How we pick

• Fit first. A bike is recommended only if your height is inside the brand's suggested size range (within an inch) and its published weight limit covers you plus what you carry. When a brand doesn't publish a weight limit, we say we can't confirm it.
• Hills. We compare each bike's advertised motor turning force (torque) with what hills need, and ask for more when you carry more. Bikes just under the line are flagged as close to the line. A screen isn't a climbing test.
• Stairs. More flights means a lower weight limit for the bike. This helps us shortlist; it isn't a safe-lifting guideline. If no bike is light enough, we say so.
• Range. We estimate how far you'll go on a charge for your trip, hills, load, motor help and temperature, labeled "estimated", beside the brand's claim.
• Your state. We check your state's published e-bike classes and riding rules and flag what matters. It's a summary, not legal advice.
• Missing a key number? We label it "not published" and lower our confidence in the bike's fit. We never guess.

• Brand figure: what the manufacturer publishes on its own product page, on the date shown.
• Estimated: calculated from published figures, such as likely miles per charge on your route, shown as a range.
• Measured: tested by someone outside the brand, with their name and source.
• Not published: the brand doesn't say. We don't fill the gap with a guess.

For each bike, we show what we checked, when, and where:

• Weight with the battery in: independent measurements where they exist, beside the brand's figure, with the tester named.
• Price and check date, plus the total before tax in the chat when the seller publishes shipping costs.
• The seller's return terms, including return shipping and any fee deducted when they accept a return.
• US product-safety recall checks (CPSC, the government's recall agency), plus whether a safety certificate is publicly listed or only claimed by the brand.
• For every bike we rule out, the reason it didn't make your list.

Ricky Grenis, editor. How we pick comes from Ricky's views, and Ricky owns corrections. The chat is a bike bot built on his views and what real owners say. Found something wrong? Corrections make the next shopper's answer better. A contact form is coming.