There are few simple pleasures in life as glorious as riding a good bike – the wind in your face and the quiet sounds of the countryside as you amble by on a warm Summer’s day… bliss.
But, for many, cycling can seem like a fitness task too far. Be it age or health, you might want an added bit of help to get you further on your bike rides - well, luckily there's an easy solution: one of the best eBikes.
The best road eBikes under £3,000 at a glance:
• Best overall: Orbea Gain D50 Electric Road Bike 2022
• Best frame build: Vitus E-Substance Alloy Road E-Bike 2022
• Best range: Boardman ADV 8.9e Evation 2022
• Best brakes: Orbea Gain D40 Electric Road Bike 2022
• Best lightweight: Ribble Endurance SL e-Sport
• Best convenience: Merida EScultura 400 2021 – Electric Road Bike
Many people see them as cheating or not a ‘proper’ bike; there seems to be some myth that they are twist-and-go machines akin to a twist-and-go scooter. In truth, to get an eBike to move, you must do the same as getting a regular cycle to move… pedal. The electric motor will not kick in until you are turning the pedals; it’s at this point, depending on which power setting you have the motor in, that power is delivered either to the cranks or the rear hub motor, which helps the rear wheel turn.
eBikes are a great enabler to help you carry on cycling, take it up again after a long lay off or enjoy riding your bike with the time you have.
Best overall
www.tredz.co.uk
Description
This is the entry point in the Orbea road eBike product line-up; the low price of the D50 makes it ideal for casual road cyclists and features many technologies usually found within the high-end models.
The Ebikemotion X35 Plus motor is housed in the rear wheel axel, not in the bottom bracket which you may be used to seeing; this will give you an electronic boost, not as instant and powerful as a bottom bracket motor but without resistance, if you’re riding with the motor switched off. Battery display and assistance level are shown to you by the iWoc ONE interface with the 248Wh battery housed in the downtube.
Made of hydroformed aluminium and carbon forks to help reduce road buzz, it’s a bike with a geometry layout for all-day comfort in the saddle.
Pros
- Powerful disc brakes
- Internal cabling
- 30c tyres allow for good grip levels and a comfortable ride
- Strong and simple Shimano Claris groupset
- Integrated rear light, which runs off the bike’s battery
Cons
- While internal cabling makes a nice sleek look, they’re difficult to maintain
- Disc brakes offer up more stopping power but bring up high maintenance costs.
- A rear axel motor doesn’t give as much instant power as a bottom bracket motor
Best frame build
www.chainreactioncycles.com
Description
The Vitus Emitter features a carbon frame and fork design to help reduce the weight which an electric motor and batteries add. With hydraulic disc brakes for sensational stopping power and Shimano 105 R7000 mechanical groupset, it’s a powerful and lightweight eBike.
The motor is housed on the cranks and bottom bracket; this keeps the weight low, and handling is similar to that of a standard, or traditional, road bike, combine that with a more punchy and sporty geometry and this bike with the added assistance from the motor could well see you on your way.
The battery is housed in the down tube with an indicator of how much battery life is left and which assistance mode you are in on the top tube.
Pros
- Highly-regarded Shimano groupset
- Full carbon frame and forks
- Hydraulic disc brakes
Cons
- Hydraulic disc brakes are very powerful but increase maintenance costs.
- Not the most well-known brand
Best range
www.tredz.co.uk
Description
The Boardman ADV range is generally known as Boardman’s ‘adventure’ range, meaning that these bikes are capable of a bit of soft roading and gravel as much as they are extremely good on the road. The lightweight 6061 Aluminium frame has full carbon forks to add a bit of compliance and soak up some road buzz, and the SRAM apex 1x11 groupset gives you a wide range of gears with only a single cog on the crank.
A Fazua Evation mid-drive motor supplies the electrical boost, and the 250Wh Fazua removable integrated battery is located in the down tube.
Pannier rack and mudguard ready, this will be a capable weekend warrior and still aid you in your commute to and from work.
Pros
- Up to 56 miles of range
- Comfortable with soft roading and road riding
- Hydraulic disc brakes
Cons
- Weighs 16kg
- Key needed to turn the bike on
Best brakes
www.tredz.co.uk
Description
The elder sibling to the D50 mentioned above, you have to dive into the spec to notice the difference in the bikes. The D40 offers a Shimano Tiagra groupset with hydraulic disc brakes and an upgraded light. The Tiagra groupset is a 10-speed, giving you a greater variety in your gearing to make the most of the climbs.
