If you're on a quest for the best electric bikes, you may have noticed that road biking is becoming an increasingly popular pastime in the UK. Be it to ditch the car and save fuel on the commute or ride out on the weekends to increase fitness levels, more and more people are taking up the hobby.
Electric bikes, aka eBikes, have also ridden on the success of the upward tick in bike sales, with people turning to electrically powered bikes to help them on their way. The idea of an electric motor can seem like cheating to some, but for others, it enables them to get back on bikes and enjoy more of the outdoors.
The best electric road bikes at a glance:
• Most versatile road eBike: Boardman ADV 8.9e Evation 2023
• Most reliable road eBike: Ribble Endurance AL e - Enthusiast
• Best all-rounder road eBike: Orbea Gain D50 Electric Road Bike 2023
• Best road eBike for distance: BMC Roadmachine AMP THREE Disc Electric Road Bike 2022
• Best lightweight road eBike: Ribble Endurance SL e - Hero
• Best premium road eBike: Cannondale SuperSix Evo Neo 1 Disc Electric Road Bike 2021
• Best battery road eBike: Specialized Turbo Creo SL Expert Carbon Electric Road Bike 2022
They can be fantastic vehicles where you can enjoy time outdoors and improve your fitness levels. eBikes can also help you get back on the electric road bike after an injury or if you struggle with knee or back pain, as the assistance from the motor can help take some pressure off your joints. Below, we've rounded up some of the best. But if you'd still like to know which bike is best for you, you can read our guide here.
If you thought eBikes were only for specialist names which inserted motors into unknown frames, you'd be wrong. Almost every reputable brand now has an eBike, and what's more, their structures have been adapted to accept the motor, batteries and everything else needed to make the bikes work. Some you wouldn't even know were eBikes. Let's take a look.
The best road eBikes
Most versatile road eBike
www.tredz.co.uk
The Boardman ADV 8.9 is already a wonderful bike. It's easy to ride, comfortable and very capable over varying terrain while also being a solid road bike if you wrap some thinner rubber on the wheels. The Fazua rear hub motor is smooth and powerful with an integrated 250Wh removable battery pack that offers a range of up to 56 miles, depending on how you use it.
SRAM hydraulic disc brakes, you'll welcome them on the descents as the bike isn't light, it comes in at 16kg.
Pros
- SRAM Apex 1x11 speed groupset
- Extremely versatile bike
- Handlebar remote shows battery levels
Cons
- Heavy at 16kg
Most reliable road eBike
www.ribblecycles.co.uk
Ribble has been quietly going about their business making some really nice-looking bikes lately. The Endurance AL e is one of them. This one is built for the 'enthusiast' with Shimano 105 gears and brakes. The frame is 6061 aluminium with full carbon forks. Ribble uses the strong, reliable, silky smooth Mahle SMartBike X35 motor and a 250Wh Panasonic internal battery pack.
Pros
- Strong, reliable motor
- Looks just like a 'normal' bike
- Reliable Shimano 105 gears
Cons
- Battery life is unknown without the accompanying app
Best all-rounder road eBike
www.tredz.co.uk
Looking at this bike, you wouldn't think it was an eBike - the motor and battery are more integrated than most. The D50 is the entry-level in the Orbea product line-up. Again we see the Mahle X35 plus motor in use and the accompanying Mahle 248Wh battery. As Orbea see this as entry-level, they offer Shimano calris gears and mechanical disc brakes.
Pros
- Reputable and reliable motor
- Integrated rear light powered by the battery
- Good base spec
Cons
- Not many at this price
Best road eBike for distance
www.tredz.co.uk
BMC offer up something a little bit more punchy - the Roadmachine is a well-respected bike with its Shimano 105 Groupset and tubeless-ready wheels and full carbon frame. Add to that the reliable Mahle motor and a 350Wh battery (with an optional 172Wh range extender purchased separately). You can be good for up to 140km even with 3,000 meters of elevation.
Pros
- Impressive range
- Reliable motor
- Reliable groupset
Cons
- Battery range is not viewable unless you're using the app
Best lightweight road eBike
www.ribblecycles.co.uk
We're starting to get serious about the bikes now. Full carbon frames mixed with motors only add to the ability to crunch the hills. The Endurance SL e in Hero spec is just that. With Shimano Dura Ace Di2 gears and weighing just 10.49kg, you'll be flying up the climbs and monstering the flats in no time. Ribble designed this very bike to be lighter, faster and more climb efficient than any of their eBikes ever made.
