Tower Beach Babe Review 2021 | Electric Bike Report

Here at Electric Bike Report, our team conducts what we call a circuit test. This test is a one mile loop that we ride in each pedal assist setting and with the bike turned completely off. This gives us a good idea of what each assistance level provides when it comes to power and average speed. It also shows us what the relationship between each pedal assist level is like.

The Beach Babe has pretty consistent pedal assist settings. Aside from the change from level 4 to 5, each consecutive level gives 1-2 mph of additional speed over the prior level. We noticed that our test rider rode at a higher average speed with the bike turned completely off than he did in the first pedal assist level.

While this is a bit counterintuitive, we came to the conclusion that our rider simply wasn’t putting in as much effort when he was receiving assistance. I can say from my testing that pedal assist level 1 still gives some assistance, but not much. I would recommend using pedal assist level 2 or 3 if you’re looking for moderate assistance.

The Beach Babes pedal assist levels were easy to get used to and less experienced riders shouldnt have any issues getting familiar with them.

One of the main selling points of electric bikes is the way they’re able to make hills a lot easier than they are on standard bicycles. To get a good idea of how the bikes we test perform on hill climbs we conduct two tests on one of the steepest hills in St. George, Utah, which is a quarter mile long and ranges from a 12% to 15% grade.

The first test is climbing the hill using throttle only, and the second test is climbing the hill in the highest pedal assist level. This gives us more insight to how the bike performs on its own and with rider assistance.

The Beach Babe has a 500W rear hub motor that can produce up to 65Nm of torque. Between the wattage and maximum torque output its a pretty powerful motor, especially for a beach cruiser.

When I climbed our test hill using just the throttle, it took 1:18.00 with an average speed of 13.9 mph to reach the top of the hill. The motor was definitely working hard but I never felt like it was going to give out on me. I definitely felt the 65Nm of torque when accelerating from a stand still at the bottom of the hill and when reaching the steepest part of the hill.

When I climbed the test hill using the highest pedal assist level it took 1:12.00 to reach the top with an average speed of 15.1 mph. During this test, I felt some vibration coming from the motor which made it hard to stay seated. This didn’t happen all the time but when it did it was hard to ignore. I was surprised this happened when I was pedaling with the bike, if anything I would have expected this to happen during the throttle-only portion of the test.

Aside from the mentioned vibration I was impressed with the hill climbing ability of the Beach Babe. If you run into a steep hill the Beach Babe should be able to handle it, especially if you’re pedaling with the bike.

The Beach Babe handles like it wants you to relax and enjoy the ride, which is exactly what I would hope for in a cruiser.

It’s easy to ride and, despite the comfort-oriented geometry, it is pretty easy to maneuver and corner. The feeling of balance the Beach Babe has will likely help less experienced riders better enjoy the experience of riding more than they would on a performance oriented bike.

The Beach Babe’s geometry keeps riders very upright and looking ahead. The handlebar position can also be fine tuned because of the adjustable stem. Between the adjustment and upright positioning, the Beach Babe is a cruiser bike I would deem as comfortable.

The Velo premium saddle was plenty wide and it distributed my weight well. While I normally prefer smaller, thinner saddles this one gave me no issues. The Beach Babe also comes with Velo leather grips which are soft to the touch and easy to hold on to for long periods of time.

The Beach Babe uses a 500W rear hub motor that can be engaged by either the throttle or any of the pedal assist settings. This motor gave me enough power that I never had to strain or over-exert myself when riding.

Even on our test hill, which averages a 12%-15% grade, this motor did a good job. I did notice some vibration coming from the motor in instances where I was putting a little bit more strain on the motor — this made it hard to stay seated as lots of the vibration was going up into the saddle. This didn’t happen all the time, however it was definitely noticeable when it did.

Those who don’t plan on pushing the motor too hard — e.g., riding up a hill most beach cruisers are not designed to tackle — probably won’t experience this issue.

The Beach Babe has a 48V, 14Ah battery that sits behind the seat tube. Similar to the rest of this bike, the battery is black and low profile. I am pretty impressed with how this battery performed.

As you may have seen in our range test, the battery lasted nearly 40 miles in the highest pedal assist level and over 75 miles in the lowest. Regardless of the assistance level you’re riding in, this battery should last long enough for you to ride the span the boardwalk, or even the length of the whole beach, a couple of times.

The Beach Babe comes with 5 total levels of pedal assistance, each noticeably more powerful than the prior. When we conducted our circuit test we found that the Beach Babe has a fairly linear power profile, meaning each pedal assist level increases or decreases in power and speed around the same amount with each change.

The throttle provided a hefty amount of acceleration when engaged fully, and I am a big fan of the way this throttle engages. The Beach Babe’s throttle has a lot of power modulation. I was able to use a little throttle here and there and I was also able to boost up to 18 mph in a matter of seconds.

