Is This An E-Bike Or A Moped? It Depends On Who You Ask

Is This An E-Bike Or A Moped? It Depends On Who You Ask E-moto models are all the rage. But if you want the best e-bike experience, I recommend a more conventional design. I love e-bikes. I love slipping past traffic on a covered bike lane, running errands without parking, and bombing down hills with the wind in my face. I love the speed, the freedom, and the simplicity. So when I got the Aotos X26 Flux Pro to test, I thought I’d be in love. With up to 1500 Watts of nominal power (2000W peak) in off-road mode and big, chunky tires, it looked like the perfect e-bike for ripping trails on the weekend and errands on the weekdays. But I don’t even know if this is really an “e-bike,” and it’s certainly not my favorite for weekend or weekday activities. Let me explain why. (Full disclosure: Aotos sent me a Flux X26 Pro to test for this review.) Gallery: Aotos Flux X26 Pro E-Bike Review E-Bike Vs. E-Moto: Where’s The Line? In the U.S, e-bikes are typically divided into three classes. I’m going to use the definitions from the California Bicycle Coalition, which are as follows: “Class 1: Provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 mph Class 2: Operates via pedal-assist or throttle and ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 20 mph Class 3: Provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches a speed of 28 mph.” Most e-bikes come out of the box set to Class 2 mode, which gives you full access to the throttle and and pedal assist, but caps speed at 20 mph. Some bikes allow you to raise things to Class 3 speeds and either axe the throttle altogether or only allow the throttle to function below 28 mph. Any way you slice it, though, power is legally capped at 750W nominal. But 750W isn’t a ton. It’s certainly not enough to make you feel like you’re ripping on a dirt bike, or even enough to do easy wheelies. So more and more bikes offer “off road” or "unlimited” modes that raise the power and the performance. That way when your high school classmate shows up on his Class 2, 750W e-bike, you want to be able to dust him, and look cool doing it. The X26 rides on "E-Moped" tires. But legally, this isn't a moped. That’s where options like the Aotos come in. The Aotos Flux X26 and Flux X26 Pro comes from the factory set to Class 2, 750W mode, with an overboost function that kicks the limit up to 28 mph and provides more power. But both have off-road modes, enabling 2000W of power in the Pro and 1200W on the standard model. They also come with fixed seats, big aerodynamic fairings, single-gear drivetrains, and beefy moped tires. The X26 Pro looks every bit a motorcycle, and that doesn’t seem to be an accident. So does that make it an e-moto? I guess. It’s not a specifically defined term. Technically, as soon as you enter off-road mode, it’s no longer a bike nor legal for public roads. It doesn’t have the license plate or other accoutrement you need for a street-legal moped or motorcycle, but its ability to go 28 mph on throttle and dump 2000W of power into its rear wheel means it’s not an e-bike in off-road mode. That means you can only legally ride it off road. That’s fine enough, but if you’ve seen your local hooligans doing wheelies through town square, you know that people are bound to use all of the power they paid for. Considering the $2,299 Pro is quite a bit dearer than the $1,699 base model, you’re paying a lot for that extra power, the 4G connection, and a few other upgrades. Why I Prefer E-Bikes I’m not going to get into moralizing here. The X26 Pro is legal to buy and fun to operate, and if the design suits you, go nuts. But over three weeks and about 90 miles of testing, I found myself constantly dreaming of the more traditional Tenways Wayfarer e-bike I currently have at the house. Despite the Aotos offering more power and nearly as much range, I had way more fun on the Tenways. The Tenways Wayfarer I reviewed earlier this year has more range than the X26, costs less, weighs about 40 lbs less, has 10 miles of extra range from a smaller battery, and handles better. Almost all of those advantages are due to its simpler, traditional design. A big part of that comes down to the traditional bike design. The Tenways—and most e-bikes I’ve ridden—has a multi-speed transmission, a traditional bike seat and handlebars, a cargo bike, and well-positioned pedals. Both my fiáncè and I love clicking through the gears in Tour or Sport mode, feeling the surge of power in the drivetrain and the surge of blood to our calves. Pedaling makes the experience more connected, more traditional, and even more stable feeling. It just feels like a really fast bike. The Aotos feels like a slow motorcycle. Its non-adjustable seat, fixed gearing, and slightly awkward ergonomics make it nearly impossible to consistently use the pedals. From a stop the gearing makes it hard to get rolling, and at 25 mph your feet have to move cartoonishly fast to keep up. The pedals on the Aotos feel decorative. There's only one gear ratio, and the cheap cadence sensor is nowhere near as seamless as a modern torque sensor. All of this is made worse by the fact that the Aotos has a cheaper cadence sensor for pedal assist rather than a torque sensor. So while the Tenways or Aventon e-bikes we’ve recently reviewed respond to how hard you pedal, and thus feel natural, the Aotos responds only to how fast the pedals actually move. It’s much less smooth, and it’s easy for a lazy, half-turn of the pedals—done to reposition my feet—to generate a surge of