“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 to be an ebike, which is exactly why it drew discover from former bike store repairmen and fitness-obsessed schoolteachers.
Ride1Up’s metropolis commuter Roadster, launched a 12 months in the past and well-liked sufficient it went out and in of inventory by way of a lot of 2025, is on the vanguard of a brand new technology of neatly built-in ebikes that feel and look like a motorbike with out motor help. Just like the Aventon Soltera 3 we rated this 12 months as WIRED’s favorite commuter bike, the 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 often wish to use an ebike: as a quick and versatile metropolis bike for kicking round my metropolis of Portland, Oregon. I’ve spent months, and lots of of miles, driving the nine-speed mannequin of the Roadster V3 to grocery shops and buddies’ 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 reasonably priced for a high-performance ebike with premium elements and a throttle to assist launch up tough hills. The 20- to 40-mile vary is limiting for long-distance touring however greater than adequate for many day by day commutes. A dearth of affiliated restore outlets is a fear for service, a standard downside 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San Diego-based Ride1Up is a more moderen ebike firm, lower than a decade outdated. The corporate is constructing its popularity largely by providing quite a lot of specialised and utility bikes at accessible costs. However as somebody who usually favors basic highway bikes, I will admit a few of their different fashions have struck me as a bit chunky or over-engineered, geared to path riders and the kind of one who needs to cart a surfboard to the seashore.
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 by way of the hole of the body. The battery, whereas detachable, can also be built-in virtually imperceptibly into the chassis.
At its worth, it gives 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.
