Best Commuter EBikes of 2024 Helpful Guide

Updated November 11th, 2023

Commuter EBikes are like the modern sports sedan of electric bikes. They have great handling, they can carry some gear, and they are just plain fun to ride. They are a lot more fast and nimble feeling than bigger fat tire ebikes. They are easier to pick up and put on a rack for travelling too. Commuter bikes are my favorite type of ebike and what I like to ride the most when were out running around here. There are a lot of choices out there. We are here to help weed through all the marketing hoopla and help you find the right commuter ebike for you.

See our top picks below for the best commuter ebikes available today. Keep reading for the rest of our recommendations, a guide to electric bikes, and a FAQ.

Commuter EBike Guide

Electric commuter bikes are designed primarily for road use. They have a more relaxed riding position than a traditional road bike. They are a utilitarian bike and can have racks, lights, and fenders. They need to be able to carry bags and gear. They need to be ready to ride at night if you are out late. Commuter bikes can come with a variety of wheel sizes and driveline types.  Let’s take a look at what matters when you are looking for an electric commuter bike.

Power

Commuter bikes can vary from lightweight 250 watt bikes to heavier 750 watt or more bikes. You should consider where you live and what terrain you will want and need to ride. A 250 watt hub motor powered bike can propel an adult at 20mph on flat land just fine. It won’t provide much help for climbing steep hills.

If you plan to ride mostly on flat roads and paths you can get a lighter weight bike with a smaller 250-350 watt motor such as the Charge City Electric Bike. If you live somewhere with lots of hills I would go for at least 500 watts or more. If you want to ride at higher speeds above 20mph then look for a bike with more power. The Juiced CrossCurrent X has 1000 watt motor and 52 volt battery for highspeed riding.

Range

How far do you need to go with your e-bike? E-Bike range can vary from 25 miles to well over 100 miles. Longer range means bigger batteries. Bigger batteries mean the bike will cost more and weigh more. Batteries will have some loss of range over time so it is always best to buy something that can go farther than you need it to.

Range of e-bikes varies a lot based on rider weight, how many hills you have to climb, and how fast you go. If you are a heavy rider who likes to ride fast then consider bikes with a larger battery. If you are a lighter rider, who rides in a flat area, you can get buy with a small battery.

Motor

There are 2 drive types that are common on electric commuter bikes.  Mid-drives where the motor is located at the crank such as the Ride1Up Prodigy and Specialized Turbo Vado. Hub motors where the motor is inside the rear wheel such as the Aventon Level 2. There are advantages and disadvantages to each.  

Hub motors are more simple and easier to maintain. They do not power the bike through the pedal driveline so they don’t cause it to wear as fast. They directly drive the wheel so they cannot take advantage of the pedal driveline gear reduction. This limits their hill climbing ability.

Mid-Drive motors power the bike through the pedal driveline. They can be better at hill climbing since you can gear down into granny gear and multiply the motor torque. You can go faster as well because you can take advantage of the high gears on your bike.

Mid-drive motors can put out a lot of torque. More than the average biker. This means that they can wear out and brake parts of your pedal driveline much faster.  You will have to replace chains, cassettes, and chain rings much more often than with a hub motor. Mid-drive motors tend to be lower watt. A 250 watt mid-drive motor can climb hills as well as a 750 watt hub motor.

Mid-Drive powered bikes cost more. The cheapest mid-drive bikes tend to start around $2500. The cheapest good electric commuter bikes with hub motors start around $1000. 

Torque Sensor or Cadence Sensor

One of the biggest differences in electric bikes is the pedal assist sensor.  Most bikes have either a cadence sensor or torque sensor. Some bikes will have a torque sensor and a cadence sensor such as the Juiced CrossCurrent X and Specialized Turbo Vado. 

Torque sensors sense you pushing on the pedal to activate the motor. They will give you assistance that is proportional to how hard you push the pedals. This gives you lots of control and allows you to have just a little motor power or a lot of motor power. As you go faster and run out of pedal range you will run into a point where it’s difficult to push the pedals at the speed you are pedaling. You won’t get as much assistance.  It feels like you’re not getting much assist above 20mph which is the downside to torque sensors. It feels like you need to do a lot more work to go faster.

Cadence sensors just sense that you are turning the pedals and the motor turns on. It doesn’t care how hard you are pedaling.  Cadence sensor bikes tend to run at fixed speeds for each pedal assist level. At higher pedal assist levels you can go well over 20mph while ghost pedaling or spinning the pedals slowly without putting in any force.

If you want a Class 3 ebike that will easily go 28mph in pedal assist without putting in much effort, a cadence sensor is a better choice.  The downside to cadence sensors is that the bike wants to go a fixed speed based on the level you have set.  On many bikes, the lowest level is 10mph. When the motor kicks on it wants to go 10mph at full power and lurches forward. This makes it hard to ride in tight spaces or with a lot of pedestrians.

Battery

Battery size range for electric commuter bikes runs from 10 ah to 20 ah. The large majority of commuter ebikes have 15 ah batteries. Most batteries are 48 volt although there are some 36 volt and 52 volt batteries such as the Juiced CrossCurrent X. Range is proportional to battery size.  If you want to go farther, get a bigger battery. Bigger sized battery cells have less voltage sag under load so they will perform better on steep climbs. 

Brakes

Commuter bikes can come with either u-brakes or disc brakes. Disc brakes have much better stopping power. I would spend at least enough to get a disc brake equipped bike.

Disc brakes can be either cable pull or hydraulic. Cable pull brakes are more simple and need less maintenance. Hydraulic disc brakes have much better stopping with less hand effort. In my opinion, the extra stopping power of hydraulic brakes is more than worth any extra work involved.

 

Pedal Driveline

As you go up in price you get better hardware for the pedal driveline.  More speeds mean more pedal range which means you have more climbing power and higher gears for going faster. 7 speed drivelines run out of range above 20mph.  9 speed drivelines give you higher gears for going faster. For hills and faster riding, more gears are better.

Suspension

Most commuter bikes have a front suspension fork to help take the edge off of cracks and potholes. There are some commuter bikes such as the Charge City Electric Bike that have a rigid fork. Suspension forks help smooth out the ride. Rigid forks are more simple and won’t wear out. They weigh less.

Very few commuter bikes designed for riding on pavement have rear suspension. It adds a lot of cost and complexity to the bike. It really isn’t needed for paved riding or even dirt road or gravel road riding. If you want a softer ride, you can always add a suspension seat post to your bike to give you a bit more cushion.

E-Bike Classes

The 3 classes of ebikes are:

• Class 1 – 750 watts power, pedal assist only, 20mph top speed
• Class2 – 750 watts power, throttle control, with 20mph top speed
• Class3 – 750 watts power, pedal assist only, 28mph top speed

A lot of places only allow Class 1 or 2 ebikes on bike paths. There are a lot of e-bikes out there that either aren’t classified or can be changed into different classes. An Aventon Level 2 can be a class 1, 2 or 3 e-bike by removing the throttle or adjusting the top pedal assist speed. It is stickered as a Class 2 e-bike from the factory.

See this article from Bosch to learn more about e-bikes classes

Commuter Electric Bike FAQ

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