I’ve been working in the e-bike industry for over 15 years now, and so I’ve seen a thing or two. I also get about a dozen emails a day from people asking what type of e-bike would be best for them, so it’d probably be more efficient to simply tell everyone the correct answer all at once.

If you ask me, there’s one e-bike style that will work for more people than just about anything else on the market. I’m not saying it’s the perfect choice for everyone – there’s no such thing – but if you’re staring at a dozen browser tabs of e-bike specs and feeling decision fatigue, this is the style I’d point you toward.

The correct answer, for the largest number of people, is the 20″ folder e-bike.

By that, I mean a folding e-bike with 20-inch diameter tires. That’s the best-selling e-bike category in the US, and it does the widest number of things for the largest number of people.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

And if we’re narrowing it down even further, you’d probably be best served by a front suspension folder with 20×3″ tires. I’ll show you several, and if you want to get fancy with rear suspension too, there are also options there. But as an all-around, jack-of-all-trades electric bike? This format checks more boxes for more riders than almost anything else on two wheels.

First of all, they’re all pretty similar

I know that we tend to dissect small differences and stress over spec sheets, but if you take a step back for a second, try to see that most of the e-bikes in this category are actually pretty similar. I know the companies will hate me for saying that, and there are unique advantages to each, but in the grand scheme of things, they’re basically all 500W/750W folders that go the same speed and offer the same basic feature set and roughly the same battery ranges per charge.

These are the best four options below, and as someone who has ridden hundreds of e-bikes, I can tell you they all basically do the same thing for you, though some have more elegant solutions or slightly larger batteries.

These are basically the best options on the market, both in terms of the bikes themselves and the fact that they come from real companies with real customer service departments – not fly-by-night startups. And just because an e-bike isn’t in the list above doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it. It may be a fine bike, but those above are the main players in this category.

The Goldilocks of wheel and frame sizes

First, those 20×3” tires.

They’re big enough to feel stable, roll over potholes without rattling your teeth, and add a nice cushion of air volume for comfort. But they’re small enough to keep the bike compact when folded and nimble in tight spaces. A true fat tire bike (think 4-inch wide rubber) can be fun off-road, but it’s overkill for a lot of city riders and adds unnecessary weight.

The 20-inch diameter also makes the frame geometry more accessible to riders of different heights. Most of these bikes have low step-through options that work for someone who’s 5’1” or 6’3” – no special sizing chart required. That’s huge if the bike might get shared between family members.

Of course, for folks on the taller end of the spectrum, you might not get the most perfect pedaling ergonomics you can imagine. For that, you’d be better served by a full-size e-bike with 26″ to 29″ tires. They can accommodate bigger frames (I’m talking about both the bike and the rider). But unless you’re the type of cyclist who takes out a tape measure to set your seat height each time you try a new bike, you’ll probably be fine with “comfortable but not 100% ideal” pedaling geometry… if you even plan to pedal at all.

Let’s just say my 6’2″ brother-in-law, who crushes me in a bear hug, fits just fine on his Lectric XP and he commutes on it daily. I mean every. Single. Day. And that’s a bike that I also regularly see petite girls riding, too.

The folding factor: not just for apartments

A folding frame is the secret weapon here. Yes, it’s a lifesaver if you live in a small apartment and want to stash the bike in a closet or behind the couch. But folding isn’t just for space-starved city dwellers.

It means you can throw the bike into the trunk of a hatchback or the back seat of a sedan without a bike rack on the back of the vehicle. You can load two or three into an SUV for a weekend trip without needing a pickup truck. While full-size e-bikes can be a pain to fit inside anything but a large SUV, a 20″ folding e-bike will fit in just about any vehicle sold in the US, though it may have to go in the backseat if the car has a smaller trunk. Though considering the sorry state of the current US car market, I don’t think there are any sedans with small trunks left for sale.

I love that with most large SUVs or minivans, I can simply fold the handlebars down and leave the middle of the frame extended, with the bike simply rolling down the middle tunnel of the vehicle.

And it’s not just car travel. You can even easily check a folding bike as oversized luggage for air travel (just prepare for some battery shipping headaches). Sure, you can do it with larger e-bikes, but packing them is more of a pain and the travel bags are more expensive. Folders just fold to more conveniently fit life.

