Triker

System voltage x controller amperage - the one number that decides acceleration and hill climbing. Scored once, not three times.

A torque sensor measures how hard you pedal and matches it. Every bike has at least a cadence sensor, so cadence alone earns nothing.

Lets you pull away from a stop without pedalling - useful with a load, on a hill, in traffic, or with joint pain.

Class 3 bikes (28 mph) keep pace with city traffic. Class 1 and 2 stop assisting at 20 mph.

Total watt-hours you can carry, counting a second battery if one is included. Capacity is scored once whether it arrives in one pack or two.

The charger's own output in watts. Scored on the charger alone so that a large battery is not penalised, and so a 36 V high-amp charger cannot pass for a 48 V one.

Cells from LG, Samsung or Panasonic publish cycle-life and thermal data. Anything else earns nothing.

The published IP rating of the battery pack - not the bike. IPX5 is a water-jet test only; IP65 adds a dust-tight claim; IPX7 adds immersion.

Mechanical disc is the bare minimum and earns nothing. Hydraulic discs stop harder with less hand effort; a four-piston calliper is more than twice the braking power of a two-piston and over double the price.

Whether pads, rotors and callipers can be bought and serviced anywhere. Tektro and Star Union are both serviceable; Magura is better.

On a throttle bike, squeezing the brake should cut motor power. It is a backstop for a stuck throttle or a controller fault. A bike with no throttle cannot have that failure, so it scores full marks here.

A rear light that brightens under braking is the cheapest way to be seen slowing down.

Signal without taking a hand off the bars.

A rigid steel fork costs about $6 to make; a name-brand suspension fork is $80 or more. The spread reflects that.

Gear range, shifting quality and maintenance burden on one ladder. An internally-geared hub with a belt is several levels above a single-speed chain and costs roughly eighty times as much.

The best available proxy for grip, rolling resistance and puncture resistance. Deliberately kept small - a name-brand tyre is only about $5 more.

Weld finish is a visible proxy for frame manufacturing control.

A thru-axle holds the wheel more securely than a quick-release; a threaded thru-axle more securely still.

An adjustable stem lets one bike fit several riders. A quick-release adjustable stem costs roughly triple a tooled one.

The part most owners replace first. Quick-release aluminium pedals fold the bike into a smaller space and do not snap.

Lock-on grips do not twist loose or slide off in the wet.

Whether the bike carries anything out of the box, and whether accessories clip to a published standard instead of needing bungee cords.

Full-coverage fenders are what make an e-bike usable in the rain. Composite fenders do not rattle, rust or cut.

An adjustable or double-leg stand holds a loaded bike upright.

How much you can read at a glance, in sunlight, without stopping. A touchscreen TFT is $40-50 of cost over a colour LCD.

Whether you can change how the bike delivers power, or only how much.

Useful for firmware updates and diagnostics. Nice to have, but most riders do not use it.