A hybrid bike is generally thought of as being halfway between a road bike and a mountain bike. It is designed to offer greater comfort and be a little more capable off road than the former while still being faster rolling than the latter. Hybrids work brilliantly as e-bikes because the motor all but negates the impact of the less aerodynamic riding position and the slower, wider tyres. This means you get all of the advantages without really feeling those downsides.
- Tenways CGO600 – £900
- Estarli e28.X – £1,895
- Mako Shark – £2,600
- Giant Explore E+ Pro 1 GTS – £3,799
- Orbea Diem 10 – £5,299
Hybrid e-bikes are ideal for commuting and leisure riding when you want an upright riding position – especially when you might need to tackle some slightly rougher surfaces from time to time. That sets them up as being almost the default e-bike type – they’re so adaptable, they’re a great fit for a wide range of general, everyday riding.
That said, ‘hybrid’ is by its nature not a precise definition. Each bike has its own characteristics and some are a little more capable off-road than others. We’ve tried to give a pretty broad spread of electric hybrid bikes below and they span a range of prices as well.
All inclusions have been thoroughly tested by members of the ebiketips team. Here’s the lowdown on how we review e-bikes.
Tenways CGO600 – £999
Something of a staple in our buyer’s guides – and for good reason. Tenways’ CGO600 is a simple, high performance single-speed that’ll be all the e-bike many people will need. Furthermore, the original model – billed as the Classic Edition – is now available for a knockdown price under a grand. (The £1,199 New Edition gets more concealed cabling, an updated display and an integrated rear light on the mudguard.)
A bike like this does bring a few limitations, but Tenways addresses most of them with other models. If you’d like a larger (and removable battery), the CGO600 Pro will set you back £1,599, while the CGO600 Plus (£1,699) sheds the belt drive in favour of a chain and derailleur gearing. All are solid options.
Read our review of the Tenways CGO600
Estarli e28.X – £1,895
The downside of a single-speed, like most of the CGO600s mentioned above, is that the single gear can be uncomfortably large when first setting off or if you find yourself faced with anything steeper than a gentle incline. The Estarli e28.X addresses this with an automatic two-speed gearbox built into the motor.
It’s not a lot of gears – but it’s twice as many as one. You’ll find the lower gear very helpful at certain key moments and then the rest of the time the motor will keep your speed up so that the larger gear stays comfortable.
If you want, you can pay extra for Dutch handlebars, a suspension fork, a suspension seat post or a rear rack. There’s also the £1,850 e28.9 where the belt drive and dual-speed motor are replaced with a chain and nine derailleur gears. Both models are available with either a crossbar or step-through frame.
Read our review of the Estarli e28.X
Mako Shark – £2,600
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Buy for £2,300 from Shark Bikes
So far we’ve been wholly dealing in hub motor e-bikes. While these can often whip you up significant slopes merrily enough, when the road steepens beyond a certain gradient, performance is liable to wither a bit. A lot of people will never really discover these limits, but if you live somewhere hilly, you’ll most likely be better off with a mid-motor. Here’s our article that goes into the ins and outs of hub motors v mid motors in a bit more depth.
Like most of the bikes already mentioned, the Mako Shark has a belt drive, but this time combined with a mid-motor and 8-speed Shimano Alfine hub gearing. This combination will help you tackle tougher terrain without adding significant maintenance.
It does also make for quite a heavy bike (29.7kg) but the Mako is supremely comfortable thanks to a suspension seat post and a decent suspension fork and it seems to have been on sale for £2,300 for quite a while now.
Read our review of the Mako Shark
Giant Explore E+ Pro 1 GTS – £3,799
Buy for £2,848 from Winstanleys Bikes
A jump-up in RRP, but the Giant Explore E+ Pro 1 GTS is a versatile, top-quality all-rounder of an e-bike offering excellent motor performance and range. At the heart of it is the SyncDrive mid-motor, which is punchy yet smooth and incredibly responsive – plus the battery range is phenomenal.
If you are off road or just want a plush ride, the fork works really well, while the lightly-treaded 57mm tyres cope well on loose terrain like gravel, but also roll well on the road.
Read our review of the Giant Explore E+ Pro 1 GTS
Orbea Diem 10 – £5,299
Finally, and venturing a little deeper into ‘money no object’ territory, Orbea’s Diem 10 is a strikingly distinctive e-bike which combines elegance and simplicity. It’s yet another belt drive, but this time combined with a Shimano EP801 mid-motor – one of the brand’s most powerful offerings and therefore more typically seen on electric mountain bikes.
The gearing is via Enviolo’s Automatiq gear hub, which – as the name suggests – changes gear for you automatically. You can tweak the settings to suit your preferred pedalling cadence via the associated app.
One slight oddity is that it doesn’t come with a screen, which is either a big plus point or a massive oversight, depending on your point of view – although you can pay another £20 for a phone mount.
More e-bike guides
- Best folding e-bikes
- Your guide to electric road bikes
- Best electric gravel bikes
- Best electric mountain bikes
- Best electric cargo bikes
