Best Electric Bikes 2024 | Tested By Forbes Vetted - Forbes Vetted

Electric bikes let you ride further and with less effort, yet also provide an exhausting workout if you choose. To find the best electric bikes on the market, I evaluated 12 popular bikes over more than a year of long-term testing. I found the Ride1Up Prodigy V2 to be the best electric bike overall, thanks to its responsive mid-motor design, low-maintenance belt drive, continuous variable transmission and other high-end features—all at an affordable price tag.

We tested a dozen of the best ebikes for more than a year to determine the top options.

But I didn’t stop with a single recommendation. Whether you need an electric bike for commuting, off-roading, mountain biking or carrying pets and groceries, there’s an ebike that can do the job just as well, if not better than, a traditional bike. To make the most informed decision, read on to see what I loved about the top five ebikes I tested. For more recommendations, take a look at our guides to the best folding electric bikes and electric bikes for seniors.

Ride1Up

Our score: 9 | Class: 3 | Power: 250 watt mid-drive | Weight: 61 pounds (300 pound max load) | Top speed: 28 mph | Warranty: 1 year

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Ride1Up has found itself in this guide on a number of occasions in the past thanks to a family of bikes that all tend to offer excellent build quality and features that punch above their weight class. In other words, you can usually find design elements in Ride1Up bikes that you’d have a lot of trouble finding at the same price point in most other bikes. The Prodigy V2 is no exception, and having spent a fair bit of time on the seat of the original Prodigy, I can say with confidence that the V2 is a substantial improvement over the original model—which was already a good ride.

There’s no question that the Prodigy 2 is an ebike; it weighs a formidable 61 pounds–not something you’ll want to carry around or hang on a rack–and has a chunky downtube that clearly houses a battery. Even so, the styling is clean and elegant, with gorgeous, sculpted contours.

The Ride1Up Prodigy V2 is a beautiful ebike with an excellent array of features for the price.

It’s built around a 250W Brose mid-drive motor that spins the rear wheel via a Gates Carbon belt. Not only is the belt quieter than a chain, but it requires less maintenance (you never have to grease it, for example) and should last longer as well. That alone makes this a great ride. But perhaps the coolest feature in the Prodigy 2 is the Enviolo Continuously-Variable Transmission. It’s a fully internal stepless gear system that lets you shift continuously from the lowest gear to the highest just by twisting a collar on the handlebar. And as you twist the collar, a cool analog graphic on the handlebar depicts the terrain as getting hilly or flat, so you always know which way to turn the collar and its effect on your gearing. The difference between an ordinary multi-gear bike and one with a CVT is like night and day, making this bike a joy to ride over all terrain. And it’s hard to find a bike with a CVT in this price range; for example, you can favorably compare the $2,700 Prodigy V2 to the $5,000 Gazelle Ultimate C380 HMB, the only other bike in this roundup with a similar drivetrain.

There’s a lot more here that I loved. The bike also has an adjustable front suspension which contributes to the smooth and comfy riding experience, along with premium brakes, integrated front and rear lights and a 28 mph top speed with four levels of pedal assist. And you don’t have to pay extra for the rear storage rack. You can get the Prodigy V2 in a step-though or step-over frame, and if you want to save some money, it’s available with a chain drive rather than the belt, for $300 less.

Long-term testing notes: Six months later, the Prodigy V2 continues to be my bike of choice for most rides. The smooth and stepless Continuously-Variable Transmission is a joy to use, and I love the handlebar display which shows you visually what gear you’re in. After using the Prodigy V2’s CVT, it feels like going back to the stone age when I ride any other bike. I do wish this bike were lighter; at over 60 pounds, it’s a pain to lift and move around, and it’s too heavy to hang on the wall of my garage or for some car bike racks–so it’s clearly not the best choice for everyone.

