Best Electric Bikes Under $1,000 | 10 Bargains to Jump On

For those who prioritize comfort and prefer casual rides, the Retrospec Chatham Rev 2 is a fun, relaxing, and extremely comfortable retro-style beach cruiser. We think it’s just as good of a commuter as it is for leisure rides at the park or boardwalk, and at the time of writing, its price below $1,000 makes it a bargain.

We’ve tested a handful of Retrospec’s e-bikes and found a running theme: they feel like more expensive models. This comes back to our reasoning for (usually) considering the $1k mark to be the starting point for quality; there’s usually a noticeable drop in build quality and ride feel on cheaper e-bikes. Not so with the Chatham Rev 2.

This bike’s beauty lies in its simplicity; it’s not decked out with complicated electronics and too many buttons. Instead, it has simple but solid frame construction, a small LED indicator/control panel instead of a display, a user-friendly 7-speed drivetrain with an over-bar thumb shifter, an easy-to-use throttle, and basic but effective mechanical disc brakes.

The Chatham’s most appealing features are its thick and accommodating saddle, its curved, ergonomic handlebars, and its stable and cushy 26×3” fat tires. We also found its reserved 350W motor to be fun, accessible, and capable when pedaling uphill.

If you’re looking for a classic, comfortable cruiser-style e-bike that won’t cost an arm and a leg, we think the Chatham Rev 2 might be the bike for you!

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Where Lectric’s previous entries on this list featured folding frames, the XPress is a full-size commuter e-bike that continues the brand’s trend of cramming crap-tons of value into an affordable and highly functional package.

To be clear, this bike is an outlier, as we have not yet had the opportunity to put it through its paces in our series of standardized tests. It’s just too good not to mention!

For starters, the base model is priced around $1k and includes a well-rounded spec package. The bike features a 500W hub motor with a torque sensor that is capable of Class 3 speeds, a 499-Wh battery, a color display, and a custom suspension fork with a cushy 80 mm of travel. It’s available in both a high-step and step-thru frame design.

For a nominal upcharge, Lectric offers accessories that can expand the bike’s comfort and utility, including a Starter Package with fenders and a cargo rack and a Comfort Package with a larger saddle and a suspension seatpost.

Even the fully upgraded version is a great deal; a few hundred extra will swap the 500W rear hub for a 750W motor, and instead of a single battery, the bike will ship with the standard 499-Wh option and a larger 672-Wh option.

Regardless of spec level, the XPress offers a lot of bang for the buck. Based on our previous experiences with Lectric, we know this bike will deliver!

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The Aventon Soltera.2’s design is simple and lightweight; it doesn’t immediately look like an e-bike. In fact, the manufacturer is reaching back to its roots here; Aventon was known for its stylish single-speed fixies before earning its reputation as a powerhouse in the e-bike market.

Like the Ride1UP Roadster V2 mentioned above, the Soltera.2 is an urban e-bike for active riders. It’s built around a reserved 350W motor and a modest 346-Wh battery. On paper, these figures might look low when compared to more powerful motors or higher-capacity batteries, but the Soltera.2 balances these differences out in a few ways.

First, with a small-ish motor, the Soltera naturally has to rely a bit more on rider input. This makes it feel more like an analog bike and ultimately makes the Soltera.2 pretty efficient. It also results in commendable range, speed potential, and uphill capability (though the latter will require some work).

Second, Aventon specced a highly sensitive and adaptive torque sensor, which allows the Soltera.2 to give riders more effort when pedaling harder—just like a “regular” bike!

Third, the bike weighs a manageable 46 lbs, so its motor has less weight to compensate for from the outset.

While the Soltera.2 doesn’t feature a ton of extra bells and whistles, it has it where it counts. It’s a Class 2 e-bike with a throttle, a cool design, some flashy color options, a variety of quality components, and solid performance – all from a reputable brand with demonstrated reliability. You can’t go wrong.

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The JackRabbit is a seriously unique e-bike.

Technically, it’s more of an electric scooter; it has no pedals, no drivetrain, and only one brake. It does have folding pegs that serve as footrests, a 300W motor powered only by a throttle, and no need for a second brake due to its extremely compact wheelbase.

The bike is incredibly maneuverable, and honestly, it’s a stupid amount of fun! We couldn’t help but feel like a kid when riding it; the JackRabbit’s small size feels toy-like, but its power and zippy ride are on the grown-up side of the spectrum.

