[Narrator] More and more Americans

are taking a page from the rest of the world

and turning to cycling for basic transportation.

And increasingly, that means electric bikes,

which help to make the trip a little easier

and a lot less sweaty.

[Narrator] One of the best designed ebikes

we've seen at Wired is the Faraday Porteur,

which melds retro-classic style

with enough power to turn your daily ride into a joy ride.

The batteries are packed into the downtube,

it's a nice design touch that keeps the clean lines intact,

and the motor only kicks in when you pedal.

You can select from two different levels of umph

depending on size of the hill

and the size of the motivation.

But the Faraday wasn't built for racing.

It was built for coffee runs,

so it comes with commuter friendly bamboo fenders,

front and rear lighting, and an optional front rack.

Comes in three basic sizes, which fit most people,

and the battery powers about 20 miles of riding.

It's not cheap though.

Faraday costs $3500 so you're not gonna

wanna leave it locked up just anywhere.

That means you're gonna have to bring

all 39 pounds of it inside,

which is nice if you have an elevator,

not so much if you have stairs.

Where ebikes really shine are on hills.

And in a city like San Francisco,

the Faraday's 250 watt motorized front wheel

levels out the effort and makes for some serious fun.