I'm Christine Sirclicette.

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

I'm Rosie Garan.

And you're listening to The Wirecutter Show.

Hey there, it's Christine.

This episode, we're turning to a very timely topic, the fall commute.

Maybe you've been away for the summer on vacation, out of your regular routines, and it's now time to get back to business.

It's time to commute back to work, maybe taking your kids to school.

And electric powered bikes have

become increasingly popular for commuters. They can be appealing if you don't want to take public

transit or you don't want to drive your car or maybe you want to get outside but you don't

want to ride an old-fashioned pedal bike. They can also be an affordable and environmentally

friendlier way to get places than

by car. But e-bikes also have their own particular safety and repairability issues. If you've

considered getting one, or even if you own one already, you'll want to listen to this episode.

After the break, Kyra is going to talk with Wirecutter's senior editor and resident bike expert Chris Ryan,

whose team has tested a ton of these e-bikes.

She's going to give the inside scoop on safety, repairs, and the cost of e-bikes.

After the break, Kyra with Chris Ryan.

Be right back. Welcome back. Today I'm talking with Chris Ryan, a wirecutter senior editor and our bike expert. Welcome to the show, Chris. Thanks for having me. So I've seen electric bikes all over New York City for years. So is an e-bike technically a bike or is it an electric vehicle? It kind of depends on what

state you're in and the type of e-bike. Almost all states treat most e-bikes like regular bikes. You don't

need to have a license to ride one. You don't need to register them. Alaska and Hawaii are the two

...