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John Clark 17.06.20
When it comes to choosing the best electric bike it’s best to consider your requirements and how they match up to the different types of e-bikes available in the UK today. That is to say there are several options that serve different purposes.
Want something that is commuter friendly and will help avoid the daily congestion of cars without making you turn up covered in sweat? Then a hybrid electric bike is what you need.
Are you looking to take on the great outdoors and explore bike trails that lead off into the sun (and those dreaded hills)? Then a mountain e-bike can be your carriage back to civilisation once the adventure draws to an end.
Maybe you’re just looking for a standard electric bike that caters its design for women. Fear not, there is a wide selection of e-bikes for you which we have condensed down into what we believe are the best electric bikes for ladies.
Or maybe you’re just looking for a way to explore with an electric bike but don’t want to re-mortgage your house in the process. Then our selection of the best budget e-bikes is for you.
Whatever your requirements might be, we hope this guide helps you focus in on what type of e-bike will be most suitable, and ultimately which one will best serve your needs.
Best hybrid electric bike
Hybrid e-bikes are the most popular and common choice when it comes to buying an electric bike. They offer a good combination of a comfortable ride, with the ability to tackle roads, pavements and an occasional park track or bit of grass. This makes them a good all-round bike ideally suited for commuters and leisure riders alike. Whilst they are normally heavier than their folding counterparts, they can handle rougher terrain that you may encounter on a daily commute.
The Nature Hybrid ONE Allroad is the perfect all-rounder ready to meet your everyday needs. It comes fully equipped with mudguards, an AXA and Busch & Müller lighting system that runs off the Bosch battery and a kickstand.
It’s equally capable of being a leisure bike at the weekends and a daily commuter. The integrated Bosch motor and battery blends into the frame so well it can be difficult at a glance to spot that you’re riding an e-bike.
The little things make this bike stand out and add up to it being our top pick. Everything from the strong durable frame, to there being no need to remove the battery for charging, make it a great choice for someone who will use this bike on a daily basis.
It comes with Schwalbe Smart Sam tyres and Shimano hydraulic disc brakes providing great traction and stopping power.
The Suntour suspension fork lets you tackle rough surfaces and potholes (although you still want to avoid these where possible) with ease.
The reliable and smooth Bosch drive unit feeds both yours and the motor’s power to the rear wheel via the Shimano gears, providing a seamless pleasurable ride.
Pros:
- High Performance Aluminium frame
- Large choice of Frames and Sizes
- Suspension and mudguards ideal for commuting
- Great price point
Cons:
- Light for the category of bike but still worth taking into account when considering as a commuter.
Our rating: 9.5/10
The Moustache Samedi is your more traditional hybrid bike, great for rides with the family, getting in some fitness training, cycling to town or down some country lanes just for the fun of it.
It has a lower top tube designed for ease of use making it comfortable to use and giving it a unique chic style. The moustache style handlebars also add to its flair providing a striking and distinctive look.
Aesthetic beauty aside the 9th iteration of the model features a low centre of gravity, a Bosch Active Plus Motor, a luggage rack compatible with QL3 and MIK standards, Suntour NEX-E25 63mm front suspension, Schwalbe BIG APPLE 700x50C tyres, and a 400Wh battery.
All-in-all this bike is well equipped to carry out most tasks you can throw at it with ease.
Pros:
- Excellent option for transporting cargo of various sizes.
- Great all rounder
- Stylistic and comfortable at the same time.
Cons:
- Mid range price
- Like the Cube Nature Hybrid One, weight should be a consideration.
Our rating: 9.0/10
The cheapest of our 3 recommendations, the Gamma still manages to be the complete electric bike package for leisure or commuting.
It still boasts an array of quality components and being manufactured in Europe means you are getting a good mix of value and reliable construction.
For the price the bike offers a surprising number of features, it has front and rear Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, motor from Promovec, front suspension adjustable with lockout, mudguards and lights as standard, and rear storage. Add to that a choice of battery sizes (to suit your requirements) and you have a very capable hybrid e-bike that can get you to and from work during the week and out to the shops of an evening.
Pros:
- Price – excellent value
- Features – covers every base well
Cons:
- Not the most well known brand
- The price creeps up with larger battery packs
Our rating: 8.5/10
Best electric mountain bike
Just like regular mountain bikes, there is a lot of choice when it comes to picking the right mountain e-bike. Choosing a bike with the right frame geometry, suspension type and tyre set-up all play an important part when picking one. A trail style bike offers the versatility required for all aspects of mountain biking, whether you are climbing a hill, hitting some obstacles or going through a technical trail these types of bikes have become almost the hybrid version for E-MTB’s. When thinking of the best electric mountain bike that covers all aspects of this, only one bike springs to mind:
Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC Action Team 625
The Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC is built around Bosch’s new, fourth-generation drive system, with the carbon frame hiding the CUBE modular battery system and the Bosch power unit inside the carbon down tube. It has a tough cover providing protection and shock absorption for the battery system, with a hidden lock and push button access. The new higher capacity battery gives this bike an extended range and longer days out on the trails than it’s older models and really is a big plus.
