Lightweight electric bikes: 17 of the lightest compared

The lightest electric bikes weigh 11.5 to 20 kg (25 to 44 lb), and the price climbs fast as the number drops. Below 15 kg (33 lb) you are mostly buying a road bike with a small hidden battery.

This guide is for anyone shopping for an e-bike they can lift onto a rack or carry up a flight of stairs. Every weight below is the maker’s own published figure, checked November 12, 2026. We have not weighed these bikes, and our e-bike weight comparison covers the heavier full-power bikes that sit around 26 kg (58 lb).

What are the lightest electric bikes you can buy?

The lightest e-bike we found is the Trek Domane+ SL 7 AXS Gen 5 at 11.47 kg (25.3 lb). Here are 17 light models from 12 makers, lightest first.

Trek, Specialized, Ribble and Brompton publish kilograms. Canyon, Fiido, Aventon, Velotric, Ride1Up, Urtopia and Lectric publish pounds, which we converted at 2.20462 lb per kg. Cannondale gives 16 kg only in its marketing text, with no frame size.

Prices tell the same story as the weights. The six bikes under 15 kg cost $3,685 to $9,499.99 (or £5,799), except the Fiido Air at $1,979. Under $2,000 the light end is 30.31 to 41 lb, and the two Lectrics, at $999 and $1,099, trade weight for price.

Giant does not publish a weight for its Defy Advanced E+ Elite AR at all. Its page says “the most accurate way to determine any bike’s weight is to have your local dealer weigh it for you,” which is fair advice and also a missing spec on a $7,350 bike.

Does the weight include the battery?

Only 6 of these 17 makers say so in words. Fiido, Brompton, Velotric, Urtopia and Lectric (for the XP Lite3) state the weight with the battery in, and four of them also give a figure without it.

Those pairs show what the battery costs you. Velotric lists the Tempo at 39 lb with the battery and 34 lb without, so its 374 Wh pack weighs about 5 lb. Urtopia’s numbers give the same 5 lb, and Lectric states 8 lb for the 672 Wh XP Lite3 pack. Brompton gives the T Line at 13.8 kg with the battery and 10.5 kg without, a 3.3 kg pack. Its C Line page implies 3.75 kg for the same 345 Wh battery, a 0.45 kg disagreement Brompton does not explain.

Lectric’s XPress Lite is the odd one out. It lists 45.6 lb “w/o battery,” then a 6 lb battery, so we added them to get 51.6 lb. The same page also lists 46.9 lb “with front tire removed,” which cannot be lighter than the bike with its wheel on. We used the sum.

Urtopia prints three weights for the Carbon 1 Step-Thru on one page: 41 lb “bike weight,” 38 lb “net weight” without the rack, kickstand, fenders and pedals, and a 36 lb figure from a press quote. We used 41 lb, because that is the bike as it arrives. Fiido’s product page says 30.31 lb for the Air, while a post on Fiido’s own blog says 13 kg (28 lb). We used the product page.

Will a light e-bike fit your bike rack?

Most light e-bikes fit a roof rack and few fit a trunk rack. Against the rack limits from our main weight guide, here is how the 17 score.

The Cannondale Tesoro Carbon 2 misses the trunk rack by 0.3 lb, and the Turbo Vado SL 2, sold as a light e-bike, misses the roof rack by 0.7 lb. On a rack, the battery-out figure is your margin: a 39 lb Tempo becomes 34 lb, which slips under the Saris limit.

Why are light e-bikes light?

A light e-bike saves most of its weight in the motor and the battery. The drive systems in these bikes weigh 1.2 to 2 kg (2.6 to 4.4 lb), and every bike under 15 kg that names its battery carries 250 to 360 Wh.

Compare that with a full-power cargo bike. Rad Power Bikes’ own two figures for the RadWagon 5 put its 720 Wh pack at 10.4 lb (4.7 kg), more than twice the TQ 360 Wh pack. So a light e-bike starts with less energy on board, and the watt-hours you give up are range you don’t have on a long day.

Two makers sell the fix as an add-on. TQ lists a 160 Wh range extender at 960 g, and Ribble sells a 171 Wh battery that sits in a bottle cage. That lets you carry the extra weight only on the days you need it. To see how much battery your own ride needs, put your distance into our range calculator before you pick a 250 Wh bike.

Do light e-bikes carry less weight?

Often, yes. Ribble rates the 13.7 kg CGR E AL Sportfit for 120 kg (265 lb) in total, including the bike, which leaves 106.3 kg (234 lb) for you and your bags.

Canyon caps the Endurace:ONfly CF 7 at 264.6 lb in total and 240.34 lb for the rider with luggage, clothing and seat packs. Urtopia lists a 240 lb payload for the Carbon 1 Step-Thru, and Lectric 275 lb for the XP Lite3. The Velotric Tempo allows 330 lb. If you weigh more than 200 lb (91 kg) before your backpack, read our e-bike weight limit guide before you shortlist anything here.

Which light e-bike should you buy?

Buy the heaviest bike your hardest lift allows, because each kilogram you save past that point costs money and battery. These rules come from the tables above.

• If the bike goes on a roof rack or up stairs every day, stay at or under 44 lb (20 kg). That still leaves 13 of these 17, from $1,295 up.
• If it has to go on a 35 lb trunk rack, you are choosing from 6 bikes, and all but the Fiido Air cost $3,685 or more.
• If your budget is under $2,000, the Velotric Tempo is the safest number: 39 lb with the battery stated, 374 Wh and a 330 lb maximum load, at $1,449.
• If your round trip is long, the 672 Wh Lectric XP Lite3 at 49 lb carries nearly twice the battery of most bikes here, for $999.

The e-bike brands and models hub lists every model guide we have, and our folding electric bike guide goes deeper on the Bromptons and Lectrics if the bike also has to fold.

What do buyers get wrong about light e-bikes?

Trusting the lightest number on the page. Urtopia prints 41, 38 and 36 lb for one bike, and only the 41 lb is the bike you receive.

Comparing a road bike with a city bike. Three of the five lightest here are road or gravel bikes. Apart from the Fiido Air, the city bikes in this set weigh 35.3 to 51.6 lb.

Forgetting the range. The bikes under 15 kg carry 250 to 360 Wh where stated. A Rad cargo pack holds 720 Wh.

Assuming light means strong enough. Ribble’s 120 kg system limit includes the 13.7 kg bike.

Paying for grams you can get free. On a bike with a removable battery, taking it out before a lift saves about 5 to 8 lb in these makers’ figures.

Where these numbers come from

Every weight, battery size, price and load limit is the maker’s own US or UK product page, loaded and re-checked on November 12, 2026, with exact quotes in our evidence ledger. Motor and battery weights come from TQ, MAHLE, Bosch and FAZUA’s own pages. Rack limits and lifting figures come from our main e-bike weight comparison, checked November 11, 2026.

Conversions, battery weights from paired figures, and every pass count are our calculations. We weighed none of these bikes. Ribble’s page served us a US-dollar price, so we could not confirm its UK price, and Gocycle’s and Orbea’s pages would not load, so neither brand appears.