The First E-Bike Patent
A hub motor goes into a bicycle wheel.
On 31 December 1895 Ogden Bolton Jr. is granted a US patent for a battery-powered bicycle with a DC hub motor in the rear wheel: no gears, and a motor that could draw up to 100 amps from a 10-volt battery. The rear hub motor he patented is still the most common way to power an e-bike.
Open in interactive timeline →Key Numbers
- Bolton Patent
- 31 Dec 1895
- US Patent
- 552,271
- Motor
- Rear hub, DC
- Battery
- 10 volts, up to 100 A
Verified Facts
- On 31 December 1895 Ogden Bolton Jr. was granted US patent 552,271 for a battery-powered bicycle with a six-pole brush-and-commutator DC hub motor in the rear wheel.
- It had no gears, and the motor could draw up to 100 amperes from a 10-volt battery.
- In 1897 Hosea W. Libbey of Boston patented an electric bicycle with a double electric motor in the hub of the crank axle.
- Torque sensors and power controls came in the late 1990s; a Japanese patent for one was granted in 1997.
Myth vs. Reality
Myth:
Reality: Electric bicycles appear in US patents from the 1890s, including Ogden Bolton Jr.'s 1895 rear hub motor. What is recent is the lithium battery and the torque sensor.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the electric bike invented?
In the 1890s. Ogden Bolton Jr. was granted a US patent on 31 December 1895 for a bicycle with a battery-powered hub motor in the rear wheel.
Is a hub motor old technology?
The idea is: Bolton's 1895 patent put a DC hub motor in the rear wheel. Today's hub motors are far lighter and are fed by lithium batteries.
Sources & Further Reading
Cite This Page
AskHistoryAI. “The First E-Bike Patent.” AskHistoryAI — Interactive Timeline of Everything. Updated 2026-10-08. https://askhistoryai.com/event/sv-electric-bicycle-patent/
Every fact on this page is checked against the published fact ledger and methodology; sources are listed above.