Propella’s electric bikes have evolved over more than seven years on the market. Real-world experience and interaction have been driving forces behind the development of the four models currently available from the Redmond, Washington company. From a crowdsourced beginning in 2016, Propella started in runs of about 100 bikes per initial iteration. They innovated each new generation based on feedback from riders and reviewers and the company’s internal relentless drive for an ideal eBike.

Aiming to excel at the fundamentals of bicycling, Propella recognizes that “a great electric bike must be a great bike in the first place!” With this in mind, the company has gone through four generations of its flagship model, Propella SS, in refining its style and developing its details. Revealing the founder’s tech roots and start-up experience, early models bore version names, from the 1.0 to the 2.0, the 2.2 and beyond. They’ve now settled into model names for the four unique builds from Propella, all with their signature “hidden in plain sight” battery made to look just like a water bottle securely locked on the down tube.

The Propella mini rolls easy on 20” tires for powerful hill climbing. It’s also the company’s only model that has a lower bar that’s better suited for riders under 5’4” or so. None of the current options include a step-through model. The 7S is a lot like the flagship SS with 700c x 35 tires plus the addition of a seven-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain. The 9S PRO takes it a step further, with a similar hybrid frame and straight handlebars as the others, with the addition of 27.5 x 2” tires and a 9-speed drivetrain.

Propella has done an admirable job of focusing on the essentials to produce quality eBikes with solid componentry at comfortably low price points, starting below a thousand for the mini and topping out below $1,500 for the 9S Pro. A bright future points to further improvements and a lot of good miles for Propella riders.