Equipped with the same Ebikemotion X35 Plus motor, which is housed in the rear wheel axle, the bike is generally the same as the D50 save for the upgrades in some tech but does that equate to a £400 promotion? Well, if you were hoping to make a saving by buying the D50 and upgrading yourself, purchasing the Tiagra 4720 Groupset (which is very similar) would cost you around £750 at Wiggle.
Pros
- Powerful hydraulic disc brakes
- Internal cabling
- 30c tyres allow for good grip levels and a comfortable ride
- Shimano Tiagra Groupset
Cons
- While internal cabling makes a nice sleek look, they’re difficult to maintain
- Hydraulic disc brakes offer up more stopping power but bring up high maintenance costs.
- A rear axel motor doesn’t give as much instant power as a bottom bracket motor
Best lightweight
www.ribblecycles.co.uk
Description
Looking at this bike, you’d struggle to see it was, in fact, an eBike; the battery is well hidden in the down tube, and the MAHLE SmartBike Systems X35+ drive system is hidden in the rear axle. The iWoc ONE controller is located on the top tube to turn the motor on and cycle through three different assist modes. The only problem with this system is that there is no indication on the bike of how much battery you have left. You can pair this to your smartphone via a third-party app that will give you this information; this means either mounting your phone on your handlebars or checking it regularly in your back pocket.
A SRAM Rival 22 groupset with hydraulic disc brakes gives you precision gear changes and mighty stopping power with Ksyrium S Disc wheels on 28mm tyres to help keep rolling resistance low and weight down. The full carbon frame and forks help this bike achieve a weight of around 11kg, depending on your size. That’s enough to make some standard road bikes jealous.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Strong reliable groupset
- Hydraulic disc brakes
- Very reputable brand name
- Good quality carbon frame
Cons
- iWoc ONE system is sound but difficult to tell battery life at a glance
- While internal cabling makes a nice sleek look, they’re difficult to maintain
- Hydraulic disc brakes offer up more stopping power but bring up high maintenance costs.
- A rear axle motor doesn’t give as much instant power as a bottom bracket motor.
Best convenience
www.tredz.co.uk
Description
Another bike that is making use of the MAHLE SmartBike Systems X35+ drive system and iWoc ONE button-operated motor. The Merida is built on a hydroformed 6066 series triple-butted aluminium frame and comes with mounts for mudguards, pannier racks and even a kickstand. There is generous clearance for tyres up to 40mm, meaning you could fit some comfier off-roading style tyres if you wanted to take them to the trails.
With Shimano 105 groupset and two-piston hydraulic disc brakes, you get powerful stopping, as you’d expect from a bike at the top end of this price bracket, and reliable supersmooth shifting. Whatsmore the internal cables are routed through a specific headset cap to keep the cockpit neat.
Pros
- Big brand name which is at home in the professional peloton
- Shimano 105 Groupset
- Mounts for racks, panniers and kickstand
- Hydraulic disc brakes
Cons
- While internal cabling makes a nice sleek look, they’re difficult to maintain
- Hydraulic disc brakes offer up more stopping power but bring up high maintenance costs.
FAQs
How does an eBike work?
Many eBikes have different ‘modes’, for instance, eco, touring, sport and turbo. Each mode will give you extra power from the motor, using the power you put through the pedals to indicate how much motor power is needed. Motors give you up to 250 watts of assistance.
Don't expect to start accelerating up to 15mph from standing - eBikes don't work that way. Instead, they offer assistance. So, when using an eBike you will undoubtedly notice the increase in power from the motor, which will help you keep a nippy pace on flats and take a little strain off of hills. But behind it all, it's still you and your body.
Always remember for an eBike to work efficiently, you must also put some effort in. The added assistance from the motor will only boost your ride in terms of distance and average speed and not fatigue you so much.
Different types of motors
Not all eBikes are created equal. Once upon a time, eBikes had large batteries and motors, making it very visible that you were on an eBike. However, the development rate on them has been tremendous, and nowadays, you may be looking at an eBike without even knowing.
There are two main types of eBike motors ones which work on the pedals and assist you in your pedal stroke, and ones which work on the rear hub in assisting the rear wheel to turn.
We’ve tested many over the years, and we’ve always found the pedal-mounted Bosch motors to give you the most boost and reduce fatigue. This is because the power is directly mounted to the pedals, so you feel it instantly. They’re generally bulkier, too, meaning they can put in a bit more torque than rear hub motors.
Motors on the rear hub are much more compact, about the size of the big gear on your cassette, so they’re much more discrete. They provide plenty of power in terms of assistance and are a good option for someone looking for a discrete boost of electrical assistance.