AMYET EB26

Price and value

AMYET lists the EB26 at $669, marked down from $799. It is the cheapest way into their line, and the only one of their three bikes on 26-inch wheels. Both of those facts matter, but not equally.

The problem with the EB26 is not its price in isolation. At $669 a fat-tire e-bike with a 1000W hub motor, seven gears, lockable suspension and a UL 2849 claim is a reasonable amount of hardware. The problem is the bike sitting twenty dollars above it. The V9-G60 costs $689 and carries 48V 20Ah, or 960 watt-hours. The EB26 carries 48V 15Ah, or 720. Twenty dollars separates the prices; 240 watt-hours separates the batteries.

Hold that figure in your head for the rest of this review, because everything the EB26 does well is an argument for paying more per watt-hour rather than an argument that it is cheap. You are not buying a discount G60; you are buying a different bike that happens to cost slightly less.

A word on the crossed-out $799. Permanent discounting is normal in direct-to-consumer e-bikes, and a compare-at price that never expires is a marketing device rather than a historical record. Treat $669 as the price and $799 as a suggestion. We date every price we publish; the method is set out in how we review.

Motor performance

AMYET describes the EB26 motor as a 1000W brushless rear hub unit with a 1500W peak — the same figures they publish for the G60, so on paper the two bikes are matched on power and differ elsewhere.

Rated power is roughly what the motor holds continuously without overheating. Peak power is a short-burst figure — pulling away from a junction, cresting a rise — not something it will sustain up a three-minute climb. Most brands lead with the peak number because it is larger; AMYET publishes both, which is to their credit. Our guide to motor wattage explains why that gap is often the most misleading thing on a product page. Plan around 1000W: on flat ground it is far more than any rider needs, and on a gradient it decides whether the bike climbs steadily or whether the motor heats up and throttles itself back.

The wheel changes what the motor feels like

The important difference between this motor and the G60's is not in the motor. A hub motor spins the wheel directly, so wheel diameter acts as a fixed gear ratio: a 26-inch wheel travels further per revolution, so the same motor at the same rpm produces less force at the contact patch and more speed. Expect the EB26 to feel less urgent away from a standstill and steadier once rolling, most obviously on steep starts.

The drivetrain is a 7-speed with an adjustable shifter. Gearing does not multiply motor torque on a hub-motor bike, but it lets you contribute on a long climb — which reduces motor heat — and keeps the bike usable as a bicycle when the battery is flat.

Battery and real-world range

The EB26 carries a 48V 15Ah removable lithium-ion pack, listed as IP65 rated. Multiply volts by amp-hours and you get 720 watt-hours — the only battery figure worth comparing across brands, because voltage alone tells you nothing about capacity and amp-hours alone tell you nothing without the voltage.

Here is how to turn 720Wh into something you can plan a ride around. A fat-tire e-bike of this weight typically consumes 15 to 45 watt-hours per mile, depending almost entirely on how it is ridden:

• Low pedal assist, flat, light rider, around 15 MPH: 15–20Wh per mile. 720Wh ÷ 18 = 40 miles. AMYET's 60-mile figure sits well above even this.
• Moderate assist, mixed terrain, average rider: 22–28Wh per mile. 720Wh ÷ 25 ≈ 29 miles. The realistic planning figure for most people.
• Throttle only, heavier rider, hills, near 28 MPH: 35–45Wh per mile. 720Wh ÷ 40 = 18 miles.

Run AMYET's throttle-only claim backwards and it implies 720Wh ÷ 30 = 24Wh per mile — plausible for gentle throttle use on flat ground, optimistic near the top of the speed range, but not a fantasy. The 60-mile pedal-assist number is the one to discount heavily.

Rider weight is the largest lever on all of those figures, because every pound must be accelerated away from every stop; cold is the second, since lithium cells lose capacity below about 40°F and a winter commute can cost 20–30% against the same ride in July.

Two points in the EB26's favour. The pack is removable, so you can charge indoors without wheeling the bike into a hallway, and a tired pack in year four becomes a purchase rather than a workshop job. And it is IP65 rated. Charge time is 5–8 hours — an evening, not a top-up. For the arithmetic in more depth, see our battery and range guide and why claimed range is never the range you get.

26-inch wheels and what they change

This is what you are actually buying. The EB26 runs 26 × 4-inch fat tires, and it is the only bike in AMYET's line that does — the G60 and S8 both use 20 × 4-inch wheels.

