The best urban electric bikes you can buy for under $1,000 right now
Here at Electrek, I’ve had the rough job of testing literally hundreds of electric bicycles over the past few years (ok fine, it’s super fun). I’ve seen everything from bargain basement models to several ultra high-end electric bikes with cutting-edge materials and advanced production processes.
Sometimes the cheapest electric bikes leave me wanting more, while the super expensive e-bikes offer more than an average rider can afford. As usual, the sweet spot is usually somewhere in the middle. Here’s a list of what I consider to be the best quality electric bikes I’ve tested on the market today that still slip in under the coveted $1,000 mark.
Rad Power Bikes RadMission
The Rad Power Bikes RadMission is the epitome of a no-frills urban electric bike. It offers (almost) everything you need and nothing you don’t.
From the 500W motor to the 500Wh battery, the performance specs are plenty for average riders looking for a 20 mph (32 km/h) electric bike.
The city-oriented e-bike may lack a few fancier options like suspension or an LCD screen, but it’s well made and gets you in the door with the support and peace of mind of the largest electric bike company in the US.
It even comes in two frame styles, mid-step and high-step. I’m a fan of the mid-step, partly because it’s more comfortable to mount and partly because I think that the orange color (which only comes on the mid-step) is the best one of the bunch.
While the RadMission is often priced at around $1,200, it’s currently on sale for an impressive $899. At that price, it’s a steal of a deal.
Check out my full review if you want to get all the nerdy details on this awesome model.
Or take a gander at my short review video below for a quick dive into this popular model.
Lectric XP Lite
If the RadMission above is a bigger bike than you’re after, then the small and folding Lectric XP Lite might be a better fit. This bike can origami itself into a much tighter package, fitting in the trunk of your car or the back of your closet.
It still offers quite useful commuter specs though, such as a peak power output of 720W and a top speed of 20 mph (32 km/h).
It even comes with built-in LED lights, though it lacks features like fenders or a rear rack, which must be added as optional accessories. You do get free Slime anti-flat compound pre-installed in the tires though, which means you won’t even realize that you didn’t get that flat tire one day that you would have suffered from without the pre-installed Slime.
Even without the included accessories that I would have liked to see on a commuter bike, the $799 price makes this a great deal for a solid folding electric bike that combines good power output with modest range.
Definitely take a look at my first ride experience on this e-bike to see what makes it such a potent yet affordable commuter e-bike.
Lectric XP 2.0
For those that still want a folding electric bike but need more power and speed, upgrading from the Lectric XP Lite to the Lectric XP 2.0 is the way to go.
This fat tire folding e-bike offers a 750W motor that peaks even higher, has a larger battery, and perhaps most critically, hits class 3 speeds of up to 28 mph (45 km/h).
You’ll pay for that higher performance in extra weight (and in extra dollars, since the price is $999), but you get a lot more too. You even receive an included rear rack and full metal fenders, which are often up-charge accessories on most e-bikes.
Lectric eBikes recently launched a new larger battery pack that bumps the capacity from 460Wh to 672Wh, but that also bumps the price up by a couple of hundred bucks. It’s worth it, in my humble opinion. But if you stick with the stock battery, you can keep the price under $1,000.
See my review of the Lectric XP 2.0 to get a sense of what this e-bike can do.
JackRabbit
This one is a bit out there but stick with me, you’re going to find this cool. The JackRabbit is something of a hybrid between an e-bike and an e-scooter.
It has 20″ bicycle wheels and stubby bicycle handlebars that help it ride like a bike. But the shorter wheelbase makes it feel a bit more scooter-ish.
And of course, the lack of pedals is another notch in the scooter column.
It may not have a very big battery, boasting just 10-12 miles of range (16-20 km). But it can still get up to a sprightly 20 mph (32 km/h), which makes it great for city commuting. It also weighs a mere 25 pounds (11 kg) and is easy to pick up and toss in the back of a car or carry onto a subway train.
It’s an ideal solution if you’re on the hunt for something small and convenient for a short city commute and need an e-bike that takes up a very small portion of your apartment or garage.
Yes, I know it seems strange. But it works so well that you get past the odd look quite quickly.
At $999, it’s pricier per watt or per mile, but it’s also the lightest and most convenient model on this list.
See my in-depth review to learn more about the JackRabbit, or watch my video below to get a sense of this odd-yet-awesome model’s proportions.
