Engwe has impressed us repeatedly with its value e-bikes at lower-than-believable prices. But lately, the brand is climbing the value chain with impressive e-bikes that aren’t just great value but also pack strong specs and impressive features. The Engwe M20 3.0 is a great example…
The Engwe M20 3.0 is a specs monster and blows away the original version of the bike released in 2023:
The M20 is fairly easy to assemble. At just over 100lbs, it is a bit hard to move around, but once assembled, it feels like a pretty impressive piece of machinery. I love the street tires on here instead of pretending to be an off-roader. Dual bright headlights and brake light with turn signals really give this thing some street cred. Adding to the safety roster, Engwe upgraded the quad-piston brakes with sporty red calipers and 202 mm rotors. This is not a value bike. The rear suspension is tight, which is great for 2 riders but might feel stiff out of the box for light riders. The seat is *chef’s kiss* even for 2 riders. Very soft and comfortable but not too soft. It even has a little ‘gas tank’ storage area aft the seat, which is keyed and enough to hold a few sandwiches, some riding gloves, or a small purse.
One gripe: There are 3 sets of keys on here, the aforementioned storage area and one set each for each battery. We’d love to see these things keyed together.
The bike/moped/moto came with a huge 1.2 kW battery (or 2 in our case – unless you have a 80-mile commute, 1 should be plenty) that must be charged individually. But with a 60V 8A charger, each one only takes about 2-3 hours to charge, which is impressive.
The Engwe M20 ride
I did not expect to like the ride of this thing as much as I did. We can dispense with the pleasantries here; it came set to Class 2 mode with a 20mph top speed and stickers to match; a quick Google search will show you how to open this up to 40mph open mode. I take responsibility for my own actions.
The first thing you’ll notice here is that the motor is whisper-quiet, and with the street tires, there is very little road noise, even at 35mph. The half throttle is plenty responsive, a lot more so than the cadence sensor on the pedals, which are vestigial at best here. Those big brakes are a bit softer than I’d prefer, but given a good squeeze, those 203mm rotors and quad-piston hydraulic brakes are going to stop you, the 100lb bike, and your passenger/cargo fairly quickly.
The cops
My girlfriend and I got pulled over for the first time in my e-biking life as I was picking her up at the coffee shop. The cop was immediately apologetic because “he thought we were kids” and not the 50-year-olds under the helmets he encountered. Then he noticed the pedals and said that we’re all clear and that what we were on looked like a motorcycle and that a couple of e-moto kids had gotten into accidents recently, one hit by a drunk driver and who is still in a coma. While he was already letting us go, I pointed out the Class 2 sticker on the bike, and he gave me the thumbs-up as we sped off at 30mph. This M20 passed the local police test with flying colors. I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same experience in your jurisdiction.
M20 Downsides
Most of my gripes on this e-bike are inherent to the form factor. It is heavy at over 100 lbs, but you’d expect that with a 3.3kW motor, 2.4kW of batteries, and room for two. That said, don’t buy this bike if you need to take it up stairs or plan to pedal it without assist. In fact, this isn’t a bikepath bike or a put it on the back of your car bike. And, don’t buy this bike if you like to pedal. It’s too big and fast. This is a 35 mph roads bike. Also 3 sets of keys?
Electrek’s take:
I did not expect to love this bike as much as I have. It is the perfect train station bike for me, and as a bonus, it is a great way to take my girlfriend to the coffee shop on the weekends. It has fat tires, great suspension, a cushy seat, and strong, smooth acceleration and confidence-inspiring braking. It looks cool enough for the cops to think I’m a kid picking up his girlfriend, and it has so much range that I probably won’t need to charge it monthly. At $1399-$1699 (10% off) depending on battery config, this is less than half the price of some of the pricier and admittedly more stylish Super73 options out there.
I understand that some will fault Engwe for selling a 3.3kW motor e-bike as a class 2 e-bike. But I genuinely feel safer on the road, being able to go at the 35mph speed that cars are going rather than forcing them to go around me. Plus, it isn’t like every single car on the road goes over the speed limit. So why not bikes too?
The Engwe M20 3.0 is over the limit but in all of the best possible ways.
Grab it here with Exclusive Discount Code: ELECTREKCO for $1259 and get a bunch of impressive freebies:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.