Step-Thru Electric Bikes (2026): All 55, Matched

55 bikes on this frame · 8 brands · 53 models read at the manufacturer · $599–$2,999 · 74 of 152 adult two-wheelers on our shelf are step-thru · verified September 6, 2026

Quick Answer: A step-thru electric bike has no top tube between the saddle and the handlebars, so you walk into the frame instead of swinging a leg over it. That one change lets a rider with a stiff hip, a full pannier, a skirt or a bad knee stop at a red light without a balancing act.

We sell 55 bikes on this frame, from $599 to $2,999. This page takes every step-thru we sell and gets it matched to your ride, on the seven things that actually decide it: what you will do with it, your height, your weight, your terrain, your weather, the minimum age your state sets, and the range you need. Every figure is the manufacturer's own.

By Milad Ghobadibeygvand, BScN (Western University, 2014) — Redtail eBikes. Specs read from each manufacturer's own product page on September 6, 2026. Prices read live from our storefront the same day.

The Lakefront Trail, Chicago — the separated paved bike path the 31 commuter-categorized step-thrus on this page are built for.

What a step-thru actually is, and the four shapes we sell

A frame is a triangle with a bite taken out of it. On a step-over bike the top tube runs level from the head tube to the seat tube, and you clear it by lifting a leg to roughly saddle height. On a step-thru the tube drops toward the bottom bracket, or disappears, and the gap it leaves is the whole product.

Makers use three words for the same idea and they are not interchangeable in practice. Step-thru and step-through mean the same thing. Low-step usually means the tube is still there but dropped so far that the standover is close to a step-thru. Open frame is a marketing word that can mean either.

On this page a bike counts as a step-thru only if its manufacturer says so in its own words, or if the frame is unambiguous in the manufacturer's own photograph. Each row below records which of those two it was.

The 55 machines split into four shapes, and the shape matters more than the badge:

There is a fifth group on our shelf that is not on this list, and it is important: nine of the 55 publish an assisted speed above the Class 3 ceiling. They are further down, in their own section, and they are not commuter bikes.

Is a step-thru frame weaker or heavier? We measured it

This is the question the whole category is stuck on, and the answer you find online is usually two answers in one breath. Run the search and you get "you won't notice a difference on modern frames" and "step-through electric bikes are often made thicker and heavier" from the same page of results, with no number attached to either.

So here is a number.

Four models are sold by their makers in both frames, which makes them the only fair comparison available: the same bike, the same components, the same year, one variable changed. They are the Himiway D5 2.0 and Velotric's Nomad 2, Nomad 2X, Nomad 1 and Nomad 1 Plus.

Across those four we found 13 directly comparable variant pairs — five on our own storefront and eight on the makers' own — where the frame is the only difference. Twelve of the 13 are priced identically, and not one charges more for the step-thru. The thirteenth is our own markdown: we currently sell the Nomad 2X step-thru $100 under the high-step, while Velotric prices the two the same.

Two qualifications, because the number should be checkable rather than impressive. The 13 pairs describe five models and nine distinct configurations once our storefront and the makers' are de-duplicated, so one model contributes several pairs. And the two Nomad 1 variants are not among the 55 bikes below, because we do not currently stock them.

On weight, Eunorau's FAT-AWD platform publishes a figure for each frame, and it runs the opposite way to the folklore: 81.5 lb in the step-over and 79.4 lb in the step-thru. The step-thru is the lighter of the two, by 2.1 lb.

Weight: Step-over 81.5 lbs, step-thru 79.4 lbs — Eunorau FAT-AWD 3.0 product page, read September 6, 2026

Two honest caveats sit beside that. One model is one model, and 13 pairs is a small denominator — this is what our shelf can support.

The second caveat is real engineering. A step-thru frame is less stiff in torsion than a closed triangle, and that is geometry.

What owners report is that the difference is small and load-dependent. On the Electric Bike Review forums, a rider who moved from a triangle-frame Trek to a step-thru Pedego noticed more flex and reported it did not affect the ride on groomed trail. Another, at 260 lb, wrote that he had tested dozens of step-thrus and found no speed wobble on any of them.

A separate thread traces most complaints to heavy rear-rack loads rather than to the frame. And when Electric Bike Review tested the Velotric Fold 1 Plus — a step-thru with a hinge in the middle of it, the hardest case there is — it reported zero flex or wobble with the frame locked.

The practical read: if you are riding a step-thru on pavement, on gravel, or loaded, the frame is not the thing that will limit you. If you are racing downhill or jumping, buy the triangle.

Step-thru or step-over: which frame is right for you

Frame choice decides fit. It does not decide quality, and the test is what happens in the half-second after you stop.

Several of the bikes below are sold in both frames, which means the frame is a choice you make at checkout rather than a different product: the Himiway D5 2.0 and Velotric's Nomad 2 and Nomad 2X among them. On those, pick the step-thru variant deliberately — the product photograph is usually the step-over.

Are step-thru e-bikes only for women?

No, and the question is worth answering directly because it is one of the most common things typed into a search box about this frame. The step-thru was invented to solve a wardrobe problem. The frame was designed so a rider in a long skirt could mount a bicycle in the 1880s, and it stayed on the market for a century afterwards because it turned out to be the easier frame for everyone.

What has changed is the weight of the machines. The 39 bikes here that publish a weight run from 39 lb to 116 lb, and lifting a leg over an 80 lb bike at a red light, in traffic, with a bag on the rack, is a different act from doing it on a light unpowered bicycle. It is also the moment most low-speed falls happen.

The frame that removes that moment is the step-thru. The rider it helps most is whoever is carrying the most, stopping the most, or has the least hip mobility — a delivery rider, a parent, a tradesperson and a 70-year-old, in roughly equal measure.

Postal and delivery fleets buy step-thrus for exactly this reason. So do bike-share systems, which have to fit every body that walks up to the dock. If the frame carried a real penalty, neither would.