“The fourth-generation Bosch CX drive unit sits in its own housing, while the aluminium rear triangle features a Boost 148 axle for efficient power transfer, larger bearings for longer life and a linkage designed to fit a trunnion shock.”
The bike offers excellent handling, providing a stable and confidence-building ride, mainly thanks to the specifically designed suspension and frame set-up.
The bike is chain guide compatible and even has a bottle cage mount for carrying tools or water. With integrated cable routing the gears will shift smoothly with minimal maintenance, meaning more time on the hills.
This bike is used by the pro’s for good reason, it’s the complete package and makes getting back to the top of hill a breeze, ready for your next run.
Pros:
- Bosch 4th gen power unit is a beast!
- Excellent handling
- Sleek design
Cons:
- You pay for what you get, it’s not cheap
Our rating: 9.5/10
Best ladies electric bike
In 2020 we see more manufacturers making womens e-bikes than ever before. Typically these bikes have a smaller geometry, narrower handlebars, shorter stem and a lower step over.
There’s a wide range of bikes specifically designed for women, from E-MTB to electric road bikes, and our favourite falls into the hybrid e-bike category.
Cube Nuride
The Cube Nuride has a distinctive modern design. It’s not all about looks though, this bike is a capable workhorse. Featuring a high quality and innovative frame, integrated luggage rack, a Bosch 250W Active Line motor, front suspension, hydraulic rim brakes, and a reliable Shimano 9 speed hub gears system providing excellent all-round capabilities.
It’s more than capable ferrying you to and from work during the week, then down a country lane at the weekend as you explore the great outdoors.
Pros:
- Easy Entry frame
- Reliable Bosch Motor
- Modern Design
Cons:
- It doesn’t have a rack.
Our rating: 9.0/10
Best budget electric bike
Bikes can be notoriously expensive to buy when compared to their unmotorised counterparts. Fortunately these days you don’t have to break the bank to get something that is both well made and capable of taking some of the strain out of those hills.
Whilst our recommendation is by no means cheap, it is on the lower end of the budget when compared to the myriad of today’s options that can set you back as much as a small car would.
Batribike Zeta
Going budget doesn’t have to mean cutting back on quality, the Batribike Zeta ticks all the boxes when it comes to quality, comfort and style. All at an affordable price point.
It features a powerful 250W motor, Shimano Nexus 7 speed hub gears, enough battery power for up to 50 miles of assisted riding, mudguards, lights and a front basket, all on a frame that is comfortable to ride and durable.
The battery assistance levels can be easily seen and controlled by the mounted display on the handlebars and the RevoShift twist grip gear changer makes controlling this bike a breeze.
Style is subjective but there’s no doubting this bikes design choices, the colour scheme integrates throughout the whole design, giving it a modern and fashionable look.
When it comes to performance, this bike is both comfortable and easy to ride, perfect for both city and rural life. Whilst you won’t want to be going off-roading on this bike, its more than capable of going down country lanes or through busy city centres. For the price, you won’t get a more complete package.
Pros:
- Excellent value for money
- Sleek co-ordinated design
- Durable premium parts
Cons:
- The battery isn’t integrated into the frame
- It doesn’t have the longest of ranges for an electric bike
Our rating: 8.5/10
Common Questions
What is an electric bike?
An electric bike or an e-bike is generally a conventional bike that is motor assisted. It will usually have a battery and a motor which helps take some of the effort out of peddling.
There are definitely some crazier types of e-bikes that fall under this category that don’t fit this description but for the most part that is what an electric bike is.
Why buy an electric bike?
It can be as simple as wanting some pedalling assistance due to age, injury or fitness level.
Maybe you have a regular set of deliveries or cargo to move and an electric bike would mean you didn’t have to use a car to do the task.
Or perhaps you want to start commuting to work, but the amount of miles would mean you turn up hot and bothered covered in sweat with a conventional bike.
What does the law say about electric bikes?
Electric bikes, despite what you may think are not secretly disguised motorbikes. An e-bike can only assist its rider, meaning you still need to peddle. Want to go faster than 15.5mph or 25kmh? Then that’s on you as the motor (which can only be a maximum of 250W) will only assist you up to this speed.
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