When I first hopped on the new Priority Skyline Smart‑Shift e-bike, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I’ve ridden dozens and dozens of commuter e-bikes, some fancier than others, but it’s rare to see something that feels this refined and has components like these, especially from a direct-to-consumer company that focuses on quality builds at affordable prices.
Just unveiled this month, Priority Bicycles calls it their most advanced e-bike ever, and after a few days riding it around the city, I can say they’re not just hyping it up. This thing is a seriously capable commuter machine packed with impressive tech, high-end components, and thoughtful design choices that blend into a surprisingly seamless ride.
Priority Skyline tech specs
- Motor: 750W hub motor with torque sensor
- Top speed: 28 mph (45 km/h) or 20 mph (32 km/h) user-selectable
- Range: 20-60 miles (32-96 km), depending how you ride
- Battery: 720 Wh frame-integrated and removable battery
- Weight: 30.8 kg (68 lb)
- Frame: 6061 aluminum
- Brakes: Tektro HD-E350 Hydraulic disc brakes on 180 mm rotors
- Extras: Pinion C1.12i Smart.Shift gearbox with automatic electronic shifting, Gates Carbon Drive belt-drive system, included fenders and rear rack, many braze-ons and mounting points for accessories, bright color display, automatic front and rear LED lights, USB-C charging for phone/accessories, adjustable stem, and touch-up paint included
Priority Skyline Video Review
To see the Skyline in action across everything from intense city riding to leisurely beach path cruising, check out my video review below. You know you want to see it ride!
“Smart shifting” is actually smart
Let’s start with the headline feature: the electronic Pinion C1.12i Smart.Shift gearbox. This thing is wild, and normally comes on boutique European e-bikes costing well north of $6k, or around 50% more than the Priority Skyline here.
Instead of a traditional derailleur or even an internal gear hub, the Skyline uses an enclosed gearbox with 12 evenly spaced gears and a massive 600% gear range. But what really makes it feel like it’s from the future is the Smart.Shift system. You can tap the buttons to shift manually if you’d like, but I pretty much stopped doing that after the first few minutes of riding because I learned to just trust the machine to do it for me.
Part of what allows it to actually shift intelligently instead of some other automatic shifting e-bikes I’ve tried that are more frustrating than helpful are the features like “Start.Select” and “Pre.Select.” Those features mean the bike can automatically downshift to your preferred gear when you stop and anticipate the right gear as you pick up speed again. I find that around 60 or 65 is pretty much the sweet spot for me.
Even if you’re accelerating with the throttle, you can still see that the gearbox is shifting automatically to ensure that if you do decide to start pedaling, you’ll instantly be in the proper gear. It’s weirdly satisfying. After a few rides, I found myself relying on it more than I expected. Plus, I find myself using the throttle at a bare minimum because it’s just so nice to pedal the bike. I adjusted my handlebar stem upward (I love bikes with adjustable stems!) to give me a more upright and taller seating position, and the bike is just comfortable to pedal and cruise around on. The throttle is there when I need it in a pinch, but I really like the gearbox and belt drive, and together they make pedaling so smooth and intuitive that I just find myself leaving the throttle alone for most of my riding.
It did take me a bit of time to get used to the automatic shifting since I’ve been manually shifting for essentially my entire bike riding career (with the exception of when I’m on wonderfully simplistic single-speeds). I soon found the right rhythm though, pedaling up to speed and then briefly (less than a second) pausing my pedaling to let the gearbox automatically shift for me. It’s not like a car’s automatic transmission, where you can just “floor it” with your pedaling and expect to fly through the gears. You still have to relax the pedaling briefly as if you were going to shift manually. But as soon as it feels you let up, it will do one or more shifts, however many it calculates that you need, to pop you into the perfect gear for that speed of riding.
The system is described as being able to shift under load, and if you use the manual buttons to override the ‘brain’, then you can absolutely shift under load. But it seems to know that it’s just better for the gears to shift under reduced load, so the automatic shifting part waits to shift between pedaling.
That gearbox pairs perfectly with the Gates Carbon Drive belt system, which means there’s no chain, no lube, and almost no maintenance. I’d call it zero maintenance, myself, though I know that technically you’re supposed to check your belt tension occasionally.
There’s also an oil-fill port on the gearbox, so technically, I guess there’s a point several thousand miles down the line when I’m supposed to check the oil, something I’ve never said about an e-bike before.
But generally speaking, the maintenance on the entire bike is largely limited to just squeezing your tires once in a while, deciding whether that level of squish has become too much to ignore any longer. That’s basically it. The bike is quiet, clean, and just works – ideal for commuters who don’t want to fuss with a greasy drivetrain or frequent maintenance. And because everything is sealed up inside the Pinion box, you don’t have to worry about your gears getting misaligned or caked in grime.
Powering the Skyline is a 750W rear hub motor that uses a torque sensor for smooth, responsive pedal assist. It’s fast enough to hit 28 mph in Class 3 mode, though I technically hit 28.6 mph on flat ground, which is a secret that we should probably just keep between you, me, and the internet. The bike also includes a throttle if you feel like cruising without pedaling. It works up to 20 mph, but it’s also removable if you live in a state like California that cracks down on Class 3 e-bikes that have an installed throttle.
And technically speaking, I should also say that the bike actually ships as a Class 2 e-bike – I had to navigate through the settings to find an unlock to increase the top speed to 28 mph. So everything should be pretty kosher right out of the box for almost anywhere in the US.