Velotric

Our score: 9 | Class: 1/3 | Power: 350 watts (600-watt peak) hub | Weight: 36 pounds (240 pound max load) | Top speed: 20 mph/unlockable to 25 mph| Warranty: 2 years

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The Velotric T1 packs so much into such an affordable frame—and rides so well—that it was nearly my favorite bike. But while Ride1Up’s new Prodigy V2 stole that award, Velotric’s T1 is the smartest ebike I’ve had the pleasure to ride.

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 smarts. 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 store a dozen different fingerprints. Alternatively, you can fire it up using the mobile app, which automatically senses your phone’s proximity and turns 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 many other ebikes, the handlebars don’t have a display, so you need to put your phone into the built-in mount to see more details.

The T1 lacks a built-in display, which requires you to mount your phone to view important metrics ... [+] via the app.

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. There’s no throttle here, but this bike does have a smooth 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. Speaking of being pleasantly surprised, Velotric includes an eight-speed Shimano shifter and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes. This bike has some other charming features as well, like a walking mode that rolls the bike at low speed when you when you need to dismount and walk the bike.

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, so you don’t pay a monthly subscription fee for bike-tracking.

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 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.

Long-term testing notes: I really love hopping on this bike to grab lunch, a 10-minute ride away down a scenic bike path. Crime in this neighborhood is low, so I don't even bother to lock it up—if anyone attempts to move it even a little, I get a notification on my phone more or less instantly, which offers all the peace of mind I need when visiting my favorite neighborhood taco haunt.

The 2024 Forbes Vetted Best Product Awards are here: Explore our 150 top-recommended items across categories after extensive research and testing.

Lectric eBikes

Our score: 8 | Class: 2/3 | Power: 500 watts (1,000-watt peak) hub | Weight: 64 pounds (330 pound max load) | Top speed: 28 mph | Warranty: 1 year

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It’s hard to find a quality electric bike for much under $1,000—it just isn’t practical to make an ebike for much less. According to Leo Raudys, CEO of Call2Recycle, the first industry-wide ebike battery recycling program in the U.S., "If the battery itself costs perhaps $600, and the entire bike is only a little bit higher than that, then you have to ask questions like, ‘How good are the components? How good do I feel about the engineering? Is it going to hold up over time?’ It gets pretty difficult to do that at that price."

Nonetheless, a handful of quality ebikes are available in this price range. Lectric’s XP 3.0 might be among the least expensive bikes you can buy, but it’s so thoughtfully designed that it’s a genuinely good choice for first-time ebike buyers and city riders on a budget. You are not settling for some sort of cut-rate consolation prize with this bike.

The Lectric XP 3.0 is powered by a 1,000-watt rear hub motor with a 500-watt-hour battery that can get you up to 65 miles on a single charge (in my testing, I’d say you could expect closer to 45 miles in real-world riding conditions). It’s a Class 3 bike that tops out at 28 mph on pedal assist and 20 mph with the twist throttle. The Lectric XP 3.0 has lights, fenders, 3-inch fat tires with hydraulic brakes and—surprisingly—a hydraulic suspension.

The Lectric XP 3.0 folds away when it's not in use, saving valuable space in a garage or shed.

Of course, I buried the lede: This is a foldable bike, collapsing to about half its normal size, thanks to a locking hinge in the middle of the frame. Unfortunately, I feel like I’m fighting a fat octopus every time I fold it. This bike weighs a hefty 64 pounds, and you need to be careful when you handle it lest you end up with a pinched finger. But the fact that it folds makes it easy to throw in the back of a minivan or store in the corner of the garage.

One of the things I love most about the XP 3.0 is its wide array of accessories. This is a utility bike, after all, and you can add a cargo package with racks and baskets, or get a pet trailer that hitches to the back. You can also add a passenger seat for a second rider as well.

Of course, no $1,000 bike is going to be perfect. The small 20-inch wheels mean the ride is bumpier than what you’d get from a bigger tire, and the industrial aesthetics won’t please everyone. But the stuff you do get is compelling. The black-and-white digital display is big, easy to read and tells you everything you need to know to have a great ride. The price is the major selling point, however, and after riding this bike a lot, it seems to me that Lectric has made the right choices to balance cost against performance.

