Honorable Mentions
Photograph: Adrienne So
Radio Flyer Via Pro for $2,909: Editor Julian Chokkattu could not have had a better experience than this easy-to-use and easy-to-assemble class 2 electric cargo bike. For more info, check out our guide to the Best Electric Cargo Bikes.
Aventon Level 3 for $1,899: The new Aventon Level 3 is an easy to ride ebike that features a clean, step-though design and every feature you could possibly want in a standard-sized ebike for riding around town. There are built-in fenders and lights, and a big color display shows you how much of the up to 70 miles of advertised range you have remaining. I have ridden it up to about 25 miles at a time with my heavy 6’2” frame easily ending my rides with 20 percent of battery left.The frame feels comfortable and sturdy, thanks to a double-walled construction and improved shimano gears and brakes. The front suspension fork and semi-hidden suspension seat post add to comfort relative to other bikes I’ve tested in this price range, and I like that the Aventon app lets you set up things like remote locking a geofencing, so you can keep an eye on your expensive bike from afar. The built-in turn signals, which use the bike’s rear lights, are another added bonus when riding in cities at night. —Parker Hall
Tenways CGO9800S for $1,999: This is a budget step-through city ebike. It boasts of up to 50 miles of battery life, and I got more than 30. The torque sensor is smooth and responsive to pedaling at various speeds. However, there’s no throttle and because this bike is meant to fit riders of a huge range of size (they say 5’1” to 6’3”) the frame was not as comfortable to pedal for me (5’11”) as some large-size bikes. —Martin Cizmar
Engwe LE20 for $1,599: The selling point of this bike is that for $1,500, you get a cargo bike with room for a massive payload and two high-capacity batteries, which is theoretically able to traverse 211 miles while carrying a 165-pound rider. The batteries only carried me about 80 miles on a single charge (I weigh a lot more and didn’t pedal as much as I could have) during three days of testing on America’s longest rail-to-trail project but still, that’s a wow stat. This is the roughest assembly job I’ve had with a DTC ebike and I ultimately did take it into a shop where the owner congratulated me on the wise decision to not ride it as-is. With weight pushing 100 pounds it’s not easy to load up for travel—you’re not putting this thing on a rack. It carries cargo with ease and with the $170 fast-charger upgrade you can cover serious mileage in a day. —Martin Cizmar
Aventon Ramblas for $2,599: Aventon made a mountain bike! It’s a lot of bike for an affordable price, but just a little too heavy to take it out for its intended use case. It makes a nice rugged commuter, however.
Linus eDutchi for $1,799: Need a comfy cruiser? The Linus eDutchi is a comfy class 1 ebike with beautiful colors and loads of proprietary accessories.