Best electric bikes 2023 for every kind of rider

If you're looking for the best electric bikes, there are a lot to choose from, with electric motors and batteries added to a wide range of bikes to add extra power. 

Electric road bikes will come with dropped handlebars and favour low weight, whilst electric hybrid bikes will come with flat bars, wider tyres and accessories to aid commuters – such as mudguards and lights. Electric folding bikes are useful if part of your journey involves train travel or you're short on space.

Here at Cycling Weekly, we've reviewed bikes from these three categories and there are links to our more detailed reviews for each bike in this guide. Our testing involves a range of routes and ride lengths and our highly experienced team of testers understands what makes a good bike and what to look for in the best electric bikes.

Electric bikes can be expensive, but there are options too if you're looking to keep costs low with prices starting from around $1,000: check out the best budget electric bikes. If you're into tinkering with your bike, you might also want to look at the best electric bike conversion kits (such as the Swytch eBike Conversion Kit) as an alternative to buying a completely new electric bike. 

Women may benefit from female specific components on the best women's electric bikes, and if you're venturing off-road, check out the best electric gravel bikes.

If you're looking for the best electric mountain bike though, follow this link to head over to our sister publication MBR which specialises in mountain biking. 

Top picks

Here's a quick look at our top choices from the best electric bikes, including a folding option...

Our pick of the best electric bikes

Best Electric Hybrid bikes

Electric hybrid bikes are the fastest selling style. Their flat bars, usually wide tyre, and commute friendly fittings - such as mudguard mounts and rack mounts - make them extremely practical machines. 

The motor can be housed in the rear hub, or at the cranks, and the torque will vary - low torque models offer a natural pedalling assistance, but high torque versions will move off the lights more quickly.

The best hybrid e-bike overall

A fun ride that’s great in urban environments but also provides a confidence-inspiring ride on rougher terrain is what the Specialized Turbo Vado is all about. 

If you're after a bike that is fully integrated with lights, fenders and rack (27kg capacity) as well as security (on the App & removable battery using a key), then this represents a straight forward choice. Only the weight, and to a lesser degree cost, need consideration.

We found the 70Nm/250W custom-tuned motor applies power seamlessly and powerfully as soon as you push down on the pedals. Range is excellent too -  95-130km / 60-80 miles should be easily attainable using the default settings of "Sport' and '50% power'. There is an Eco mode as well as Turbo, so if you're careful you can expect much greater range.

It is a heavy machine at 60lbs/ 27kg, so not easy to lift, so anyone needing to navigate steps in or out of the bike's storage place will need to take this into consideration, but aside from that we found the Specialized Vado Turbo to be a joy to ride.

Read more: Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0 electric bike review

The best value hybrid e-bike

The Ribble Hybrid AL e is a road-going hybrid bike that’s equally at home on gravel paths and trails, with a comfortable and confidence-inspiring upright riding position, so great for returning or newbie riders.

For us, we think the bike is one of the best looking hybrids we've ever come across, with the design hiding away the motor incredibly well, although we were a little sad that adjusting the seat post left behind scratch marks. The fully loaded package includes fenders (mudguards), lights and a rear rack making it perfect as a daily commuter or for ditching the car when going to the store, although we did find these a little rattily on test.

The Ebikemotion motor delivers its power smoothly and efficiently and offers long-range in between charges, making the Ribble far more than just an A to B bike. 

Understandably it doesn't perform in the same way as the Canyon Grail:ON in terms of fast and tight torque, but tap along and it will tick over nicely, taking the top off any strenuous rides. 

With all the added extras as standard and classy looks, the Ribble Hybrid AL e is a great electric bike for the money.

Read more: Ribble Hybrid AL e electric bike full review

We absolutely loved zooming around on the speedy Ride1Up Roadster V2 with its five levels of power assist. If you're anything like us and are more used to training and racing on standard road bikes it can easily become your guilty pleasure - it's fantastic fun to ride. 

The bike was so quiet, even on level 5, convincing onlookers that our tester had to be some kind of super hero to ride so fast up 15 per cent climbs. The only downside - in common with other e-bikes that only assist when you're pedalling - was where there was a requirement for a hill start, the cranks had to be turned over in order to get the motor to engage, creating a pregnant pause at the lights, before vavavooming off.

The claimed 24mph maximum assisted speed (in the US) needs input from the pedals to reach on the flats, but without a doubt it's noticeable downhill, where other bikes, such as the Wilier Cento1Hy Ultegra Di2 e-bike auto assist would cut out and slow you down. 

This extra speed also puts the bike into a class 3 e-bike, meaning that it doesn't meet EAPC rules in the UK, but that's by the by as US brand Ride1Up doesn't currently ship there. 