Long-term testing notes: While this bike originally shipped with mechanical brakes, Lectric enhanced later iterations with hydraulic brakes. Customers with the original mechanical brakes (including myself) got an unexpected gift from Lectric: an easy-to-install hydraulic brake upgrade kit, free of charge. That sort of thing really endears me to this brand, and the bike itself is holding up well. It’s built like a tank (which admittedly continues to be an annoyance when I want to put it in the back of my car), which suggests it may literally outlive me.

Rad Power Bikes

Our score: 8 | Class: 2 | Power: 750-watt hub | Weight: 75.5 pounds (350-pound max load) | Top speed: 20 mph | Warranty: 1 year

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Rad Power’s RadRunner 3 Plus isn’t going to win any beauty awards; it’s utilitarian through and through, with a heavy, angular frame that sits on squat 20-by-3.3-inch fat tires. But all that practicality shapes the RadRunner 3 Plus into the best utility ebike on the market.

This Class 2 bike can power its way up to 20 mph using either pedal assist or the twist throttle. The smaller tires are very grippy, making them awesome for almost any sort of road or trail condition, and the ride is smoother than I expected, thanks to the suspension in the front fork. The beefy 750-watt hub motor gave me a thoroughly authoritative ride; it aggressively raced up a steep incline that taxed many other ebikes during ride tests. That said, it sometimes feels a little jerky in operation, but that’s going to be true of any bike with a cadence sensor: The pedal assist is either on or off, and it takes a pedal rotation or two to engage the motor. But I was really impressed with the components in the RadRunner, including a seven-speed Shimano shifter and Tektro hydraulic brakes. Despite this bike’s formidable weight (more on that later), I was able to bring it to a stop very quickly.

This is a general-purpose ebike; you can use it to commute around town or go for weekend joyrides, and I used it for both. But the RadRunner 3 Plus was born to be a utility bike, and Rad Power gives you a lot of options to configure the design based on your needs. Need to carry cargo? There’s a locking hardshell console you can mount between your legs, for example, which I found handy for stowing personal items. You can add front and rear baskets, a tow-behind trailer and even a passenger seat.

I also loved the controls and display. Rad Power includes two consoles on the handlebars; the power unit on the left prominently reports the level of pedal assistance, while another display shows your speed and other details. That’s all you get, though; there is no mobile app to sync with here.

The RadRunner's utilitarian design was well-suited for errands and adventures.

The lack of mobile phone connectivity is just one way this bike feels a tad old school. It’s the heaviest bike I tested by far, clocking in at over 75 pounds. It was almost impossible for me to hoist it onto my car’s trailer hitch bike rack by myself, but I managed to pull it off. The battery isn’t hidden in the downtube but is semi-integrated into the frame, removable with a key (when you first get started, you might think the key locks the bike, but don’t be fooled). It also was among the least-assembled bikes to arrive at my doorstep. If you’re somewhat mechanically inclined, you should be able to put it together yourself. If, however, you open the box and it looks like a random collection of pinball machine parts, you might want to drive it to a local bike shop for assembly. That is what I did, despite videos online to help you assemble it.

The battery also has its own display for charge status, which I really appreciated, and I managed to get about 40 miles on a single charge. Your mileage may vary depending on terrain and how much you lean on the motor to get around.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a better utility ebike than the Rad Power’s RadRunner 3 Plus—I couldn’t. And while it’s easy to focus on the specs and features, the most telling compliment I can give this bike is that, when riding home with a basketful of groceries, I couldn’t help but think about how comfortable it was to ride the RadRunner 3 Plus.

Long-term testing notes: Since I have several bikes in my garage for long-term testing, each one has its own very specific role. The RadRunner is my cargo bike, and I use it to make trips to the grocery store once or twice a week. With baskets in front and rear along with the storage console in the middle, there’s more than enough room to bring a few bags of sundries home. And the ride remains comfortable—I genuinely appreciate the adjustable seat considering that many utility bikes don’t offer that option.

