What is a Step Through Electric Bike? Find Out What Classifies an EBike as a Step Thru

What is a step-through e-bike?

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry, and today I'm going to explain to you what a step-through e-bike is.

I've got a step-through e-bike right here, the Simple Step-Thru from Sixthreezero. All right, step-through bikes and e-bikes are amazing because they're much safer than bikes that require you to mount either from the rear or if you have a higher bar, trying to get your leg over the frame like this. With a true step-through frame, you can just step right through and it makes mounting very simple and easy. You can just slide back onto the seat.

Now, what is a step-through frame or step-through electric bike, and what connotates it being a step-through bike? Well, that's an interesting topic because I see a lot of electric bikes out there advertising themselves as a step-through, and I don't find that always to be the case. Now, in the case of the Simple Step Thru, this is the lowest step-through I found of any e-bike on the market. If you find another one, go ahead, but this is only 11 inches to step over the frame here, actually a little bit under 11 inches. Now, I see a varying degree and a lot of people want to call it a step-through if the frame just slants downward. Now, that's a little bit misleading because just because it slants downward doesn't mean it's necessarily a step-through.

The reason I say that is because on the Simple Step Thru, if you look here, the crank is set above the step-through point. Normally, the step-through point is about even to the crank. We've dipped this even lower to make it a true step-through frame. Now, what I'll see is it'll be angled down, but the frame may only come to right here, right? The crank still may be here, but the frame may come right to here, and so you're still having to raise your leg to get your leg over. So if you're in the market for a step-through frame for your electric bike, pay attention to the step-over height so you know exactly how high you will have to lift your leg to get it over the frame. And I've done a lot of rides with people that have arthritis in their hips and knees, and I realized that they would not be suited for a bike that advertises itself as a step-through, but doesn't have the low step-through height.

So what I say is, when I say, "What is a step-through frame?" I would say anything lower than about 15 inches. Okay, now this is the lowest point, and you want it to be lower than 15 inches for the step-over height. Anything higher than that is going to require you to get your leg up or you're going to be required to swing your leg around like this. Now, on e-bikes, I don't advocate swinging your leg like this because a lot of times you have a rack or a battery, and you can catch your leg back there. And the bikes are heavier, you could tip them over. So be mindful when you're looking for step-through e-bikes, like I said, how low that middle section is, and I will say this, it's really up to you to know how high you can lift your leg.

So it may seem silly, but in advance of purchasing an e-bike, if you're concerned about mounting or dismounting, just see how easily you can get your leg up like this. And especially like this, you may just want to try so you have a very clear idea of what step-through frame you're looking for because again, it's going to vary. And if you like the look of a frame, but the step-through isn't low enough, you could know that in advance.

So just try to lift your foot, and move it forward. If you can make this motion, you can mount this bike and it's easy to get on and off. Now, if you're able to do the leg swing and you feel comfortable like that, then you don't have to look for a step-through frame, totally up to you. But I believe being able to mount an e-bike with a step-through motion makes it very, very safe and simple for a lot of people, especially in the mounting and dismounting portion of your ride, which actually in my experience in a lot of rides we've done, the mounting and dismounting is a point where a lot of people can have issues with either tipping over or they just can't safely get from here to get off because the frame is too high, and you just don't want to have to deal with that stress when you're either beginning or ending your ride.

So a step-through frame, in my opinion, is 15 inches or less of height here, but it's also really up to you to figure out what step-over height on an e-bike is suitable for your body type. So if you have any other questions about a step-through e-bike at all, please email us at theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us at (310) 982-2877.

If you don't know what e-bike you're looking for, take the proprietary body fit quiz on our website, answer a few questions about your body and your life, and our proprietary algorithm will recommend the perfect e-bike for your riding habits and your body. We also have a 30-day test ride on your e-bike policy. If you don't love it in 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket.

We also are going to warranty everything for the first year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we'll get you the parts and or labor needed to keep you up and riding. Lastly, we have a Facebook group called Sixthreezero Pedalers. We have thousands of members there. Pop in there and ask them questions before you buy your e-bike, see how they like their e-bikes in advance so you can make the right decision. Then once you have your E-bike, post in the group, make friends, and of course download our app, the Sixthreezero app, available in both app stores to track your rides. It's a lot of fun. So thanks for sticking around and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.