Ebikes come in many different styles, but for commuting and getting around in a city, I’ve developed a real appreciation for step-thru ebikes. Their easy-to-mount frames make them a practical choice for people riding with cargo or in normal street clothes. These days, almost all the bikes I ride tend to be step-thru ebikes.
The latest bike I’ve been using is the TST Surfer 27.5” Step-Thru Commuter E-Bike. It’s a solidly made, affordable, and practical ebike that can work for many riders. In this TST Surfer review post, we’ll look at the features of this bike and what my experience with this bike has been like.
Quick Overview
To start, here’s a brief overview of the general specs of this bike:
- Top Speed: 23-24 mph
- Motor: 1000W rear hub motor
- Range: Up to 65 miles on a full charge
- Tires: 27.5 x 2.25 Chao Yang tires
- Battery: 48v, 15Ah battery
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes
- Gearing: 7-speed Shimano shifters
- Suspension: Front suspension fork
Design and Comfort
As previously mentioned, the TST Surfer is a step-thru ebike. It comes in two colors – light green or red. I opted for red when selecting which bike to review. The bike looks sleek and is small enough that many people might not even notice it’s an ebike. Importantly, the bike looks a lot like a normal bike, which may be important to some people who prefer traditional-looking ebikes.
In terms of comfort, the TST Surfer doesn’t disappoint. The step-thru frame is practical, allowing for easy mounting and dismounting. A step-thru frame works better for my riding style since I typically use my bike to commute or do food delivery with DoorDash and Uber Eats. This makes being able to get on and off the bike quickly and easily very important. If you prefer a traditional stepover frame, TST also sells another bike – the TST Flyer – which appears to be the same as the Surfer except that it uses a stepover frame, rather than a step-thru frame
In addition to being easy to mount, the bike’s frame and geometry also provides a relaxed, upright riding position, and the front suspension fork helps absorb shocks and bumps, contributing to a smoother ride. The adjustable seat and ergonomic handlebars further enhance comfort, accommodating various rider preferences.
The handlebars, in particular, are worth mentioning. The TST Surfer uses sweptback handlebars, which puts the rider in a relaxed, comfortable commuting position. I’m a big fan of sweptback handlebars, so I’m happy with the decision by TST to use sweptback handlebars here.
It’s also worth mentioning the tire size that the TST Surfer uses. Unlike most ebikes that use 20-inch or 26-inch wheels, the TST Surfer opts for 27.5-inch wheels. These wheels strike a nice balance between stability and maneuverability, making it well-suited for both urban commuting and occasional light trail riding. The advantage of the larger wheel size is that it helps smooth out the ride when riding over bumpy or uneven surfaces. It also gives you more surface area to grip the ground, which helps increase stability.
Performance and Battery Life
The TST Surfer uses a 1000w rear hub motor, which gives plenty of power for commuting and regular city riding. The motor is from a company called Sutto, which is a subsidiary of Bafang. From my riding experience, I found the motor powerful and able to handle all elevations. The acceleration was smooth and the bike had a good top speed of around 23-24 mph on flat ground.
The battery is a 48v, 15Ah removable battery that integrates into the frame. This gives the bike a nice, sleek look. The advertised range for the TST Surfer is listed at 65 miles, but in a real-world setting, you’re probably going to get around 40 miles of range. That’s still plenty of range for most use cases, including getting around a city, commuting, or even going on longer rides.
So far, I haven’t had any range anxiety while riding the TST Surfer. While I haven’t done any super long rides with it, I have used the TST Surfer to get around the city and do food deliveries, so the bike has been used for extended periods. The display gives you plenty of information as well, providing clear details of how much battery power you have left.
Features and Functionality
The TST Surfer is equipped with a 7-speed Shimano gear system, which provides flexibility in various riding conditions. Whether you’re cruising on flat roads or tackling gentle inclines, you’ll find the gearing options adequate for most scenarios.
For brakes, the TST Surfer uses front and rear hydraulic disc brakes. This is a pleasant surprise, as most bikes at this price point opt for mechanical disc brakes to save on cost. I’m a big fan of hydraulic disc brakes and think all ebikes should use them, so I’m happy that TST opted for hydraulic brakes.