LeMond Bicycles, Inc

Our score: 9 | Class: 1 | Power: 250-watt hub | Weight: 27 pounds (250-pound max load) | Top speed: 20 mph | Warranty: Limited lifetime

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Even if you’re not a road-racing fan, you know Greg LeMond, the three-time Tour de France winner who is probably the most well-known American cyclist (Lance Armstrong notwithstanding). LeMond has his own bike brand, and the LeMond Prolog is its flagship ebike.

Let’s get this out of the way right up front: The Prolog is a $5,500 bike, and that’s if you don’t upgrade to the electronic shifter, which is another $800. With so many other, more affordable bikes on the market, you may be wondering why anyone would spend that much money for an ebike. Simply put, because it’s a work of art, in motion and at rest. The bike is visually stunning with its clean, aerodynamic lines and not the slightest indication it’s an electric bike without close inspection. The aesthetics are absolutely impeccable.

And when you climb aboard? I have never had so much fun on an ebike. Weighing in at just 27 pounds, it’s lighter than my traditional non-electric bike, and that means it flies like the wind, easily accelerating from a cold stop whether or not the electric motor is engaged. It handles like a dream, and if I had $5,500 to spend on an electric bike, I would spend it on the Prolog without hesitation.

The Prolog's slender, refined frame helps it look like a traditional road bike.

You’re not paying for a lot of “smart” features with the Prolog. Yes, you can connect to the bike via a mobile app that gives you control over the pedal assist and a detailed dashboard while you’re riding (though you’ll need to buy your own phone mount). Instead, most of that money is going into the paperweight carbon fiber frame and the breathtaking styling, along with a Shimano 11-speed GRX shifter and other deluxe components, like the Shimano BL-RS600 hydraulic disc brake lever. The front and rear lights are elegantly integrated into the frame, and a single button on the top tube turns on the bike and controls the pedal assist (if you choose to keep your phone in your pocket). You also get a limited lifetime warranty on the frame and wheels (and two years on the LeMond components)—something almost unheard of in a world of ebikes, where you tend to get just one or two years of protection.

You might be tempted to think the Prolog is just a sport bike, but you can easily use it for day-to-day city bike duties. Options include adding a rack, basket and range-extending battery, if you want more than the maximum of 70 miles that LeMond claims (based on my testing, it’s closer to 55 miles in real-world conditions).

And don’t worry that the 250-watt Mahle rear hub motor won’t be able to deliver the goods. This bike handled all the terrain I tested the other bikes on, and easily scaled the steep overpass that I cannot pedal on leg power alone.

Not everyone has $5,500 to spend on an ebike, so for many folks (myself included) this is an aspirational choice. But therein lies a serious problem: Whether or not you consider this affordable, a bike that costs this much money should have some built-in security—GPS tracking, a hub lock or even a lockout that prevents the bike from turning on without the app. I’d be wary of leaving a bike this precious around town without a beefy chain and lock. But that aside, if you have the money to invest in the LeMond Prolog, you will not be disappointed.

Long-term testing notes: After a few months, the Prolog continues to have all the same limitations I identified in the original review. It’s terrifyingly expensive, which makes me worry about theft whenever I take it into town, and as a sports bike, it certainly isn’t handy for cargo. But after a year, it still rides like a dream—the best bike I have ever owned, electric or otherwise. It’s so light that you don’t even need pedal assist to start moving from a cold stop, and I am constantly amazed that it really delivers the range that LeMond promises.

Electric bikes come in a variety of builds, but the right one for you depends on your needs and budget. In the following chart, we compare our top ebike choices to see how they stack up against each other.

Urtopia Carbon 1 Pro (8, $2,199): I really wanted to love the Urtopia Carbon 1 Pro more than I did. It’s a lightweight and fun ebike with a lot of high tech under the hood. However, the display is very hard to read in direct sunlight, and I found the voice feature to be sketchy on the open road.

