Over the last couple of years a new generation of lightweight electric bikes has been released. These are sometimes known as SL or ‘super light’ bikes. They often cost around the same as a ‘full power’ electric bike and can be used for similar types of riding. In this blog we are going to look at some of the pros and cons of lightweight electric bikes.
In terms of weight a full power Trek Verve+2 hybrid electric bike weighs around 24kg. A lightweight Trek FX+2 hybrid will weigh around 17kg. A non-electric Trek FX 2 hybrid will be around 11kg. So, the lightweight electric bikes sit between a non-electric and full power bike.
Lightweight electric bikes come with a smaller motor and smaller battery than a full power electric bike. One of the easiest ways to understand the difference between a lightweight and full power electric bike is how much assistance they give. Specialized talk about how many times your own power is amplified. So, for their full power Turbo Levo electric mountain bike it is 4x your power. For a lightweight Turbo Levo SL it is 2x your power.