For cargo capacity, the TST Surfer comes with a rear rack. You can also purchase a front rack if you want additional cargo capacity. The rear rack is rated to hold up to 55 pounds of cargo, so you can strap some things to the back or attach some panniers. One thing to note is that when the rear rack is loaded up, the bike can feel a bit twitchy. I’ll explain this in more detail in the next section, but it’s something that’s worth pointing out.
Finally, the TST Surfer comes with integrated front and rear lights. The lights aren’t super powerful by any means, but they get the job done and will make you visible.
My Experience with the TST Surfer
I’ve been using the TST Surfer as a commuting bike and as a food delivery bike, and so far I’ve been impressed with it. It’s comfortable, easy to ride, and the step-thru frame makes getting on and off a hassle-free experience. The bike’s design and performance make it a solid choice for navigating city streets and light trails.
The larger tires and suspension fork do a good job of handling rough patches, and the overall ride quality is quite enjoyable. The 7-speed gearing is functional, and while the motor isn’t the most powerful out there, it provides solid assistance for typical commuting speeds. I also like the sweptback handlebars, as it gives the bike a very comfortable feel.
Speed-wise, I found the bike fast enough to get around the city quickly. While this isn’t the fastest bike, it does get up to around 23-24 mph, which is plenty fast enough for most people. For a bike that typically costs around $1,000, I think that’s pretty good.
From a weight perspective, the TST Surfer is noteworthy because it’s a very lightweight ebike. The bike is listed at 58 pounds, which is a lot lighter than other ebikes. If you need to carry the bike up or down stairs, this is a good bike to use since it’s light enough that you can easily carry it.
There are some quirks of the bike that I think are worth mentioning though. The main thing I noticed is that the weight of the bike seemed to give it a bit of a twitchy feel when riding. I think a lot of this has to do with the frame, which feels pretty “flexy.” Riding without cargo is generally fine and the bike feels good, but when the rear rack is loaded up, I’ve noticed some definite front wheel wobble if riding no-handed. This isn’t going to be a problem for most people, but I do think it’s worth pointing out. I usually prefer bikes with stiffer frames because I think it helps reduce this overall ride twitchiness.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Comfortable and Easy to Mount: The step-thru frame makes it simple to get on and off.
- Good Range: Up to 40 miles on a single charge is impressive for daily use.
- Smooth Ride: Front suspension and 27.5-inch tires provide a smooth ride.
- Hydraulic Disc Brakes: Gives good braking and the use of hydraulic disc brakes for an entry-level ebike is a surprising bonus.
- Affordable Price: The bike typically sells for around $1,000, which is a good price for a basic, commuter ebike.
Cons:
- Speed Limitation: The bike isn’t the fastest or most powerful bike.
- Some Twitchiness, Especially When Loaded With Cargo: I noticed some front wheel wobble when riding with heavy loads on the rear rack. This gave the bike a generally twitchy feel. A lot of this, I think, has to do with the frame, which is fairly “flexy.” I think a stiffer frame would address this issue. It’s not a dealbreaker, but its something to think about if you are someone who is planning to carry a lot of cargo and/or ride no-handed a lot.
- Unclear What Future Support Will Be Like: I haven’t had any issues with the TST Surfer, but it’s important to note that since this is an online company, support could be limited. If you do get this bike, make sure you know how to do your own maintenance or have a bike shop willing to work on the bike. Fortunately, the TST Surfer is a normal bike, so maintenance on it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think the TST Surfer Step-Thru Commuter E-Bike is a good choice for anyone looking for a solid, entry-level e-bike for urban commuting and casual riding. Its comfortable design, solid range, and smooth ride make it a worthy option as an entry-level ebike. This bike isn’t going to blow you away with speed or power, but it offers solid performance and value for the price.
If you’re considering a new e-bike and want a regular-looking bike that will get you around, this is one to consider. Be aware of the twitchiness issues I mentioned, as that is something that could bother some people.
But, in summary, I think this is a solid, entry-level commuter ebike that’s good for someone looking for a normal, no-frills ebike to get them around.
If you’re interested in purchasing the TST Surfer (or any other TST Ebike), you can do so using my affiliate link. If you use the promo code FINANCIALPANTHER, you’ll also get a small discount.
Disclosure: I received the TST Surfer for review purposes. I did not receive payment for this post and TST had no editorial input on this post.
This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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