The Best Fat Tire eBikes [2024 Edition]

Why We Picked It:

At $1,999 MSRP, it does qualify as a sub-$2,000 eBike by the slimmest of margins, making it an entry level bike that has some pretty incredible features. The Himiway Zebra is for those looking for an excellent urban explorer that can also do some light trail riding, with some pretty serious range per charge.

Powered by 750W, 86 Nm of torque rear hub motor, feeding from a 48V 960 Wh battery, the Zebra can reach up to 80 miles per charge. A Class 3 eBike, it can also do those 80 miles at up to 25 MPH, and on top of that, it has a payload capacity of a pretty hefty 400 lbs. This makes it your commuter, your grocery getter, your trail bike with some gear strapped to its cargo rack... you name it, safe bet is the Zebra can do it.

For climbing those pesky hills, the Zebra has a Shimano Altus 7-speed derailleur, and for slowing down when going down said pesky hill, top tier Tektro Auriga hydraulic brakes with 180mm discs front and rear give you great braking feel and performance. You have 5 PAS levels, a half twist throttle that is good for up to 20 MPH, and a very easy to read, multifuntion, backlit LCD control panel that, just for the sake of it, also has a USB charging port if you mount your phone to your handlebars as well.

You can find the Himiway Zebra on sale almost permanently below $1,600. At that price, there really are very few eBikes that have the payload capacity, range, comfort, and al-around quality of life features that Himiway have shoehorned into the Zebra.

Why We Picked It:

Rad Power is one of those manufacturers you can always depend on to make something amazing and then put it on sale for an insanely low price. At $2,099, it does straddle the budget and mid-tier line, but Rad Power has it almost always on sale for as low at $1,399, and 99.9% of the time under $1,500.

Powered by a 750W, 80 Nm rear hub motor, the RadRover 6 Plus uses a 48V 672 Wh battery to give up to 45 miles of range. It can carry up to 275 lbs of payload, and has 5 PAS levels, a 7-speed derailleur, although to keep the price down, it is a cadence sensor, not a torque sensor. 26x4 fat tires are standard.

What makes the RadRover 6 Plus worthy of consideration is that while it comes with fenders and lights as standard, there are a ton of accessories as well as packages you can buy. There is a city package, an off-road adventure package, and a commuter package, and you can even mix and match the accessories between all of them.

This is a jack-of-some-trades bike is perfect for the rider new to eBikes, and wants to have a high quality, reliable entry level bike that they can customize to their needs. While it doesn't set any speed records or even have the most range of any bike on this list, it is a bike that punches way above its weight, and for that alone, deserves your consideration.

Why We Picked It:

The Aventon Adventure 2 is an eBike that gives you all of the features you need to participate in what it is labelled as, an adventure bike. The original Adventure shook up the market when it landed, so riders expect a lot from its follow up model, launched this year.

It's safe to say that Aventon has met those expectations. A Bafang 750W rear hub drive motor with 75 Nm of torque, feeding from a 48V 720 Wh fully integrated battery gives this off-roader up to 60 miles of range. While that may not sound like much, keep in mind that those 60 miles are meant to be over rough terrain, dirt, mud, gravel, grass... it's a true pathfinder bike, which makes it all the more stunning that it is under $2,000.

What sets it apart from other eBikes in the sub-$2,000 market is that Aventon have equipped the Adventure 2 with a torque sensor instead of a cadence sensor. A feature usually reserved for higher end bikes, it makes the ride feel a lot more natural, and can vary torque as needed to always give you the right amount of grunt. On top of that, the Adventure 2 is ready for the wild with 400 lbs of payload capacity, so you could safely strap a tent, provisions, and a bag to the rear cargo rack and spend a full day and night 20 or 30 miles down a back country trail without worry.

