Hello! we’re over at ExCel at the London Bike Show today, and we’re pleased to report there’s plenty of e-bike stuff to keep us interested. Here’s a rundown of some of the things we’ve seen today… An electric penny farthing? An electric anything, that’s the basic premise of the Swytch system. Their crowdfunder shifted over … Read more
Five grand is a sum of money you could quite legitimately buy a car for. But this is a bike that’s very much designed to replace a car, and certainly won’t cost you anything like as much in the long run. It’s a practical and versatile bike with masses of carrying capacity. The 60 in … Read more
So, how easy it it to convert your bike to an e-bike? Obviously that will depend on what your bike is, and what you’re fitting to it. But for the purposes of research we decided to give it a go, with a fairly standard hybrid bike and a popular conversion kit, the Panda M Drive … Read more
You might remember that Focus took on the Transalp with their Raven e-MTB, and now there’s an opportunity to do the same in the Pyrenees.The annual Transpyr coast to coast event runs this year from 10-16 June, and the organisers have announced that there will be an e-MTB category in 2018, for the first time … Read more
One of the most interesting sectors of the e-bike market is road and gravel bikes. What should be the priority? On the one hand there’s the likes of Giant and Raleigh making full-fat e-bikes with a road bent: standard motors and batteries on a road chassis. That means you get the range and power of … Read more
The Specialized Women’s Turbo Vado 4.0 is a cool, chic, city commuter that will get you smoothly to your destination. The Brose motor makes light work of the streets, which coupled with a great build quality and comfortable riding position make this bike a winner. We tested the women’s version Turbo Vado 4.0 but it’s … Read more
Yes, we know it’s not really a bike. But the Nowergian Podbike is certainly an interesting development. We’ve seen some movement in the electric personal transport space over the last year or two: vehicles that are more than a bike, but still pedal-based. There’s the Schaeffler Bio Hybrid, for one, and the Iris e-trike for … Read more
We normally think of electric cargo bikes as a last-mile solution: great for moving stuff around cities, but not really designed for the long haul. Others think differently, though, and among them is Ed Oxley, one of the founders of British clothing manufacturers HebTroCo. The company uses two e-Bullitt electric cargo bikes as company vehicles, and … Read more
You may remember that we tested the Orbea Katu e30 back in 2016. And it did very well: we called it “A Good quality, small format city bike with a good ride and useful luggage options”. That bike was equipped with a Nexus 3-speed hub and a Bosch motor system, and the equivalent bike in … Read more
It’s not just the big brands that are embracing e-bikes. British hand-built manufacturer Sven Cycles has announced the launch of its first electric bike, the Swift. The bike uses a specially-designed Reynolds 631 frameset and incorporates a Shimano STEPS city motor.> See this bike at our Bike Live demo event in Bath!“The Swift has been an evolving … Read more
