Tech
I Have Biked an Insane Number of Miles to Find the Best Electric Bicycles
Other Ebikes We Like
Bike Friday All-Day for $5,600: Bike Friday bills the irresistibly tiny All-Day (7/10, WIRED Review) as the world’s lightest Bosch-powered ebike, and it’s true. You can customize all the colors and components of this folding electric bike, and it has a surprisingly powerful motor for its size. The Brompton above is more widely available and easier to use, but I love this little bike a lot.
Radio Flyer Via Pro for $2,900: Editor Julian Chokkattu could not have had a better experience than this easy-to-use and easy-to-assemble class 2 electric cargo bike. For more info, check out our guide to the Best Electric Cargo Bikes.
GoTrax Mustang for $1,799: We liked the Mustang, which is a surprisingly punchy little bike for just the right price. However, it only comes in one size so you should try it if you can before you buy it.
Aventon Level 3 for $1,899: The Aventon Level 3 is an easy-to-ride ebike that features a clean, step-through design and every feature you could want in a standard-size ebike for riding around town. There are built-in fenders and lights, and a big color display shows you how much of the up to 70 miles of advertised range you have remaining. I have ridden it up to about 25 miles at a time with my heavy 6’2″ frame, easily ending my rides with 20 percent of battery left. The frame feels comfortable and sturdy, thanks to a double-walled construction and improved Shimano gears and brakes. The front suspension fork and semi-hidden suspension seat post add to comfort relative to other bikes I’ve tested in this price range, and I like that the Aventon app lets you set up things like remote locking and geofencing, so you can keep an eye on your expensive bike from afar. The built-in turn signals, which use the bike’s rear lights, are another bonus when riding in cities at night. —Parker Hall
Tenways CGO800S for $1,799: This is a budget step-through city ebike. It boasts up to 50 miles of battery life, and I got more than 30. The torque sensor is smooth and responsive to pedaling at various speeds. However, there’s no throttle, and because this bike is meant to fit riders of a huge range of sizes (they say 5’1” to 6’3”), the frame was not as comfortable to pedal for me (5’11”) as some large-size bikes. —Martin Cizmar
Aventon Ramblas for $2,899: Aventon made a mountain bike! It’s a lot of bike for an affordable price, but just a little too heavy to take out for its intended use case. It makes a nice, rugged commuter, however.
Linus eDutchi for $1,799: Need a comfy cruiser? The Linus eDutchi is a comfy class 1 ebike with beautiful colors and loads of proprietary accessories.
Electra Loft Go! for $960: I also love the Electra Loft Go! (7/10, WIRED Recommends), which is another comfy sit-up beach cruiser, but the Priority has a slightly more powerful motor for the same price.
Xtracycle Estoker for $4,499: This is probably the bike that I see most often in my Portland, Oregon, neighborhood. It has a durable, sturdy Chromoly steel frame and larger 24-inch wheels, along with a Shimano mid-drive motor that makes it perfect for more grueling conditions. Unfortunately, you do have to be over 5’6″ (which I am not) to ride it.
Gazelle Eclipse for $6,399: If you want to know just how great the Bosch system can be, the Eclipse (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the more expensive version of the Radster Road above. It has a nicer shifter, a smarter motor—even the paint job is nicer. It’s just much more expensive.
The Gocycle G4I+ for $5,999: Gocycle’s high-end, fast-folding luxury bikes are designed by a former McLaren engineer. This quieter, lighter iteration has better torque, a new carbon-fiber front fork, and an even more painful price.
The Bunch Original Electric Cargo Bike for $6,499: I didn’t care for the Bunch (5/10, WIRED Review), but my family did. It’s a standard, if slightly expensive, box bike as you might see in Europe. It’ll work well if you live in a flat area and don’t have to go very fast.
Bikes We Dislike
Pass on the left.
The Retrospec Jax Rev for $1,100: We wanted to love this sleek, stylish folding bike, but we couldn’t help worrying about its durability.
Niu Electric Bike BQi-C3 Pro for $999: Commerce director Martin Cizmar tested this bike and had a litany of complaints. The riding position is too aggressive, and the bike frame doesn’t fit common components like a water bottle and his pannier. The disc brakes weren’t suited to stopping it from 28 mph.
FAQs
How Does WIRED Procure Ebikes?
Bike companies reach out to me, and I request testers in my size. Once I have finished testing, I either return the bikes to the manufacturer, the shop that assembled them, or donate them to nonprofit organizations.