Ten situations, and the bike we would put you on

These are our picks: ten situations, ten bikes, six brands. Every one is live on our own shelf today — browse the whole range in commuter and city e-bikes or fat-tire e-bikes, and use the directory below for the step-through-only list.

Every figure below is the manufacturer's own, read on September 6, 2026.

If you want one bike that does everything on pavement: Velotric Discover 2, $1,699

Velotric's own photograph of the Velotric Discover 2.

Seventy-five newton-meters, a torque sensor, hydraulic brakes, a 440 lb payload against a 63 lb bike, 75 miles published, UL certified, IPX7, and a published rider window from 4'11". It is Class 1/2/3, so it is legal as a 20 mph bike or a 28 mph one depending on how you set it and where you live.

Not for you if you need to lift it regularly, or your commute is genuinely steep — 75 N·m is fine for rolling hills and short of ideal for sustained ones. Read the hills picks instead.

Figures from Velotric's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If $599 is the budget: Samebike CY20 Pro

Samebike's own photograph of the Samebike CY20 Pro.

A folding commuter with a torque sensor, dual suspension and an IP64 rating, on 3-inch tires. It is the cheapest step-thru we sell, and the frame is the deepest open drop at this price.

Buy it on the frame and the fold. That is what this bike is for, and both are visible before you order: a deep open step-through and a five-second fold at $599. If you want a folder with more carrying capacity, the Velotric Fold 1 at $1,299 carries 440 lb against this bike's lighter city duty, and folds just as small.

Figures from Samebike's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If the roads near you are broken: Himiway A7, $1,799

Himiway's own photograph of the Himiway A7 full-suspension.

Full suspension, a 400 lb payload, 70 miles published, IPX6, and a rider window of 5'1" to 6'3". Himiway publishes a 120 mm hydraulic fork with lock-out, rebound adjustment and a 15×110 mm thru-axle, plus a 90 mm four-link rear — more suspension travel than anything else at this price on our shelf.

The 70 N·m figure is the Regular frame's; the Large publishes 60 N·m, and our A7 review reads both columns. The battery carries UL 2271.

Not for you if it has to go up stairs or onto a roof rack single-handed. At 84 lb this is a bike that lives at ground level; if you need to lift it, the Velotric Fold 1 Plus is 63 lb and folds.

Figures from Himiway's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If you live on a hill: Himiway A7 Pro, $2,599

Himiway's own photograph of the Himiway A7 Pro mid-drive.

One of only four mid-drives on this page, at 130 N·m, with full suspension, a torque sensor and hydraulic brakes. A mid-drive puts its power through the gears, so a low gear multiplies torque at the wheel exactly as it does for your legs — which is why it holds speed on a long climb where a hub motor overheats and slows.

Not for you if your ground is rolling rather than steep. The A7 Pro earns its price on sustained climbs; if yours are short, the Velotric Discover 2 at $1,699 is the right amount of bike.

Figures from Himiway's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If you are carrying children or a weekly shop: Velotric GoMad, $1,999

Velotric's own photograph of the Velotric GoMad.

The clearest set of published numbers on the shelf: 500 lb total payload of which 176 lb may sit on the rear MIK HD rack, 801.6 Wh, 85 N·m, 77 lb bike weight, and a published 75 miles on pedal assist against 50 on throttle. Rider window from 5'0".

Not for you if your load is mostly bulky rather than heavy. A rack carries weight better than it carries shape; the Himiway C3 at $1,499 puts a box in front of you instead.

Himiway's own photograph of the C3 — the box sits where you can watch it.

Figures from Velotric's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If you want a cargo bike under $1,200: Addmotor Garootan M-81

Addmotor's own photograph of the Addmotor Garootan M-81.

Four hundred pounds of payload, a 750 W motor, 20 mph, and — the part that matters — a published UL 2271 battery listing. The low open frame is the whole point of buying this shape for cargo duty: you walk into it with a loaded rack behind you instead of swinging a leg over the load.

Not for you if your load runs past 400 lb with you on board. The Velotric GoMad at $1,999 carries 500 lb, of which 176 lb may sit on the rack.

Figures from Addmotor's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If it has to live in a flat or a car boot: Velotric Fold 1 Plus, $1,499

Velotric's own photograph of the Velotric Fold 1 Plus.

A 450 lb payload, 75 N·m, 68 miles published, UL certified and IPX7, and the highest payload of any folding e-bike reviewers report having tested. Electric Bike Review measured zero flex or wobble with the frame locked — on a step-thru with a hinge in the middle of it, which is the hardest case for stiffness there is.

Not for you if "folding" means carrying it upstairs. Velotric publishes 63 lb and Electric Bike Review measured about 67 lb as tested, which they call a two-person lift. If the fold is for a car boot rather than a staircase, that is fine; if it is for stairs, the Velotric Fold 1 at $1,299 is the lighter sibling.

Figures from Velotric's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If you are under 5'4": Eunorau FLASH LITE ST, $1,899

Eunorau's own photograph of the Eunorau FLASH LITE ST.

The lowest published rider floor on our entire shelf at 4'8", running to 6'4" at the other end, with 92 N·m from a 52 V 750 W rear motor, a 440 lb payload, UL certification, hydraulic brakes and 4-inch tires, at a published 20 mph. Eunorau's 100-mile range figure for it assumes the optional second battery, which is an extra.

Not for you if you want a light bike — it is 82 lb. For a low frame you can lift, the Velotric Fold 1 at $1,299 publishes a 4'9" floor and folds.

Figures from Eunorau's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If the surface is sand, gravel or packed snow: Samebike CREST, $1,699

Samebike's own photograph of the Samebike CREST.

Four-inch tires, a torque sensor, hydraulic brakes, front suspension and an IP64 rating, on one of the deepest open frames here. It is the cheapest way onto a 4-inch tire with a torque sensor on this page.

Not for you if you want suspension at both ends for rough ground. The Himiway D5 2.0 at $1,999 is the full-suspension answer on the same tire width, and it is sold in both frames — choose the step-thru variant.

