8 Lightest Electric Bikes 2026: Ride Light, Skip the Stairs Drama

I once carried an e-bike up four flights of stairs to a flat with no lift, in the rain, with a bag of shopping still hanging off the bars. I do not recommend it. That bike weighed close to 25kg and by the second landing my arms had filed a formal complaint.

Lightness on an e-bike isn't a spec-sheet vanity metric. It's the difference between wheeling your bike onto a train without holding up the platform, getting it up a step into your hallway without a run-up, and actually riding the thing without the motor once the battery's flat. The lighter the bike, the more it behaves like a bike rather than a fridge with pedals.

This list is the genuinely light, non-folding e-bikes worth your money right now — city, commuter and road-hybrid machines you ride rather than fold. If you specifically want something that folds flat for a train commute, I've covered the lightest folding e-bikes separately — that's a different job and a different shortlist.

Under 15kg

Trek Domane+ AL 5 — the road bike that happens to have assist

Trek built this on their endurance road platform, not a heavy city chassis, so it comes in at around 14kg — light enough that you barely notice the motor when it runs out. The hub-drive system tops out its assist at 25km/h and hides a 250Wh battery in the down tube, which is enough for a proper commute rather than a lap of the block. Aluminium frame, disc brakes, and geometry built for all-day comfort rather than a racing crouch — this is a road bike for getting somewhere, not a time trial rig.

See it at Chevin Cycles →

Ampler Curt — Estonian minimalism, barely there

Ampler build bikes that look like they've had every unnecessary gram surgically removed, and the Curt is their lightest at 14.1kg with the belt-drive version. A 250W rear hub motor with 45Nm of torque and a 336Wh battery gets you 50–100km depending on how hard you lean on it, and the whole thing charges over USB-C like it's 2026, because it is. Double-butted aluminium frame, carbon fork, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes — nothing showy, just a very good city bike that happens to have assist built in cleanly.

See it at Ampler →

15-18kg

Tenways CGO600 — the belt-drive bargain

This is the bike that made Tenways' name, and it's the one I point people to when they ask for "light, simple, doesn't look like an e-bike." Net weight is 15kg, there's a Gates carbon belt instead of an oily chain, and the Mivice rear hub motor gives you 70–130km of range from a 252Wh battery depending on how much you pedal. At £935 it's also one of the cheapest genuinely light e-bikes on this list — the spec doesn't feel cut to hit that price.

See it at Velorution →

Tenways CGO600 Pro — the CGO600 with the volume turned up

Same belt-drive, same clean lines, but the Pro adds torque-sensing assistance that responds to how hard you're actually pedalling rather than lurching on and off. Net weight sits around 16.8kg — still light enough to carry up a step without theatrics — for £1,530. If the standard CGO600 is the bike, the Pro is the bike once you've decided you actually care how the assist feels underfoot.

See it at Velorution →

Cannondale Compact Neo — small wheels, proper bike

Worth a word here because people assume this one folds — it doesn't, not properly. The pedals and stem fold flat for storage, same as plenty of "normal" bikes, but the frame is rigid, so it's on this list rather than the folding one. At 18kg it's not the lightest thing here, but a 250W Hyena rear-hub motor, 40Nm of torque and a genuinely small footprint make it one of the easiest e-bikes to live with in a flat with no shed. Around $1,900 in the US, 20" wheels, hydraulic brakes, and up to 75km of range from a hidden 250Wh battery.

See it at Bicycles NYC →

Heavier but exceptional

Tenways CGO009 — the smart one

At 21kg net this is well past "light" by the standards of the rest of this list, but it earns its place — integrated GPS tracking, a boost button, and Tenways' most refined motor tuning to date, all wrapped in the same ruler-drawn design language. It's the pick if you want a genuinely smart commuter and are willing to trade a few kilos for the feature set. £1,700 at Velorution.

See it at Velorution →

Trek District+ 2 Belt Lowstep — heavier, but you'll forgive it

At around 24kg this is the heaviest bike on this list by some margin, and I'm including it anyway because it's the most affordable way into a proper Bosch mid-drive city bike with a grease-free belt drive — no oil on your trousers, no dropped chain on the way to dinner. The low-step frame makes it easy to get on and off in a coat, and Bosch's Performance Line motor means the extra weight disappears the moment you press the pedal. £2,700 at Velorution.

See it at Velorution →

The verdict

If you want the lightest possible ride and don't mind spending, the Trek Domane+ AL 5 or the Ampler Curt are as close to a normal bike as an e-bike gets — under 15kg, barely there. If you want the best value for genuinely light, the Tenways CGO600 is hard to beat at £935. And if you've decided a few extra kilos are worth it for a mid-drive motor and a belt that'll outlast your bike, the Trek District+ is the one I'd point a friend towards. Weight matters, but it's not the only thing that does — pick the tier that matches how many stairs are actually in your life.

Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them, the brand or retailer may pay Velorution a small commission at no cost to you. This doesn't affect what we recommend — bikes only make this list because they're genuinely light and genuinely good.