Enter: the electric bike. You don’t need to be physically fit to ride one. It gets you outside, reduces fossil fuels, reduces congestion, and it’s fun. Over the past few years, we’ve tried almost every kind of ebike there is, from heavy-duty cargo bikes to high-end mountain bikes. Whether you’re tooling around your neighborhood buying wood chips from the hardware store or trying to trim a few miles off the ride for a socially distanced visit, we have the best ebike for you.
We will be continuing to test and ride bikes throughout the summer, so if you don’t see one you like now, be sure to check back later. Once you get one, check out our favorite biking accessories, too.
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The Best Bike
When I had to return this electric bike (9/10, WIRED Recommends), I almost cried. The tiny, but powerful, custom motor and slim battery are integrated into the frame, so it doesn’t even look like an ebike. The XS frame weighs 33 pounds, only a few more than a regular steel bike. It has a hybrid frame with flat handlebars that make it easy to maneuver on a variety of surfaces, whether you’re scooting along at 28 miles per hour or bumping through trees at your local park.
Specialized’s Smart Control system means you don’t have to adjust assistance while you’re riding, or worry about having enough battery to get home. A hidden shock in the head tube cushions the blow from any unexpected potholes. Even the accessories are top-notch, like long, flexible custom fenders that sluice water down and away from you in the rain. I put 40 miles on it in three days. It was so fun that it was hard to hop off.
The Best Affordable Bike
But who am I kidding? Unless you’re already an ebike enthusiast, you probably want one that’s as close to $1,000 as possible. That’s a hard proposition if you want a reliable motor and a frame that won’t buckle at 15 mph. Propella’s direct-to-consumer 7-speed (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best cheap bike we’ve found. Reviewer Parker Hall noted that it has trustworthy components like a Samsung battery and Shimano disc brakes, and nifty accessories like a cool suspension seat. At 39 pounds, it’s also pretty light for an ebike! It ships directly to you, too, which is handy if you’d like to avoid a bike shop right now.
Best Utility Bike
No matter which bike I recommend, most people I know personally buy this one. It has a seemingly magic blend of affordability and usefulness. Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes ships its bikes direct-to-consumer, and rather than working exclusively with companies like Bosch and Shimano, it also develops its own custom hub-motor drivetrains with a number of different vendors. Extras like aluminum pedals and extra gears are stripped off in favor of a burly 120-pound rear rack and big, stable, custom Kenda tires.
Almost anyone can use the RadRunner (7/10, WIRED Review)—whether you want a comfy cruiser for beach rides, a stable seat for your 4-year-old, or you just want to ditch your gas-powered Vespa. If you’ve never been on a bike before, the Elby S1 also has an easy step-through frame and premium trimmings, like Tektro hydraulic brakes. It’s much more expensive, though ($3,000 on Amazon).
Best Cargo Bike (and My Fave)
The Tern GSD S10 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is my favorite cargo bike (of those I’ve tested), and it’s the one I would buy if I had the ka-ching. Tern used a number of creative design tweaks to make the bike easy to ride—for example, small 20-inch and fat motorcross tires help keep the bike’s length equal to an average road bike. The rear rack is also lower for better stability, and the battery and motor are under the rack, rather than mounted on the downtube.
You can also store it standing up on its end. That’s in addition to a customizable Bosch motor, which you can upgrade to a double-battery system. My local bike shops have trouble keeping it in stock. If you don’t need such a long tail, Tern also released a shorter HSD that can accommodate one child seat.
A Light, Affordable Cargo Bike
Bike Friday’s Haul-A-Day isn’t for everyone. Most parents that want a longtail cargo bike will opt for something heavier and more stable, like a RadWagon or a Yuba Boda Boda. But as a short parent who has to transport two kids, this is the bike I actually own. It has a unique telescoping tube that can shorten the bike to accommodate riders as short as 4’6″, and it weighs 44 pounds—almost 15 pounds less than the Tern. It’s also much more affordable, though this is realized by replacing a reliable, powerful Bosch drivetrain with a Tongsheng one.
