Best electric road bikes 2026 ⁠— choose an e-bike that looks like a road bike to add power to your rides

We were highly impressed with Bianchi’s Impulso e-Road, and now Bianchi has slimmed it down even more and made use of Mahle’s X35 motor unit in the rear wheel to distribute the weight more evenly. 

This is a mid-range e-bike with a pretty high spec, which is refreshing considering Bianchi is not usually a brand associated with cheap and cheerful. The E-Impulso comes in the classic celeste colourway that Bianchi is famous for, and like all of the best e-road bikes nowadays, you’d hardly tell the difference between this and a non-powered Bianchi road bike. 

The drivetrain is 11-speed Shimano Ultegra, with Velomann providing the wheels and handlebars, which aren’t fancy but will do the job. 

Like on the previous model, this bike isn’t just limited to the road as you can fit up to 40mm tyres with 700c wheels. There are also mudguard eyelets and mounting points for racks on the aluminium frame and carbon fork, so you can extend your adventures to towpaths, gravel and beyond. 

Read ebiketips’ review of the previous version of this bike, the Bianchi Impulso e-Road

The Roadmachine is BMC’s do-everything road bike, and that transfers over to the electric version with an impressively low weight (a shade over 12kg) nippy steering and neutral road-going geometry.  

While the geometry is easy to live with, the frameset is stiff meaning this bike is primarily for performance rather than pootling. Mahle’s latest motor system offers a smooth and intelligent power boost, which really allows you to ride harder for longer, with the added weight of the motor and battery never a major concern.

It is quite a firm ride and the hub motor limits wheel upgrades; which is the same as any e-road bike with a rear hub motor, although this one is spendy and performance-focussed, so that’s something you might wish to do. Otherwise, this is a fun bike to ride fast and it retains the same DNA as the Roadmachine without electric assistance. 

Read our review:

The Boardman ADV8.9E stands out from the crowd as it manages to match the performance of its spendier counterparts, with considerably more riding versatility.

The integrated Fauza Evation drive system offers three power modes and intuitively feeds in extra assistance when needed based on your pedal stroke. It’s a mid-motor with a 250Wh battery, a stated torque of 60Nm and peak power of 400W.

Tipped by Boardman as an adventure bike “blending the speed of a road bike with a more relaxed position and off-road focussed geometry”, the ADV8.9E felt at home across a range of terrain largely due to 38mm Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres which offset a stiff frame. A slackened head tube, lengthened chainstays and subtly dropped bottom bracket combine for a more stable ride, while the position still felt aero enough for fast road riding.  

The ADV8.9E runs a SRAM Apex 1×11 drivetrain, which is SRAM’s lowest 11-speed spec, but it works brilliantly. Gears are lower than you’d find on a classic roadie as the 42T single chainring is paired with an 11-42T cassette, but you do get a 1:1 bottom gear to power up steep climbs.

At 16kg, it’s not the lightest e-road bike out there, but it’s still nimble enough to ride with only light ‘breeze mode’ power assistance. A hilly 50km sucks up 6/10 of the battery bars, so it should cover a gently undulating 100km in one charge. Battery and modes are displayed on a bar-mounted remote, which isn’t best feature of the bike, but more info can be found when connected to Fauza’s smartphone app.

Read our review:

Ok, so this is e-gravel rather than e-road specifically… but we’re counting pretty much anything with drop bars, and this bike will ride handsomely on the road too!

The Look e-765 Gravel is the carbon gravel e-sibling to Look’s road-faring e-765. Assisted gravel bikes have a lot going for them, because they’re capable enough to cope with technical terrain, while remaining light enough to perform on the road.

The e-765 also shares a lot of DNA with Look’s 765RS gravel bike. A carbon frame combines with a ‘3D Wave’ seatstay, and substantial 37mm WTB Riddler tyres, which are grippy enough to cope with a range of terrain. Our reviewer said that the on-bike position is fairly upright, with the option there to hunker down on the drops for aero spurts. At speed, the stiff stem gives the front of the bike a stable, solid feel.

The e-765 Gravel’s motor is the Fauza Evation system with 250Wh battery. The three power levels will carry you up most demanding and technical sections without too much effort. Bear in mind that gravel riding’s much more battery heavy than road, so expect one charge to cover a heavily assisted, hilly 50km.

The motor coupled with a carbon frame and SRAM Force single ring groupset don’t add too much weight to the bike, which comes in at 14.8kg. This is key for a gravel machine, meaning it’s not too heavy to chuck over stiles and up steps. It’s not unpleasant to ride with the motor off either, which is a big plus.

