Bike sales have rocketed over the past 12 months and electric bikes are a big part of that.
Most journeys, in the UK at least, are only a few miles and cycling is the ideal mode of transport at the moment. Not only is it good for the environment but it's great exercise and means you can avoid getting close to other people on public transport.
Electric bikes - or ebikes - may be more expensive than a standard bike, but there are lots of good reasons to buy one, and you can often get them cheaper through your employer thanks to various schemes that allow you to buy them tax free.
Is An Ebike Worth The Money?
Most definitely. Electric bikes make it easy to cover longer distances than you can on an ordinary bike, and you can easily cycle up hills even if you're unfit.
Electric bikes are for everyone, no matter your age or fitness level.
Every electric bike offers a variety of assistance modes - including pedal power only - so you can choose how much effort to put in. Feeling lazy? Use the maximum assistance mode and barely pedal at all.
They're also brilliant fun to ride: they make hills seem almost like flat roads and they really take the pain out of cycling into a headwind.
Where Is A Good Place To Buy An Electric Bike?
You can buy electric bikes from many bike shops these days, including Halfords in the UK. Often you'll be able to test ride one - some companies will even loan you a bike for a day or two so you can really try them out.
In some cases, you can only buy direct from the manufacturer. Do consider how you'd return the bike if there was a problem. This is why it can be inconvenient to buy from China. You might save a lot of money initially, but if something goes wrong, it can take a long time and be expensive to return it.
You do get what you pay for, so if you can afford more than around £700 / $900, it's wise to do so. It's rare to find an ebike at a lower price than this which doesn't have compromises in component quality.
And once you’ve ridden an electric bike it can be hard to go back to an ordinary one.
VanMoof S3
- $1998
So long as you don't need your bike to fold or have suspension, the VanMoof S3 is hard to beat.
The automatic gears, torque-y motor and good range make the S3 a great electric bike.
The price is much more affordable than the S2 was, yet no corners have been cut: you get a built-in alarm and tracking system, LED lights and mudguards as standard - plus a three-year warranty.
If you're under 170cm (5ft7), buy the X3 instead as the S3 is a surprisingly large bike.
Read our full VanMoof S3 review
Specialized Turbo Vado SL (2021)
- From $3350
Although expensive - especially if you opt for the 5.0 rather than 4.0 - the Turbo Vado SL is every inch the premium ebike. It looks great, is much lighter than a lot of cheaper rivals and can be ridden like a normal bike without motor assistance.
It isn't the most powerful, but as long as you don't live in the mountains, it shouldn't be an issue, and the ride quality is excellent.
Range is great considering the relatively small-capacity battery: the only real issue is price, with the entry level SL 4.0 starting at £2600/$3350.
Read our full Specialized Turbo Vado SL 4.0 review
Gocycle GX
- $3299
The GX is a fantastic, well-designed electric bike. It looks good, rides great and folds up small. It has three gears, sturdy build and a powerful motor, plus tyres which give a more comfortable ride than you might expect.
Although it has an app, you don’t need it and can ride without it.
Ultimately, the main problem is the high price. If you can't stretch to it, then look at the Furo X Max or MiRider One.
Read our full Gocycle GX review
FuroSystems Furo X Max
- £1999 (around $2500)
Whether FuroSystems set out to make a better bike than the electrified Brompton or a cheaper option than the GoCycle, it doesn't really matter.
It's a brilliant folding electric bike, and is also among the lightest at only 15kg. We found it an absolute joy to ride.
It has nine gears, allowing you to carry on riding when the 378Wh battery runs out, and 20in all-terrain tyres are a nice touch too. The removable battery is a boon as well.
Read our full FuroSystems Furo X Max review
MiRider One
- £1395
The MiRider One is a thoughtfully designed folding bike which is well built and great to ride.
It’s more affordable than many of its rivals, yet has very few compromises. It’s relatively lightweight, built with good-quality components and is covered by a two-year UK warranty.
Mudguards and a front light are included as standard, and there’s no app to complicate things: you just unfold and ride.
MiRider uses a small-capacity battery by choice, as it keeps the weight (and cost) down. As it’s removable, you can swap in a spare to double the range. And at 1.2kg, it’s not too heavy to carry in a rucksack.
Whether or not you consider it a compromise, it’s worth noting that there are no gears, which makes it harder to ride – especially up hills – if the battery runs out.
Read our full MiRider One (2021) review
Gtech Sport
- £995
The Gtech Sport is a single-speed city bike that's ideal for commuting as well as simply cycling for leisure. At 16kg with the battery it's one of the lighter electric bikes.
It keeps things simple, so you won't find anything on the handlebars except for brakes. There's no suspension and no disc brakes, but also no gears. This isn't really a problem as it handles hills fine with the rear motor.
Plus, this is one of the cheapest electric bikes with a carbon belt rather than a chain. This means no maintenance and no oily mess.
