The best eBikes are from Europe 

Thanks for watching! To learn more about some of these bikes, check out the links in the description.

Some of the best e-bikes are perhaps European, but one of the best RU-vid channels about biking is definitely American. Keep it up, Propel! Greetings from Belgium 🇧🇪

I'd say what's holding us back is, the way cities and suburbs are planned to be car dependant. We've become very car centric

ebikes aren't just a cool technology, they're a crucial element in the transition away from fossil fuels. America cannot afford to get left behind in an industry so crucial to the future of the global economy.

As an expat living in Germany. I cannot fathom leaving this culture and the ability to ride any of my bikes and e-bike. Holding us back, culture, infrastructure and mindset. Many years ago when I lived in the US, many in my town assumed I had lost my license and had to use a bike. Bikes are for kids is the attitude. Furthermore, Stores and commerce are zoned away from housing. Where here, my stores and restaurants are incorporated into our communities. Bike security is also a problem everywhere in world. Jenn from Germany

We're very conservative in North America, resistant to change - which is odd given our view of ourselves as innovators. Some people see bicycles, and ebikes (even some analogue cyclists) as a threat of some kind, and the romance of the automobile is still firmly rooted in our collective psyche. That's shifting, but the view of bikes as recreational toys is hard to shake. I am excited to check out the new trends coming from Europe, and some brands I have never heard of. Also kind of envious.

Love you man. Love your content. Meeting you literally changed my life in such a positive way.

What’s holding us back? The mentality that cars are the first transportation choice whenever the majority of Americans need to travel just a few miles within cities. Once U.S. cities are designed safer for everybody, the innovation in those transportation spaces will accelerate.

I’m glad you got the video award… well-deserved! And we can celebrate Europe’s innovation with ebikes. As has been said already, Europe has been focused on bikes for many years. We complain about fuel prices, but the people “across the pond” have been paying far more than we have, for a long time. Thank you Chris, and keep up the great work!

What's holding us back? I'd like to know too! I did the first of several European cycle tours at 35. Returning to Toronto, Canada, I tried valiantly to cycle to my job in nearby Brampton but gave up after a few years. Now 62 and retired, the cycle infrastructure I saw in Europe in my 30's is still a distant goal here. Luckily, I now live in a city with a great 25km cycle path that I can safely cycle to from my home. I indulge almost every day. But one still cannot easily and safely travel to specific locations around the city.

Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale could all jump out and build cargo bikes tomorrow and do it really well, too. I don't think it takes a decade of building a long john to build a great long john. Given the success of Rad Power and even the Babymaker (SMH), there is room for a direct to consumer long john too, but I'd really like to see this done through bike shops. The majors in the USA are still staying in the safe space of recreational bikes. I feel like its up to the bike industry to create some demand for new product lines and take a chance. It would certainly help us to rally for better bike infrastructure if people all got excited about bikes for transportation.

It's great to be a European e-biker and watch the best e-bike channel from America on RU-vid! Thank you Propel.

Agreed: Europe is so ahead when it comes to e-bikes for transportation for individuals and families and cargo bikes for business. It’s sad so many people in the United States aren’t aware of the possibilities with bikes and how much we’ve sacrificed to car dominance.

Minneapolis has a certain amount of bike infrastructure and currently has a major downtown thoroughfare torn up to make much safer bike paths and transit priority. My son is in the Netherlands doing his computer science masters paper on urban transit planning. Glad we got him on a bike early (and he somehow also fell in love with trains). Will he ever want to come back?

I’m a new viewer, but an instant fan! We are lagging behind in many ways to our European friends, but keep putting out these videos and hopefully it will enlighten a few people and we’ll see change sooner than later! Keep up the great work!

Great opinion sharing, keep them coming!

Nice you enjoyed your visit here and a great edit too

Love your coverage of Eurobike and all the cool new bikes, can’t wait to see what new things they have in store! ✌️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴

Spot on Chris. Looking forward to future video drops from your perspective @ eurobike 2022. Thanks for the great info!

Great work Chris and Tara. Well said and great coverage. And great edit Tara. That's a lot of time in the chair. Well done. And really nice shots.

Can't wait to see all the content from Eurobike. Looks like some great advancements in this area!

