“Dude. Is that an ebike?” The decision got here from a person on the sidewalk with a pierced septum and a tattoo of a motorbike chain. He wasn’t the one one who requested. The Ride1Up Roadster V3 would not appear like an ebike, which is exactly why it drew discover from former bike store repairmen and fitness-obsessed schoolteachers.
Ride1Up’s metropolis commuter Roadster, launched final 12 months and out of inventory via a lot of 2025, is on the vanguard of a brand new era of neatly built-in ebikes that appear and feel like a motorbike with out motor help. Just like the Aventon Soltera 3 we rated this 12 months as WIRED’s favorite commuter bikethe Roadster V3 is a light-weight ebike wonderful for tooling across the metropolis, weighing about 40 kilos relying on the exact mannequin. Its proportional torque help could make it really feel lots like an extra-peppy basic bike—albeit one whose 500-watt motor can crank as much as 28 miles an hour when set to function as a Class 3 ebike.
That is an ebike geared towards how I normally need to use an ebike: as a quick and versatile metropolis bike for kicking round my metropolis of Portland, Oregon. I’ve spent months, and tons of of miles, driving the nine-speed mannequin of the Roadster V3 to grocery shops and associates’ homes—up steep ridges and throughout rivers, or simply down the road—and lifting it one-handed up my stairs and into my home. The Roadster rides like a bicycle that is simpler to pedal. That is how I would like it to really feel.
At $1,395, Ride1Up’s roadster can also be inexpensive for a high-performance ebike with premium elements and a throttle to assist launch up tough hills. The 20- o 40-mile vary is limiting for long-distance touring however greater than adequate for many every day commutes. A dearth of affiliated restore outlets is a fear for service, a typical drawback with direct-to-consumer ebikes, as a result of most common bike outlets refuse to even repair a flat if they do not promote a specific model. However the Ride1Up additionally punches nicely above its worth class in energy, options, and flexibility.
Belts and Chains
San Diego-based Ride1Up is a more recent ebike firm, lower than a decade outdated. The corporate is constructing its repute largely by providing a variety of specialised and utility bikes at accessible costs. However as somebody who usually favors basic street bikes, I am going to admit a few of their different fashions have struck me as a bit chunky or over-engineered, geared to path riders and the type of one that needs to cart a surfboard to the seaside.
Not so the Roadster. The Roadster V3 is enjoyable and lightweight and is simple to mistake for a basic bicycle even if you’re driving it. The cables run via the hole of the body. The battery, whereas detachable, can also be built-in virtually imperceptibly into the chassis.
At its worth, it provides a stunning quantity of customization. Three body sizes make the bike accessible to riders from 5’2″ to six’4″. At above 6 ft and 200 kilos myself, I opted for the most important body, which nonetheless weighs solely 40 kilos.
