Founded by Kevin Dugger in San Diego, Calif., in 2018, Ride1UP was launched to fill the need for more options in e-bikes in the sub-$2000 market. Dugger was a bike mechanic and bike builder and decided to build a line of e-bikes that met people’s day-to-day needs.
Ride1UP’s e-bikes begin at a bit more than $1000 and cover a spectrum of price points, all the way up to $2395. They offer most of their models in a traditional frame as well as a step-thru design. Many of their models skip the 7-speed drivetrain common to this range of e-bikes and spec 8-speed drivetrains with wider-range cassettes, to improve the experience of riding hills.
To meet the needs of urban riders, Ride1UP is a big believer in Class 3 e-bikes. With one exception, all of their e-bikes offer pedal assistance above 20 mph, most to a 28 mph max assist speed. Even the one model that doesn’t ship as a Class 3 e-bike can be “unlocked” to allow it to be pedaled to speeds beyond 20 mph.
Very few e-bike companies that focus on the $2000 and below market have introduced e-bikes with mid-drive motors. Ride1UP took on the challenge with the Prodigy model, which, while running more than $2000, deserves to be recognized as one of the most affordable mid-drive e-bikes on the market.