For RVers, boat owners, or anyone with a vacation home, the foldable frame turns an e-bike into a portable adventure buddy.

Now, there’s a caveat here that I should also mention: despite folding e-bikes being the best-selling style in the US, I have a suspicion that less than half of owners ever fold them. If you park in a garage and don’t need to bring it anywhere in a vehicle, you’ll probably never fold it. That’s fine, since it’s hard to find many non-folding 20″ wheel e-bikes out there (though there are some), so you’re basically just carrying around a pound or two extra in folding hardware you don’t use.

Adaptable to just about anything

Out of the box, a folding 20×3” e-bike is a solid recreational ride. Take it to the park, cruise the boardwalk, or commute to work. You can ride nature trails for fun. You can ride rough and pot-holed city streets on your commute. You can put it in lower power mode and get real, honest-to-goodness exercise on it.

But here’s where it gets even more fun: accessories. If you get an e-bike from one of the major US-based brands, you’re going to have a ton of accessory options. It’s partly because that’s how they make a lot of their profit, but it’s also because it adds serious value in customizing an e-bike to fit your exact needs.

For cargo duty, you can add a front and/or rear rack, or even pannier bags. Suddenly, you’ve got a capable grocery-getter. Some brands even sell bolt-on baskets that turn your bike into a rolling shopping cart.

Need to take the kids to school? With a sturdy rear rack and a quality child seat, you can take a kid to daycare or school. Some of these bikes can even carry two small passengers with the right setup of a seat in the front and rear.

If you regularly ride nature trails, try swapping to a suspension seatpost, or just go all-in on something like the Heybike Ranger 3.0 Pro with full suspension, and suddenly that compact little folder is tackling gravel roads and light trails.

As a winter commuter, throw on studded tires and you’ve got a winter-ready ride that is ice/snow ready and that still won’t take up your whole mudroom. Note: it’s a lot easier to find studded winter tires in 4″ width than 3″ width, so if that’s a concern for you, a 20×4″ tire folding bike might be a better option.

This modular personality is one of the main reasons the 20″ folding e-bike style is so popular – the same bike can wear half a dozen different hats and perform so many different ‘jobs’ without taking up the space of larger (or multiple) e-bikes.

Comfort without complication

Most folding 20×3” tire e-bikes have upright handlebars, cushy saddles, and relaxed geometry. They’re not trying to put you in an aggressive race-bike crouch, and they don’t punish you for wearing normal clothes. They’re like an American take on Dutch bikes – upright and comfortable, but for people who don’t really want to pedal all day (i.e., the powerful motor and throttle).

The gear range and pedal assist levels on these e-bikes are usually tuned for casual, pleasurable riding rather than intense workouts. You can still get exercise, but the bike will happily do the heavy lifting on hills or into a headwind.

That’s why they work just as well for older riders returning to cycling as they do for college students zipping around campus. They are more transportation machines than they are ‘bicycles’ in the traditional sense. Yes, you can get a workout, but they’re designed first and foremost for getting people around and doing so comfortably.

Transporting kids, pets, and gear

This is where the versatility really shines.

For kids, as long as the bike’s rack is rated for the weight, you can mount a popular model seat like a Thule Yepp, Hamax, or other child seat and turn school drop-off into a breezy ride instead of a traffic jam. Some riders even fit two small kids on a long rear deck with extended racks or bench seats, though you’re looking more at a cargo bike like the XPedition 2.0 or Xtracycle Hopper at that point.

My brother-in-law takes both of my nephews to school on his Lectric XP. He has the older kid in a child seat on the rear rack for elementary school drop-off and then cruises to daycare with the smaller one in a front child seat. That’s three people on one folding e-bike. Every day.

For pets, front baskets or cargo trailers make it easy to bring along your dog (or even a cat if you have a brave one). Some companies even have dog-specific trailers. And speaking of trailers, these bikes can tow small cargo trailers for everything from camping gear to a week’s worth of groceries.

They just fit into more people’s lives

When you look at the big picture, the reason folding 20×3” e-bikes fit so many riders’ needs is simple: they balance convenience, capability, and cost.

