AIR-FORK COMMUTER · Velotric
An air-sprung fork, 730Wh, a published 1100W peak and a published 61 lb weight — the Discover 2 with the missing rows filled in, for $300 more.
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
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750W
Motor Capacity
80 Miles
Claimed PAS
20–28 MPH
Class 1/2/3
48V 730Wh
Battery
Colours the merchant lists
Specifications transcribed from Velotric’s product page on 2026-08-27. We have not ridden this bike.
Our verdict — AIR-FORK COMMUTER
The Discover 3 is the middle Discover and the most complete hub-motor commuter Velotric sells. It shares the 750W motor, the 75 Nm figure, the TEKTRO 180mm hydraulics, the 440 lb bike load and the turn signals with the Discover 2, and then answers the questions that bike leaves open: 1100W peak, 730Wh, an air fork with a lock-out rather than a coil-sprung hydraulic one, an 11–40T cassette for steeper ground, a 500 lumen front light, and a bike weight of 61 lb printed in the sheet. It also adds NFC — a card that unlocks the bike — and Google Find Hub alongside Apple Find My. At $1,999 the energy works out at $2.74 per watt-hour, dearer than the Discover 2’s $2.41 and level with the Nomad 1 Plus. The 80-mile pedal-assist claim needs the same treatment as every Velotric figure: their own footnote puts a 187-lb rider at PAS 1 on flat roads behind it, and 730Wh over 80 miles is 9.1Wh per mile.
Buy it if
Skip it if
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
What we like
What gives us pause
Why this bike is here
Velotric lists the Discover 3 in its own Best Sellers collection, checked on 2026-08-27. That is the merchant’s claim about what sells, not a measurement of ours — we have no sales data for any bike on this site, and neither does anyone outside Velotric.
Specifications
Merchant claims on the left of each row, our reading indented beneath. Where the merchant publishes nothing, the row says so.
Every figure below is the merchant's own published claim, transcribed from their product page on 2026-08-27. Indented notes are ours. We have not ridden this bike and we do not publish measurements we did not take.
48V 750W rear hub motor
1100W peak
One of the few peak figures Velotric publishes anywhere. Neither the Discover 2 nor the Nomad 1 Plus nor the Packer 1 states one.
75 Nm
The standard figure across Velotric’s hub motors. Only the mid-drive Discover M publishes more, at 100 Nm.
Class 1/2/3; 20 MPH default, adjustable 12–28 MPH
Torque and cadence sensor
48V 15.2Ah = 730Wh, IPX7, UL 2271 Recognized; Samsung/LG 21700 cells, UL 2580
730 Wh
$1,999 ÷ 730Wh = $2.74 per watt-hour, effectively level with the Nomad 1 Plus at $2.75 and dearer than the Discover 2 at $2.41. The extra 24.4Wh over the Discover 2 is not what the $300 buys.
Up to 80 miles pedal assist, up to 65 miles on throttle (*Velotric’s footnote: a 187-lb rider using PAS 1 on flat roads)
730Wh over 80 miles is 9.1Wh per mile — a very light draw, and reachable only under the conditions Velotric prints beside it. At a more typical 15 to 20Wh per mile the pack gives roughly 37 to 49 miles. No other brand on this site states any test conditions at all, which is the reason we can do this sum on a Velotric and not on the rest.
Not published; the charger is specified as 48V 3A fast
3A into 730Wh implies roughly five hours from empty. That is our arithmetic, not Velotric’s claim.
Triple-butted aluminium, two sizes (Regular and Large)
27.5 inch
KENDA 27.5" × 2.4"
Air suspension fork, 80 mm travel, with lock-out
An air spring can be tuned to the rider’s weight with a shock pump, where the coil-sprung hydraulic fork on the Discover 2 and the Nomad cannot. It is the clearest single upgrade over the Discover 2.
TEKTRO hydraulic disc, 180 mm rotors front and rear, levers with motor power cut-off
46T narrow-wide chainring, 170 mm cranks, Shimano 8-speed 11–40T, KMC chain
An 11–40T cassette against the Discover 2’s 11–32T. The larger sprocket is a lower bottom gear, which is what you want on a hill with the battery low.
3.5" full-colour display with Bluetooth and NFC; USB-C phone charging; Apple Find My and Google Find Hub; NFC card unlock
440 lbs maximum bike load; rear rack rated 66 lbs, MIK HD compatible
MIK HD is a rack mounting standard, so bags and baskets made to it clip on without straps. Velotric does not publish what, if anything, is included.
61 lbs
Published as a whole-bike figure. Lighter than the Nomad 1 Plus at 70 to 71 lb and the Packer 1 at 75 lb, and a great deal heavier than the T1 ST Plus at 39 lb.
