The Duskmile index · Ranked 01 of 20
If you were going to buy a second car, buy this instead. Nothing else in this index changes what is possible without a vehicle to the same degree.
Top rated right now
Every vehicle we have scored, ordered by the number at the end of the review. Scores move when prices move.
210 kg gross vehicle weight, Bosch ABS, dual batteries and a 10-year warranty. The GSD costs $4,999 and is the most obviously worth-it machine in this index.
733Wh of LG cells, a proper internal torque sensor and GPS tracking built in. We measured 88 km. This is the best value in commuter e-bikes right now and it is not close.
A 60V 24Ah UL-certified pack, adjustable hydraulic suspension at both ends and hydraulic discs, for $1,299 on sale. This is where the performance category gets sensible.
75 Nm of Bosch Performance Line CX, a 500Wh Powertube and a bike shop within driving distance of almost everyone. The Allant+ 7S is the boring correct answer.
Segway put a 597Wh pack, dual suspension and self-healing tubeless tyres on one frame, then asked $1,500 for it. Four weeks later we understand the price — and the one reason to wait.
A 320Wh battery and a 240W motor sound like the wrong numbers until you ride it. Then $5,100 becomes the only thing left to argue about.
By what you actually need
Pedal-assist bikes bought to replace a car trip or a bus fare: racks, lights, mudguards and a battery that survives a week of five-day riding.
02Long-tails, front-loaders and utility frames for people who move children, shopping or tools without a van.
02Machines that have to disappear — under a desk, into a train carriage, behind a hallway door — and still ride properly once unfolded.
04Standing kick scooters for the last three kilometres: a folded carry, a legal speed, and brakes that work in the rain.
03Dual-motor and high-voltage machines built for speed and hills. Fast, heavy, and legal almost nowhere on a public road.
02Seated, plated, licence-class electric two-wheelers — the category replacing petrol scooters across South and Southeast Asia.
03Everything under the price where compromises start showing, judged on whether the corners cut are the ones that matter.
Fresh off the bench
8.5The XP 4 does things at $999 that cost $2,000 two years ago. It also weighs a lot and folds into an awkward lump. Both of those facts matter.
8.7Segway put a 597Wh pack, dual suspension and self-healing tubeless tyres on one frame, then asked $1,500 for it. Four weeks later we understand the price — and the one reason to wait.
9.0733Wh of LG cells, a proper internal torque sensor and GPS tracking built in. We measured 88 km. This is the best value in commuter e-bikes right now and it is not close.
8.9A 60V 24Ah UL-certified pack, adjustable hydraulic suspension at both ends and hydraulic discs, for $1,299 on sale. This is where the performance category gets sensible.
8.4608Wh, hydraulic front suspension and 22 kg. The KQi 300X is not the fastest thing here and does not want to be — it wants to still be working in three years.
8.3A 750 W AKM motor, switchable torque and cadence sensing, hydraulic brakes and a 150 lb rear rack. The Portola 02 is the Lectric XP 4's only real rival, and it wins on torque.
How the numbers are made
Manufacturer range figures are produced by a light rider on flat ground in still air. Ours are not.
A 12 km mixed loop with 140 m of climbing, ridden at the highest assist level with a 78 kg rider, repeated until the pack cuts out. We publish the number we saw, not the number on the box.
Ten stops on dry asphalt, ten on wet, measured wheel-lock to standstill. Anything that fades on stop eight is said so in the review.
Nothing gets scored on a press ride. Every vehicle spends at least four weeks as somebody's actual commute, including rain, potholes and a locked bike rack.
Scores factor in what the thing costs the week the review goes live, and we revisit them when a model gets discounted into a different league.