Really looking forward to the upcoming videos! Exciting stuff!

"What's holding us back?" I agree with that sentiment. Why is the US holding itself back from adopting sensible transportation? I think we all have a general idea of why but, heck, if it was that easy to answer we would have already solved it. It's going to be a long journey for us. Let's hope that we can live to see the end of it.

Awesome to see all the cool footage you're getting. I am super close to your shop on LB

Thank you for this channel, the videos are amazing, and definitely help spread the good word about bicycles.

very nice video, it was fun to watch. very interesting to get an outside view of the european e-bike scene. but there are also interesting brands from america, for example. keep up the good content! 🙂(subscribed)

phew - i've been riding ebikes (here in Aotearoa / New Zealand) for 6 years - but this Eurobike is making me feel like ebike tech is just getting started - like in a good way. Thanks for the great coverage

So professional and beautiful videography. Eagerly awaiting details on the Load and Packster as I am on the verge of buying the current Load model, but unsure if I should hold out to get the newest model 🙃

Cars and car-centric infrastructure is the obvious answer, but the "biking is a sport" attitude is also a huge barrier for riders who just want to go somewhere on a bike. Twenty years ago, I went to a local bike shop and said "When I was a kid, I had a bike with a basket and handlebar streamers. I want the grown up equivalent of that.". They talked me into a mountain bike with no fenders and no obvious way to attach a basket. Twelve years ago, I went to a local bike shop and asked about cargo bikes. I came in with pictures of the Boda Boda. They told me that they'd never seen such a thing and that they couldn't help me. Five years ago, I went to an LBS and asked about the Tern GSD. They tried to sell me the only ebike on the floor and insisted that a cargo bike would be less useful than a trailer. The whole time I was talked down to because I wanted street clothes compatible mobility. I've been teased for "cheating" by the "real" cyclists in my neighborhood has they pass me in their pickup trucks full of mountain bikes that they will shred downhill. As long as electric bikes are seen as not part of the cycling ecosystem of local communities, adoption and innovation will lag. Pushing the buy button for an expensive bike you haven't been able to test ride is scary. Buying an inexpensive, entry level bike over the internet is going to be easier than buying a Tern or and R&M. Until we can get a Propel in every city, I think we are going to lag behind Europe.

Just moved to France and looking to buy our first ebikes so can’t wait for your upcoming recommendations!

That Tern award was well deserved. Your Tern HSD Vs GSD sold me on their platform and I love the bike.

American brands have not embrace "urban" ebike market yet; they are still targeting more sportive users (road and mountain bikes). Maybe change of mind will come from smaller brands, like Benno. Looking forward new R&M models tests...

I’ve been to Friederichshafen several times, Chris (I lived nearby in Switzerland). I’d hardly call it small or intimate, but there you go! Am back in the States now, so I’ll just rely on you for the latest from Frankfurt. Love the content, G

What do you think is the lightest/smallest ebike with a frame mounted front rack? I have a tern HSD and it's pretty decent.

Can’t wait for your videos about Eurobike!

I just bought a gazelle after watching your videos! Thanks to your videos!!

Keep up the good work. You´re always welcome in Europe and Germany ;) best regards, Sebastian

Thanks very informative.

Can't wait for the video on the new R&M products

Looking forward to the videos.

Anyone know what cargo bike is featured at 52 seconds into the video? Thanks

I will say Europe has had a strong bike culture for a long time already. They also have better infrastructure for bikes. Went shopping for an ebike here in Germany and they are impressive. The stores are pretty remarkable themselves too.

If you ignore the fact that a large amount [sometimes majority] of parts in the European bikes are manufactured/coming from Asia, I think you are right that we are leading. For safety it might be because we are not over-allergic to regulation, for innovation it's just a time and priority issue: if for a longer time more than half of the trips made by bike, you attract more momentum, and that in itself attracts more sales. Funny fact; my new bike (automatic gearing kind) got more attention in my workplace than the Tesla a colleague got; people like new(est) development [when it's not crushing the bank (that much)] Hope you had fun at Eurobike, already saw some good presentations/developments (eg motors with build-in [automatic] gears, really see that being the new thing: fewer components and complexity with the same function). If only the development with energy storage would be quicker ;-)

I'm especially looking forward to videos on the enclosed bikes like the Podbike Frikar, and the cargo-truck looking bikes. My ideal bike is the PEBL, from Better Bike, but I live in Australia, where we more or less observe European standards, and Better Bike have been really slow to get their act together. What I want is something legally a bike, but with some of the benefits of a car, like not getting wet in the rain, the ability to carry an adult passenger, and a bit of space for groceries. Some of these new cargo bikes look to be going this way.