The JackRabbit was clearly designed with a hyper-focus on one specific aspect: portability. There is an entire category of e-bikes that fold, collapse, slim down, etc. for storage and transport. Some of them even ring up under $1,000 and appear on this list.

None of the others weigh in at just 24 lbs or can be made as compact as the JackRabbit.

Designed for college students who need to travel across a large campus, the JackRabbit fills a very specific niche. The bike’s ability to sprint to nearby places allows it to be used in more common applications—down the street to a friend’s house, around the corner to the convenience store, or a couple of blocks over to that really great deli.

It’s good to mention that the bike’s 4.2 Ah battery is small, and its range won’t compare to that of any other bike on this list (but it can be charged much quicker). The JackRabbit was made to cover relatively short distances over relatively smooth and flat terrain quickly. It was also designed to be carried, stashed, and set back up just as efficiently.

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When traveling long distances, it’s important to ride comfortably and in style. The Velotric Fold 1 is another affordable folding e-bike that checks all the boxes. It has an appealing design, an extremely comfortable ride, and impressive long-range potential.

The Fold 1 is priced slightly above $1k, but we think it’s worth the extra money. It’s one of the best-feeling bikes we’ve tested in its price range. The bike’s cushy saddle, wide handlebars, and ergonomic grips make it possible to enjoy long-distance rides without worrying about getting sore.

We were blown away by the Fold 1’s Range Test results: with a 750W hub motor and a 608-Wh battery, the bike traveled well over 70 miles on a single charge. Velotric’s e-bikes have traditionally performed well; the brand’s custom-designed motors prioritize efficiency to make the most of their batteries.

The Fold 1 is also one of the better options on this list for carrying cargo or larger riders. The bike has a staggeringly high payload capacity of 440 lbs, and its passenger-capable welded rear cargo rack can carry up to 120 lbs.

If you’re looking to commute or run errands and still have enough charge left for a leisure-time adventure, the Velotric Fold 1 might be right up your alley.

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The truth is that e-bikes are not cheap machines. Quality e-bike motors and batteries are not inexpensive to make, so they’re not typically cheap to buy.

We’ve found a handful of companies that do a good job building safe, durable, and inexpensive e-bikes, but some others do little to ensure that the products they sell will work as advertised. Amazon and AliExpress are the Pandora’s Box of cheap e-bikes, so it’s wise to steer clear of them.

While there are some exceptions, our general rule of thumb is that $1,000 is your best starting point. That’s enough money to get you quality components and trustworthy manufacturing. It’s also the most common lowest price we see from reputable e-bike manufacturers.

If your personal entry-level budget is more than $1,000, however, you can always head to our best overall electric bikes page for a larger variety of options.

Every bike on this list has been tested and reviewed by the experts here at Electric Bike Report, but we had to whittle it down from the hundreds we’ve ridden. To determine which bikes made the cut, we considered the following factors:

• Utility/Usefulness: -Just because an electric bike has two wheels and a motor doesn’t mean it’s going to be useful. We analyzed each bike’s practicality to ensure that it lived up to its claimed capabilities.
• Quality to price ratio:– Regardless of how much you spend, the bike has to be worth the money. The higher the price, the more features and performance we expect from it. Each of these bikes matched or exceeded our expectations.
• Longevity: -There are plenty of bikes you can purchase under $1,000 that probably will not last more than a year or two. We made sure that wasn’t the case with each bike we chose by examining its componentry, its build quality, and its manufacturer.
• Ride Quality: -Is the bike worth riding? Five miles into a ride, are you still comfortable? We considered these factors (and many more) to ensure that the comfort, handling, and features of each bike added up to an enjoyable, comfortable, and user-friendly experience.
• Diversity: -A wallet-friendly list that contains only city bikes or beach cruisers wouldn’t be useful to shoppers seeking something of a different style. We selected a variety of options of different styles to appeal to a broad range of tastes.

Every bike on our list is there for a reason. All of these bikes meet the qualifications for what we would look for in a budget-friendly electric bike. With so many options to choose from, which is right for you? We encourage you to read, compare, and ask questions!

What did you think about our picks for the best electric bikes under $1,000? Are there ones we missed that you’d like us to review? Let us know in the comments below!