Engwe Mapfour N1 Pro e-bike review: the new ‘premium’

is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for almost 20 years. Europe has an electric bike problem. Direct-to-consumer e-bikes from inexpensive Chinese brands like Engwe and countless others can be easily purchased online despite openly flouting EU restrictions. They feature throttles and powerful motors that can be easily unlocked to far exceed the 25km/h (16mph) legal speed limit — no pedaling required. Here in Amsterdam, cheap Super73-knockoffs ridden at almost twice the legal speed have made the city’s renowned bicycle lanes increasingly chaotic and dangerous. Across the Netherlands, over 10,000 of these electric “fat bikes” were seized in 2024. Engwe’s new Mapfour lineup is the company’s attempt at going legit by expanding from souped-up electric fat bikes and foldables into “premium commuter” e-bikes. And because they’re the first e-bikes that Engwe has designed exclusively ... Read full article.