E-bike Classes Are Confusing as Hell—Here’s What They Actually Mean

We’re still in the Wild West days of ebikes, even though the market has begun consolidating and maturing since the explosion of ebike interest sparked by the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. Since ebikes are significantly faster than analog (non-electric) bikes, the ebike industry and local city governments alike have settled on a roughly defined, three-tier class system that tell you, in layman’s terms, two things: how fast an ebike can go, and how tired are your legs (and thumb) are going to get.

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class 1: Pedal or Perish

(opens in a new window) Aventon

Soltera 3 ADV (opens in a new window)

Available at Aventon Buy Now (opens in a new window)

There are two rules for class 1 ebikes. First, their electric motors can’t provide assistance past 20 MPH, and second, they can’t have hand throttles. Hand throttles are thumb-activated devices on the handlebars, usually on the right side, that let the bike accelerate without the rider pedaling, but I’ll get more into that when we start talking about class 2 ebikes below.

Even though class 1 ebikes are the entry-level classification, these aren’t always budget ebikes. Take the Bluejay Premiere Lite beach cruiser as an example of a class 1 ebike that’s meant more for lazy meandering at a relaxed pace than for keeping up with city traffic or the beautifully well made Gazelle Medeo T9 CTY.

You can still pedal the bike faster than its 20 MPH “top speed.” The electrical motor will cut out, though, so you’re purely back to leg muscle power if you have your sights set on 21 MPH or higher. Except for single-speed “fixies,” like the Aventon Soltera 3 ADV shown above (and reviewed here), ebikes tend to have multi-speed gearsets, just like analog bikes. Shifting into higher or lower gears as needed can get you faster than 20 MPH, although you’re going to have to work for it. Or just find a steep hill to head down.

Not every class 1 bike will necessarily hit a 20 MPH top speed. Take, for example, my old Propella 7S (RIP), which was a class 1 ebike that maxxed out at 18 MPH. The speed limitation is just the maximum speed an ebike is allowed to reach under electrical assistance, not a guaranteed minimum, although in my six years of experience reviewing ebikes almost every class 1 ebike on the market does indeed hit 20 MPH.

class 2: Lazy Mode Activated

(opens in a new window) Super73

S2 SE Legacy Series (opens in a new window)

Available at Super73 Buy Now (opens in a new window)

Class 2 ebike aren’t all that different from class 1 ebikes. Their electric motors continue to provide assistance while the rider is pedaling, all the way up to 20 MPH, but there’s also a hand throttle that lets the motor boost the bike along without the rider needing to pedal at all. Super73 recently updated the S2 SE Legacy Series to drop the battery from atop the frame, where it mimicked a motorcycle’s gas tank, to inside the frame on the downtube, but it’s still a class 2 ebike with a throttle and a 20 MPH top speed.

Before you get all excited, thinking you’ve found a loophole that makes your class 2 ebike more like an electric motorcycle with vestigial pedals, most ebikes’ throttles function like an on/off switch. You get 100 percent throttle or not at all. I’ve ridden a few that are more like a motorcycle’s twist throttle, where you can modulate how much power you deliver; like, say, giving it half throttle or 75 percent throttle.

But only a few. Most I’ve ridden are on/off switches, and so you’ll drain your bike’s battery far more quickly if you rely on the hand throttle too much. When I ride, I use the throttle to accelerate away from stoplights and stop signs and then seamlessly switch to the boost gained from pedaling. That gives me the right mix of saving my battery and saving my legs from the toughest part of cycling: getting the bike going from a stop.

What’s strange is that I used to come across more class 2 ebikes than I do today. These days I found many more ebikes that are either class 1 or class 3. Even many of those that ship in class 2 mode have a way to unlock a higher top speed, making them class 3. Sometimes the rider can do it through a smartphone app, like with the Lectric XP4 750. Other times you need to take the bike to a dealer to have them unlock class 3 mode, like with the Pedego Boomerang.

class 3: Speed Demon Energy

(opens in a new window) Specialized

Turbo Vado SL 2 5.0 EQ (opens in a new window)

Available at Specialized Buy Now (opens in a new window)

Here are the bikes for the speed demons. I love speed, and I also live in nutty New York City, with its so-so commitment to bike lanes that means, more often than not, I’m riding in traffic and trying to keep up with the cars to keep from getting smushed like a bedbug. Class 3 ebikes like the Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 5.0 EQ are capped at a maximum of 28 MPH.

Class 3 ebikes may or may not have a hand throttle. If they do, it can only provide electrical power to the wheels up to 20 MPH. Once you reach that speed, the throttle will no longer work to push you faster. But if you’re pedaling, then the motor can remain active all the way up to 28 MPH, after which the electric motor cuts out and you have to pedal the bike unassisted if you want to go faster.

Because ebikes are much heavier than comparable analog bikes, there aren’t many that you’ll get to go faster than 28 MPH. I’ve only managed it when coming down a very long hill, pedaling like a madman in top gear.

If you have visions of occasionally blasting your way around road biking loops in the park as part of the Spandex Mafia, you’ll have your best shot of pedaling past 30 MPH on a very lightweight road bike like the 31-pound Trek Domane+ Aluminum, or if you happen to be a descendent of Mr. Monopoly, the even lighter Trek Domane+ Carbon.

unrestricted: Basically a Motorcycle in Disguise

Class 3 is the highest class for ebikes in the US, but there is a category higher than that. Or rather, I should say there’s a vacuum of nonexistence that, through its anarchic Wild West non-standardization, is where all the bikes too wild and antisocial for life on the road go.

Take the Segway Xyber, which has a top speed or 35 MPH and is intended for off-road use only. I’ve been on a Xyber, and it’s truly a monstrous, beastly machine. Like the Ford Bronco of ebikes. Weighing 139 pounds, I think I’d weep if I ran out of battery and had to pedal that thing home.

And then the Engwe M20 3.0, which just recently launched, comes out of the box as a class 3 ebike. But come on. It weighs 102 pounds. Those pedals do next to nothing. I’ve tested one of these, too, and while it’s got all the clumsy build quality of a Soviet bed frame, it really hauls ass when the 3300W (not a typo) motor kicks in. You can unlock the bike (for off-road use, again, only) and reach electrified speeds of up to 40 MPH.

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