To sweeten the deal even more, it has connectivity to Aventon's smartphone app for Android and iOS, and it comes as Class 3 unlocked for up to 28 MPH of the 4 PAS levels or the thumb throttle. It will commute, explore the urban landscape, trail ride, and get properly off-road... all for under $2,000. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what you call "a bargain."

Why We Picked It:

Michael Blast loves to make eBikes look as vintage and/or retro as possible, while also keeping them up to date with the latest and greatest eBike tech. They have never been the most practical of bikes, either, positioned much more for those wanting to have fun while riding than any serious utility.

However, that is not to say that Soda, an entry-level fat tire urban cruiser bike, is a slouch. Using a Bafang 500W rear hub motor that puts out 65 Nm of torque, it definitely gets up and going without issue. Its 48V 624 Wh battery gives it up to 50 miles of range, either via the 5 PAS levels or the thumb throttle. As a Class 2 eBike, top assist speed is 20 MPH. A full Shimano Altus X7 7-speed derailleur helps with keeping you moving comfortably, and when you need to stop, TSU 180mm front and 160mm rear disc brakes bleed off speed quite rapidly.

Yet, that isn't all about the Soda, as it has a few quirky things about it. It's a small, light bike, with 20x4 Innova fat tires and a total weight with battery of 62 lbs, making it a blast to zip around on as it's agile and responsive. The cadence sensor does a decent enough job of responding to the riders' pedal effort to provide assistance. But to encapsulate the entire feel and fun of the bike, Michael Blast has done something that we truly love and appreciate: It has a bottle opener where the front light would be. It's not at all useful for your day to day riding, but it shows the entire tongue-in-cheek character that made us give this bike a 4.3 out of 5 rating.

Why We Picked It:

The Boar Hunter is a smart ebike. Aimed at hunters, and anyone else looking to spend time offroad and in the bush, the Hunter packs a lot of value into its $2,799 MSRP:

• A good mix of brand name components, including Tektro hydraulic brakes and the SRAM X5 groupset.

• An excellently-calibrated torque sensing pedal assist system

• Front and rear racks

• Fat Kenda Juggernaut 4.5" wide tires

The Boar Hunter is whisper quiet, which is ideal if you intend to go hunting with it, and the included front and rear racks allow you to transport a good amount of gear.

It has a rider max weight capacity of 285 lbs (130 kg), and can carry 55 lbs (25 kg) in each rack, for a total payload of 395 lbs (180 kg).

The Boar Hunter is an affordable upgrade over many "lesser" fat tire ebikes and is one of the best at its price point.

Why We Picked It:

We honestly don't think we've seen an eBike that you can customize quite as much as the Electric Bike Company (EBC) Model R. To just get the base specs out of the way, it has a 750W rear hub motor with 80 Nm of torque, 48V 672 Wh battery, front head light and rear tail light, and comes with 80mm front suspension. There, the base specs are done.

Everything else is customizable. Frame color, fork color, wheel size (26 or 24 inch), rim color, spoke color (!!), fender style, battery up to dual batteries for 150+ miles of range, front and rear cargo racks/baskets, handlebar style, seat style, seat post (sprung or "standard"), throttle (thumb or half-twist), single speed or 7-speed derailleur, upgraded lights, turn signals, and to top it off, you can fit it with a torque sensor.

To put that in perspective, we just listed the basic customizations you can do. Then slap on a 5 year battery and 10 year motor and frame warranty for free, the fact it has a 400 lbs payload capacity, and hydraulic disc brakes (which you can customize)... You can literally make a one-of-a-kind eBike. You can even option on an "Advanced Technology Pack" that upgrades every electronic component, adds turn signals, and even installs an anti-theft alarm system and GPS tracker...

You could spend the base $1,699 MSRP and get a great eBike, or you could spec it up to your exact needs and get a superb eBike. With the Model R, the sky's the limit.

Why We Picked It:

The Blix Ultra is marketed as an all-terrain, extended range eBike that is modular enough to be changed from a commuter to an off-roader and back again within minutes. That modularity is what Blix have built themselves upon, so let's take a closer look at the base specs.

