Step-Through EBike Showdown: Which E-Bike Is the Best Fit? The Ultimate Step-Thru E-Bike Comparison

Comparing all three of the Simple step-through e-bikes helps you figure out which one is right for you.

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry. Today, we're going to be comparing all three of the simple step-through e-bike versions to help you figure out which one may be right for you. All right, so right here we've got the Simple step-through. This is the brand new version with the suspension fork in the front and the integrated lights. This is the 26 by three-inch tire, fat tire version with a 750-watt motor and a 14-amp-hour battery. This is our 26-inch by two-inch tire with a 500-watt motor and a 10-amp-hour battery. And right here, we've got our 20-inch version with the two-inch wide tires with a 500-watt motor and a 10-amp-hour battery. Now, if you're looking for a step-through e-bike and trying to figure out which one is right for you, let's walk through each one of these and kind of go through the features of each one, and which rider may be right for that particular model. So starting over here on the right is our 20-inch version. Now this is a very compact, lightweight version, and when I say lightweight, it's 55 pounds with the battery. In the world of e-bikes, that's pretty light. You can take the battery off and remove it, which would then take it down to 47 pounds. The cool thing, too, is that the handlebars fold down, which makes it very compact, easy to transport in the back of a trunk, sedan, SUV, pickup truck, you name it. 

Great for transportation. Also, this can accommodate riders who are approximately four feet 10, and it has a low step-over height of about eight and a half inches. So if you are a shorter rider who really wants something that's very easy to mount and dismount, this is the e-bike for you. Now you can pedal this without the motor. However, if you plan to do a lot of riding without assistance, this may not be the best choice. With the smaller tires, it is a little harder to move longer distances because you'll have to go, and you'll have to pedal more rotations to keep it moving. Now, again, if you wanna use it in low-level assistance, it's great, it's easy. And again, it's very easy to control because it is very compact. I know a lot of e-bikes, they're big, they're heavy. Sometimes they're hard to control. This one's very easy, very compact, a good zippy little e-bike to get around, to use for short-range transportation. That would be why I would pick this one. Also, again, if you're someone who struggles to mount a full-size bike, it's very easy to get on and off of this. So this is our easiest to mount e-bike in the entire Sixthreezero lineup. And I have never even seen an e-bike with a lower step-over height than this one right here. Good for short-range, commuting, errands, and transportation. Also, if you wanna use it without the pedal assist or throttle, you can, but I wouldn't go long distances.

Now, moving up to the 26-inch, this is the same e-bike, but with bigger tires, and you've got a step-over height of 10 and a half inches. So a little bit higher, this can accommodate riders five feet and above. And the cool thing about this version is that if you wanna pedal without the motor, it will be easy. Also, if you wanna pedal at low levels of assistance, this is really designed to function like a traditional bicycle. Again, you can ride it on flat ground, and it'll feel normal. Now, climbing hills, it is a heavier e-bike, so you'll wanna use the assistance. But other than that, it rides, feels, and looks just like a regular bicycle. So this is really great for long-range rides, also transportation, but exercise is a good option on this one, or just recreational riding around for fun is a good option as well. So this version weighs 58 pounds. So about three pounds heavier than the 20-inch version with the battery, without the battery, about 50 pounds. So again, you're moving up in weight as we're increasing the frame size, but you can see not much of a weight difference between the two of these. That's because a lot of the weight really lies in the motor and the battery. Okay, now down to our third option, which is our fat tire version. Now we're moving up a step in height, a little bit more. So this is 15 and a half inches. So about a four-inch jump from our middle version here. And again, if you're concerned about the step-over height, this may not be right for you. Now this one has a 750-watt rear hub motor and a 14 amp-hour battery, and it weighs 71 and a half pounds. So increasing the motor size and increasing the battery size increases the weight of this by 13 and a half pounds versus the other version right here. So that's a relatively significant step up in weight, especially if you're looking to transport it, get on and off a rack, just keep that in mind.

Now you can take the battery off, it'll reduce the weight by about nine pounds, so you'll come down to about 62 and a half pounds. But something to think about when you think about going up to a fatter tire version. Now, this is a great option for someone, either A, if you're heavier, I would say 240 pounds and above, or 230 pounds and above. If you're taking on a lot of hills, it'll be nice to have that extra power. Also, if you do any all-terrain riding, going off-road, dirt trails, things like that, again, it'll be nice to have these fatter tires to ride on those terrains. Camping, things like that, this is a great option. The other upside of the bigger tire is that there is additional shock absorption. So the fatter tire will absorb a lot more of those vibrations. Now, on the flip side, it's gonna create more resistance while you ride. So, pedaling without the pedal assist of the motor will be more challenging with a fatter tire. You'll also drain your battery quicker with a fatter tire as you use more assistance. Now you do have a larger battery on this version, so we're trying to offset the fatter tire with more battery range. But again, if you're someone who likes to pedal, you can do it on this one, but without the motor, it'll be more challenging than on either of these two versions. So you may just always wanna be running in like a level one or level two pedal assist, which is fine. You can do that. Just up to the type of riding that you wanna do. The other thing I'll just point out is that all of these have seven speeds or gears, as you'd have on a traditional bicycle. Those are shifted to your right hand. They all have a throttle. These two have a thumb throttle that you press, so you can press that and go without pedaling. This one has a twist throttle. All three have the same middle display. It's a large middle display. It'll tell you everything you need to know about your rides.

Your pedal assist level, how fast you're going, and your battery life. Also, all three have mechanical disc brakes, so you've got great stopping power on all three of them. So I hope that helps. If you're looking for a step-through e-bike, comparing all three of these, if you have any other questions at all, please comment below or reach out to us at theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us at 310-982-2877. Don't forget, all three are linked in the description if you want to check them out. In addition to that, we offer a 30-day test ride on your e-bike policy. If you don't love your e-bike in the first 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. Also, we warranty everything for one year. Anything goes wrong in the first year, we take care of it, parts and labor. And in addition to that, if you want to come out for a test ride, we're here in San Clemente, California, at 1046 Kairokoto Unit K. Come test ride all of our e-bikes before you purchase and join our community. We have a Facebook group called Sixthreezero Pedalers. There are thousands of members in the group. Join before you purchase to talk to existing riders to ensure you're making the right choice. Then, when you have yours, post in the group, make friends, and finally download the app to track your rides and compete on the leaderboard. So thanks for sticking around, and don't forget, it's your journey or experience. Enjoy the ride.