Buying advice without the sales pitch

Choosing a type

Start with the ride you will actually do most often, not the one you imagine. Most people overestimate how much off-road riding they will do and underestimate how much difference mudguards, a rack and lights make to a commute.

• Commuter (City, Step-Through). Upright, equipped, practical. The default choice for getting to work dry and on time.
• Hybrid (Trekking, Urban). The all-rounder. Towpaths, lanes, town, a bit of gravel. If you genuinely cannot decide, this is usually the honest answer.
• Cargo (Longtail, Front-Loader, Compact). Two children, a weekly shop or a tool kit. Heavier and more expensive, and it replaces car journeys more often than any other category.
• Folding (20-inch, 16-inch). Trains, flats, small cars and shared hallways. Small wheels give a twitchier ride; the trade is worth it for the space.
• Mountain (Hardtail, Full-Sus). Assist where the climbs are long. Expect to pay more for the same components than on a road-oriented bike.
• Gravel (E-Gravel). Drop bars, mixed surfaces, long days. These ride most like a normal bicycle - which is the point, and the premium.
• Specialist (Fat Tyre). Sand, snow, rutted tracks and a very comfortable winter commute. Heavier, and not fast.

A useful test: picture the route you ride three times a week. If a bike would be awkward on that route but brilliant on the one you ride twice a year, you are shopping for the wrong bike.

Motors: mid-drive, hub and torque

Two layouts dominate. Mid-drive motors sit at the cranks and drive through the gears, so they climb well and feel like an unusually strong set of legs. They cost more and wear the drivetrain faster. Hub motors sit in a wheel and drive it directly. They are cheaper, simpler and often quieter, and they are perfectly good on flatter commutes - they just have less to give on a steep hill, especially when loaded.

Torque, quoted in newton metres (Nm), tells you more about everyday usefulness than any other single number. Around 40–50 Nm is fine for town and gentle lanes. 65–85 Nm is what makes a laden cargo bike or a real off-road climb feel manageable.

Sensors matter too. A torque sensor reads how hard you are pushing and blends in assistance smoothly; a cadence sensor mostly cares that the pedals are turning. Torque sensors feel far more natural, and they are the main reason two bikes with the same motor can feel completely different.

Batteries and real-world range

Judge batteries in watt-hours (Wh), because that is the actual energy on board. A 500 Wh battery holds roughly twice the energy of a 250 Wh one, and range scales with it far more reliably than any marketing claim. The common sizes are around 400–500 Wh for commuters, 600–750 Wh for trekking and performance bikes, and 1,000 Wh or more for cargo bikes.

Manufacturer range figures assume a light rider, flat ground, mild weather and a low assist setting. In real British conditions, expect to get meaningfully less if any of the following apply:

• Hills, or carrying loads or children.
• Cold weather - capacity drops noticeably below about 10°C.
• A heavier rider, or a headwind.
• Living in the top assist mode.
• Under-inflated, heavily treaded or studded tyres.

Rule of thumb: treat the claimed figure as an optimistic best case and assume two-thirds of it for everyday riding. If that figure still covers your commute twice over, you have the right battery.

Most batteries are removable and chargeable off the bike, which matters if you cannot carry the bike upstairs. Charging takes roughly three to six hours depending on capacity, and there is no benefit in leaving a battery on charge once it is full.

UK e-bike law, in plain English

This is the part where the internet is least reliable. To count as an electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC) - the category that lets an e-bike be treated as an ordinary pedal cycle - a bike must have:

• A motor of no more than 250 W maximum continuous rated power.
• Electrical assistance that cuts out at 15.5 mph (25 km/h). You can pedal faster than that; the motor just stops helping.
• Pedals capable of propelling it. These are assisted cycles, not motorbikes.

Riders must be 14 or over. A compliant EAPC does not need to be registered, licensed or taxed, needs no insurance, and does not require a driving licence. It can be ridden wherever pedal cycles are allowed.

The two things people get wrong

Throttles. A bike that drives itself without you pedalling is not automatically excluded from being an EAPC, but it must have been approved. "Twist and go" EAPCs placed on the market or entering service after 1 January 2016 require the relevant type approval. Walk-assist limited to around 3.7 mph sits outside that requirement, which is why a bike may have a small walk-assist button and no throttle.

The standard is not the law. You will see BS EN 15194 quoted as if it defines legality. It does not: it is a product safety standard that gives a presumption of conformity under the machinery safety regulations. The legal definition of an EAPC is the power, speed and pedal requirement above. We quote the standard on product pages because it is worth knowing what a bike was tested to, not because it is the law.

Anything faster or more powerful than the EAPC limits may be treated as a moped or motorcycle, and would need type approval, registration, tax, insurance, a suitable licence and an approved motorcycle helmet to use on the road. If a website is advertising 500 W and 28 mph, it is not selling you a road-legal bicycle, whatever the badge says.

Rules can change, and the government has consulted on raising the power limit. We check the current position before advising customers, and we would rather say "let me confirm that" than guess.

Sizing and fit

The right frame size is the difference between a bike you ride and a bike you leave in the shed. Step-through frames are not just easier to mount: they suit riders who are less flexible and want to keep a foot down at junctions.

• Height and inside leg matter more than age or fitness.
• You should be able to put both feet flat on the ground, or very nearly, on a commuter or cargo bike.
• An adjustable stem and a different handlebar often solve reach problems without changing the frame.
• A crank-forward, upright geometry is far more popular than it looks - comfort is what keeps people riding.

Send us your height and inside leg and we will tell you which frame size to order - and if it is wrong, the 14-day return right is there as your safety net.

Security

E-bikes are stolen, and they are stolen for their batteries as well as the whole bike. Budget properly for this from the start:

• A quality, sold-secure D-lock or heavy chain, used through the frame and a wheel. Cable locks stop opportunists and little else.
• Lock to something immovable, and remove the battery when parked somewhere risky if it comes off easily.
• Record the frame number, register the bike and photograph it. It makes recovery possible and insurance claims simpler.
• Check your home insurance covers an e-bike specifically, and what lock it requires - many policies set a minimum standard.

Maintenance and what to expect

An e-bike needs the same care as a bicycle, plus attention to the electrical side. Compared with a pedal bike, expect to replace the chain, cassette and brake pads more often, because the motor adds load through the same drivetrain.

• Clean it, but never pressure-wash the motor, battery contacts or display.
• Check tyre pressures weekly - they affect range noticeably.
• Store the battery indoors in winter, and leave it around half charged if it is not being used for weeks.
• Have it serviced annually or every 1,000 miles, whichever comes first. Use a reputable local shop or mobile mechanic - and ask us first if you think the work is a warranty matter.

Full details of warranty cover, how to claim and battery handling are on the warranty and aftercare page, and battery safety and disposal is covered in help and policies.