fills the 20Ah battery in about two hours.
Suspension & Frame
Adjustable shock, rebound dial
Floats over everything
The suspension has rebound adjustment, so it never feels like a pogo stick. Ben: it is slow and fluttery off the top, then soaks up the big hits.
Built properly from the start
Ben says Ristretto specced the bike right: no component changes were needed for the 72V upgrade beyond a thicker chain for the heaviest use.
Loud, on purpose
The CYC motor is audible. Ben compares it to an exotic supercar that is loud because it screams performance.
Brakes & Tires
203 mm rotors, four-piston calipers, street tires
Brakes
Big 203 mm rotors with four-piston calipers. At the stock 28 mph they stopped well before the marker. At 35 to 36 mph, the old top speed, he just missed the 20-foot mark.
Tires
Street tires at about 20 psi, which Ristretto recommends. They gave plenty of traction and comfort even on gravel.
Seat
The stock seat is thin and has pressure points. Ristretto sells a thicker one that Ben says to order.
The Cockpit
Tunable In The App
Over-the-air updates, throttle curves, race and street modes
The screen is clear in direct sun and the bike takes over-the-air firmware updates. Ben ran one before the battery swap, and it took about three minutes.
The app lets you set throttle curves, the dead band and the pedal assist, and switch between race and street mode. Ben: it is as tunable as any bike gets. Keep it in street mode on public roads and use race mode only somewhere private.
Find Your Fit
Size & Fittings
Ben, 5'9", on the 20-inch 512 from the review
Will It Fit You?
- Wheel options20" (A20) or 24" (A24)
- Ben's height5'9"
- StandoverLow on the 20"; he can flat-foot it
- HandlebarsBen would like a higher riser
Ben tested the 20-inch version. At 5'9" he likes the low standover, since he can flat-foot at a stop sign. The 24-inch version has bigger wheels and a taller standover, and the smaller wheels give extra acceleration while the larger ones may top out higher.
Plan Your Ride
Your Range, Not Mine
Brand range figures come from a light rider on flat ground in perfect weather. Set it up the way you actually ride and you get the window to plan a trip inside.
The Numbers
Full Specifications
Source: ristretto.us→⚡ E-System
🚦 Performance
🔧 Chassis & Brakes
✨ Pricing
The Bike Cave Verdict
Ben's Take
This is one of the highest quality e-bikes in the world, bar none. It's definitely not cheap. It's kind of like an exotic car. I would probably say that this is kind of like the Ferrari of e-bikes. High performance, killer good looks, incredibly high quality components.
This is the 512 2.0. So if 36 miles an hour is not fast enough for you, you got to get this. This upgrade kit, again, it's not cheap. Just the battery and charger alone are probably worth what some whole bikes are worth. But man, this is a three thousand dollar e-bike and with the kit it puts it up to, you know, closer to five thousand bucks. Is it worth it? I think so.
Ben did not give this bike a Cave Score in the review, so there is no number here.
👍 What I loved
- 54 mph on the GPS at about 200 lb, even after the hill and acceleration tests
- “It just takes the ceiling and then it just adds like two floors on top of this”
- A simple swap: new connector, new battery, one setting in the app
- Planted at 54 mph with no wobble: “the tires are just Velcro to the ground”
- A suspension that floats over everything, with rebound adjustment
- Over-the-air updates and a very tunable app
👎 What to know
- Not cheap: roughly $5,000 with the kit, per Ben
- Acceleration did not change much; the upgrade lifts the ceiling, not the launch
- The CYC motor is loud
- The stock seat is thin and has pressure points
- Only 20 to 30 miles at speed from a 20Ah battery
- He ran the stock chain at 54 mph; CYC makes a thicker chain for this upgrade