Propella Mini
Propella’s smallest electric bike, which features 20″ wheels and a minimalist frame, weighs in at a svelte 33 pounds (15 kg).
It features a single-speed drivetrain, so don’t expect to turn this into a San Francisco hill climber, but the smaller wheels actually offer better torque and help it handle climbs better than you’d think.
The 400W peak-rated Bafang motor gives it some real giddy-up to its top speed of 18 mph (30 km/h), and the 250Wh battery offers a range of 15-25 miles (25-56 km).
That’s some great performance for an e-bike that is currently on sale for $849!
There’s no throttle, making this a pedal-friendly electric bike. If you’re not in the market for a Class 1 e-bike that requires pedaling, you should look elsewhere. But if you’re into doing a bit of the work yourself, the Propella Mini is an awesome option for a lightweight and effective urban commuter e-bike.
For more info, check out my full review of the Propella Mini.
Ride1Up Roadster V2
I know that this list is supposed to be only sub-$1,000 electric bikes, but I hope you’ll forgive me for including the Ride1Up Roadster V2. It starts at just $1,045 (though goes up to $1,095 for most color options and frame sizes). At that price though, it is a highly effective commuter e-bike with some serious bang for your buck.
I had to include this one on the list because I just love this bike so much!
Not only is this the only belt-drive e-bike on the list, but it’s also the only one that can hit 25 mph (40 km/h) without surpassing 33 pounds (15 kg).
The rim brakes might seem old school, but having tested the bike myself, I can confirm that they’re high quality and bring the bike to a quick stop. And you can always upgrade to the Gravel version of the bike if you want true disc brakes.
With 500W of peak-rated power in a lightweight urban e-bike setup, the Ride1Up Roadster is definitely worth a look if you’re in the market for a Class 3 e-bike without a throttle.
You can read my review of the Ride1Up Roadster here, or check out the video below.
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Stories we discuss in this episode (with links):
Tesla may start selling its Optimus humanoid robot next year, says Elon Musk
Tesla is in talks with ‘one major automaker about licensing Full Self-Driving’
BETA hits its latest eVTOL milestone, transitioning mid-air with a pilot onboard [Video]
Tesla announces change of plans to build cheaper electric cars
Tesla teases its upcoming Uber-like self-driving ride-hailing app
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Amid a shifting strategy, Ford (F) reported first-quarter earnings Wednesday, beating analyst expectations. However, due to fierce pricing pressure, Ford’s EV revenue fell 84% in Q1 2024.
Ford shifts EV strategy amid sales upswing
Despite EV sales surging 86% to 20,233 in the first three months of 2024, Ford is pulling back. All Ford electric models saw double (or triple) digit sales growth.
The F-150 Lightning remained the top-selling electric pickup in the US, with 7,743 models sold, up 80% over last year. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E was the second best-selling electric SUV in the US, with 9,589 vehicles delivered, up 77% over Q1 2023.
Meanwhile, Ford’s commercial Pro unit continues to appear as a dark horse for the automaker, with EV adoption rising 40%. Ford E-Transit sales were up 148% in Q1, with 2,891 units sold.
Ford’s growth propelled it to second in the US EV market (if you don’t include combined Hyundai and Kia sales).
The sales surge comes after Ford introduced significant price cuts and savings on the Mach-E and Lightning earlier this year.
Despite rising EV sales, Ford announced it is pushing back EV production at its BlueOval City facility to 2026. It is also delaying the launch of its three-row electric SUV to focus on smaller, more affordable EVs.
In the meantime, Ford said it would introduce more hybrids to the mix as it develops its next-gen electric models.
Ford’s Model e EV unit had a net loss of around $4.7 billion last year with “extremely competitive pricing” and new investments. Meanwhile, EBIT loss slipped to $1.6 billion in Q4.
Analysts expect Ford to report $40.10 billion in revenue in its Q1 2024 earnings report. Ford’s Model e, EV unit, is expected to generate around $24.5 billion in revenue with an EBIT loss of $1.65.
Ford Q1 2024 earnings results
Ford reported first-quarter 2024 revenue rose 3% to $42.8 billion, topping estimates of around $40.10 billion. Ford also topped adjusted EPS estimates with $0.49 per share in Q1 vs $0.42 expected.
The automaker posted net income of $1.3 billion, down from $1.8 billion last year. Adjusted EBIT fell 18% to $2.8 billion due to lower prices and the timing of the F-150 launch.
