Electric City Bikes: The Perfect Commuting Solution
Since 2019, e-bikes have become ubiquitous on city streets, suburban roadways and mountain trails. With a 145% increase in e-bike sales between 2019 and 2020, there’s no doubt about it: electric bikes are here to stay. Besides helping make cycling easier and more accessible to an increasing number of riders, e-bikes have become many people’s primary way of commuting.
Electric city bikes are engineered to handle daily riding through city environments effortlessly, making them an excellent choice for urban mobility. They offer numerous advantages over standard bicycles and vehicles like cars and motorcycles, including reducing your carbon footprint and improving your health.
If you have ever asked yourself, “Should I get an electric bike?” the following reasons are why you should consider a city e-bike for commuting.
City E-Bikes Are Fast
While an electric bike designed for city riding resembles a traditional, non-powered bike, the electric assist feature lets riders go faster and climb up hills more easily.
A city e-bike’s top speed typically ranges from 20 mph to 28 mph, depending on its type, class and assist type. Electric assist modes include pedal assistance and throttle control.
Pedal electric assistance helps riders by supplementing pedaling power with an electric boost from the motor.
An electric throttle functions like a motorcycle, boosting the rider’s speed when they turn the control. In some e-bike models, you can power the bike using the throttle without pedaling.
City E-Bikes are Street Legal
While top speed is important, you may wonder, “Are electric bikes street legal?” After all, a high top speed does you no good if you’re stuck in traffic.
Electric bikes in the United States are categorized into different classes depending on their top speed and electric assistance type:
Class 1 e-bikes: have pedal assistance and a top speed of 20 mph.
Class 2 e-bikes have both throttle control and pedal assistance. Top speed is 20 mph.
Class 3 e-bikes have pedal assistance only but a top speed of 28 mph.
Generally, you can ride e-bikes up to Class 3 anywhere you can with a standard bicycle, allowing you to avoid traffic and commute to work quickly and comfortably. You can take your e-bike on the road, the bicycle lane or the sidewalk, where legal.
However, local and state legislation may impose additional restrictions. For example, Carlsbad, CA, banned e-bikes from the sidewalk in 2022, forcing riders to operate e-bikes on the road instead. Always check local and state laws before riding.
How long do electric bikes last?
One of the biggest advantages of switching to an e-bike is reducing the environmental impact of your daily commute. Unlike traditional cars, motorcycles or buses, e-bikes are zero-emissions vehicles. They do not burn fuel or produce harmful exhaust gasses, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or unburned hydrocarbons, helping reduce air pollution such as smog.
While producing an electric bike battery involves heavily polluting processes, such as lithium mining, e-bikes are generally considered more sustainable than standard bicycles. E-bike sustainability can be compared to gasoline vehicles, EVs and traditional bicycles by measuring carbon dioxide equivalency (CO₂e). CO₂e is the amount of CO₂ emitted during the vehicle’s entire lifespan, from manufacturing to emissions produced by the end-user.
Under the CO₂e model, an electric bike is responsible for 8.8 times fewer CO₂ emissions than a gasoline vehicle and slightly less than a non-electric bike, making it one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles on the road today.
City E-Bike Batteries are Easy to Charge
How long do electric bikes last when fully charged? The answer depends on the model. When riding a typical city e-bike with a 350 Wh battery, such as the Aventon Soltera 7, you can expect a maximum range of 20 to 63 miles. While battery ranges vary depending on how often you use the bike’s electric assistance systems, they usually offer more than enough for commuting to work.
E-bike batteries lose efficiency after around 500 full charge cycles and typically require replacement after 1,200 cycles. These numbers show that you can expect, at minimum, 10,000 miles at standard performance from a new e-bike and slightly less from a used e-bike.
Proper battery maintenance and management can make your e-bike battery last for more than 75,000 miles before a replacement is needed.
Find Your Next Commuting E-Bike at Upway
Are you ready to join the electric bike revolution? Upway is a leading provider of certified pre-owned electric bikes. We want to help riders across the United States discover a new, fast and environmentally friendly way to travel and commute.
Are you looking for an affordable electric bike for city riding and daily commuting? Upway’s extensive collection of city e-bikes includes trusted brands like Aventon, Benno, Gazelle, Giant, Hurley, Momentum and Pedego. We stand by our products and offer a comprehensive 1-year warranty on all models.
Browse our online catalog today and find the perfect commuting solution!