Best electric bikes 2023

The MiRider One is a thoughtfully designed folding bike which is well built and great to ride.

It’s more affordable than some of its rivals, yet has very few compromises. It’s relatively lightweight, built with good-quality components and is covered by a two-year UK warranty.

Mudguards and a front light are included as standard, and there’s no app to complicate things: you just unfold and ride.

Like some others here, it’s no longer as cheap as it used to be. The current model costs £200 more than the 2021 version did, but has a larger-capacity battery for a better range (up to 45 miles) and a new motor with 25% more torque, so it isn’t just inflation.

It’s worth noting that there are no gears, which makes it harder to ride – especially up hills – if the battery runs out. But if you’re careful to ensure it doesn’t, it isn’t a problem.

Designed for whizzing around city streets, the single-speed Tenways CGO600 comes in a range of different colours and frame sizes. Considering the reasonable price, it’s great to find a torque sensor which means a much smoother riding experience. There’s enough power, too, and the motor is quiet.

It almost passes for a traditional bike, save for the oversize downtube that houses the battery which, sadly, can’t be removed for charging. But the tiny screen and buttons is a discreet way to change power modes and turn on the built-in front light. A separate rechargeable rear light is supplied with the bike, and you’ll often find free mudguards and a kickstand when buying from Tenways’ website.

You can put a rear rack on the bike as well: Tenways sells that and panniers if you want them.

The L3 is a fold-up city bike that’s cheaper than you’d expect, and has a much bigger battery than most rivals. Some people will dislike that this makes it heavy, while others – maybe cycle couriers – will appreciate that it will allow them to get around all day (perhaps even multiple days) without running out of juice.

It’s a budget bike, but that massive battery and the fact it’s a 48V system will be more than enough to persuade some that it’s the best choice over other foldable models here.

Built to a budget, the Vengeance E offers a good overall specification, with a Suntour HESC system that uses a torque sensor rather than inferior cadence sensors.

The range of up to 40 miles is fine at this price, and unlike Chinese imports, you can take the Vengeance E to your local Halfords store to get it repaired should anything break.

The cheap-looking control panel from the 2019 model has been swapped for the much superior Suntour compact OLED and, aside from the slightly noisy motor, it’s great value compared to many electric mountain bikes.

The RadRunner 2 is a utility bike that should appeal to anyone looking for an inexpensive electric bike for carrying luggage (or a second person) to replace their car for short journeys.

Range is relatively limited compared to other bikes here and optional accessories (of which there are many) can push the price up a lot from the attractive-looking purchase price.

If you can’t tell from the photo, this is a chunky, heavy bike but strangely it’s not well suited to tall riders, who may well find the frame too small for comfort.

Volt’s Pulse has been around for ages, but got an update in 2021. One of the big changes is that the battery now slots into the frame, making it much neater.

The price includes the mudguards, lights, kickstand and built-in Dutch-style lock.

If you’re not bothered by the absence of GPS and Bluetooth anti-theft features (found on some bikes at roughly similar prices) then the Pulse is a great choice. Just bear in mind it’s a big, heavy bike: this is great for touring around, but not if you have to regularly lift it up steps or onto public transport.

The Fiido X V2 is a superb folding e-bike which rides exceptionally well and has just about all the features you’d want. It’s well priced, too.

The battery is built into the seat post and can be removed for charging, though the keypad security system is actually less convenient than if Fiido had opted for a simple key lock.

But it’s not a deal-breaker by any means, and you get built-in lights, a torque sensor (for smooth power delivery) and hydraulic disc brakes. Thanks to seven gears, you can still ride this bike when the battery runs out, something that’s not as easy on single-speed electric bikes.

Like all Fiido models, watch out for the short warranty on many components: only the frame itself gets the full three-year cover.

The Eskute Polluno Pro is an e-bike that’s well suited to commuting. But with its mid-mounted motor, torque sensor and comfortable, noiseless ride, plus nine gears and a step-through design it’s great for all kinds of on-road cycling.

It is heavy, though, and shorter riders may find it too big: there’s only one frame size available. Eskute also sells a non-Pro model which is cheaper and has a motor in the rear wheel hub instead.

For the price, it’s surprising that the Carbon 1 has – as you can guess from the name – a carbon fibre frame. The forks, handlebars and seat post are also carbon fibre, but overall it’s no lighter than the cheaper Tenways CGO600.

Urtopia has really packed in the tech, though, with GPS and and an eSIM allowing you to monitor and track the bike’s location, which will help if it gets stolen. There’s a large dot matrix display in the middle of the handlebars but it doesn’t show much information. You can pair the bike with the app and get turn arrows on the screen to direct you along a route, and pair the built-in Bluetooth speaker to hear the navigation instructions. It’s hard to hear in noisy environments such as cities, which is where the Carbon 1 is designed to be ridden.

It’s also why Urtopia added a smart rear light that also works light a brake light and has road-facing projectors. These help motorists to see you better at night, and flash like a car’s turn indicators when you want to turn left or right. Trouble is, they can’t be seen during the day.

Like the Tenways, the Urtopia is single-speed with a rear-hub motor and torque sensor. It’s a fairly quiet motor and has just about enough power to get you up most hills.

There are drawbacks, though. Even the smallest frame size requires the rider to be 170cm (5ft7) tall, partly because the seat post doesn’t insert very far into the lightning-bolt-shaped frame. It’s not widely available, either, being sold only in the US and Germany at the time of writing. It will be available in the UK soon, we’re told.

The Array is Raleigh’s entry-level electric bike. You can pick between three different frame styles, including a ‘shopper’-style step-through model. The one shown above is the ‘open frame’ design. Each comes in three frame sizes to suit wide variety of riders.

The classic looks are certainly a highlight, and there are seven gears to help when you’re pulling away from a standstill, as well as on hills. But the powerful motor makes light work of those and the removable battery has a range of up to 60 miles. That, as with all e-bikes, varies a lot depending on many factors.

The price includes lights, a kick-stand and mudguards, but there’s nothing in the way of security: no lock and no tracking tech. Amazingly, the price has dropped since we reviewed it, bucking the trend here, and making the Array more attractive.

And as long as you’re able to keep it locked up securely and don’t have to leave it, say, on your local high street or at a railway station regularly, that may not be an issue for you.

If you’re not convinced by the Carrera Vengeance E, or you don’t live in the UK and therefore can’t buy one, the Eskute Netuno is another hard-tail mountain bike to consider. It’s the follow-up to the Voyager and – at a glance – it’s impossible to tell them apart.

There are some upgrades here, though, including a neat display built into the handlebar stem. The battery is removable for easy charging, which will be a critical tick-box for some people.

The fork and chainset are entry-level components, but this leaves room in the budget for a decent Bafang motor.

It costs $400 / £300 more than the Voyager, which isn’t ideal, but it’s still at the more affordable end of the scale for anyone wanting an electric bike for some off-road fun.

Most folding bikes are designed for commuting, but not the Fiido M1. If the tyres and suspension don’t give the game away, it’s for off-road riding.

Unlike cheap Chinese folding bikes we’ve tested, the M1 is sturdily built and feels sure-footed at speed, both on and off road.

Battery life is pretty good, but the 25kg weight and those wide tyres mean you’re not going to enjoy riding it under pure pedal power – especially if you have to cycle up any hills.

However, our main concern is that there’s limited warranty support should any components fail: Fiido doesn’t have a repair centre in Europe yet.