Does anyone know what that drive train with the extra pulley is called? And what the point of it is? At like 6:34 ish

Go go go! No channel gets down to what matters best.

Howdy from MN! I have a 6 year old Raleigh Sprite e bike. It is too heavy for me as I get older (65). I am looking for an e bike that is light weight and has a range of up to 80 miles/charge [even it I have to add a booster]. Looking to spend under $2500. Any suggestions? I met a gal several summers ago who ordered a bike from Europe-but I don't remember the brand. She was quite happy. Maybe ordered from Netherlands? Thank you!

Looking forward to your videos from Eurobike

Good content!

Live in Murcia Spain and looking for e...trikes any ideas please

How do we get more info on those bikes, and can we buy them in Europe and bring them back to the states. I also think the price is a lot more then in the States. I would like to see more information on individual bike Co. And their bikes.

We are constrained on many fronts... but mostly infrastructure.

I'm not sure what's holding the US back, maybe it's to do with oil availability, but have you ever been to the Bike Museum in Nijmegen? It's awesome, we went there last week, and it blew our minds. The innovation and development of bikes going back in time was incredible. The first electric bike with battery and a rear wheel hub motor was in 1895, invented by an American! Apparently the Napoleonic wars took horses away, so people began to innovate personal travel, and later in in the 1950's Queen Whilameina of NL ignored royal safety protocol and bought herself a Gazelle bike. That's supporting your own industry! The curator gave us a private tour of the workshop and parts storage, their restoration work and collection is outstanding. The only downside there is that it's on three floors, with no lift, a pity for recumbent users who don't use stairs, but they're working on a plan to share one with the hotel next door.

As a Canadian mountain biker, I'd love to hear your take on Devinci. But I know they only have a few ebike offerings. Great videos though, keep up the great work!

Loving those new colors! 🎨 America loves the car and SUVs even more. 😉

I have an Electra Townie ebike and it's great, but I keep looking at brands like Riese & Müller and envying the features.

I appreciate propels Spirit and believes

Can you recommend some affordable e-bikes available in Europe? Around euro 1,000 or under?

I have been looking for accesible bikes for so long!!!!! I would love one of those four wheeled ones!!!

Love it. That you for filling the void for mobility reporting (from Euro Bike and beyond) in the North American market.

Great to talk about bicycling in this way. I live in the Netherlands, the estimates are that we have around 35000 km bicycle roads and some are even separated completely from other traffic and outside urban area's mostly parallel on the main road. At present time is the number of bicycle "highways" growing, to create shorter travel times between city''s. (great for speed pedelecs) However the Netherlands is a small country, and cycle distances are manageable. I always kept work within a reasonable distance from where I lived, mostly between 5 to 15 km from home. I think that, when living in a big country, and when people are used to work at great distances from home then your infrastructure gets also to much adapted. to the use of cars. It starts with bringing living and working closer together or even better, work from home if you have a job that you are able to do online. Decision makers in city's or somewhat densely populated area's needs to have the awareness and start building something from scratch, then it may grow. However it took decades to get serious improvements in the Netherlands, with easy exces to information now, things can change faster then in the past. And think outside the box of your life. What is my situation, how can I do it differently. If you have to drive every day 50 or 80 km, how much fuel do you need to buy, just for going to work? It's also hours of living lost in traveling time. Maybe a complete other job less money but no need of a car close to home? I own several bicycles and one Kalkhoff E-bike similar to R&M but still overpriced (5000 euro), however a car will keep on draining your bank account.😟 I'm retired, not rich but enough money to waist on expensive bicycles, we have many retired people with to much money I guess. 😀 However we also have a very bleak future here in Europe.🤔 Germany has to walk back sanctions on gas from Russia or will have to shut down much of its industry. The economic war against Russia is heavily backfiring. We are entering a complete other era! That's why I wonder how things will develop, high petrol prices may help the E-bike industry. Especially when people still has the money and start making changes in their way of life. Although I don't see much future for the car industry, if they not redirect to cheap and reliable. Electric is still to expensive, it depends all on how bad things become. Nearby I also see a lot of electric scooters and E-bikes to rent via smartphone by youth. This seems a very popular development too. These people get used to that and keep on doing that with cars later on I guess. I got rid of my car a long time ago and fully adapted to use bicycles for everything. I therefore have also a transport E-bike in use which is my work horse, if needed with a trailer. The Netherlands, a beautiful country but a bad and dangerous regime in power for now, a problem we will solve.😎 Here an channel what shows how cycling in the Netherlands looks like. ru-vid.comvideos