How Do You Secure an Ebike?
Many ebikes have removable batteries, displays, or built-in wheel locks that make securing your bike much easier. Other bikes, like the Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2, are also compatible with Apple Find My. Check out our Best Ebike Locks guide for more options.
Should I Build My Own Bike?
Many affordable bikes now come direct-to-consumer—meaning that they are pre-tuned or partially assembled in a box. As Peter Flax recently noted in Bicycling magazine, these bikes do not get nearly the testing or vetting that bikes from a bigger manufacturer get. Unless you’re not riding much or for many miles, or are experienced with modifying your own bike, I recommend working with an established manufacturer that has a dealer network.
What Terrain Do You Live On?
If you live in a flat area, you’re probably fine with a 250-watt motor, which is the European speed standard. However, if you live near hills or haul a lot of stuff, you might want to consider a 500-watt or 750-watt motor and a few extras, like hydraulic disc brakes, which will help prevent you from skidding into traffic.
How Do I Prevent Bike Fires?
The idea of your garage suddenly setting alight is terrifying, but don’t worry—the batteries that manufacturers use today are much safer than those of yore. We only write about bikes that have been certified safe by a third-party organization. Also, exercise a bit of common sense. Do not leave your bike battery charging overnight in a boiling hot garage. Don’t use aftermarket accessories to charge your bike. And don’t plug in a battery that has deformed or smells weird, or try to turn on a bike with a cracked display or computer.
Follow Some Basic Safety Tips
Not sure where to start? The biking advocacy group PeopleForBikes has a safety education program, E-Bike Smart, which it created in collaboration with the League of American Bicyclists and Bicycle Colorado. Do not let your children ride your bike unsupervised. An 80-pound child should not be piloting a 65-pound bike, even if the motor makes it possible for them to do so. And always wear a helmet, but you already know that. Right?
Over the past few years, WIRED’s Reviews team has tried almost every kind of electric bike, from the best heavy-duty cargo bikes to high-end mountain bikes. We review upward of 50 new ebikes a year by riding them on a variety of terrain for at least 40 miles over the course of at least two weeks. We test cargo bikes by hauling kids and groceries, we ride mountain and gravel bikes on trails, and we test commuter bikes while running errands on regular city streets (including up and down steep hills). In addition to our real-life testing, we also evaluate specs like weight, tire size, battery life, motor power, and the sourcing of key components.
Whenever I talk to anyone about a possible ebike purchase, the biggest deterrent is usually the price. If this is you, check out our guide to the Best Cheap Ebikes. But I do want to say here that these are vehicles, not toys. When I’m carrying my kids to school or flying down a hill at 25 mph, I want the safest possible ride, and I think you should too.
Reasonable auto financing options are the only reason a $2,000 electric bike can feel prohibitively expensive while a $6,000 beater gas-powered car has easy monthly payments. Many states now feature incentive programs that offer rebates or tax credits for ebike purchases. Some bike manufacturers and retailers offer financing through companies like Affirm or PayPal. Your bank might cover ebikes under its vehicle loan program, and I also recommend looking at eBay locally, Craigslist, or local Facebook groups. You probably have more options than you think.
Ebike Classifications and Rules
Before you buy your electric bike, make sure you can actually use it! Many cities and states have laws regulating when and where you can ride an ebike. Check out our guide on the three classes of ebikes. At least 22 states now use this three-class system, and they may restrict when and where different classes of ebikes are used, depending on whether they have a throttle or can assist above 20 mph. Cities may also have laws about whether mountain ebikes are allowed on single-track trails. If your state classifies ebikes under the same laws governing motorcycles and mopeds, you may need a license to ride one.
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For airlines to run critical operations on networks that are set up and run for them, removing the complexity and cost of managing connectivity themselves, air industry tech firm SITA has launched a new network solution designed to support the demands of complex airport and transport environments.
With around 2,500 customers, SITA technology supports more than 1,000 airports and more than 19,600 aircraft worldwide. The company said that it also helps more than 70 governments “strike the balance between secure borders and seamless journeys” and connects 45-50% of the industry’s data exchange to enable complex global networks to operate smoothly and reliably.