Vvolt Alpha II (8, $1,799): The Alpha II is a fairly lightweight bike that gets almost everything right. You get speeds up to 20 mph with 5 levels of pedal assist and thumb lever throttle for no-pedal acceleration. I wasn’t thrilled with the single-speed drivetrain, though, which led to a lot of free-spinning ghost pedaling.

Brompton P Line 4-Speed (8, $4,750): Brompton’s P Line is immediately distinguished by its tiny 17-inch wheels. It’s also a folding bike, collapsing to little more than a pair of overlapping wheels. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a learning curve to folding it (I had to watch a video a dozen times before I could fold it the first time), and the battery pack has to be physically removed to fold the bike up.

The Brompton P Line 4-Speed ebike with its small 17-inch wheels.

VanMoof S4 (8, $2,648): The VanMoof S4 is packed with exciting tech, but the ride itself is underwhelming; you have to use the VanMoof app to change pedal assist levels because the button on the bike only triggers the throttle-like turbo boost mode. And after coasting, you often have to pedal a few full revolutions before the gears engage, which is disconcerting and uncomfortable.

Gazelle Ultimate C380 HMB (8, $4,999): The Gazelle Ultimate C380 HMB features a superb Enviolo 380 Trekking Manual stepless gear system, just like the one built into the Ride1Up Prodigy V2. That said, it’s overpriced compared to Ride1Up, heavy enough to be inconvenient and isn’t available direct-to-consumer (you have to visit a Gazelle dealer bike shop).

Cannondale Adventure Neo Allroad (7, $1,875): The Cannondale Adventure Neo Allroad is a solid and fun all-around adventure bike, but in a lot of ways, it feels like a step down from Ride1Up’s Prodigy. It’s similarly heavy, which can make it hard to move around, but it lacks the Prodigy’s Shimano shifter. I also feel like it doesn’t compete well with similar models from other brands.

Gocycle G4i (7, $4,999): The G4i is a great bike, albeit a luxury one at $4,999. The fork-shaped kickstand is ultra-secure, but annoyingly you can only deploy it from one side of the bike. The torque sensor adjusts power to the wheels based on how hard you pedal, but the only way to change power levels is via the unintuitive mobile app.

When selecting the products for this roundup, it was important to include the most popular and common ebikes on the market—the ones that Forbes Vetted readers are most likely to consider. I included both direct-to-consumer ebikes (from online, mail-order brands) and models that you need to visit dealerships to purchase. I assembled a cross-section of bikes in styles most people want to ride, like commuter and city bikes, folding bikes, off-road bikes and utility bikes that can carry cargo. I then tested 12 bikes for over a year to evaluate their performance.

Once all the bikes were on hand, I evaluated how easy they were to assemble. Some come fully assembled, while most are partially built and can be finished with some simple tools in less than an hour. A handful of bikes required substantial assembly; if you’re not already a confident bike mechanic, you’ll want to factor another $100 into the price to have a local bike shop assemble it for you. The bottom line is that I noted the overall difficulty (and potential expense) of the initial out-of-box experience.

Some ebikes were assembled at the local bike shop while others I had to assemble on my own.

Then it was time to hit the road. I took every bike on a handful of 10-mile treks across city streets, onto dirt and grassy paths and on a paved bike path that cuts across a substantial part of the state of Michigan. I noted each bike’s comfort, handling, shifting and braking. In other words: How well did it work as an actual bike?

As with any electric vehicle, it’s important to understand how much power the motor delivers and what kind of range you can expect to get. To assess how well the motor could power the bike, I paid attention to pedal assist and throttle response on level ground as well as on a particularly steep overpass that I am physically unable to scale on a traditional bike with leg power alone. I also tracked real-world range, although this can vary enormously depending on a wide variety of factors.

I love so-called smart features, and I explored whatever each bike offered, like integrated displays, electronic shifting and high-tech security. Some bikes had few or none of these capabilities, while others were veritable props from a science-fiction story. I assessed how easy these features were to use and whether they were practical or useful. Bikes with integrated anti-theft or security features tended to score better.

