This is an excellent time to shop for electric bike deals. Most brands are having outstanding sales, perhaps because inventories have begun to load up. The selection of e-bikes has risen rapidly in the last three years. You can find great e-bike deals quite easily today. The best approach is to be sure you consider both the price and the best use of any electric bike deals. In the following sections, we include today’s best e-bike deals and how to find the best electric bikes for every kind of ride.
Best Cheap Electric Bike Deals
How to Choose an Electric Bike
It’s not hard to find good deals on electric bikes. However, you need to be careful about the type of and design purpose of any e-bike. There are now electric bikes for such a wide range of purposes that you want to be sure you select an e-bike that’s both a good deal and appropriate for your intended use.
- Type of E-bike: The single most important factor in choosing an electric bike is the type of bike. Major e-bike types include electric mountain bikes, cruiser e-bikes, city commuter e-bikes, performance e-bikes, folding electric bikes, fat tire e-bikes, and electric cargo bikes. The list actually goes on and on. If you want to use an e-bike to commute to work, you’ll have different primary considerations than if you’re looking for an e-bike to take two toddlers in bike seats with you when you go grocery shopping. An e-bike to pack in your RV will most likely look a whole lot different than a performance e-bike that’s best suited for competing on a track. If you’re not sure what type of electric bike is best for you, ask friends or others who have experience with e-bikes.
- How You Will Use It: The type of e-bike notwithstanding, your primary use matters. If you need an electric bike you can depend on for a 20-mile commute to work every day, your requirements likely be very different from someone who just wants to noodle around the neighborhood or ride along the beach.
- Your Experience Level: If you can ride a bicycle, you can ride an e-bike, but motorcycle experience will help also. You may find yourself sharing the road with cars and other vehicles so experience and knowledge of bike safety can matter a lot, very quickly. Some of the faster e-bikes available today can go above the electric bicycle limits for legal road use, so if you’re not experienced, you’ll want to either take a lot of time and put on a lot of miles for practice before heading out on the road.
- Laws and Legal Considerations: State laws differ in the U.S. about the classes, maximum speeds, and where you can legally ride electric bikes. The rules are different for whether you need to have a motorcycle license, minimum age, helmet use, insurance, or whether you need a driver’s license or even a motorcycle license. Check your state’s electric bicycle laws before you buy. There are also federal laws that regulate e-bike use in national parks and other federal lands.
- Service and Support: Electric vehicles in general don’t need a lot of service, and that’s true for the electric power components of e-bikes. Bicycles in general, however, need service frequently. Some local bicycle shops won’t work on e-bikes for a variety of reasons, so if you’ll need professional help to change tires or adjust and maintain your e-bike on a regular basis, be sure you have a local place that will help. Manufacturer service centers are not very common among e-bikes, although some electric bike dealers will service all brands.