As part of the latter aim, the SITA Campus Network, powered by HPE Aruba Networking, aims to offer a managed network service covering more than 150 countries wherein SITA takes care of the design, procurement, shipping, installation, configuration and support for all devices involved. Boasting a low total cost of ownership (TCO), SITA is proposing “one of the most competitive” fully managed local area network/wireless local area network (LAN/WLAN) available in the industry.
Explaining the rationale for the launch, SITA noted that managing networks across multiple locations, devices and suppliers is complex and costly. Furthermore, it said that when networks are fragmented, performance suffers and disruptions can spread quickly.
SITA Campus Network is attributed with being able to remove this burden by delivering a fully managed network across wired and wireless environments. The campus network is claimed to combine “robust” connectivity with centralised, cloud-based management to ensure consistent, reliable performance across airport campuses and other large transport hubs.
Designed for high-density environments such as terminals, hangars and airline operations centres, the solution is said to support large volumes of users and devices without compromising performance, even during peak demand. By integrating HPE technology into its managed service, SITA’s customers get a network that is centrally operated by SITA while retaining the flexibility to use different technologies and vendors.
Available in more than 145 countries, with 24/7 operational support, SITA assured that by reducing the need for costly hardware and simplifying operations the network lowers both upfront investment and ongoing costs. Its pay-as-you-go model allows customers to scale usage up or down based on demand, with rapid deployment across locations.
This is said to reduce the need for on-site support, spare equipment and recurring training, freeing up IT teams to focus on higher-value activities. Where needed, the campus network connects to SITA’s global wide-area network services. This connectivity links more than 600 airports worldwide.
As is the norm with other leading networking solutions, the SITA Campus Network uses AI to improve visibility across the network, detect issues earlier and automate troubleshooting, helping reduce downtime. It also provides centralised management, allowing infrastructure and devices to be monitored and controlled across both on-site systems and remote environments.
Martin Smillie SITA senior vice-president of communications and data exchange, said integrating diverse systems and devices across airport environments is becoming more complex as operations become more connected: “At the same time, expectations on performance, resilience and security continue to rise. With SITA Campus Network powered by Aruba, we take on that complexity. We deliver a network that is set up, run and continuously optimised, so our customers can focus on keeping operations moving while maintaining control across increasingly demanding environments.”
Sujai Hajela, executive vice-president and general manager for enterprise campus and branch at HPE, added: “Airports and airlines have to support thousands of staff, passengers and mission critical systems across terminals, gates and airside areas – and any network issue shows up immediately as delays and frustration.
“SITA Campus Network powered by HPE Aruba Networking is built on our secure, AI-native technology to deliver a self-driving network that spots and fixes problems in real time, often before anyone notices, so operations keep moving and passengers stay connected.”
Tech
Chinese hackers using compromised networks to spy on Western companies, says Five Eyes | Computer Weekly
China-linked hackers are using networks of vulnerable internet-connected devices, including home routers, printers and smart devices, as cover to mount espionage and hacking operations.
The technique is now used by the majority of China-linked hackers as a way to obscure hacking and espionage attacks launched against organisations in the West.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and national agencies in nine other countries have warned today that Chinese-linked groups are now leveraging networks of infected devices “at scale” to target critical sectors globally and steal sensitive data.
According to an advisory issued by the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance – comprising the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – and 10 other countries, Chinese groups are exploiting security vulnerabilities in unpatched internet devices to create networks to use as a staging post to launch further attacks.
“We know that China’s intelligence and military agencies now display an eye-watering level of sophistication in their cyber operations,” said NCSC chief Richard Horne in a speech at its CyberUK conference in Glasgow.
Covert networks hide ‘indicators of compromise’
The agencies warn that the Chinese tactics are making it difficult for organisations to detect and attribute malicious attacks on their computer networks using traditional “indicators of compromise”.
Chinese groups, for example, could use a UK-based infected device as a staging post to hack into a UK-based company, meaning that blocking non-UK IP addresses no longer provides a defence for overseas attacks.
They advise companies to adopt “adaptive, intelligence-driven measures” to better mitigate the risks, including monitoring traffic from internet-connected devices, virtual private networks (VPNs) and remote access devices to identify suspicious traffic.
Chinese-linked groups are able to evade detection by exploiting low-cost networks of infected devices that can rapidly be reconfigured so that traditional static IP block lists are no longer effective.
The networks are used for each phase of a cyber attack, from reconnaissance and malware delivery, to command and control and data exfiltration against targets of espionage and offensive cyber operations, according to the advisory.