As far as the performance, the assist comes on comfortably but with enough grunt to make even steep hills feel manageable. I don’t have any long steep hills in my city, but I do have several grade changes, such as from the beach up to the street level, and those short but steep ramps were no problem for the bike to climb. For an urban rider or a long-distance commuter, I’d absolutely say that the Skyline has more than enough performance.
The 720Wh removable battery is fully integrated into the downtube, which helps give the frame a clean, streamlined look. It’s also removable for charging, and a second ‘safety’ button keeps the battery locked in even after the key is turned.
Depending on how much you use the throttle or crank up the assist level, range can vary from around 20 miles up to over 60 miles. Just to give you an example from several of my rides, I started out with a fully charged battery and did a number of roughly 25-mile (40 km) loops, each time coming back with around 40% battery charge remaining. So I’d say that the middle area of that wide range claim is fairly accurate for average riders.
That’s pretty standard for this battery size, and I found it plenty sufficient for multiple days of city riding without needing a charge (my city is barely 8 miles across, so you have to do several commutes to get through an entire battery charge).
Riding comfort is dialed in, too. The Skyline rolls on 27.5” x 2.0” Maxxis Metropass tires that strike a nice balance between speed and cushion. The SR Suntour suspension fork up front adds 80mm of travel to soak up potholes and cracked pavement. The wide 740mm handlebars with a gentle backsweep offer great control without feeling twitchy, and the saddle is plush enough for longer rides.
One note on those handlebars: they are wider than I expected, and as someone who does a lot of lane splitting between rows of grid-locked cars in areas without a bike lane, it’s something to keep an eye on. If you aren’t normally inches away from swapping paint with cars, you’ll probably never notice. But when you’re regularly adjusting your elbows to not hit sideview mirrors, your bar end placement becomes key. All the more reason for separate, protected bike lanes!
Stopping power comes from Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors front and rear. They offer strong, confident braking, and include motor cutoffs to instantly kill power when you squeeze the levers. They’re quick, responsive, and they’re one more maintenance-free component that adds to the easy ownership experience. (Yes, once in a while you have to change your brake pads, but it’s much closer to maintenance-free than cable-pull brakes!)
There’s no shortage of useful commuter features baked in, either. Full aluminum fenders keep road spray off your clothes, and the integrated rear rack is sturdy and sleek. The fact that it is integrated into the fender means you get all the benefits of a strong rack (rated for 22 kg or 48.5 lb), but without all the extra hardware from separate rack mounts. It’s just cleaner and slicker looking. Then there’s the stem-mounted 500-lumen headlight and a fender-mounted brake-sensing taillight that are both powered from the main battery, so you’re always lit up and visible without juggling separate lights, and with fewer external wires to get snagged at the local bike rack. Even the kickstand is thoughtfully placed not to cause pedal lock, and it feels solid enough to support the bike when fully loaded.
I’m glad to see that they even included a kickstand. It seems like as soon as most high-end e-bikes surpass around $3k, the first thing they steal from us is the kickstand. But Priority knows that sometimes a few extra grams are well spent if its for convenience, so they don’t rob us of the kickstand.
What are the downsides?
At 68 pounds, the Skyline isn’t a lightweight bike, though that’s to be expected with a beefy motor, high-capacity battery, gearbox, and all the integrated accessories. It’s not the kind of e-bike you’ll want to carry up a flight of stairs every day, but it rides with stability and confidence that makes the weight worthwhile. And for those concerned about hauling it into a car or onto a rack, the battery is removable, which helps shave off a few pounds when lifting.
Then there’s gearbox itself. It’s got a ton of advantages, but there are downsides too. Because of the electronic shifting, it won’t shift without power. If your battery runs out, you’re stuck in whatever gear you were in last.
And lastly, there’s an odd pause on the throttle delivery from rest. If you’re sitting still and you hit the throttle, it takes a second before the power comes on. It doesn’t happen if you’re already rolling; in that case, the throttle is basically instantaneous. But from rest, it’s almost like it thinks for a second then gives you power. I imagine that’s some kind of safety feature, but to me, it feels like the opposite. I believe a bike should respond instantly to provide intuitive feedback, and not have delayed reactions to impulses. But like I said, I’ve used the throttle so sparingly because the bike is such a joy to pedal, that I haven’t noticed it too much.
And that basically leaves me with everything else that falls in a long list of advantages. The bike just gives you so much, from the high-end gearbox to the automatic shifting, from the belt drive to the punchy hydraulic brakes, from the torque sensor to the adjustable seating/handlebar geometry. And yes, even that all-important throttle functionality that makes North American e-bikes so special.
Of course, all of this comes at a price. At $3,999 (or $3,699 while the launch promotion is still valid), the Skyline isn’t cheap. But when you factor in the premium components, especially that Pinion gearbox, which probably costs close to half the price of the bike on its own, it actually feels like a solid value for what you’re getting. This isn’t a cookie-cutter e-bike with off-the-shelf parts slapped together. Priority has built something unique here: a high-performance commuter that’s clean, quiet, low-maintenance, and ready for the long haul.
Priority Bicycles has carved out a unique space in the industry, offering the kind of bike-shop-level quality and service you’d expect from a local retailer, combined with direct-to-consumer pricing that keeps things reasonable. And the Skyline really feels like the culmination of that philosophy, a refined, durable, and seriously capable e-bike that stands out from the pack.
If there’s one thing to take away from my experience, it’s this: If you’re looking for a smart, powerful, and low-maintenance commuter with top-shelf components and sleek design, the Priority Skyline is absolutely worth a look. It’s not for the bargain-hunters or the folks who only use the throttle on an e-bike, but if you’re the kind of rider who values reliability, performance, and future-proof features, this e-bike just might be your next daily driver.
Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