The difference is geometric rather than mystical. A larger wheel meets an obstacle at a shallower angle: hitting the edge of a pothole, a raised drain cover or a tree root, a 26-inch wheel rolls up and over where a 20-inch wheel drops in and has to climb out. Each of those events costs momentum and jolts the frame, and over a mile of broken tarmac there are hundreds of them. A larger wheel also holds a line better — small-wheeled fat bikes feel busy at the top of their speed range, big-wheeled ones feel calm. The tires compound it: a 4-inch casing at 12–15 PSI holds an enormous volume of air, and on a fat bike the tires are the primary suspension. Our fat-tire e-bike guide covers pressure and tread.

What you give up

Three things, and they are real. The 26-inch wheel accelerates more slowly from a standstill, because there is more rotating mass further from the hub. It raises standover height, which matters if you are short. And it makes the bike longer, giving the EB26 the largest storage footprint of the three. Our 20 vs 26 inch wheel guide has the full trade: tight storage and stop-start city work favour the small wheel, bad roads and continuous riding the big one.

Where 28 MPH sits legally

AMYET lists a top speed of up to 28 MPH, and this is quietly one of the EB26's strongest arguments. Under the three-class framework adopted by around forty US states, Class 1 is pedal assist only to 20 MPH, Class 2 adds a throttle at the same ceiling, and Class 3 is pedal assist to 28 MPH. A bike that assists beyond 28 MPH falls outside all three definitions, which usually means it is not legally an e-bike at all and may be treated as a moped.

28 MPH is exactly the Class 3 ceiling. The G60's 32 MPH is not. Both bikes probably have a configurable speed limit in the display settings, but there is a difference between a bike you must remember to restrict and one that arrives inside the line. Rules on shared-use paths are often stricter than road rules, so check your own city regardless.

Suspension and frame

AMYET describes the EB26's suspension as lockable aluminium dual shock absorbers. The lockout is the detail worth pausing on.

A lockable fork solves a specific and irritating problem. Unlocked, the fork absorbs bumps; it also absorbs part of every pedal stroke and every burst of motor torque, converting your energy into heat in the damper. On smooth tarmac that is pure loss. Locking out on the road and releasing when the surface worsens gives you a firm commuter and a compliant gravel bike. Neither the G60 nor the S8 lists a lockout.

What AMYET does not publish is the fork's travel, its damping type, or whether preload is adjustable. At this price, budget coil forks with minimal damping are the norm. Take the lockout as a useful feature and the tires as the component still doing most of the real work.

Why the steel frame is not just a cost saving

The EB26 uses a high-carbon steel frame where aluminium is the default in this price band. That cuts three ways.

Steel flexes more than aluminium for a given tube shape and damps high-frequency vibration rather than transmitting it. Riders describe steel frames as forgiving; what they are noticing is buzz absorbed before it reaches the hands and seat. On a bike aimed at broken road surfaces, that fits the rest of the design.

Steel is also heavier — typically several pounds over an aluminium frame of comparable strength — and it rusts, so paint damage is worth touching up on salted winter roads. The compensation is repairability: a cracked or bent steel frame can be welded and straightened by a competent fabricator almost anywhere, where a cracked aluminium frame usually cannot be economically repaired at all. On a budget bike ridden hard and kept a long time, that is not trivial.

Brakes

AMYET states dual mechanical disc brakes for the EB26. There is no ambiguity here, unlike the G60, whose listing says only "dual disc".

Mechanical discs pull the pad with a steel cable, and that has three consequences. Lever feel is softer, because cable stretch and housing compression sit between hand and pad. Braking force depends more on hand strength, which matters on a long descent when your fingers are tired. And they need periodic adjustment as pads wear, where hydraulics self-adjust. Against that, they are simple, cheap to service and need no bleeding.

The concern is mass and speed together. A steel-framed fat bike rated to a 330 lb payload and 28 MPH carries a great deal of kinetic energy for cable-actuated brakes to dissipate, and repeated hard braking on a long hill will fade any disc system — mechanical ones sooner. AMYET does not publish rotor diameters, which would say a lot about thermal capacity.

If you ride steep terrain regularly, budget for a hydraulic conversion or look at the S8, the only bike in the line to claim hydraulic discs. For flat and rolling commuting, mechanical discs kept properly adjusted are adequate.

Controls, display and lighting

AMYET lists an LCD display with five assist levels, battery state, trip distance and odometer, plus PAS and cruise indicators and a USB charging port.