With the suspension seatpost: Regular 5'2"–5'11", Large 5'9"–6'7". Without it: Regular 4'11"–5'9", Large 5'6"–6'4"
The fit range depends on whether the suspension seatpost is fitted, and Velotric does not publish whether that seatpost is included or an extra. Worth settling before you order, because it moves the stated fit by three inches at both ends.
IPX6 bike, IPX7 battery
UL 2849 certified, UL 2271 Recognized battery, UL 2580 cells, ISO 4210 compliant
See Velotric’s published warranty terms
Not published in the specification block
500 lumen front light; rear light with braking indicator and turn signals; removable trigger-control throttle; five riding modes; walk mode at 2.9 MPH. Velotric publishes no box-contents list in this block
See Velotric’s published shipping terms at checkout
See Velotric’s published return policy at checkout
Questions
It is the main thing you are paying for, so it depends on your weight. A coil spring is chosen at the factory for a rider of roughly average weight; if you are much lighter or heavier than that, the fork is either harsh or permanently sagged and there is nothing you can do about it. An air spring is set with a shock pump in a couple of minutes, so the same fork suits a 120 lb rider and a 230 lb one. Both forks here have a lock-out for road sections. If you are close to average weight and ride mostly smooth tarmac, the Discover 2 gives you most of this bike for less.
Under Velotric’s stated conditions, perhaps. 730Wh over 80 miles is 9.1Wh per mile, and their footnote attaches the figure to a 187-lb rider using PAS 1 on flat roads. Ride at a real assist level with hills and stops and 15 to 20Wh per mile is nearer the truth, which gives roughly 37 to 49 miles. Two things are worth saying. That is a genuinely useful range for commuting. And Velotric is the only brand on this site that publishes the conditions at all, so this is the only place we can show you the sum rather than simply doubt the number.
A card, or a phone, that wakes the bike when you tap it, instead of a code or an app. Velotric also lists Apple Find My and Google Find Hub, which put the bike on the same map as a lost pair of headphones — useful if it is stolen, though neither is a tracker with its own connection and both depend on other people’s phones passing near it. None of this replaces a good lock. It is convenience with a modest security dividend, not a security system.
Velotric publishes two sets of fit ranges, and the difference is not small. With the suspension seatpost the Regular is stated at 5'2"–5'11" and the Large at 5'9"–6'7"; without it, the Regular covers 4'11"–5'9" and the Large 5'6"–6'4". A suspension post has a minimum insertion depth, which is what raises the bottom of the range. What Velotric does not say is whether that post is fitted as standard or sold separately, and at 5 feet or 6'5" that determines whether the bike fits you at all. Ask before ordering.
The Discover M is $500 more and is a different kind of bike: Velotric’s VeloCore mid-drive with 100 Nm through a 9-speed Shimano Cues cassette, 801.6Wh, and a stated 60 lb — though that figure excludes fenders, kickstand and pedals, where the Discover 3’s 61 lb does not. The Discover 3 is a 750W hub bike with a 1100W peak, 730Wh and a whole-bike weight. If you climb steep ground regularly, the mid-drive is the reason to spend the extra. If your commute is flat or rolling, the hub motor is simpler, cheaper and kinder to a chain.
The rest of the Velotric range
BEST ALL-ROUNDER
A 750W fat-tire bike with a lock-out hydraulic fork, a 440 lb ceiling and both UL numbers stated — with a cadence sensor at $1,899.
750W
Motor Capacity
55 Miles
Claimed PAS
20 MPH
Top Speed
48V 691Wh
Battery
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
LIGHTEST HERE
At 39 lb it weighs a little over half what the next lightest bike here weighs, and it is the only one you could reasonably carry up a flight of stairs.
350W
Motor Capacity
70 Miles
Claimed PAS
28 MPH
Class 3 Max
36V 352.8Wh
Battery
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
BEST FOR CARGO
A 176 lb rear rack and four-piston brakes — the only bike on this site built to carry a second person and stop with them aboard.
750W
Motor Capacity
52 Miles
Claimed PAS
25 MPH
Unlocked Max
48V 14.4Ah
Battery
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
CITY COMMUTER
750W, 705.6Wh, TEKTRO hydraulics on 180mm rotors and both UL numbers at $1,699 — with indicators in the rear light, which nothing else on this site has.
750W
Motor Capacity
75 Miles
Claimed PAS
20–28 MPH
Class 1/2/3
48V 705.6Wh
Battery
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
MID-DRIVE COMMUTER
Velotric’s first mid-drive on this site: 500W and 100 Nm through a 9-speed Shimano Cues cassette, and the highest torque figure of any Velotric we cover.
500W
VeloCore Mid-Drive
95 Miles
Claimed PAS
Class 1/2/3
No MPH stated
48V 801.6Wh
Battery
Merchant price, checked 2026-08-27. Verify before buying.
Velotric Discover 3
$1,999 · air-fork commuter