[6] In the Star Wars universe, speeder bikes are a type of "repulsorcraft", vehicles which use anti-gravity devices called repulsorlifts to hover above the surface of a planet.
[10][11] Ben Brosofsky of Screen Rant has called speeder bikes an iconic part of Star Wars ever since their introduction in Return of the Jedi and described them as capturing the intensity of the movie.
[22] Ryan Britt of Inverse and Ben Sherlock of Screen Rant both describe the speeder bike chase as one of the most iconic scenes of the Star Wars saga.
[25] The speeder bike, specifically the 74-Z as seen in Return of the Jedi, was ranked as one of the top vehicles of the Star Wars universe by Dean Evans of DRIVEN Car Guide.
[29][30] Although lacking the anti-gravity technology ascribed to speeder bikes, real-life hoverbikes utilize different principles of levitation with the goal of achieving a similar effect.
Mark DeRoche of Aero-X maker Aerofex said it was "a tribute to George Lucas' team" that their prototype hoverbike – a low-altitude tandem duct aerial vehicle – resembled Star Wars speeders.