ebikes

AAA may be best known for roadside assistance and travel services, but the organization is now taking a much closer interest in electric bicycles and electric scooters as their popularity continues to surge across the US.

There’s a new law in Washington state regarding the classification of electric bicycles. But if you want to know what the new law says, you should probably avoid reading the news in Washington.

Florida is the latest US state to wade into the increasingly crowded waters of e-bike regulation, with lawmakers advancing a bill that would impose a situational 10 mph (16 km/h) speed limit for e-bikes on shared-use paths. It’s a move that fits squarely into a broader national trend, as states and cities across the country reconsider how electric bikes fit into public spaces that were never designed with fast, motor-assisted travel in mind.

[Update June 16, 2026: The Florida Senate and House have passed the bill, which has now been sent to the Governor to be signed into law.]

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the electric bicycle industry seemed headed in a very different direction. The promise of the e-bike was elegantly simple: take a normal bicycle and make it easier. Easier to commute, easier to climb hills, easier to ride farther without arriving sweaty, and easier to replace car trips.

Ten years ago, if you had told me that I’d be riding what I would soon call an “excellent commuter e-bike” despite it weighing 118 pounds (53.5 kg) and rolling on 24×4.0-inch fat tires, I probably would have laughed. Today, though, I’m not so sure.

The Ariel Rider Kepler occupies a category that doesn’t really exist on paper but makes a lot of sense in the real world: the fat tire commuter. Plenty of riders buy adventure-style e-bikes and end up using them almost exclusively for city riding anyway, enjoying the comfortable fat tires, upright riding position, and confidence-inspiring handling. Ariel Rider seems to have looked at that trend and decided to lean into it instead of fighting it.

New Jersey’s controversial new e-bike law was pitched as a way to improve safety, but with its July 19 implementation date rapidly approaching, a growing number of riders, advocates, and even lawmakers are arguing that the state may have gone too far.

I love listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks when I’m riding my e-bikes. Depending on the type of ride I’m doing, I’ve got an affinity for all of them. But I also love not getting hit by a car. And those two goals don’t always work well together.

Traditional earbuds and headphones can be great for audio quality, but they also have a nasty habit of disconnecting you from the world around you. On an e-bike, situational awareness is a key part of staying safe. Hearing a car approaching, a cyclist calling out a pass, or a pedestrian running into your path can make a real difference.

That’s why I’ve become such a fan of bone conduction headphones, and after spending time with the TRI 2 Pro Multi-Sport with Playlist+ headphones from H2O Audio, I think I’ve found my favorite pair yet.

Specialized is taking the increasingly popular concept of bikepacking and giving it a serious electric boost with the launch of the new Turbo Levo 4 X.

The company describes the model with a simple tagline: “Electric Overlanding.” Basically, this is the bike to take you and all your gear beyond where the trail stops, blazing your own path and your own adventure.

The Tezeus C8 is one of those e-bikes that hides several interesting, higher-end features/components behind an unassuming design, giving you more than you bargained for without attracting too much unwanted attention. And while it’s a pricier model than the usual budget suspects, the added features may be enough to warrant a deeper look.

Gazelle has unveiled a completely redesigned Ultimate platform in North America, giving riders a faster take on the company’s signature Dutch-inspired comfort and refinement.

I’m going to say something that may make me sound old, but I just don’t care. E-bike throttles used to be better in the old days.

Not every e-bike throttle, of course. There have always been good ones and bad ones. But if you’ve been riding e-bikes for a decade or more, you’ve probably noticed the same trend I have.

I’ve spent countless hours here at Electrek doing detailed hands-on testing of hundreds of electric bikes. Through thousands of miles of riding, I’ve been fortunate to learn these e-bikes inside and out, top to bottom and front to back. That long-term experience with real-world e-bike testing has helped me find the best electric bicycles on the market for just about any budget.

Below are some of the top e-bikes I’ve hand-tested for every price range, current as of June 2026. With summer ready to hit us full force, it’s time to get back in the saddle! Check out the awesome e-bikes below, any one of which could become your next electric bike.

There’s a growing category of electric bikes that seem designed less around raw power and more around simply being pleasant to ride. They’re lighter, cleaner-looking, easier to pedal, and more focused on enhancing the cycling experience instead of replacing it.

After spending time testing the new Velotric Tempo, I think this bike fits squarely into that category.

If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to try a premium German-made mid-drive e-bike without paying premium German-made prices, Ride1Up may have just handed you one.

The San Diego, California-based company has dropped the price of its Prodigy V2 to just $1,595, marking the lowest price we’ve seen yet on the bike and shaving nearly $1,000 off its usual $2,495 MSRP.

Illinois is on the verge of adopting a major update to its e-bike laws, and unlike many recent proposals around the country, this one doesn’t simply focus on traditional electric bicycles. In addition to the traditional 3-class electric bicycle system, it also sets in place a path forward for out-of-class models that are too fast or powerful to qualify as true electric bicycles.

When most people think about how a bicycle frame is built, they probably imagine sparks flying from a welding torch.

That’s certainly how the vast majority of aluminum bike frames are made. But one British e-bike company is taking a very different approach, and it has more in common with Aston Martin sports cars and aerospace engineering than traditional bicycle manufacturing.

One of the most common questions I hear from people considering an e-bike right now, during a period of soaring energy prices, is some variation of “Can it actually save me money?”

The answer is yes. Quite a bit, actually. But the interesting part is that most people focus on the wrong number.

When a new e-bike company launches, it’s usually not a huge deal. The industry sees new brands appear all the time, many of them little more than a logo slapped onto an existing bike from a Chinese catalog.

But Monarc isn’t just another startup hoping to make a splash – it’s all but guaranteed to set off a tsunami.

Police departments are increasingly turning to drones as a tool for tracking and apprehending riders of non-street legal e-bikes, off-road electric motorcycles, and other non-compliant vehicles being used on public streets and trails.

The issue of e-bike scofflaws has grown considerably over the last few years, normally taking the form of teenagers on fast e-bikes illegally cruising down sidewalks or recklessly riding through intersections. But as it turns out, Canada’s largest province is full of e-bike scofflaws of a different variety: parents simply wanting to bring their kids to school without using a car.

In a fascinating case that is sure to spark more casual arguments than it settled, a judge was recently forced to make a ruling on whether or not “mime pedaling” counted as truly pedaling an electric bike.