Pros
- Light at 10kg
- Very well-respected groupset
- Fantastic attention to detail
Cons
- The motor doesn't have huge amounts of torque - rear hub motors rarely do
Best premium road eBike
www.tredz.co.uk
Cannondale takes their well-respected SuperSix name and finishes it off with some magic from Mahle. This small, lightweight, discrete system adds only 3.5kg to an already lightweight bike, making it just 11.3kg. Cannondale claims their cable routing, which runs into the front of the headtube, is innovative and easier to service. While we mention services, the Wheel Sensor tracks your speed, route and distance information, registers your bike and reminds you when it's in need of a service, that's smart. The SiperSix Evo Neo 1 Disc is also compatible with the X35 Range Extender external battery which adds 208Wh to the main battery for a total capacity of 460Wh.
Pros
- Incredibly well-respected bike and brand
- Clever tech
- Lightweight at 11.3kg
Cons
- The Mahle System doesn't give you any battery life indication unless you use an app
Best battery road eBike
www.tredz.co.uk
With the Creo, Specialized has bucked the trend of the Mahle motor and developed its own, Specialized SL 1.1, custom lightweight motor. Coupled with the 320Wh battery, Specialized claims a range of 80 miles will help you crunch most hills to nothing and enjoy a day in the saddle. An optional range extender, purchased separately, can deliver another 40 miles. It's ready for different types of terrain with the Future Shock damper on the handlebars, which you can adjust for different levels of stiffness.
The Mission Control App allows you to tune the motor to your riding style, record rides and monitor the battery. The app will also handle battery management automatically, which aims at ensuring the battery will last the ride.
Pros
- Clever battery tech with the Mission Control app
- A well-respected brand with a well-developed motor
- Big battery range
Cons
- Not many, but you wouldn't expect them at this price
Frequently Asked Questions
Despite eBikes being about for a while now, there are still a few misconceptions about what they are and how they work. Let's bust some myths.
What to look out for in an eBike
Motors
To ensure you get something right, you'll need to pick between two different motors - hub or crank.
Hub motors, which are mounted in the rear hub and help the wheel to rotate, are often for lighter use of an eBike.
Crank motors help the pedals turn. Having a motor house in the cranks is generally heavier, but they give you more significant assistance when riding, and you feel their effects much more compared to a hub motor.
Brakes
You'll be hard pushed to find an eBike which doesn't have disc brakes, as the heavier bikes require the greater stopping power found with disc brakes. They will either be mechanical, the traditional method of a cable pulling the brake calliper, or hydraulic, which is a fluid movement pulling the brake calliper shut.
The mechanical systems are fine and work well, but as they're open, dirt and grim can clog these up, with cables becoming stretched and needing to be changed.
Hydraulic systems will be closed, and you get more braking power, so it may only require a couple of fingers to pull hard on the brakes, leaving more room for modulation. The downside to hydraulics is that they're more expensive, are more technical to replace, and often require a mechanic.
Frame
The frame will be something you will have to decide on too. You will get a choice of aluminium or carbon fibre frames. Aluminium is cheaper but tends to be heavier. Lower-end prices will make lighter carbon fibre frames more readily available.
You should balance the weight and cost of what you can afford because the likelihood is you won't mind a couple of extra kilogram on the bike frame if it saves you a couple of grand.
Torque and Watt-hour (Wh)
Torque on an eBike is very similar to a car; the higher the torque a motor can produce, the more weight it can shift. It's not uncommon to find pedal-assist motors that can produce up to 80Nm of torque, and this is plenty to get you off the mark and up the hills.
The difference between a Watt and a Watt-hour (Wh) is a Watt is a unit of power, and Wh is a unit of energy. So, Watt-hours measure the amount of energy for a specific period and Watts measure rates of power at the moment in time. So if you have a 250Wh battery, it will give you 250 watts of power for one hour.
Use this as a rough guide, though, as when you're in the most assisting mode (which usually gives you 250 watts of power), the run time depends on how hard you're working, steepness of inclines, the amount of weight the bike is carrying and environmental factors, like temperature and wind.
Can you ride an eBike on the road?
Yes - absolutely. There is nothing illegal about riding an eBike on the road.
Are eBikes Street legal?
Yes - eBikes in the UK are limited to 15.5mph, and they are not allowed to produce more than 250 watts of power. If you see an eBike advertises more power and speed than this, this will not be street legal in the UK.
How do you charge an eBike?
Some have removable battery packs, which are then plugged into the charger; this makes it easier to set up at an office because you don't need to bring the bike with you. Some will require you to plug the charger into the frame for cycles with batteries integrated into the frame.
Can you ride bikes in the rain?
Yes - eBikes are good to use in all conditions.
An electric bike or conversion kit?
This all comes down to what you have - if you already own a bike, a conversion kit might be a cheaper way to get electrical power, and there are some perfect ones on the market now. However, if you don't own a bike already and do not have the mechanical know-how - it's down to personal preference.
Our preference would be to purchase an eBike as it's designed specifically to be electrically assisted.