The Pinarello Nytro was the company’s first shot at an e-road bike, and a few years on it’s stil a classy ride. The Nytro is based on Pinarello’s asymmetric Torayca T700 UD carbon frame, whose origins lie in the TDF-winning Dogma F8, with albeit a less aggressive geometry and lower grades of carbon. The Nytro feels very comfortable over longer distances thanks to the 28mm Pirelli tyres and the high Onda fork, allowing the Nytro to track extremely well round corners according to our reviewer. 

The Fauza Evation motor is one of the two most popular systems on the market. It’s a mid-motor meaning it drives the pedals directly, with a claimed output of 400W and 60Nm torque, plus 250Wh battery. 

The motor and battery can drop out as a single unit, taking the overall weight from 14kg to 10kg. As for range, our reviewer got 85km out of the Nytro on low mode with juice left in the tank, so it could reach 100km fairly easily. 

It’s certainly not cheap, and there’s no denying that you can get a similar spec level for less; but the Pinarello name has plenty of cachet though, and it’s a fun and comfortable bike to ride.

Read the ebiketips review:

CGR stands for ‘Cross, Gravel, Road’… meaning that it qualifies for this guide based on the third initial, and not only that, but it’s our top-recommended e-road bike all things considered. 

The CGR AL e Sport model with SRAM Apex 1x gearing is a cracking machine for the money. Comfortable and stable over very rough ground, it’s also highly capable at eating up the road miles. The electric assist is delightfully discreet and intuitive, too.

If you’re after a steed that pretty much completely hides its electronic nature, then the CGR is the one for you. The downtube housing the 250Wh Panasonic battery is similar size to non-electronic bikes and the motor is hidden smartly away in the rear hub.

Said motor system is Mahle’s lightweight SmartBike Systems X35+, which comes in at 3.5kg. This particular build (SRAM Apex 1x) is more roadie than gravel, with narrow bars and slick Schwalbe 700x40c tyres. Ribble offers three other build options in the form of the Pro, Enthusiast and Sport (Shimano Tiagra), or you can build the CGR online into a configuration that suits you. 

A feature of the X35 system is that the power assistance is sparked by the cassette lockring as it turns, which is handy for getting a boost over tricky sections where you can’t pedal a full revolution. You can also turn on ‘heart rate assist’ via an app, which programmes power to kick in once a certain heart rate is reached.

The CGR is most suited to those already reasonably fit as assist is tied to revs – when it slows, the amount of power also drops – which makes for a completely different, yet still highly enjoyable ride experience.

The S-Works Turbo Creo SL is a headline-grabber and a suave-looking e-bike. The SL 1.1 motor coupled with Future Shock 2.0 damping system are excellent. If you can justify the mighty spend, with the price you get a high-quality build and well-rounded machine.

The SL 1.1 motor’s designed as a lightweight system, and was developed in-house with the help of German specialists Mahle. A peak output of 240W and a 340Wh internal battery means it’s not in competition with some of the heavyweight power machines here, but it is the lightest around at an impressive 12.3kg.

The motor has three assistance modes with a control in the top-tube, which can offer 100% assistance up to its 240W limit. This isn’t the bike for those after effortless pedalling, rather a helping hand on big climbs.

Like most, range is around 100km, give or take. The Creo SL comes with hydraulic disc brakes and SRAM Red eTap AXS levers. The 46T ring mated with a 12-speed,10-50t cassette offers enough for most riders to crawl up the very steepest climbs.

Read our review:

The Wilier Cento1 Hybrid is another example of a conventional road bike made into a e-road version. Wilier Triestina claims it is a “true racing bike with pedal assistance”, and at 12.5kg all-in, it does a great job of being exactly that.

The Cento1 provides all the fun that comes with riding a proper racing bike, at much less effort. A 250W Ebikemotion motor located in the rear hub enables you to soft-pedal up all but the steepest hills, and even those are made fairly easy. Three assistance levels are controlled by a button on the top-tube, which is easy to operate even with thick gloves.

Elsewhere, the 250Wh battery is tucked so neatly away in the downtube that it’s not obvious to the untrained eye that this is an e-bike. The Cento1 doesn’t have an aggressive geometry, prioritising comfort over being aero. Dependable Miche wheels and a full carbon frame work together to smooth out potholes and make for a highly enjoyable ride experience.

Read the review on ebiketips: