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Power — 500 watts nominal, 750 watts peak, 65 Newton meters of torque.
Speed — 24+ mph
Battery and Range — 48 volt 10 ah, 22 miles
Pedal assist sensor — Cadence sensor
Display — LCD with integrated button pad
Frame and weight — 6061 Aluminum alloy, 72 pound curb weight
Suspension — Trama spring fork, 60 mm travel
Gearing — Shimano Tourney, 6 speed
Brakes — Zoom, mechanical disc, 180 mm rotors
Warranty — 1 year limited
Price — Starting at $1,099 USD
Hello my good friends and welcome back to another episode of Electrified Reviews, and happy holidays and merry almost Christmas!
Today we’re reviewing the Nakto Santa Monica. This is a sort of all-terrain cruiser style electric bike that will work great for coasting through the neighborhood or zipping through light trails. It’s got a comfy upright riding posture that makes for a very relaxed vibe. The Nakto Santa Monica has front suspension, disc brakes and a clean frame, but best of all it’s a got a reasonable price tag of $1,099 USD, which also includes free shipping and a 1 year warranty.
The Nakto Santa Monica comes in one frame size — 19 inches, which is good for riders from about 5’8” to 6’6” — and one color, a nice matte silver with some darker grey hues in it.
This is a great all around entry level cruiser electric bike that’ll probably work for just about everyone.
And with that, let’s dive into the specs.
In the rear wheel the Nakto Santa Monica has a 500 nominal watt, 750 peak watt hub motor with 65 Newton meters of torque that can bring this ride up to a top speed of around 24 mph. Now, you can reach that top speed by using the full-size twist throttle, and I know some of our viewers will absolutely love this particular spec, or the cadence sensing pedal assist. And honestly, the latency with motor activation and deactivation is pretty low here. But, if you even want to take manual control of the motor you can also do that with the throttle, which is live from 0 mph, and the brakes, which have motor inhibitors built into them.
The battery on the Nakto Santa Monica is a 48 volt, 10 amp hour with a max estimated range of about 22 miles in ideal conditions, making this a great e-bike for shorter trips around town. The battery is also locking and removable, and in order to use the electronics on the Santa Monica, it does require that the key be left in and turned on, just like with a car, which is kind of cool.
The Nakto Santa Monica is made from 6061 aluminum alloy and weighs in about 72 pounds, which is a bit heavy. The handlebars are raised and swept back on the Santa Monica and combined with the extra wide saddle, which does have suspension bumpers by the way, it makes for a very comfortable ride.
The Trama spring suspension helps to smooth out the ride even more. This front fork has 60 mm of travel and works well on the pavement, but it can also handle some light off-road trails as well. Just keep in mind you are riding a cruiser electric bike.
In the back of the Nakto Santa Monica we’ve got a Shimano Tourney derailleur with a 6-speed cassette paired with a Shimano SIS Index thumb shifter. This shifter is a bit clunkier than trigger shifters and usually requires that you change your grip in order to flick through the cassette, but the good news is that it does leave plenty of hand room for that beautiful full-size twist throttle.
To bring the Nakto Santa Monica we’ve got Zoom mechanical disc brakes with 180 mm rotors in the front and rear wheels. These brakes provide ample stopping power, but are still on the less powerful end of the brake spectrum. This isn’t really an issue, but it’s something that should be kept in mind when flying down the road at 24 mph. Remember, the Santa Monica is pretty speedy.
The Nakto Santa Monica is billed as a fat tire e-bike, but the CST Rock Hawk tires are 26 inch by 2.25 inch, which is honestly a good tire size for a cruiser e-bike unless you plan to be going through a ton of sand. These tires also have a puncture protection lining to help reduce flats and let me tell you that is something to celebrate. Flats are the worst.
There is a headlight on the Nakto Santa Monica but it’s pretty dim. It does a great job at increasing visibility, but if you plan on doing any moonlight rides you’ll probably want to grab an aftermarket light for some additional lumens.
Wire management on the Nakto Santa Monica is top notch with everything wrapped extremely well. And the wires are also internally routed! This helps keep the bike looking clean and streamlined, but it also protects the wires from dirt and debris and from getting snagged.
On the left side of the handlebars we’ve got an LCD display with an integrated button pad and a separate button pad for the lights and electronic horn. On the right side of the handlebars we’ve got the SIS Index Thumb Shifter and again, that amazing full-size twist throttle. We just don’t see this style of throttle very often, even though it’s one of our favorites. We’ll give 10 points to Nakto for that.
Overall, the Nakto Santa Monica is an affordable entry-level cruiser style electric bike that is a great choice for those who want a more relaxed, upright riding posture. The 10 amp hour has a bit less capacity than average, which makes the Santa Monica a great choice for those with less than 20-mile round trip journeys in mind. At $1,099 this is a good deal, and the free shipping and generous warranty make it feel even better.
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