Congrats for the prize!

What bike is at 52 seconds please?

It is fantastic and exciting to see innovation and I guess it doesn’t matter where that come from. It is manafacturing which needs to be ‘in contintinent’ to keep with the etos of green travel.

This is so cool! I treated myself to a bike for my birthday a couple months ago to help improve my fitness and to use as a commuter bike. I'm enjoying the bike so much that I'm saving up for an electric bike for longer commutes. I'm a musician, so I would either be looking for a cargo bike or a bike trailer so I can haul my guitar and equipment to gigs. My eventual goal, if the electric bike works out like I hope it will, is to get rid of my car, use the regular bike and the electric bike for transportation, and just rent a car or van if I ever need to haul anything substantial (which is hardly ever). I would love to see some electric bikes like these on the market here in the U.S.

We travel full time in an RV and bought 2 Gazelles from Propel. LOVE the bikes. I make it a point to bike in almost every place we go. What’s holding the US back is stupid laws. I continually find bike paths/trails that state that class 3 bikes are prohibited. IMO I can’t imagine buying an ebike that wasn’t a class 3. I never understand why they are prohibited. It would be similar to prohibiting a Maserati from driving on the freeway - merely because it’s capable of going fast! I’m all for speed limits on a bike path, but don’t restrict the class 3 bikes. I need it for the hills:)

Thinking about bikes as (sometimes) sport, exercise & entertainment. Once you shift to thinking about transportation, load capacity, & comfort the game changes, but so do the infrastructure needs. Also incentive programmes, like Ireland’s bike to work scheme. Changing attitudes toward bikes will drive the change of infrastructure. Gazelle owner here, 13 years car~free in Ireland & France

I think Harley Davidson made a nice commitment with the Serial 1 ebikes. The Serial 1 equipped with the Brose motor and Enviolo Belt drive train makes the best, quietest propulsion system of any ebike I've ridden and I have a also very nice R&M Delite with Rohloff e14 for comparison. I think the US ebike market is still recreation vs transportation focused but your helping this transition of thinking along so keep up the good work. I hope all ebike riders will like you, consider themselves as ambassadors for the technology. We can all help improve the ebike's reputation as a viable transportation option.

Sign of the times, the IAA car show has been replaced by EuroBike! I've been to the car show many times in the past, the exhibition area is huge! Looking forward to the videos from it.

I agree with your view of the European bike market. A few years ago, I decided to build a cargo bike with gross weight of 400+ lbs. (rider, bike and cargo) for everyday use. My daily commute is about 20 miles total with an elevation change of five hundred feet. I didn't feel the EU restrictions on power and speed would work well with my requirements, even the US limitations on power were limiting. I don't mind the sharing the streets with the smokers, but I do enjoy the two miles river bike path. So, I do believe the US market and adoption of e-bikes as a general mode of transportation depends on bicycle specific infrastructure to get the general publics acceptance. P.S. I've planned a trip to your store, but july-sept ride from Riverside to Long Beach and back is a serious day trip!

Lived in Boston for 7 years and that's where I picked up my bike as sole way of transportation. Then ended up at a job that required a car to get to so ended up ditching the bike and getting quite chubby. Moved to Stockholm and the change was immediate. Bike was the way but even more after I got an ebike. Last Tuesday, we biked for 45 kms dragging my two toddlers ina chariot and O just didn't feel it. We are at the verge of a paradigm switch

that back seat at 04:28 what is that?

