Your sit bones, as the yoga teachers call them, need a firm base to support the rest of you. And if you’re never going to use the bike for anything other than commuting, you could get an urban or utility hybrid, which comes outfitted with integrated racks and fenders and lights. But you’ll pay more for accessories that might not suit your particular needs—and you’ll have to get another bike for your fun rides. Concerns about the volatility of gas prices have made these lower-cost e-bikes an even more attractive option for short trips or leisurely recreation. Every electric bike on this list is sub $2,000—from urban cruisers to folding models, even some that reach 28 mph. The BULLS Alpine Hawk really captured the feel of a true road bike – so much so that we often forgot it was an e-bike.
If all of that subtlety isn’t enough, BULLS even made it so you can entirely remove the motor and battery out of the Alpine Hawk. Part of the challenge of making a great folding e-bike is keeping it light enough to be stowed. At 55 lbs., this folder is easy to manage, while still offering enough power to get up hills and enough range to get across town and back.
And a longer-than-usual rack, the Blix Dubbel is a utility bike that can double as a child carrier. Riders with long commutes will love that it can be ordered with two batteries. The Rad Power Bikes RadRunner Plus exists somewhere between a small cargo e-bike and a peppy commuter, and frankly, we’re in love with it. The 2023 Fairfax 1 still comes with the private-label tire.
The result is better motor control depending on how much of your own effort goes through the pedals. Getting the most out of an e-bike offroad will be most likely if the e-bike fits the rider. To their credit, QuietKat offers the Apex in three sizes to fit a broad range of rider heights. QuietKat offers buyers a number of choices, including a motor upgrade and extended warranties, not to mention a vast selection of different accessories. The cruiser vibe has always been about a bike that is easy to ride, comfortable to sit on and relaxed enough in its handling that the rider can look around and see the sights. The Blix Sol Eclipse is a cruiser that respects all that and then adds some oomph.
Rather than design an e-bike from the ground up to be affordable, Lectric took the approach of putting their very successful XP 2.0 on a diet. Lectric eliminated the suspension fork, rack, fenders and multi-gear drivetrain to achieve a price anyone in the market for an e-bike can afford. Rad Power Bikes really overhauled the latest iteration of their uber-popular commuter. The RadCity 5 Plus came equipped with a host of new parts on top of a freshly redesigned look.
It can also be “unlocked” in the smartphone app to achieve Class 3 performance, something its 8-speed Shimano drivetrain can handle. Among the many things we appreciate about the Aventon Pace 500.3 ST is the fact that schwinn beach cruiser this e-bike weighs less than many comparable models. Suspension forks, big tires, racks, baskets and fenders all add weight to a bike and at 52 lbs., the Aventon Pace 500.3 ST is an e-bike that’s easy to manage.