Why single-speed electric bikes are awesome (and you should probably get one)

Let’s get one thing out of the way early: single-speed electric bikes aren’t perfect. If you live in the hills of San Francisco, they’re not going to be your best friend. But if you’re like the majority of city riders around the world – rolling through mostly flat neighborhoods, navigating stop-and-go traffic, and hopping on and off curbs – then a single-speed e-bike might just be the smartest and most underrated option on the market.

Yes, hill climbing is the elephant in the room. A single gear ratio means you’re stuck with whatever mechanical advantage the manufacturer decided was a good middle ground between acceleration and top speed. But here’s the kicker: most urban environments around the world are built on flat terrain.

Yes, not all of them. Please don’t blow up my comments section with “…But my city has hills!”. It may, but you’re in the minority.

There’s a reason why most cities are relatively flat. Historically, cities have often developed along rivers, coasts, and plains – places that are easier to build on and navigate with early transportation infrastructure. Cities were also built in relatively flat areas that were easier to expand as the cities grew. Flatter areas were also easier to build on, everything from structures to roads and railroads. While there are certainly exceptions (I see you Lisbon, San Francisco, Wellington, Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, and countless others), a huge number of the world’s densest urban centers are either completely flat or gently rolling at most. So while it’s true that single-speed e-bikes don’t climb well, it’s also true that in most cities, there’s not much climbing to be done.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Which brings us to the real strengths of single-speed e-bikes. And they’re worth celebrating.

Simplicity that just works

Single-speed electric bikes are an ode to simplicity in a world of overcomplication.

The first and most obvious benefit is the sheer mechanical simplicity. No derailleurs, no shifters, no multi-sprocket cassettes to adjust or tune. Just hop on and go.

There’s something incredibly liberating about never needing to think about which gear you’re in.

For a lot of riders, especially newer ones, gears are a source of confusion and intimidation. Single-speeds remove that entirely. You’re literally always in the right gear.

There are fewer parts to maintain, fewer things to break, and fewer distractions while riding. That’s a win all around.

Lighter and more efficient

Without all the extra drivetrain hardware, single-speed e-bikes are often a few pounds lighter than their multi-gear counterparts. That might not sound like much, but it’s noticeable when you’re carrying the bike up stairs, lifting it onto a rack, or just maneuvering it through tight urban corners.

Plus, without derailleur drag or chain line inefficiencies, power transfer from your legs (and the motor) to the wheel is just more direct. In stop-and-go city riding, that translates to snappier acceleration and a more responsive feel.

Single-speeds are perfect for belt drives

Here’s where single-speed e-bikes really shine: they make belt drives possible – and belt drives are awesome!

Because belt drives require a tensioned system and can’t easily accommodate derailleurs, they’re a natural fit for single-speed setups. That’s why most belt drive e-bikes are single-speed.

And once you ride a belt-drive e-bike, it’s hard to go back. My daily rider e-bike is a belt drive and I absolutely LOVE it. No grease, no rust, virtually zero maintenance, and whisper-quiet operation. They last way longer than chains and don’t stretch or skip under torque. For commuters or anyone who doesn’t want to think about chain maintenance ever again, belt drives are a dream come true.

More affordable and easier to maintain

Fewer components mean a lower price point. That’s true for both upfront costs and long-term maintenance. No derailleur adjustments, no worn-out cassettes, no shift cables to replace. And if something does go wrong, you’ve got way fewer moving parts to troubleshoot.

This makes single-speed e-bikes especially appealing for riders who want an ultra-reliable, low-fuss ride, whether that’s for a daily commute, food delivery shifts, or just errands around town.

In fact, when people tell me they are on an extremely tight budget and want an e-bike recommendation, I tell them to check out the Lectric XP Lite 2.0, which is a $799 e-bike that is too good to cost that little. It’s a single-speed, which is part of what keeps it so lightweight and inexpensive, but it’s so darn good!

Urban-optimized performance

Electric assist makes a huge difference here. On a non-electric single-speed bike, your legs have to make up for the lack of gears. But with a hub motor or mid-drive giving you a boost, that burden is lifted. A well-tuned single-speed e-bike with decent torque can handle city stops and starts just fine, especially in areas with mild inclines or flat routes.

When your commute is five miles of flat pavement and a couple of red lights, you don’t need twelve gears. You need reliability, simplicity, and a bike that gets out of the way and lets you ride.

If I’m being honest, for a lot of multi-speed electric bikes, I end up just leaving them in top gear since I’ll frequently throttle up through the lower speeds quickly. Even with me pedaling along, it doesn’t strain my legs very much because I’m only spending a few seconds at lower speeds and pedal cadences until I’ve reached cruising speed, at which point the higher gear ratio makes sense. A commenter on one of my previous articles about a single speed e-bike said it well, “the power band on an e-bike motor is much wider than the power band of your legs.”

The honest downsides of single-speed bikes

Okay, back to that elephant. Single-speed electric bikes are great, but they are not for everyone. Single-speed e-bikes are not ideal for steep hills or heavily loaded riding. If you regularly carry cargo or ride in mountainous terrain, a geared setup is going to serve you better. And because the gear ratio on a single-speed e-bike is fixed, you may occasionally find yourself ghost pedaling on long descents or pushing harder than you’d like up a rare incline.

They also offer less flexibility overall. Want to tinker with your drivetrain setup or optimize for cadence? Not much room to play with unless you want to swap sprockets, and even then, you’re still stuck with a single gear ratio, albeit a different single ratio.

If you’re one of those riders who just has to have gears, and there’s no shame in that, I’d recommend looking for an e-bike with an internally geared hub. These systems offer many of the same benefits as single-speeds: low maintenance, no exposed derailleur to get knocked out of alignment, and a clean, minimalist look. But they also give you multiple gear ratios hidden inside the rear hub, often allowing you to shift while stopped, which is perfect for city riding with lots of starts and stops. It’s a great middle ground for riders who want the convenience and durability of a single-speed but still need a bit more flexibility to tackle occasional hills or heavy cargo.

But still… they just make sense

Despite those limitations of single-speeds, for the majority of city riders, especially those in flat to mildly hilly urban areas, a single-speed e-bike is not just good enough. It’s better. Lower cost, lower maintenance, cleaner lines, quieter ride, and less to think about.

In a world where electric bikes are becoming more complex by the day, sometimes less really is more. If your daily rides don’t include a mountain pass, you might want to consider going single-speed. You might just find it’s everything you need, and nothing you don’t.