The water bottle-style battery includes a display which tells you the remaining capacity and if you're in Eco or Max modes. In the former you'll get up to 30 miles of assistance from the motor, but it's a little awkward reaching the button to change modes while on the move.
It's available in two frame styles - this 20in version and a ladies' one, called the eBike City.
We'd like to see the kick stand and mudguards included at this price, but overall it's good value.
Read our full Gtech Sport review
Cowboy
- £1990
The Cowboy is a very good-value electric bike. Like the VanMoof, It's a smart, connected bike which uses an app. It shows your speed, battery level and let you control the amount of assistance from the motor, plus switch the lights on and off or even get tech support.
You get great quality components, a built-in GPS tracker, and a sensible range of 70km. If your commute is relatively short, you might only have to charge it once per week.
There's only one frame size and style, so it's not exactly ideal for women, but that's really the only disadvantage. Note that the Cowboy 3 is the latest version with a few upgraded components and - unfortunately - a higher price.
Fiido D11
- $1299
Fiido's D11 is a compact and lightweight foldable electric bike that has enough power in the motor to make light work of hills.
It looks good, if slightly odd with no chainstays, and has the battery in the seat tube, which means it's easy to remove and charge.
Unlike the MiRider One, it has gears which makes it easier to ride up hills without assistance from the motor.
Read our full Fiido D11 review
Volt Connect
- £2499
The Volt Connect is a great e-bike. It feels reassuringly sturdy and has great range. The motor is powerful enough for riding up steep hills with ease.
It’s pretty heavy, though, at just over 21kg, though, and there's no choice of frame size. However, you can test ride one to check if you’re happy before buying.
Read our full Volt Connect (2020) review
Carrera Vengeance E
- £1099
Built to a budget, the Vengeance E nevertheless offers a good overall specification, with a Suntour HESC system that uses a torque sensor rather than inferior cadence sensors.
The range of up to 40 miles is fine at this price, and unlike Chinese imports, you can take the Vengeance E to your local Halfords to get it repaired should anything break.
We don't much like the cheap-looking control panel which has no display, but aside from that and a slightly noisy motor, it's great value compared to many electric mountain bikes.
Read our full Carrera Vengeance E review
Fiido M1
- $1199.99
Most folding bikes are designed for commuting, but not the Fiido M1. If the tyres and suspension don't give the game away, it's for off-road riding.
Unlike cheap Chinese folding bikes we've tested, the M1 is sturdily built and feels sure-footed at speed, both on and off road.
Battery life is pretty good, but the 25kg weight and those wide tyres mean you're not going to enjoy riding it under pure pedal power - especially if you have to cycle up any hills.
However, our main concern is that there's limited warranty support should any components fail: Fiido doesn't have a repair centre in Europe yet.
Read our full Fiido M1 review
Electric Bike Buying Guide
When choosing a bike you should first decide what type you want. All types are available including road, hybrid (touring / commuting), mountain, folding, shopper / step-through.
Here are the key things to look for:
- Frame size
- Weight
- Sensor type - torque or cadence
- Gears
- Claimed range
- Warranty terms
Some of those are fairly self-explanatory, but it's worth briefly covering them all.
Don't expect there will always be a choice of frame size. Some of the bikes reviewed here come in one size, and it may be too big - or small - for you.
For weight, bear in mind that that e-bikes can be heavy, and therefore harder to ride with no assistance from the motor than a normal bike. Weight can also be an issue if you have to carry your bike up flights of stairs. But there are lightweight options at around 15-16kg - the heaviest e-bikes can weight upwards of 25kg.
You should also consider warranty and longevity. An e-bike may be cheap, but if a component fails you don’t want to have to pay to send the whole thing overseas for repair. Worse still, if you can’t get replacement parts at all, your bike may cease to work at all.
Special brake levers are installed on some e-bikes. These detect when you apply the brakes and cut power to the motor.
Bikes that conform must have a motor outputting 250 watts or less (peak power can be higher) and must not operate the motor over 15.5mph. Also, you have to be 14 or older to ride one.
Similarly, it’s worth getting a branded battery (Panasonic, Samsung, Sony etc) or at least checking if you can buy replacement batteries. Lithium-ion packs can be recharged between 800 and 1000 times, which could mean a three-year lifespan if you commute to and from work. And batteries will lose their capacity over time, meaning the bike’s assisted range will decrease as the battery ages.
A removable battery means you can take it indoors to charge: handy if you don’t have a mains socket in your shed or wherever you keep your bike.
Finally, ask your employer if you can buy an e-bike on the Bike2Work or Cyclescheme . This can knock off a big chunk of the cost. For example, it could take a £1,500 model down to £1,000. And that’s cheaper than even a Zone 1-2 annual Travelcard in London.
0 comments:
Post a Comment