I ride a two wheeled recumbent, that I have converted to an eBike back in 2019, and it has changed my life. As for all the best eBike's coming from Europe, thats easy. Bikes are an excepted part of the European life style. And now that cargo bikes have E-assist, that has really upped the bar. Simple, in most places, bike's are not taken as serious transportation here in the US. Plus where I live, cities are 50+ miles apart. So there is the fact that the US is a large country, and as others have pointed out, its all about cars here. But when gas goes over 5 dollars a gallon and stay's there, things might change. We can only hope.

What’s holding us back is addiction to v8 pick up trucks. In a country where the Ford F-150 is one of the highest selling vehicles and an aspiration vehicle for many Americans, its no wonder why cycling is generally looked down upon. One interesting thing from the experience of Holland is that their success in converting people to bicycles didn’t come from making the roads better for bicycles, but rather it came from making the roads worse for car users.

I agree. I rode a Gazelle for a day rental in Santa Cruz earlier this summer, and it was like magic, CVT, belt drive, custom mid-drive, just amazing. Also had a price of almost 5k. Look, the best car engineers used to be found in detroit and ohio because they grew up with the car culture as a kid, and I feel the same is with Europe, we don't have enough kids growing up exposed to biking culture.

What’s holding us back? Well, I’m from Canada and the weather would be one - extremely hot in summer, extremely cold in winter. Something Europe to experience this last week with the extreme heat. But mainly the fact we have much less dense cities and towns, which lend less well to using a bike for everyday use.

You should include the super thanks feature to your videos! I’ll bet there’s a lot of your fans out there that would love to buy you a cup of coffee or a beer!

The expense of e-bikes can’t be dismissed, but to frame the e-bike concept as ‘alternative transport’ rather than a ‘luxury bicycle’ might be helpful. You’ve featured some people in your videos for whom an e-bike is a tool for their work or way of life, and that’s important I think. Here in the UK we’re exposed to a lot of the European innovations, although we’re a bit behind the continent in terms of urban bicycle infrastructure. What does help though are ‘cycle-to-work’ schemes that let you purchase a decent bike via monthly payments on a tax-exempt salary sacrifice basis, thus actually saving a bit of money.

As an American who is fairly new to bike commuting, Eurobike is exciting. E-Bikes open a world of possibility. What's holding us back? That's an interesting question. Maybe that could be a video essay. I want to know the answer.

Its the car. The car is holding you back.

Q: What's holding us back? A: Not just bikes* *The channel is really good; I'm saying we need lots of changes besides just using bikes more

I too agree that the most interesting innovations are coming out of Europe. Not surprising when you see thousands of cyclists on the streets in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and most other big European cities. I am very interested in some of the light bike innovation coming out of Europe: the Mahle system 25, and Fazua amongst them. Glad to see some of our north american brands working with this stuff: Specialized Cannondale and Trek all come to mind. Very interested to see your views on some of these this year. We live on the West Coast, and our area is rich in cycling infrastructure and getting better. But it has a long way to go to catch up with the European standards.

What's holding us back in the US is mostly infrastructure, and city councils that just see bikes as an annoyance rather than valid transportation. There are over 200 businesses within a mile of my home, and ONE secure bike rack. I asked our nearby bike shop why they had no rack either, and they said "It's not up to us, the city council decides where they go". It doesn't help that there are no bike lanes or shoulders on our local roads either. In terms of quality, I'll give that to most European companies, even if a few of them could use some welding lessons 😉 I go on more than my fair share of group rides in various part of the country, and I've ridden alongside many of the models shown here. The one thing that European bikes do not have, and I know it's due to regulations, is performance. I purposely avoid being behind a European e-bike when there are hills or ramps, because I know they will struggle at best, or at their worst they will just stall and sometimes fall over due to lack of power. When level ground is rare and the next climb is 8% for over half a mile, I'd rather not have to push my bike.

Infrastructure, but I'm seeing some exciting changes coming in the small city I'm in. Protected cycle path on a street is coming!

Hi Chris, another great video, keep up the great work you are doing. On the subject, .....I agree on the whole...... I have a Trek power fly FS4 EQUIPPED, I'm not sure you have even seen one , quite a rare bike, similar to Much more expensive Reese & Muller bikes to name one. I can't fault the bike and would argue that it is every bit as good quality. Bosch, Shimano and Tektro components, just like the premium European bikes. I was a bit shocked at you disregarding the premium American bike brands. Why did you do that?