Figures from Samebike's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

If you just want range: Eunorau META26, $1,699

Eunorau's own photograph of the Eunorau META26.

Eunorau publishes up to 100 miles on this bike, and that figure assumes the optional second battery — the pack is an extra, and the range on the battery it ships with is lower. Alongside that: a torque sensor, hydraulic brakes, suspension, UL certification, a rider window of 5'4" to 6'3" and a 286 lb payload. A purpose-built city bike rather than a fat bike doing city duties.

Not for you if you and your load together pass about 217 lb. A 286 lb payload against a 68 lb bike leaves roughly 217 lb for rider and cargo; if you need more headroom, the Velotric Nomad 2 at $1,999 leaves 430 lb.

Match by use: what you will actually do with it

Use is the first cut, because it decides more than any spec. The 55 divide like this, using our own store taxonomy where a bike has been categorized by hand and the maker's own category words where it has not. Step-over height is the specification a single visit settles, and the verified US e-bike store directory names the shops we have checked near you.

A bike can sit in more than one row — a folding cargo bike is both — so these counts add up to more than 55.

Figures from Eunorau's own product page, read September 6, 2026.

Commuting and city errands

Thirty-one of the 55 are set up for paved, stop-start riding: upright bars, fenders, lights, a rack, and gearing that starts easily from a standstill. The specifications that decide a commuter are not the ones on the box.

A torque sensor rather than a cadence sensor. A cadence sensor gives you a fixed amount of help the moment the pedals turn; a torque sensor gives you help in proportion to how hard you are pushing. In traffic that difference is a safety matter before it is a comfort one, because a cadence-sensed bike surges when you nudge the pedal to balance at a light. Thirty-four of the 55 publish a torque sensor.

Hydraulic brakes. On a 65 lb bike carrying a 180 lb rider and a bag of shopping, at 20 mph, in rain, cable brakes are the wrong tool. Most of the shelf now ships hydraulic.

Real fenders and real lights, fitted. Not sold separately.

Where to start: the Velotric Discover 2 at $1,699 sits in the middle of this group, with 75 N·m, a torque sensor, a 440 lb payload, Class 1/2/3 and a published rider window from 4'11" (Velotric spec sheet).

The Himiway A7 at $1,799 is the comfort answer, with 120 mm of hydraulic fork travel and a 90 mm four-link rear (Himiway spec sheet). It is an 84 lb bike, which is worth knowing if it has to go on a car rack. The Samebike CY20 Pro at $599 is the cheapest way in, and it folds (Samebike spec sheet).

Cargo, kids and the weekly shop

Seventeen of the 55 are cargo-shaped — a longtail behind the rider, or a box in front. Our full cargo e-bike range carries both frames together. Two numbers decide these, and only one of them is usually on the marketing.

The first is payload, which covers the rider, the cargo and the bike's own accessories together. The second is bike weight, because payload minus bike weight is what is actually left for you and your load. Thirty-eight of the 55 publish both, so the subtraction can be done honestly:

Showing 14 of 47 bikes that publish a payload. The full directory below carries all 55.

The Velotric GoMad at $1,999 publishes the clearest set of numbers on the shelf: 500 lb total, of which 176 lb may sit on the rear rack, an 801.6 Wh battery, 85 N·m, and 75 miles on pedal assist against 50 on throttle (Velotric spec sheet).

The Addmotor Garootan M-81 at $1,199 is the cheap way in at 400 lb and UL 2271 (Addmotor spec sheet). The Eunorau MAX-CARGO 2.0 sits between them at 440 lb (Eunorau spec sheet).

A warning that matters more on a cargo bike than anywhere else: a rear rack has its own, much lower limit than the frame. The GoMad's 500 lb payload includes only 176 lb on the rack. Loading a child seat and a week's shopping onto a rack rated for less is how racks bend.

Folding step-thrus for small spaces

Seven of the 55 fold, out of a folding range that carries both frames. A folding step-thru is two accessibility features stacked — you walk into the frame, then the frame goes in a boot — and the compromise is weight and folded bulk rather than ride quality.

The honest caveat on all of them: a folding e-bike is not light. The Velotric Fold 1 Plus tests at about 67 lb, which reviewers describe as a two-person lift, and its payload is the highest any of them publish (Velotric spec sheet; Electric Bike Review test). If the point of folding for you is carrying it upstairs rather than putting it in a car, weigh that before you buy.

All-terrain: gravel, sand and snow

Fifteen are categorized for all-terrain use, and the tire numbers say something broader about the whole category. Thirty-eight of the 55 publish a tire width we could read, and 35 of those are 3 inches or more — 27 of them a full 4 inches.

The step-thru shelf has gone fat, and the whole fat-tire range shows it. Width is the spec that decides this group, because it floats the bike over a surface that would swallow a narrow tire: sand, fresh snow, soft gravel, a beach access track.

Fat tires cost you range and they cost you rolling speed on pavement. If 90% of your riding is a paved commute and 10% is a gravel path, the narrower tire is usually still the better buy.

Himiway's own photograph of the D5 2.0, sold in both frames — choose the step-thru variant.

Off-road and private land: the high-speed group

Most US states have adopted a three-class framework whose top rung, Class 3, stops at 28 mph. Nine of the 55 machines here publish an assisted speed above that line — 33 to 47 mph — and are built to use it, and they are built that way on purpose: big torque, long travel, wide tires, and speed for open ground rather than a bike path.

This is a statement about where they belong, and it is the statute's line rather than ours. A machine that assists past 28 mph generally sits outside the definition of a low-speed electric bicycle, which is what the class system covers.

So ride these where that capability is the point: private land, OHV areas, a hunting lease, a ranch track. They sit in our mountain and off-road range.

Freesky's own photograph of the Wild Cat Ultra A-340, built for open ground. Check your own state before riding one anywhere else — the state law pages go state by state, and email us and we will read yours with you before you order.

If you want the reach and the seating position of that style but you want to ride it to work, the Eunorau FLASH LITE ST is the same shape at a published 20 mph and Class 1/2/3 (Eunorau spec sheet).