acceleration. I ended up almost exclusively using the throttle. And while the Aotos is fine in this mode, I found myself truly bummed when my fiáncè, stepmom, and dad went for a 25-mile e-bike trip. They all got to row through the gears, find their ideal cruising cadence, and have fun. Meanwhile I was trying not to shoot out ahead of them, constantly prevented from going full throttle. So in general I’m not a fan of bikes that treat pedals as an afterthought. That is merely my preference. You might love that. Even still, I’m not convinced that going full e-moto for the design helped Aotos here. The bulky frame and wide tires require a ton of energy to move down the road, so to offer 75 miles of claimed range, the Aotos needs a 48V, 21Ah battery, providing just over a kilowatt of energy. The Tenways offers 85 miles of range out of a much smaller 720 Wh battery. And because the pedals on the Tenways are more than decorative, you’ll get a lot closer to the rated figure than you would on an Aotos. Despite its far bulkier size, though, the Aotos is worse at hauling. Its fairing takes up a ton of usable space, and with no cargo rack at the rear, I found myself schlepping a backpack most of the time. That’s really annoying, and while cargo bags may look dorky, they’re a better solution. Why The Aotos Isn’t The E-Moto I’d Buy I generally think bike-style frames are better for e-biking than e-moto style frames. Even still, I find the Aotos lacking among its e-moto peers. Other e-moto brands offer wide areas for underslung storage and super easy battery access. Not here. The Aotos’ only cargo spots are a small underslung zipper cubby and a little compartment in the frame for chucking in your phone and keys. They’re welcome benefits, but more open designs give you more flexibility. They also make swapping batteries simple. The same can’t be said with the Aotos. The battery is annoying to maneuver in and out, and the connector for it is finicky. The Aotos' large battery takes up most of the space in the center of the frame. Getting it in and connected is a hassle, and the cover that hides it feels flimsy. On the bright side, it can function as a portable battery bank for your phone, with a built-in USB-C port. This was made worse by a battery drain issue. See, one benefit of the X26 Pro is that it comes with a ton of features. It has a proximity unlock feature based on your phone’s bluetooth signal, a remote start function, tracking features, an alarm for if it’s moved, and even tire pressure monitors. But not all of these features are fully baked. Proximity unlock caused such aggressive battery drain that I turned it off quickly, especially because it hardly ever worked. The alarm for unauthorized motion is sensitive and annoying. And the app that runs the other features can be slow and annoying to use. It’s worth remembering here that the Flux is Aotos’ first product, and it’s born of a Kickstarter campaign. You can’t expect them to get everything right on the first go. But if they want $2,299 for this thing, I want it to feel good right out of the box. The tech issues, the heavy design, and the poor use of space consistently frustrated me. Who It’s Still Good For Here’s the challenge for me. I still like the Aotos because, at its core, a 2000W e-moto is a fun experience. But it’s not one I can have legally, at least not on public roads. Even if I could get away with it—which I’m sure I could—I don’t want to continue normalizing breaking the rules around e-bikes. These things have to be handled with care, and the bare minimum there is keeping it within legal limits. Do so and the Aotos makes no sense. It’s more expensive and unwieldy than conventional Class 2 e-bikes, and its only on-road advantage is its design. It otherwise offers the same amount of power and capability as e-bikes with the inefficiency and practical compromises of a 100-lb e-moto. Where it does make sense is off-road or on private land, I’m sure. I’d love to let this thing properly rip on some private dirt road. To do so, though, I’d need to drive outside of the city, and getting a bike this bulky and heavy inside of my car doesn’t seem worth the trouble. That’s doubly true because I don’t have access to non-public land that would be good for this thing. The rocket button activates an overboost function, which Aotos says is perfect for wheelies. It also makes a silly rocketship noise, which thankfully can be turned off. The Aotos also offers a simulated engine noise, but I switched that off almost immediately. If you do, though, and you have a way to get it there, I bet it’s a fun toy to have. If you can match that desire for a weekend toy with a real use-case for a personal e-bike around town, that’s the Aotos’ sweet spot. E-mountain bikes and dirt bikes would be more fun on unrestricted land. Traditional e-bikes are better for commuting. But if you need to commute on a legal e-bike and fool around on an unlimited e-moto, the Aotos is a solid option. For the rest of us, there are more conventional e-bikes. Click here to see all articles with lists of the best EVsRECOMMENDED FOR YOU Tenways Wayfarer Review: A Great Commuter E-Bike Value Hyundai CEO's Answer For The EV Slowdown: Building Thousands Of Robotaxis ‘The Trend Is Clear’: How EVs Are Closing In On Gas Car Prices The Best Tesla Alternatives In 2026 What If We're Thinking About EV Charging All Wrong? 'Can't Be Done By One Company': This Startup Is Rallying A Team To Bring Solid-State Batteries To Life Congress Advances Bill That Would Force Your EV To Have AM Radio