I full agree. Because is harder to get around with car n truck there.

Can you make a critique/highlight of US bike manufacturers, their pros/cons? Also, what do you think of DIY ebikes?

Have y’all looked at PRIORITY’s eBike and if so is there any comments on their approach as it seems pretty advanced for the entry 1st time buyer? Thanks . -Alex ( a fan of your vids and comprehensive intelligent insights)

That fully-loaded KTM Macina Multi looking 🥵🥵

I like your channel. 👍 A big issue along with infrastructure is theft. Do you want to leave a $3000 eBike locked up outside while you are in the grocery store and have it gone when you come back? Or ride a $150 non e beater bike which will probably still be there when you get back to it? I keep my more expensive bike for weekend rides (mtb) and use my old klunker for going to the market.

Agree with many people. Extremely car centric infrastrucuture and sprawl. Even when they add bike lanes, in many places it's on 6,7,8 lane stroads. Just added as an afterthought so the city/state DOT can say "look we added a bike lane, but no one is riding on it". Who feels safe riding on that kind of infrastructure?

Gates, Fox, Sram/Rockshox, etc.. There are pretty good components from the US too that are used in e-bikes.

Price is probably one of the biggest factors. My first two used cars I ever purchased were both under $10,000. I notice many of the brands you've mentioned as being the "best" ebikes are near or above that. 8, 9, 10 grand. Some even crossing the $15,000 mark for a cargo bike that could be a legitimate car replacement. That is a steep price to pay considering our infrastructure is far from bike friendly for the most part. For instance here in Alaska I wouldn't be able to ride most of those bikes for a majority of the year. Could I justify 10K on something that will sit unused for 7 months? In some distant future, when the US has viable trail systems and protected bike lanes leading to all parts of every city, I think quality ebike adoption will be much more reasonable. Essentially its as if we are asking people to buy an expensive boat when they have no easy access to the water.

thank you for the video. in EU it's illegal to go on ebike that is more powerful than 250 watt, which is making it almost impossible to buy a good bike

I am fascinated by the European bike market from the standpoint of design and the features, but, I would agree with several of the commenters that the pricing is way out of the reach of many US buyers. While the Chinese bikes are more price friendly, I guess it remains to be seen how they will stack up in the long run with regard to reliability. So far on my two Chinese bikes under the Fabulous E-bike and Ariel Rider brands, I have racked up over 2,000 miles with only minor issues, most of which were my doing. I have a Fabulous e-bike EMX 60v One, which costs half of the cost of a Tern and has a more powerful motor, equal quality brakes, better display, a better suspension both front and rear, and way more range. The Terns are beautiful and of course, the Bosch motors are reliable but way under powered. The killer, as I have said, on these European bikes is the price. I am not sure that you get what you paid for holds true regarding the Chinese vs the European bikes. All of that having been said, the major difference is that the US still lags way behind in bike friendly streets. I am fortunate to live in a city where there are 85 miles of paved bike paths beyond the bike lanes through the city center. Minnesota is a very bike friendly state and I contrast that with Massachusetts where I used to live that has very few paved bike trails/paths and is only now creating bike lanes in the major cities. The US has a lot of catching up to do!

I think the auto industry is holding us back. And North American traffic engineers aren't helping with dangerous urban road design. Looking forward to all the innovations you will be introducing us to, Chris.

dying to know if there is a imminent benno/yuba bike update

Strange that in the US they still design urban planning just for cars with also 70% driving a SUV or a Pickup. The ineffectiveness is mind blowing 😮

Could it be the US has a shortage of people willing to spend 5K+ on a first Ebike? Brands like Rad Power, Aventon and Magicycle may not be cutting edge or innovative, but they're all under 2K and a lot of folks in the US are getting a good introduction to Ebikes this way.

What's holding us in the US back, particularly in coastal urban areas, is that our infrastructure was not built for bicycles or pedestrians. Until we have safe, usable infrastructure, most Americans won't accept riding alongside motor vehicles and *maybe* making it to work without a major collision.