Match by height: published rider windows, from 4'8"

Standover is the whole point of this frame. We were able to confirm a published rider-height window on 43 of the 55, and where we could not confirm one we have left the cell blank rather than guessing at it. A blank cell here means we did not find the number, and you should ask us before you order.

If you are under 5 foot 4

The lowest published floor on our shelf is 4'8", on the Eunorau FLASH LITE ST at $1,899 (Eunorau spec sheet). Velotric publishes a 4'9" floor on the Fold 1 at $1,299 (spec sheet) and 4'11" on the Discover 2, the T1ST (spec sheet) and the Breeze 1 (spec sheet).

Two things to check that a height window will not tell you. The first is reach — the distance from saddle to bars. It is set by the frame rather than the seatpost, so a short rider on a long-reach frame ends up stretched even with the saddle down.

The second is seatpost travel. A suspension seatpost carries an inch or two of spring inside it, which sets a floor under how low the saddle will go. The saddle height you can actually reach is not always the number on the seat tube.

If getting both feet flat at a stop is the reason you are buying this frame, sit on the bike at its lowest setting before you commit. Ask us and we will check the post type on any bike here.

If a 20-inch wheel suits you, it lowers everything at once — standover, saddle height and center of gravity. Several of the folding bikes here are 20-inch.

If you are over six foot

Fifteen of the 55 publish a ceiling of 6'5" or higher, so a tall rider has more to choose from here than a short one does.

The highest ceilings on the shelf are Freesky's, at 6'8": the Wild Cat Ultra A-340 at $1,399 publishes 5'6"–6'8". Read the off-road section before you buy one of those, because most of the Freesky range assists above the Class 3 ceiling.

Inside the class framework there is plenty. Himiway's D5 2.0 at $1,999 publishes 5'1"–6'5" in its 26-inch size — choose the step-thru variant at checkout. Eahora's Juliet Long-Range at $1,499 publishes a 6'5" ceiling as a Class 3, and Velotric's Fold 1 reaches 6'5" at the other end of a window that starts at 4'9".

Past 6'5" the published windows run out, and a long seatpost plus an adjustable stem is doing the work rather than the frame.

Velotric's own photograph of the Fold 1, whose published window starts at 4'9". Our tall riders guide covers what to check.

Match by weight: yours and your cargo's

Payload is a structural limit. It is the one number on an e-bike that carries a real consequence if you ignore it. It covers the rider, everything on the rack, and everything in the panniers.

We confirmed a published payload on 47 of the 55. On the 38 that also state a bike weight, the rider-and-cargo allowance can be worked out by subtraction, and that is the figure in the last column of the payload table above. Across the whole e-bike range the highest allowance is 480 lb, on the Velotric Nomad 2X (Velotric spec sheet); the lowest is 214 lb.

Two things to know before you use that number. Payload is the manufacturer's figure for the whole system, so a 300 lb rider on a 300 lb-payload bike has nothing left for a rack. And a frame rating is not a wheel or rack rating

Velotric's own photograph of the Nomad 2 — 505 lb of published payload, the highest here. — the heavy-rider guide goes through spoke count, rim width and tire pressure, which is where a heavy load usually shows up first.

Match by age: the class rule, state by state

Age is the one item on this page that is not a specification. No manufacturer sets it. It is a rule of law, it varies by state, and it attaches to the class of the machine rather than to the model — which is why the class column matters more than the badge on the down tube.

As of September 6, 2026 we hold full law pages for 27 states and could extract an age rule from 22 of them. Across those 22 the pattern is consistent. Class 1 and Class 2 machines usually carry no state minimum age at all, and 15 states say so explicitly. Class 3 is where an age appears, because Class 3 assists to 28 mph:

New York is the exception worth knowing, because it is stricter in two directions at once. You must be at least 16 to ride any e-bike there, and a New York Class 3 is capped at 25 mph rather than 28 and is legal only in a city of one million or more (N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1238; our New York page has the sections).

So the age answer for a specific bike is a two-step: find its class, then read your state.

A few makers print a fourth label, Class 3C, on bikes sold with more than one assist setting. It is not a category in US state law — those states recognise Classes 1, 2 and 3 — so read a 3C bike by the setting you actually ride and apply your state's rule to that setting.

Helmet rules run on a separate track from age and are usually stricter on Class 3. Several states require a helmet on a Class 3 at every age while requiring one on Class 1 and 2 only under 16 or 18 — California and New York both do (Cal. Veh. Code § 21213; N.Y. VAT § 1238(5-c)).

The honest limit on this section: our law corpus covers 27 states in full. If yours is not among them, the national hub is the starting point and the state's own vehicle code is the authority.

Match by place: hills, salt, sand and traffic

Geography changes which spec matters, and it changes it more than most buyers expect.

Hills

Torque decides a hill; watts decide a top speed on the flat. That distinction is the single most useful thing to know before buying a bike for a hilly city.

A rule of thumb that survives contact with the data: under about a 12% grade, 60 to 80 N·m is enough. For sustained steep streets — the kind San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh and Duluth actually have — you want 90 N·m or more, and more still if you are carrying anything. Thirty of our 55 publish 80 N·m or more, topping out at the Freesky Ranger Plus M-540's 250 N·m.

Motor position matters as well as torque. A mid-drive sends power through the chain and therefore through the gears, so a low gear multiplies torque at the wheel the same way it does for your legs. A hub motor drives the wheel directly and cannot use the gears, so it brute-forces the same climb.

The count surprised us: only four of the 55 are mid-drives — the Velotric Discover M at 100 N·m, the Himiway A7 Pro and D5 Pro at 130 N·m each, and the Eunorau FLASH 2.0 at 220 N·m. The step-thru shelf is a hub-motor shelf. If your commute is genuinely steep and long, that narrows your choice to four bikes, and it is worth knowing before you start browsing. The Velotric of the four has its own page: our Velotric Discover M review reads its 15.7-inch standover and nine-speed gearing line by line.

