The Best Electric Bikes
Ready to climb aboard your own electric bike? Thanks to an electric motor, ebikes let you pedal farther, faster and longer than traditional bikes, with models designed for all the usual roles: commuting, off-roading, mountain biking and even schlepping cargo. After extensively testing nine different models, my pick for the best electric bike you can buy today is the Velotric T1, and it costs a reasonable $1,800. Or you can spend a lot less than that—the Lectric XP 3.0, my choice for the best value in an electric bike, costs roughly half that. (You can read my in-depth reviews of the Velotric T1 and Lectric XP 3.0 electric bikes for more details, too.)Get more news about Adult Electric Bike,you can vist our website!
If you’re new to electric bikes, get ready for a little sticker shock. The least expensive ebikes start around $800, and there’s almost no upper limit, with some premium models costing well over $10,000. But you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great ebike.
Remember that at the end of the day, an electric bike is still just a bike. No matter which one you get, you can pedal it normally or engage the motor when you need assistance. Some of the best ebikes, like the LeMond Prolog, are so lightweight and streamlined you can barely tell it’s electric until you feel the “boost” you get while pedaling. Others look more utilitarian, with visible batteries mounted to a sci-fi-style frame. Which bike ends up in your garage depends on your budget and how you intend to use the bike. To help you make a more informed decision, I packed nine bikes into my garage and, over a six-week period, put them through their paces to see which were the best of the best. Read on to see what I loved about each and to choose the right electric bike for your needs.
The Velotric T1 proves that you can have your cake and eat it too, at least when it comes to electric bikes. The T1 packs so much into such an affordable frame—and rides so well—that it was an easy choice to call it the best electric bike overall among the bikes I tested.
Let’s start with the fact that the T1 barely looks like an electric bike, which is great for folks who don’t like the modern ebike aesthetic. It weighs just 36 pounds, second only to the 25-pound Lemond Prolog, which makes it light enough to carry around, hoist onto a bike rack or carry up stairs. And the two-tone color scheme is gorgeous.
But the real appeal here is that the T1 delivers so much for under $2,000. To turn the bike on, there’s no need to carry a key around like it’s 1987. There’s a fingerprint reader on the top tube that can learn a dozen different fingerprints; place your finger there for a moment and the bike turns on. Alternatively, you can fire it up using the mobile app, which can automatically sense your phone’s proximity and turn on the bike as you approach. The fingerprint reader doubles as a battery indicator and pedal assist level control (which you can also get from the app). On the other hand, that fingerprint reader/control button is the only display on the bike. Unlike other ebikes, the handlebars don’t have a display, so you need to put your phone into the built-in mount on the handlebars to see more details.
This Class 1 bike can go up to 20 mph right out of the box, though you can easily unlock a top speed of 25 mph, which straddles the definition of a Class 3 ebike. There’s no throttle here, but this bike does have a smooth-as-butter torque sensor that delivers a very enjoyable pedaling experience, something I would expect to find only in a more expensive bike. I rode this bike extensively on flat and hilly terrain, and the 350-watt hub motor was more than up to the task. I loved riding this bike. And speaking of being pleasantly surprised, Velotric includes an eight-speed Shimano shifter and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes.
Because I am neurotic about the potential for bike theft, one of my favorite features in the T1 is its GPS tracking: If your bike is moved, you get a theft alert on your phone, and you can locate the bike at any time by tapping the app’s “Find My Bike” button. This feature is included at no additional charge, by the way, so you don’t pay a monthly subscription fee like the one VanMoof charges for a similar bike-tracking service.
One way Velotric makes this bike look so streamlined is by building the battery into the downtube. You can’t remove it for charging, so you’ll need an outlet near wherever the bike ends up living when you aren’t riding it. Despite the modest battery size (352.8 watt-hours), Velotric claims a maximum range of about 70 miles. That’s a little optimistic based on my testing, but if you use conservative pedal assistance, I am certain the bike can routinely deliver a range of around 50 miles, and that ain’t bad.