Five assist levels is more granular than the three many budget bikes offer, and granularity is what makes range manageable. Managing energy is almost entirely a matter of choosing a lower assist level early rather than discovering at mile 22 that you have twelve per cent left. With 720Wh — the smallest pack in AMYET's line — that discipline matters more here.

What AMYET does not publish for the EB26 is a lighting specification. The G60 listing names a headlight, taillight, turn signals and horn; the EB26 listing does not. We will not assume it is absent and we will not assume it is present. If you commute in the dark, ask AMYET before ordering, and budget for independent lights regardless — integrated headlights at this price are usually adequate for being seen rather than for seeing.

Build quality, weight and payload

AMYET rates the EB26 for a 330 lb maximum load and states it ships 90% assembled with a toolkit, manual and key. Three colours are listed: black, white and blue.

The weight figure, and why it is not what it looks like

AMYET does not publish a bare bike weight for the EB26. What appears in the listing data is a 30 kg figure — approximately 66 lb — and that is a shipping weight, including the carton, packaging, charger and toolkit. The bike itself is lighter than 66 lb, and we cannot tell you by how much, because the packaging mass is not published either.

That distinction gets misquoted constantly, so state it plainly: 66 lb is what arrives on your doorstep in a box, not what you lift onto a car rack. Either way, this is the most awkward of the three AMYET bikes to carry up stairs, because of its length.

The 330 lb payload is a total figure: rider, clothing, rack, panniers and contents. If you are approaching it, our guide for heavier riders explains how payload ratings interact with spoke count, rim strength and brake capacity in ways the headline number conceals. The steel frame helps — steel tends to fail progressively where aluminium fails suddenly.

"90% assembled" generally means handlebars, front wheel, pedals, seat and fenders need fitting, and that the brakes want checking and the wheels a torque-wrench pass before the first ride. Having a shop check wheel bolts, brake alignment and spoke tension after fifty miles is cheap insurance on a bike carrying this much mass.

Certification, warranty and support

AMYET states that the EB26 is UL 2849 compliant and lists the battery as IP65 rated. Both claims deserve unpacking. UL 2849 covers the electrical safety of the complete e-bike system — battery, charger, controller and motor tested together — rather than UL 2271, which covers the pack alone. After a run of lithium fires in dense cities, several US jurisdictions, and a growing number of building managers and insurers, now require UL 2849 before a bike may be stored or charged indoors; New York City's Local Law 39 is the best-known example. In an apartment building, this specification may decide whether you can legally keep the bike where you live.

IP65 means dust-tight and protected against low-pressure water jets, which is useful for a pack sitting in spray from a front wheel. It applies to the battery only: AMYET publishes no ingress rating for the complete bike.

Warranty is one year, with a 30-day risk-free trial and free shipping in 4–7 working days. One year is standard for the category and is not generous. What matters more is parts availability afterwards, and AMYET does better than many here: they sell replacement batteries, displays, headlights, brake pads, discs and tires through their own store. A bike you can still buy a pack for in year three is worth more than one with six extra months of warranty and no spares.

How it compares within the range

Against the G60, the EB26 trades energy for comfort and legal simplicity. You save $20 and give up 240 watt-hours — a quarter of the G60's capacity — for 26-inch wheels, a lockable fork, a steel frame and a 28 MPH ceiling that fits the Class 3 definition exactly.

The decision rule is unusually clean. If your rides are under roughly 25 miles and your roads are bad, the trade is worth making. If you need distance, or you value the storage advantage of a short wheelbase, the G60 is better value per dollar. Our G60 vs EB26 comparison sets the two specification sheets side by side.

Against the S8, the EB26 is $380 cheaper and gives up a second motor, 480 watt-hours, hydraulic brakes and full suspension. Whether that hardware is worth the money depends on terrain: on flat and rolling ground the S8's advantages rarely surface; on sustained climbs, sand or loose gravel they change what the bike can do. Note too that the S8 listing does not carry the UL 2849 claim the EB26 does. See EB26 vs S8.

The honest summary

The EB26 is a comfort-first bike wearing a value-first price tag, and that mismatch is the thing to understand before buying. Judged as the cheapest AMYET it is poor value, because $20 more buys a third more battery. Judged as the only AMYET with 26-inch wheels, a lockable fork, a steel frame and a Class-3-legal top speed, it is the right answer for a rider on rough tarmac doing moderate distances. If that is you, buy it and accept the range ceiling; if not, the twenty dollars is better spent elsewhere in the line. Our AMYET range overview ranks all three.