Velotric's own photograph of the Discover M — one of four mid-drives among the 55.

If your ground is steep enough that you are shopping on torque alone, the mountain and off-road range is where the biggest figures sit. Budget for the battery too: climbing drains a pack several times faster than flat riding, so a bike that shows 60 miles on your local flats will not show 60 miles in the hills.

Winter, road salt and slush

Salt is the thing that kills e-bikes in the Midwest and Northeast, and it kills them at the connectors rather than the frame. Chicago used as much as 320,000 tons of road salt to get through the winter of 2020, as reported by CBS Chicago, and the brine finds chains, rotors, cassettes and every electrical contact on the bike.

What to look for at purchase: an ingress rating, full fenders, and connectors you can reach. Winter riders usually end up on a fat tire for the grip as much as the float. We confirmed a published ingress rating on 27 of the 55, and a blank cell is a gap in what we could confirm rather than a verdict on the bike.

What to do after purchase matters more than the spec. Rinse with a bucket and a sponge instead of a pressure washer, because pressure drives water past seals into bearings and motor housings.

Switch to a wet-condition chain lubricant for the season, and put a thin film of dielectric grease on the battery terminals and the display connector. Bring the battery indoors, and let it warm before charging after a cold ride.

Heat and sun

Phoenix, Las Vegas and the Texas summer are a battery problem before they are anything else. Lithium cells age faster when they are hot and they age faster still when they are stored hot and full. Park in shade, store the pack indoors, and avoid leaving it at 100% in a hot garage. A bike with a rack you can shade, and a frame-mounted rather than a fully-integrated battery, is easier to look after in that climate.

Beaches, sand and coastal air

Sand needs float, which means tire width. A 4-inch tire at low pressure will ride a beach that a 2-inch tire buries itself in, and 27 of our 55 publish a 4-inch tire — the Samebike CREST and the Velotric Nomad 2 among them (Samebike spec sheet; Velotric spec sheet).

Coastal air needs the same care as road salt, for the same reason. Rinse the drivetrain, grease the contacts, and do not leave the bike out.

Flat, dense cities

New York, Chicago's Loop, Boston: here the specs that matter are not power at all. They are the ones that decide how the bike behaves in the half-second after you stop and how easily it lives in a small apartment. The list is short: a torque sensor, hydraulic brakes, real lights, and a fold if you have stairs. Most of what suits a dense city sits in commuter and city.

New York riders should read the class rules before buying anything, because the state's Class 3 definition is not the one most manufacturers write to (N.Y. VAT § 102-c).

Match by range: how far you actually need to go

Range is the most optimistic number on any e-bike spec sheet, because the figure is almost always the best case: lowest assist level, flat ground, a light rider, a mild day. We confirmed a published range figure on 42 of the 55.

Showing 14 of 42 bikes that publish a range. The full directory below carries all 55.

Read every figure in that table as a ceiling, and check which battery it assumes. Ten of the 42 published figures are quoted for a bike carrying an optional second battery, and the table marks those.

Eunorau's FLASH pages show how the two get written side by side: "Up to 65 Miles (135 Miles Dual Battery | 220 Miles Triple Battery)" (Eunorau spec sheet). The 65 is what the shipped battery does. Check what the price includes before you plan a commute around a number.

A more useful way to size a battery is watt-hours against your real route. Watt-hours are volts times amp-hours, so a 48 V 15 Ah pack is 720 Wh.

On a fairly flat commute with moderate assist, most riders on these machines see somewhere near 15 to 25 Wh per mile. Hills, headwind, cargo and cold all push that up. Take your longest regular round trip, double it if you cannot charge at the far end, and buy a pack that covers it with margin.

Cold matters here too. A lithium pack delivers noticeably less in winter than the same pack in summer, and that is chemistry rather than a fault.

Every step-thru e-bike we sell

All 55, sorted by price, out of an e-bike range of 211. A dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure — we have left it blank rather than filling it in from a sibling model or an estimate.

The Ridstar MN26 in that table is named in no safety notice as of September 11, 2026, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission has two stop-use warnings on Ridstar's Q20 family. March 19, 2026: "The e-bikes' batteries and wires can ignite, posing a fire hazard to consumers," on "11 reports of fire." June 25, 2026: "The front wheel can detach without warning, posing a crash hazard to consumers," on "32 reports of the front wheel detaching."

Neither warning became a recall; the manufacturer "has refused to agree to an acceptable recall." The UK's Office for Product Safety and Standards turned back a Ridstar import in June 2025 over a "serious risk of fire" in the charger, and two US suits, one against Amazon and one against Walmart, allege front wheels coming off Ridstar bikes. Neither suit is decided. The Ridstar brand profile has every document.

The bottom line

If you are choosing a step-thru because getting on and off matters, the frame costs you nothing. Twelve of 13 identical pairs price the same as their step-over twin, and the one platform whose maker publishes both weights makes the step-thru the lighter bike. Buy the frame that fits your body and spend the argument on the specs that actually decide your ride.

Three of those specs do most of the work. Torque decides hills, and 30 of our 55 publish 80 N·m or more. Payload decides what you can carry, and 47 publish one. The published rider window decides whether the bike fits you at all, and 43 publish one — the lowest floor on the shelf is 4'8".

And check the class before you check the color. Nine of these publish an assisted speed above the Class 3 ceiling and belong on private ground; the age rule in your state follows the class, not the model.

If you are still deciding, send us your height, your longest regular ride and the hill you are worried about. We will come back with the manufacturers' own figures for two or three bikes rather than a catalog.

Limitations, and what we could not tell you

This is the honest ledger for this page, numbered so you can check each one against the data files named in the method.

1. Freesky has delisted one of these since we read it. The Wild Cat Ultra A-340's page on freeskycycle.com returned specifications on September 6 and is gone on September 7 — we still sell the bike, and its row carries the figures we read while the page was live, but there is no maker page to link you to today.