Using a 750W rear hub motor with a meaty 90 Nm of torque, the base bike comes with a 48V 672 Wh battery good for up to 50 miles of range. You have 5 PAS levels, a thumb throttle, and it is a Class 2 eBike unlockable to Class 3 via the Blix app, so it can assist up to 20 or 28 MPH, respectively. There are mounting points all over the bike, although as standard if comes without a cargo rack or fenders, but with a headlight and tail light.

Capable of payloads up to 375 lbs, the options list is where things get interesting. You can have front and/or rear cargo racks/baskets, can fit the rear rack with a passenger or child seat, can have plastic or full metal fenders, even install wheel guards so you can sling a set of saddlebags over the rack.

However, for those needing to go more than 80 miles in a day, the party piece of the Blix Ultra is that it can fit a second 48V 672 Wh battery for a combined 1,344 Wh good for up to 90 or more miles, depending on PAS level used. The rear hub motor can also "over-surge" for very short periods to 1,350W peak, to help you get up a steep hill or over a tough obstacle.

Why We Picked It:

If you're wanting to have superb top speed, amazing acceleration, and a huge chunk of range while doing so, the Juiced RipCurrent S exists just for you.

A 1,000W Bafang rear hub motor puts out a hefty 90 Nm of torque, with power provided by a 52V 922 Wh battery. The bike comes as an unlimited Class 3 eBike, with assist up to 30 MPH, with 5 PAS levels and one of the very few combination cadence and torque sensors on the market. At low speeds it uses the cadence sensor, but once you're up and moving, it switches to the torque sensor to give you better range. Because of this, the RipCurrent S can get up to 70+ miles of range per charge.

The front suspension is a high-end air ride system with 80 mm of travel, and the rear derailleur features 9 speeds, for both great acceleration from a stop and easy top speed cruising. The only downside to all of this speed is that the payload limit is 300 lbs, but to get one of the fastest fat tire eBikes on the market, it's a price many are willing to pay.

Other standard features include a headlight and tail light, metal fenders, a cargo rack, and a thumb throttle.

Why We Picked It:

Specialized have been making bikes for nearly 70 years, so they know a thing or two about how to make a pretty damned good eBike as well. The Globe Haul ST is a hybrid bike, in that it does the commuting and general riding side without issue, but can also haul a ton of payload on top of it.

Using a 700W rear hub motor with 90 Nm of torque, power comes from a 48V 772 Wh battery for up to 60 miles of range. It is a Class 2 eBike, with the ability to unlock to Class 3, but has the fairly standard 5 PAS levels and a thumb throttle good for up to 20 MPH. A SunRace 9-speed derailleur and Tektro Heavy Duty T535 203mm hydraulic brakes round out the base specs.

Yet, that is not the party piece of the Globe Haul ST. That lies in its claimed 420 lbs payload capacity, although reviews and test results we found around the internet claim that it can handle up to 450+ lbs. The rear cargo rack is standard and itself can handle nearly 200 lbs, as it is double reinforced, and the full metal fenders come standard.

What makes this a bike worthy of our list, however, is the fact that there are cargo packages available for it. There is the Passenger kit, which gives you two front cargo buckets, one each side of the wheel, and a passenger cushion on the cargo rack. There's also a cargo pack which gives you four cargo buckets, a front cargo shelf, and baskets to put on both the front and rear cargo racks.

Then there is our favorite, the School Bus Kit: Passenger cushion, two front buckets, a front cargo shelf and basket that can easily fit a backpack, and rear passenger foot pegs and leg guards for the kid.

It is not a cheap bike, the only one on our list that is truly mid-tier at $2,800 MSRP, but if you need to haul a ton of cargo, this is the bike for you. While many eBikes can do a milk-and-eggs grocery run, this is perhaps the one eBike on this list that can do a whole week's worth of groceries!