Ford Blue, the company’s ICE business, saw revenue fall 13%, again due to the new F-150 launch.
Ford Pro was the growth driver, with volume and revenue up 21% and 36%, respectively. The commercial and software business had an EBIT margin of nearly 17%, with first-quarter revenue of $18 billion.
Meanwhile, Ford Model e revenue slipped 84% due to “industry-wide” pricing pressure. With lower prices, the unit’s EBIT loss increased YOY to $1.3 billion. That’s about a $64,000 loss for every EV sold in Q1. However, this is still down from the $1.6 billion EBIT loss in Q4 2023.
Ford expects EV costs to improve going forward, but it will be offset by top-line pressure.
The automaker is maintaining full-year EBIT guidance, expecting to hit the higher end of the $10 billion to $12 billion range. The company now expects to generate between $6.5 billion and $7.5 billion in adjusted free cash flow, up from the previous $6 billion to $7 billion.
According to Ford, the updates reflect recent cost-cutting actions, like the delayed EV investments. Ford’s update comes after rival GM also raised full-year guidance this week.
Meanwhile, Ford is releasing a new brand campaign called “Freedom of Choice” to promote its gas, hybrid, and EV lineup amid the strategy shift.
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Tesla’s stock (TSLA) surged 12% today, one of its best days in a long time, as Elon Musk tries to position Tesla to ride the artificial intelligence wave.
In a rare occurrence, Tesla had a pretty bad miss on expectations for both revenue and earnings with its financial results in Q1 2024.
Despite the miss, Tesla’s stock surged 12% today. That’s quite the anomaly. So, what gave investors more confidence in Tesla?
There were a few important positive points in Tesla’s results.
First off, Tesla’s automotive gross margins virtually stayed the same despite further price costs, the Cybertruck ramp, and the Model 3 Highland ramp in Fremont. The company confirmed that if you remove those, margins did improve in Q1.
There’s also Tesla’s announcement that it changed its plans about how to bring cheaper vehicles to market. As we previously reported, Tesla postponed NV9, a new “$25,000 Tesla” based on the automaker’s new “unboxed” manufacturing technology.
Many investors and analysts were concerned about this, as a large percentage of Trsla’s expected growth over the second half of the decade was based on this model.
Now, Tesla has confirmed that its change in strategy still involves cheaper model, albeit likely not a $25,000 one, but they will be built on existing manufacturing lines. This was a big positive for investors – although the plan is currently light on details.
The third factor that is likely greatly contributing to Tesla’s stock having one of its best days in a while is the AI wave.
As we previously reported, Musk is virtually putting Tesla all-in on Robotaxi. The CEO again reiterated that if you don’t believe that Tesla can solve autonomy, you shouldn’t own the stock.
Musk is trying to position Tesla to ride the AI wave that is currently taking over the tech industry.
An interesting new thing that the company did with these earnings is that it released its AI training compute capacity:
This is truly impressive and still growing. As we previously reported, Tesla is currently building a massive 100 MW data center with NVIDIA hardware at Gigafactory Texas, which the company is hoping to bring online this August.
Tesla plans to use this AI training capacity to train its Full Self-Driving system with the millions of miles being driven with the “supervised” version of the system:
The data is also accelerating on that front with the release of v12 and the FSD one-month free trial.
While many people remain skeptical, it does appear that Tesla is gaining credibility regarding AI and its self-driving effort, which is contributing to the stock surge.
Electrek’s Take
If you have been following my pieces, you know that I haven’t been the biggest fan of FSD, but I’ve been impressed with v12 so far.
Things could get interesting fast.
Tesla now has the AI training capacity to compete with the biggest AI players and it is growing fast. The automaker is taking a similar approach as it did with battery cells: buying everything you can get your hands on from suppliers and building your own.
For batteries, that means buying from Panasonic, LG, CATL, etc, and building 4680 cells itself.
For AI training compute, it means buying servers from NVIDIA and building Dojo.
It worked for batteries and it could work for AI training also. I think Tesla deserves a meaningful credibility bump in the self-driving space with v12.
Honestly, if I see decent improvements over the next few updates, I might become a true believer. I had FSD Beta on my car for the better part of 2 years and saw very few improvements. v12 alone felt like a 20-30% overall improvement and I’m now way more confident when using FSD.
With that said, it’s important to remain extremely vigilant when using FSD. You need to be ready to take control at all times.
And at the risk of repeating myself for a thousand time, Tesla should release FSD disengagement data.
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