2. We read 53 of the 55 manufacturer pages. Two are missing for different reasons. The Eunorau E-FAT-MN is not listed on Eunorau's own storefront at all. The Ridstar MN26's page would not return its specification block to us on any route we tried, so its row carries our store's data only. Neither bike has a maker-verified figure on this page.

3. Blank cells are common, and they are ours to explain. Reading each manufacturer's own product page once, on one day, we could confirm a rider-height window on 43 of 55, a payload on 47, a torque figure on 45, a range on 42, a UL listing on 33 and an ingress rating on 27. A figure we did not find on that page may well be published in a manual, a dealer sheet or an updated listing we did not see. We print nothing rather than guessing, and a blank cell is a limit of our reading rather than a verdict on the machine. Ask us and we will go back and look again for the bike you are considering.
4. Our frame call rests on two grades of evidence. For most of the 55, the manufacturer states the frame in its own words. For the rest, the call comes from the manufacturer's own photograph, which is good evidence for a shape and none at all for a standover measurement.
5. The price and weight comparison rests on 13 variant pairs across four models. That is what our shelf can support. It is a real measurement of those four models and nothing wider.
6. Class is stated by the manufacturer on 34 of the 55 and inferred from a published assist speed on 15. Six publish no speed at all, so no class is claimed for them. A speed-limited bike with an unlockable higher setting raises a legal question in your state, and the specification does not settle it.
7. Our own listings and the manufacturers disagreed in a handful of places — a range figure and a payload figure among them. Where they did, the manufacturer's number is the one on this page, and our product page is being corrected.
8. The law section rests on 27 state pages, and we could extract an age rule from 22 of them. Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Utah have pages but no age rule we could quote, so this page states none for them and links the page instead. Twenty-three states have no page here at all.
9. Ridstar, one maker in the model table, is a brand we sell, and three of its models carry a federal stop-use warning. The Q20, the Q20 Pro and the Q20 Lite, each named by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, were listed and buyable on our store on September 11, 2026, with five YVY bikes from the same company alongside. The Ridstar brand profile sets out the notices in full.

What would age this page. Prices and stock change daily and expire first. A manufacturer revising a spec sheet, adding a model or dropping one re-opens the census.

A state amending its class definitions or its minimum age re-opens the age table, and several legislatures sit between now and next spring. We re-check the shelf and the statutes on a rolling basis and restate the verification date at the top. If that date is more than a season old, treat the prices as indicative and the law as needing a fresh read.

Frequently asked questions

Are step-through electric bikes good for seniors?

They are the frame most often recommended for older riders, and the reason is specific rather than general: the step-thru removes the leg-over motion, which is the moment a low-speed fall usually happens. Beyond the frame, look for a throttle to get the bike rolling from a standstill without loading a knee, an upright riding position, a suspension seatpost, and lights fitted as standard. Our electric bikes for seniors guide goes further into fit and riding situations.

How fast can a step-thru electric bike go?

The frame has nothing to do with speed. What decides it is the class the manufacturer built to: Class 1 and Class 2 assist to 20 mph, Class 3 to 28 mph. On our shelf, 34 bikes carry a class stated by their manufacturer. Nine more publish an assisted speed of 33 to 47 mph, which puts them above the Class 3 ceiling; those are built for open ground.

Is there a good step-thru e-bike under $1,000?

Yes, six of the 55 sit under $1,000. The Samebike CY20 Pro at $599 is a folding commuter with a torque sensor, dual suspension and an IP64 rating. The Ridstar MN26 at $600 is the fat-tire option. Eahora's Luna at $799, Terra at $899 and Luna II at $999 each publish a 5'4"–6'1" rider window and a 330 lb payload.

Eahora's own photograph of the Luna, the cheapest bike here with a published rider window.

Read the class column on those three Eahora bikes before you choose: all three publish an assisted speed above the Class 3 ceiling, so they belong in the off-road group further up rather than on a bike path. Tell us your height and your route and we will confirm the fit on any of the six before you order.

What standover height do I need if I am five feet tall?

Ignore standover numbers you cannot verify and use the manufacturer's published rider window instead, because it accounts for reach as well as standover. At five feet, look for a published floor of 4'11" or lower — the Velotric Discover 2, T1ST and Breeze 1 all publish 4'11", the Velotric Fold 1 publishes 4'9", and the Eunorau FLASH LITE ST publishes 4'8". A 20-inch wheel lowers the whole bike and is worth preferring at that height.

How much motor torque do I need for steep hills?

Under a 12% grade, 60 to 80 N·m is generally enough. For sustained steep streets, look for 90 N·m or more, and prefer a mid-drive if the climbs are long, because a mid-drive can use the gears and a hub motor cannot. Thirty of our 55 publish 80 N·m or more, and only four are mid-drives.

Can I ride a step-thru e-bike in snow, and what does road salt do to it?

Yes, on packed snow, and a 4-inch tire at low pressure helps a great deal. Salt is the real cost. It attacks the chain, the cassette, the brake rotors and every electrical contact, so rinse the bike with a bucket rather than a pressure washer after a salted ride, run a wet-weather chain lubricant through the winter, and put dielectric grease on the battery and display connectors. Store the battery indoors and let it warm up before charging.

How do I lock a step-thru bike securely?

The same way as any e-bike, with one wrinkle. The open frame gives you fewer places to pass a U-lock through a triangle, so lock through the rear wheel and the rack or seat tube instead of hunting for a top tube.

Use a hardened U-lock instead of a cable and take the battery with you where it is removable. These bikes are heavy enough that a thief needs a vehicle, which makes a visible, awkward-to-cut lock worth more than usual.

Is a step-thru good for hunting or rough private land?

For quiet approach and load-carrying on private land, yes, and the fat-tire machines here are the ones built for it. Read the class column before you assume you can ride the same bike to the trailhead on a public road: nine of ours assist above 28 mph and belong on private ground.

What is the difference between a step-thru and a low-step frame?

In practice, degree rather than kind. A step-thru drops the top tube to near the bottom bracket or removes it; a low-step keeps a tube but drops it far enough that the standover is close.