Covert networks behind major hacking operations
Covert networks of compromised devices have been used by the Chinese state-sponsored group Volt Typhoon to pre-position for future attacks on critical national infrastructure (CNI).
The group has targeted communications, energy, transport and water services in the US, and has been able to maintain covert access to critical IT systems for five years or more.
It used a network of vulnerable Cisco and NetGear routers, which were no longer supported by the manufacturers and were no longer receiving updates of security patches.
Another Chinese group, Flax Typhoon, has used a covert network of 260,000 compromised devices, including routers, firewalls, webcams and CCTV cameras, to conduct cyber espionage against targets in multiple countries.
Hacking as a service
Chinese hacking groups have a choice of covert networks, each with potentially hundreds of thousands of endpoints, which frequently change, making it more difficult for companies targeted to block attacks, according to the advisory.
Chinese information security companies have maintained networks of infected devices, available as a service for Chinese-linked hacking groups.
Chinese company Integrity Technology Group controlled a network known as Raptor Train, which infected more than 200,000 devices worldwide in 2024.
Companies advised to take countermeasures
The NCSC advises companies to map internet-connected devices in their organisation and corporate VPNs, so they can understand which traffic is legitimate.
They should also introduce multifactor authentication (MFA) when employees use remote connections to dial into business networks.
Larger organisations can profile incoming connections based on operating systems, time zones, and the organisation’s systems configurations to identify legitimate traffic.
The Five Eyes and the NCSC advise the most at-risk organisations to actively track Chinese advanced persistent threats (APTs), using threat reports supplied by the NCSC to create dynamic block lists and rules to detect incoming threats.
“In recent years, we have seen a deliberate shift in cyber groups based in China utilising these networks to hide their malicious activity in an attempt to avoid accountability,” said Paul Chichester, NCSC director of operations. “We call on organisations to act now to better defend their critical assets.”
Chirp reinvented the wheel—or at least one type, the yoga wheel. Chirp Wheels are effective in relieving upper and lower back pain, sciatica, and tension headaches. WIRED contributor Hannah Singleton has said the Chirp Wheel XR-3 Pack has even helped undo her tech neck and alleviate her brain fog.
Recently, the wellness brand has expanded beyond its flagship wheels into recovery gear. The lineup now includes powered rolling massagers (which I’ve been using a lot lately for back pain relief), TENS units, and even a full massage table (Chirp Contour) that I’m currently testing (stay tuned for the full review). Where Chirp stands out from heavyweights like Hyperice and Therabody is in its simplicity and value. The products tend to focus on doing one thing well rather than piling on features you may never use. Chirp promos and discounts run frequently on the Chirp website, and we have Chirp discount codes, so you can get an even better deal on recovery gear that’s already reasonably priced.
Save up to 67% on Chirp Products With Daily Deals
I like checking Chirp’s Daily Deals page because the exclusive offers rotate frequently, and you can save as much as 67%. I’ve spotted the Chirp Wheel XR 3-Pack on there, but you’ll also find different versions of the wheel, along with storage accessories. Some wheels skip the pressure-point nodes, which can feel better if you’re focusing on improving spinal mobility and flexibility rather than digging into stubborn knots. If the Chirp RPM Mini pops up at a special discount, it’s worth considering for your first purchase. It’s essentially an electric roller that kneads muscles more gently than most percussive massage guns; it also comes with a carrying case, so you can toss it in a bag and take it with you.
Get a Free Chirp Wheel+ Deep Tissue 2-Pack When You Spend $99 or More
Spend $99 or more, and Chirp will throw in a complimentary Chirp Wheel+ Deep Tissue 2-Pack, which retails for $75. The bundle includes two wheels: a 6-inch Deep Tissue Wheel designed for larger muscle groups and a 4-inch Focus Wheel meant to target trigger points in the neck and other small areas. You’ll need to sign up for the email newsletter to claim the freebie before adding it to your order.
Get Free Shipping on Chirp Orders Over $75
Chirp customers receive free shipping on U.S. orders over $75, and the perk stacks with the brand’s daily deals and most codes. If you time it right, you can shave a decent chunk off the final price. No promo code at checkout required.
Chirp Discount Code: Select Customers Can Get 15% Off
Chirp offers a 15% discount to certain groups through an online verification process. That includes: active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their dependents; first responders and law enforcement officers; medical professionals and healthcare workers; and teachers and academic administrators at any grade level.
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