How To Choose An Electric Bike

Are you thinking about buying an electric bike but have no idea where to start? Our detailed electric bike buying guide will tell you all you need to know about motors, batteries, range, types, and more.

E-bikes have exploded in popularity in recent years, which doesn’t come as a surprise. Once you give them a try, there’s no going back as they allow you to ride faster and further with little effort.

As the e-bike industry develops, manufacturers keep putting out new models, types, and technologies, which is making it harder and harder for people to choose which electric bicycle to get.

We’re here to explain things in a simple and straightforward way and tell you everything you need to know before being able to confidently click the “Buy Now” button and go for a ride.

Scroll down to learn about the basics such as classes, motors, batteries, types, and features.

What Is An Electric Bike?

First things first, let’s cover the basics.

A bicycle equipped with an electric motor and battery that assists the rider while they are pedaling is called an electric bicycle.

When it comes to the available types of electric bikes, you get the same variety as with non-electric bikes. There are road and mountain e-bikes, gravel, folding, cargo, and so on.

But electric bicycles also differ in terms of electronics. Some assist you only when you’re pedaling and others have a throttle that propels you without turning the pedals. Depending on where you live, the latter might be legally known as a moped (the EU and UK).

There are also different types of motors (mid-drive and hub), batteries can be mounted in different places and vary in capacity, and the choice of components and features is huge as well.

Now that you know the answer to the “what is an e-bike?” question, read more about all of these idiosyncrasies below.

Types of Electric Bikes

The e-bike market is huge today, so electric bicycles come in all shapes and sizes you can imagine. At the beginning of the e-bike era, you could pretty much only choose between city and MTB e-bikes.

The choice is much more diverse today, as most brands offer a variety of subcategories. The most common types nowadays are electric road, mountain, cargo, and folding e-bikes.