When you shop for a bike, start with how you expect to use the bike most often. In addition, make sure to consider the style of ebike, the class, and additional features like security, brakes and the motor.

There are a lot of different bike styles, and some tend to overlap, but here are the most common ebikes you’ll encounter:

Similarly, ebikes come in three different classes that determine how fast it can go and what it’s like to ride it. Keep in mind though that some cities and municipalities have banned Class 3 bikes on trails and bike paths, categorizing them not as “bikes” but as powered vehicles, like mopeds or motorcycles.

Consider where you plan to ride your electric bike. If you ride in a flat area, a 250-watt motor is a good fit. However, if you plan to ride in an area with a lot of hills, you’ll need a more powerful motor with at least 500 watts.

A closer look at the RadRunner 3 Plus' pedal assist system (PAS).

Many bikes—especially utility bikes, but also many commuter bikes—let you bolt on storage racks and baskets, a passenger seat and more.

Weirdly, not all ebikes come with fenders, but these come in handy to shield you from splashing dirt, mud and water while riding. Especially if you plan to commute to work on an ebike, it’s worth investing in a model with fenders.

Bikes get stolen. A lot. So while you should always lock your bike when you step away, I love when security comes integrated with many modern ebikes. Look for features like GPS tracking and hub locks.

Some models can be folded in seconds to be thrown into the back of your car, carried onto mass transit or stowed near your desk at work.

When it comes to features, there are other considerations. Here are some features you might want to look for:

The technical specifications are also important. Not a bike mechanic? No problem—here are some things to keep an eye on:

I have been a technology journalist since the 1990s with countless writing credits at publications as diverse as Forbes, PC World, Digital Camera Magazine, CNET, TechHive and Insider (not to mention authoring nearly three dozen books).

I have managed to mix that with a love of biking. I was an early adopter of electric bikes, writing about and reviewing them from their earliest days on the market while using them to get around town and go on long weekend recreational treks. I’ve managed to stay abreast of the latest developments in electric biking as I tested and reviewed numerous models over the last decade. When I started preparing to test bikes for this article, I already had a small collection of ebikes in my garage (almost to the point that I couldn’t fit my car).

To help me navigate the ebike universe, I leaned on the expertise of four unabashed experts in the field. I spoke to Alyssa Mcadam, head mechanic for ebike reseller Upway, and Leo Raudys, CEO of Call2Recycle, which operates the first industry-wide ebike battery recycling program in the U.S. I also got insights from Ash Lovell, Ph.D., the electric bicycle policy & campaign director at PeopleForBikes, and Levi Conlow, the CEO of Lectric Bikes.

I update this article regularly, keeping the story up to date with the latest electric bikes, observations based on long-term testing, and other details that may be helpful if you’re ebike shopping. This article was last updated in October 2024.

After testing 12 different ebikes from a variety of brands, we like Ride1Up bikes the best. Although we highlighted the Prodigy V2 in this guide, all of the bikes in Ride1Up’s collection boast excellent builds and high-end features that you typically won’t find in bikes at this price point.

Yes. As long as you wear a helmet, obey traffic laws and stay aware of your surroundings, ebikes are as safe as traditional bikes. But like any electric vehicle, you may have some concerns about battery safety. Lovell suggests asking the manufacturer about its certification standards if you are concerned about battery safety. “There are two big ones that you can look for, either UL 2849 or EN15194. EN15194 is the European standard, and that’s what the majority of the bicycle industry is already certified for," she says.

When buying an electric bike, it’s important to avoid low cost options with less durable parts and limited safety features. To make sure an ebike is safe and durable, stick with established and reliable brands, like Ride1Up, Velotric and Lectric, to name a few. Also, check that the ebike’s battery meets either UL 2849 or EN15194 certification standards to ensure that it’s built safe.

We added a chart to compare our top electric bike recommendations and answered questions on how to shop for an ebike.

We updated the specs listed for each of the electric bikes we recommend, plus answered common questions about how to find the best ebike for you.