Manufacturers use both words loosely, and "open frame" can mean either. Judge the frame by the published rider window and the photograph — the word will mislead you.

Do I need a license to ride one?

In most states, no license, no registration and no insurance are required for a Class 1, 2 or 3 e-bike, because it is treated as a bicycle. A machine that assists above 28 mph may fall outside that treatment. Your state page has the specifics.

Source register

Every figure on this page traces to one of these. Tier is the authority of the source, not the quality of the bike.

T1 is the party that made or governs the thing, publishing its own figure. T3 is independent testing and named owner testimony, which this page presents as testimony and never as a statistic. No T4 or T5 source is cited anywhere on this page.

Sources

81 numbered references. Every specification figure on this page was read at the manufacturer's own product page on 2026-09-06; every age rule is cited to the statute through our own state page, which carries the primary link.

1. Addmotor Electric Bike. Addmotor Foldtan M-160 Folding eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.addmotor.com/products/foldtan-m-160 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260907010943/https://www.addmotor.com/products/foldtan-m-160
2. Addmotor Electric Bike. Graoopro product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.addmotor.com/products/graoopro Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260831181556/https://www.addmotor.com/products/graoopro
3. Addmotor Electric Bike. M-81 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.addmotor.com/products/m-81 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260907010614/https://www.addmotor.com/products/m-81
4. Addmotor Electric Bike. Soletan product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.addmotor.com/products/soletan Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260903124334/https://www.addmotor.com/products/soletan
5. Eahora. Eahora 2026 Juliet product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/juliet-long-range-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260901060508/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/juliet-long-range-electric-bike
6. Eahora. Eahora Juliet Pro II product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-juliet-pro-ii Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260904080409/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-juliet-pro-ii
7. Eahora. Eahora Juliet Pro product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-juliet-pro Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260822033823/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-juliet-pro
8. Eahora. Eahora Juliet product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/2025-juliet-long-range-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260901060441/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/2025-juliet-long-range-electric-bike
9. Eahora. Eahora Luna II product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-luna-ii Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260831065247/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-luna-ii
10. Eahora. Eahora Luna product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-luna Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260904132143/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-luna
11. Eahora. Eahora Terra product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-terra Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260904132112/https://www.eahoraebike.com/products/eahora-terra
12. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau E-FAT-MN Folding Fat eBike product page. full specification table, no such row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://redtailebikes.com/products/eunorau-e-fat-mn
13. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau FAT-AWD 3.0 product page. specifications, weight row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/fat-awd-3-0 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906230117/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/fat-awd-3-0
14. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau FLASH 2.0 product page. specifications, motor row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-2
15. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau FLASH LITE ST Step-Thru eMoped product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-lite-st Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260905230604/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-lite-st
16. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau META20 Folding eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-20-1 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260830203040/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-20-1
17. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau META24 City eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-24-1 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260901060213/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-24-1
18. Eunorau E-Mobility. Eunorau META26 City eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-26-1 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260903122532/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-26-1
19. Eunorau E-Mobility. FAT-AWD 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/fat-awd-2 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260901081317/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/fat-awd-2
20. Eunorau E-Mobility. FLASH 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-2 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260905230629/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-2
21. Eunorau E-Mobility. FLASH AWD 1.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-awd-1-0 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260905053020/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-awd-1-0
22. Eunorau E-Mobility. FLASH LITE 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-lite-2-0 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906063738/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/flash-lite-2-0
23. Eunorau E-Mobility. G30-CARGO 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/g30-cargo Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260830064457/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/g30-cargo
24. Eunorau E-Mobility. MAX-CARGO 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/max-cargo Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906231155/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/max-cargo
25. Eunorau E-Mobility. META275 1.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-275-1 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260907005907/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta-275-1
26. Eunorau E-Mobility. META275 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta275-2 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260830064046/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/meta275-2
27. Eunorau E-Mobility. SPECTER-ST 2.0 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.eunorau-ebike.com/products/specter-st-1 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260904081439/https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/specter-st-1
28. Freesky Cycle. Eurostar Turbo M-410 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/eurostar-turbo-m-410 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260831065652/https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/eurostar-turbo-m-410
29. Freesky Cycle. Ranger Air M-540 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/ranger-air-m-540 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906101110/https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/ranger-air-m-540
30. Freesky Cycle. Ranger Plus M-540 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/ranger-plus-m-540 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260901060935/https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/ranger-plus-m-540
31. Freesky Cycle. Rocky Pro A-320 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/rocky-pro-a-320 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260831065816/https://www.freeskycycle.com/products/rocky-pro-a-320
32. Freesky Cycle. Wild Cat Ultra A-340 product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://redtailebikes.com/products/freesky-wild-cat-ultra-a-340
33. Himiway Bike. C3 / Cargo Ebike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/c3cargo-ebike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260907010721/https://himiwaybike.com/products/c3cargo-ebike
34. Himiway Bike. D5 Pro / All-terrain Electric Fat Bike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/all-terrain-electric-bike-d5pro Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260830063927/https://himiwaybike.com/products/all-terrain-electric-bike-d5pro
35. Himiway Bike. D5(Zebra) / All-terrain Electric Fat Bike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/premium-all-terrain-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260907020223/https://himiwaybike.com/products/premium-all-terrain-electric-bike
36. Himiway Bike. Himiway A7 Commuter eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-a7-commuter-ebike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906225935/https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-a7-commuter-ebike
37. Himiway Bike. Himiway A7 Pro Commuter eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-a7pro-commuter-ebike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260831063854/https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-a7pro-commuter-ebike
38. Himiway Bike. Himiway D5 2.0 ST eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-d5-st Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260830064820/https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-d5-st
39. Himiway Bike. Himiway D5 2.0 20" eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/d5-2-20 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260830064003/https://himiwaybike.com/products/d5-2-20
40. Himiway Bike. Himiway D5 2.0 Camo eBike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-d5-st-camo Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906102144/https://himiwaybike.com/products/himiway-d5-st-camo
41. Redtail eBikes (first-party measurement). Step-thru vs step-over price parity, redtailebikes.com and four manufacturer storefronts. research/step-thru-ebikes/price-parity-combined_20260906.json. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://redtailebikes.com/blogs/journal/step-thru-ebikes-usa-2026
42. Ridstar. Ridstar MN26 1500W Unfoldable Fat Tire Mountain Ebike product page. full specification table, no such row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://ridstar.com/products/ridstar-mn26-1500w-unfoldable-fat-tire-mountain-ebike.js
43. Samebike. CREST Fat Tire Mountain E-Bike product page. full specification table, no such row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://us.samebike.com/products/crest-large-battery-fat-tire-powerful-1000w-mountain-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260831070008/https://us.samebike.com/products/crest-large-battery-fat-tire-powerful-1000w-mountain-electric-bike
44. Samebike. CY20 Pro Portable Commuter Electric Bike product page. full specification table, no such row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://us.samebike.com/products/cy20-pro-portable-commuter-powerful-500w-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906225442/https://us.samebike.com/products/cy20-pro-portable-commuter-powerful-500w-electric-bike
45. Samebike. CY20 Pro Portable Commuter Electric Bike product page. full specification table, no such row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://us.samebike.com/products/cy20-pro-spoked-wheel-portable-commuter-powerful-peak-800w-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906101638/https://us.samebike.com/products/cy20-pro-spoked-wheel-portable-commuter-powerful-peak-800w-electric-bike
46. Samebike. STORM Fat Tire Mountain E-Bike product page. full specification table, no such row. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://us.samebike.com/products/storm-large-battery-fat-tire-powerful-1000w-peak-1800w-electric-bike Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260903122312/https://us.samebike.com/products/storm-large-battery-fat-tire-powerful-1000w-peak-1800w-electric-bike
47. State of California. Cal. Veh. Code § 21213. § 21213. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=21213 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20251002193632/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=21213&lawCode=VEH
48. State of California. California vehicle code, e-bike provisions. see the linked state page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=22651
49. State of Colorado. C.R.S. § 42-4-1412. C.R.S. § 42-4-1412. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-42.pdf
50. State of Illinois. Illinois vehicle code, e-bike provisions. see the linked state page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/062500050K11-1516.htm
51. State of Indiana. IC 9-21-11-13.1(k)(3), (k)(5). IC 9-21-11-13.1(k)(3), (k)(5). Accessed 2026-09-06. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9.html#9-21-11-13.1
52. State of Iowa. § 321.235B(1).. § 321.235B(1).. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/321.235B.pdf
53. State of Michigan. MCL 257.662a(4). MCL 257.662a(4). Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-257-662a
54. State of New Jersey. New Jersey vehicle code, e-bike provisions. see the linked state page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2024/PL25/285_.HTM
55. State of New York. N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 102-c. § 102-c. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/102-C Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260506175358/https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/102-C
56. State of New York. N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 102-c; § 1238(5-c). N.Y. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 102-c; § 1238(5-c). Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/1238
57. State of Ohio. Ohio vehicle code, e-bike provisions. see the linked state page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4511.522
58. State of Tennessee. Tennessee vehicle code, e-bike provisions. see the linked state page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/109/pub/pc0823.pdf
59. State of Texas. § 551.106. § 551.106. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/html/HB02188F.HTM
60. State of Virginia. § 46.2-100. § 46.2-100. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter1/section46.2-100/
61. State of Washington. RCW 46.20.500(3). RCW 46.20.500(3). Accessed 2026-09-06. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.20.500
62. State of Wisconsin. Wis. Stat. § 346.806(4). Wis. Stat. § 346.806(4). Accessed 2026-09-06. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/346.pdf
63. Velotric Bike. Velotric Breeze 1 Cruiser Ebike product page. Accessed 2026-09-06. https://www.velotricbike.com/products/velotric-breeze-1 Archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20260906102330/https://www.velotricbike.com/products/velotric-breeze-1
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How we verified this