A full-size cargo bike might be better for someone hauling multiple kids every day, but it’s harder to store and transport, and usually costs more. A lightweight road-style e-bike might be great for speed and efficiency, but it’s less comfortable, less adaptable, and can’t carry much.

The 20×3” folder lands in that sweet spot where it does enough of everything without being great at just one thing.

Cost and value

Another big plus: these bikes are often more affordable than you’d expect. The Lectric XP 4.0 starts at $999, and even the more premium folding models like the Aventon Sinch 2.5 hover in the $1,500–$1,800 range, depending on sales. That’s still well below what many mid-tier commuter or cargo e-bikes cost, and you’re getting a complete package with fenders, racks, and lights included in many cases.

When you factor in that you don’t need a car rack, storage unit, or garage space to own one, the value proposition gets even stronger.

The exceptions to the rule

Of course, no one bike fits everyone.

If you’re over 6’4”, you might want something with larger wheels and a longer wheelbase for comfort. If you’re racing mountain trails every weekend, a dedicated full-suspension MTB will be better suited. And if you’re hauling 400 lbs of cargo, a longtail or front-loader cargo bike is probably a better friend, even if folders are sometimes rated for that level of load.

So yes, please don’t fill my comment section with “But this wouldn’t work for me because XYZ…” I get it, they aren’t for everyone. But for the 80% of riders who just want something to get around, carry some stuff, and have fun? This format nails it.

How can I be so confident?

I’ve tested literally hundreds of e-bikes. I’ve built e-bikes. I’ve toured dozens of e-bike factories. I eat, breathe, and sleep this stuff. There are some years when I throw a leg over one hundred models just that year. I’ve been in this industry longer than just about anyone on the internet. And I keep coming back to this category as the easiest recommendation for the widest range of riders. A folding 20×3” e-bike is like the Swiss Army knife of micromobility – compact, versatile, affordable, and just plain fun.

And it’s not just me saying this. 20″ folders are the best-selling category of e-bikes in the US. I’m not making this stuff up; these are the facts on the ground. More people simple migrate towards a model that fits the most common types of riding.

Whether you’re commuting, running errands, exploring trails, or packing it in the car for a road trip, it’s the bike that doesn’t need a special reason to own. It just works for everything. And when friends or family ask me what e-bike they should get, especially when they “don’t really know what they want yet,” this is the style I almost always suggest first.

And it almost always sticks the landing.

US EV sales set yet another record in August, with 146,332 EVs sold, according to the latest numbers from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.

That gave EV sales in August a 9.9% share of total new car sales, up from 9.1% in July and the highest yet. With the federal EV tax credit set to expire on September 30, analysts say Q3 2025 is shaping up to be the strongest quarter for EV sales in US history. The current record holder is Q4 2024, when 365,824 EVs were sold.

Prices ticked higher, too. The average transaction price (ATP) for an EV in August was $57,245, 3.1% more than July’s revised lower ATP of $55,562. Year-over-year, though, EV prices were basically flat, down just 0.1%. The wave of EV sales also helped push up the overall market’s ATP.

Incentives, while not as high as July’s record, remained hefty. EV buyers received discounts averaging over $9,000 in August, equal to 16% of ATP. That’s more than double the incentive rate in the overall auto market and up from 13.6% a year ago.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Tesla, still the US EV sales leader by far, is under pressure. Its ATP rose 2.9% in August to $54,468, which was still down 5.5% year-over-year. Tesla sales dropped 6.7% year-over-year, and the company’s share of the US EV market slid to 38% – its lowest point ever.

Stephanie Valdez Streaty, senior analyst at Cox Automotive, said, “The one constant in the automotive business is that fresh product sells well. While Tesla’s Model Y update has slowed the company’s sales decline, it’s not getting easier for the EV pioneer because the market is now flooded with all-new, fresh EVs from mainstream competitors – consumers have more choice than ever. The current surge in EV sales is being driven by product innovation, motivated dealers, and an urgency ahead of the IRA tax credit phase-out.”

Read more: Tesla leads price cuts as US EV sales post 2nd-best month ever

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.