The Beach Babe has a low profile LCD display that sits on the left side of the handlebars. It’s not a display that you’re going to notice unless you want to. Some displays are hard to ignore with their size and brightness and I really appreciated that this wasn’t one of them. Sometimes less is more, and the low profile LCD display allowed me to focus more on the path ahead and less on the screen.

The Tektro hydraulic disc brakes come with 160mm brake rotors front and rear. These brakes are solid, they provide enough power to stop fairly quickly and enough modulation to be able to brake a little, or a lot. It took an average of 19-feet to stop from the Beach Babe’s top speed of 18 mph.

The best thing about these brakes is that they are consistent. When I conducted the brake test all 5 of my results were within one foot of each other. Nineteen feet isn’t the best result we’ve seen, nor is it the worst. Once you’re used to the way these brakes engage they should be plenty powerful for the casual riding style this bike is intended for.

The Beach Babe’s low-step frame is made of aluminum alloy and is coated in a scratch and rust-resistant black paint. The low profile and stealthy look of this low-step frame looks good and met all of my performance needs. It feels stable, it looks good and it should stand the test of time.

Similar to the frame, the Beach Babe’s fork is made of aluminum alloy. This fork has the same rust/scratch resistant coat of paint that the frame does. When I pulled the brakes hard I did feel a little bit of flexing coming from the fork, however never to the point where I felt like I was in danger. I wouldn’t mind seeing a slightly stiffer fork just for additional safety and stability but the current one is just fine.

The Beach Babe comes with a 7-speed drivetrain and a 52T chainring. When paired with the 500W motor there weren’t any hills that were hard to climb. The drivetrain is made up of a few different component manufacturers — the derailleur comes from a brand called Skillful, and the shifter comes from Shimano. Despite not ever hearing of Skilful its RD-M320 derailleur performed quite well. The Shimano thumb shifter provided crisp and consistent shifting.

The gear range was also wide enough that I was able to pedal in the easier gears when the bike was completely dead. Between the seven gears you should have a gear for most scenarios.

The Beach Babe is a comfortable beach cruiser thanks to its upright geometry, swept back handlebars and the comfortable Velo saddle and grips.

I am normally one to prefer a thinner saddle but this wide Velo saddle was very comfortable, it distributed my weight well and I rarely had to readjust. The shape of the grips allowed me to rest my hands on them without much pressure.

I also really liked having the adjustable stem, it allowed me to adjust the handlebars exactly where I wanted them to be. This also allows for a wider range of rider heights to fit the bike comfortably. The Wellgo barefoot pedals are also a sensible addition to this bike — it’s a beach cruiser after all!

The only real discomfort I had from the Beach Babe was from the occasional motor vibration I brought up earlier. It made it hard to stay seated when it was happening, but aside from that this is a very comfortable bike.

The Beach Babe comes with Schwalbe Fat Frank 26” x 2.35” tires that Tower fills with Slime (flat protection). I think Tower made a good choice with the flat protective Slime, it shows they care and it will likely make the original tubes last longer than they would without it.

These tires have withstood over 100 miles of testing without any flats. They also provide good traction on any paved surface. The 2.35” width has enough air volume to soften some of the rougher roads that I rode on. The brown and white casing of these tires match the Velo grips and saddle very well and add a lot of performance and visual benefits to the bike.

Tower offers accessories, spare parts and extras on their website. There are lots of accessories that allow you to customize the Beach Babe relative to your lifestyle. Take the brown fenders for example, if you live in an area with a lot of moisture these would probably be a good thing to pick up. I’d also recommend picking up some additional inner tubes at check out just in case you get a flat tire.

All in all, I think the Tower Beach Babe is a solid low-step beach cruiser. It has enough power to make even the steepest hills easy and enough comfort that you can enjoy your ride to the fullest.

During the Tower Beach Babe review I learned this bike is solid in every category and excels in its battery range. Instead, it’s a solid electric cruiser that performs respectably in all the scenarios we put it through. It climbed our test hill quickly in both the throttle-only test and maximum pedal assist test, it also provided consistent braking distances during the brake test.

The Beach Babe is going to be a solid Class 2 cruiser for anybody looking for a budget friendly e-bike to take some joy rides on. This bike’s low-step frame and back swept handlebars allow the inexperienced and casual riders to quickly orient themselves to the way this bike handles. The Beach Babe doesn’t have much of a learning curve which is great to see considering the style of this bike.

The button that disengages the throttle was also a nice touch. I haven’t seen this on many electric bikes but I would like to see more bikes have it. There won’t be any accidental engagement of the throttle if this button is engaged which will help loads with inexperienced electric bike riders.

Those looking to order a Beach Babe can head to Tower’s product page for up-to-date pricing.

While I definitely think there are some things that Tower could improve on, I think they are headed in the right direction with their beach cruiser models. All the areas for improvement I suggested aren’t by any means deal-breakers. They definitely feel like solid electric bikes for a beach cruiser below $2000.

‘Happy Riding, make sure to let us know if you have any questions down in our comments section or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Tower Beach Babe.