We started from the shelf rather than from a shortlist. Every active product on redtailebikes.com was read live on September 6, 2026 and reduced to the population this page is about: 188 live bikes, of which 152 are two-wheel adult bicycles with pedals once trikes, kids' bikes and machines without pedals are set aside.

Frame geometry was then established twice. Six independent text routes — our own listing body, our own product title, and the manufacturer's title, description, option names and variant names — settled 49 of the 188.

The remaining 139 were looked at. Every one of them, on labelled contact sheets, with 19 re-cut at full size or judged against the manufacturer's own photographs where a store image turned out to be a motor cutaway, a display console or a lifestyle banner rather than the bike.

No frame verdict on this page was inferred from a model name. The result: 74 of the 152 are step-thru, and 55 of those have at least one variant we can actually sell.

Every decisive figure was then re-read at the manufacturer rather than taken from our own listing. 53 of the 55 manufacturer product pages were read in full, and each figure is recorded with the sentence it came from. Where our listing and the manufacturer disagreed, the manufacturer's figure is the one printed here and our page is being corrected.

Three states are kept apart throughout, and only the first is publishable: found, not published by the manufacturer, and could not be read. A page that would not load is never reported as a specification that does not exist.

The questions this page answers were harvested rather than imagined: 1,392 autocomplete and related-search terms, 326 headings from the pages currently ranking for this topic, two owner threads on the Electric Bike Review forums, and a seven-prompt AI-search panel whose raw output is saved with the date.

One question here — how much rider and cargo weight these frames carry — appears in none of that demand data. We answer it anyway, because payload is a stated safety limit on every machine on this page.

Every bike is then matched on seven axes — use, height, weight, terrain, weather, the age its class triggers in your state, and range — and a bike is only matched on an axis where its maker publishes the figure that axis turns on.

Prices and availability were read live from our own storefront on September 6, 2026 and change without notice. Specifications are the manufacturers' own published figures as of the same date.

Corrections: mehran@redtailebikes.com. We have no commercial relationship with any manufacturer that affects what appears on this page, and we sell every bike listed here.