Best Minivan Substitute
A year after testing it, my husband and I still wistfully talk about how much better our lives would be if we had our own R&M Load 60 (8/10, WIRED Recommends). The full-suspension, double-battery Load uses a Bosch system to power its bakfiets-style cargo box around town.
You can customize the cargo box with low sidewalls, harnesses, and a rain cover, or you can strip everything off and pick up tools at the hardware store. It also comes with helpful extras, like Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, an easily adjustable seat, and a built-in wheel lock that lets you lock the bike up while it’s free-standing.
Most Versatile Bike
A gravel bike is a versatile choice for everything from daily commuting to gentle weekend bikepacking trips. The Yamaha Wabash (7/10, WIRED Review) is more affordable than the Turbo Vado SL, and I used it for everything from heading to my local coffee shop to hitting (some) trails on the weekends. Yamaha’s custom motor and zero cadence trigger are powerful enough to let me start up in the middle of very steep hills. It also has rear rack mounts, an LED headlight, and a little bell. I did find its slim wheels and lack of shock absorption quite jarring on rougher roads. Specialized also has a very nice gravel-ready electric bike.
Best Electric Mountain Bike
While many towns have restrictions on whether electric bikes are even allowed on single-track (thin) trails, reviewer Stephanie Pearson had a blast on Specialized’s first pedal-assisted mountain bike (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It has a stiff, asymmetric frame that’s longer in the front to make pounding the downhills feel smooth and safe, as well as a 500-watt motor with Smart Control, which means you don’t have to adjust assistance when riding. It feels just as fun as a nonelectric bike.
Best Folding Ebike
Gocycle was founded by Mclaren Automotive engineer Richard Thorpe, and the GX (7/10, WIRED Review) is its fast-folding bike. The sleek aluminum frame hides a 300-Wh lithium-ion battery inside. Instead of simply switching from four predetermined assist modes, Gocycle’s app lets you tinker on a sliding scale to dial in different amounts of assistance in correlation with different levels of pressure on the pedals, which makes it a dream to ride. You can rubber-band your phone to the handlebars to serve as your console. It also has only two hinges, which makes folding and unfolding easy, and can be stored standing with the kickstand extended.
An Affordable Folding Ebike
Ebikes are expensive, and we did review the Jetson Metro (6/10, WIRED Review), which rings in at under a grand. It has many of the bells and whistles that you need for a commuter ebike, like a 250-watt motor hidden in the crossbar, around 40 miles of range, three levels of pedal assist, a throttle, and a horn. However, in just a week of testing, I chipped off a part of the clamp that hooks the bike together, which doesn’t bode well for the bike’s longevity over the long haul.
Advice to Keep In Mind
Just like any bike, electric bikes come with a ton of different technical specs that you may or may not care about. More affordable ebikes use hub motor drives, where the motor is in the hub of the bike’s wheel. More expensive mid-drive motors, like Bosch or Shimano systems, are in the center of the bike and transfer the power to the wheel via the chain. Mid-drive motors let you shift gears and balance the bike’s weight better.
If you live in an area that’s wet or hilly, it’s worth shelling out for a more powerful 500-W or 750-W motor and a few extras, like hydraulic or mechanical disc brakes, which will help prevent you and your cargo from skidding into traffic. If you have a longer commute, you may also want to look for a double-battery system, as the range on most ebike batteries is within 30 to 50 miles.
Ebike Classifications and Rules
Before you buy your electric bike, make sure you can actually use it! Many cities and states have local laws regulating when and where you can use an ebike. At least 22 states now use the three-class system, and may restrict when and where different classes of ebikes might be used, depending on if they have a throttle or can assist above 20 mph. Cities may also have laws about whether mountain ebikes are allowed on single-track trails. If your state classifies ebikes under the same laws governing motorcycles and mopeds, you may need a license to ride one. And no matter what, always wear a helmet.
Source: Wired