If you are in a country lucky enough to be shipped to: the US, Canada and Mexico, then it's a great option and one that has a very high fun-to-dollar ratio. 

Ride1Up is a direct-to-consumer brand - check out the Roadster V2 on its website here.

Read more: Ride1Up Roadster V2 full review

The  Canyon Precede:ON is an efficient automatic transmission city bike that performs well in multi-terrain settings whether for utility or for leisure purposes thanks to a powerful motor and control panel. 

With built-in accessories such as lights, mudguards, rack and kickstand all the trappings are there to make for a comfortable ride with style straight out the box.  All these add ons however do make it one of the heaviest e-bikes on the market, even heavier than the Specialized Turbo Vado. 

We really loved the Canyon Grail: On and it's great to see the Precede:ON also be kitted with the Bosch Performance Line CX motor, although ideally we would love to see a little more juice in the battery to support the other impressive spec. 

With everything you need straight out the box, including navigation system and lights, it's the easiest way to swap driving/ public transport for a bike, but it is at the higher end price tag wise.  There are a couple of models to choose from, which also takes the cost down a touch, but with a six year guarantee, it could be a savvy investment. 

The only other point to note is that Canyon has a direct sales model, so you'll have to buy directly from the brand here. 

Read more: Canyon Precede:ON CF 9 ST electric bike full review

The Giant Fastroad E+ Pro is another road-going hybrid bike with flat handlebars to promote a comfortable ride position for even the rustiest of riders, in fact we enjoyed riding this great electric hybrid road bike so much we gave it a Cycling Weekly Editor's Choice Award. 

The tyres provide plenty of squish and the ability to go lightly off-road. However on test we found the aluminium frame and fork quite stiff, which will suit those used to a traditional road bike’s feel and riders looking for a speedy commute, but worth bearing in mind if you’re used to a softer hybrid feel.

We really liked the bike's integration of the battery, which can often be a design factor forgotten about on hybrid bikes. We were also really impressed to see the spec on the FastRoad, with hydraulic disc brakes and quality Shimano shifting, with a compact chainset and wide range cassette at the rear to provide plenty of gears for the hills all making an appearance. 

A great electric hybrid bike for a fair price that will have a lot of appeal to lots of different riders.  

Read more: Giant FastRoad E+ Pro 2 electric bike full review

Best Electric Folding Bikes

Folding electric bikes are practical if you have a train journey forming part of your trip or are low on space. Being small, the battery and motor can represent a large percentage of the weight, so the focus is often on reducing this as much as possible. 

Mileage on folding bikes is often low, since they're typically used to ride to and from train stations, so battery range isn't always a major consideration. 

If you are considering going for a folder, you might find our buying guide page dedicated to helping you find the best folding bikes a useful read. 

The best electric folding bike overall

The G4i is a solid choice for a commuter, with the option to add many accessories such as mudguards (fenders), a front and rear pannier rack, integrated lights, lock holster and a travel case. 

The design folds in half, so that you can push it on its wheels rather than needing to carry it, or you can fully fold it into a compact package. There's built-in rear suspension, concealed cabling and a fully enclosed drivetrain.

It features a discreetly integrated USB port on the handlebar, enabling owners to charge their phone or other small devices from the bike’s battery when not in use - although we found the quality of the integrated phone mount didn't quite match that of the bike itself. The same goes for the LED display, which we found to be rather basic - although the information it provides is useful.

It's also likely to be pretty low-maintenance given that the drivetrain is completely enclosed. This makes sense, given that commuting year round usually means cycling in the wet at some point. The G4i utilizes a Shimano Nexus 3 speed internally geared hub. With 1” of elastomer suspension and 2.35” wide tyres, it is one of the more comfortable small wheelers. Single-sided wheel attachment means you don’t even have to remove the wheel, should you puncture one of the 20” wheels.

The 500W (250W in the UK/EU) G4 electric motor and 375Wh Lithium-ion battery is claimed to provide a range of up to 80km (50mi), but the most we managed to get out of it was just 44km (27mi). To be fair, that was in one of the more 'assisted' modes and I always had the daytime running lights on - and the city of Bath is well known for its brutally steep hills.

The bike is available from 17.6kg / 38.8lbs. However, as the weight is centred low on the frame, this at least makes the ride more stable. The folding mechanism has been improved since previous versions and can be quickly collapsed into a small package - Gocycle says this can be done in as little as ten seconds; we found it was closer to 20.

Read more: Gocycle G4i electric folding bike full review

Tern has numerous folding bike options, with the electric model options also growing in the fleet. The Tern Vektron S10 features 20-inch wheels and a 400-watt battery that can power you for 40 to 90 miles, depending on how much you use the assist.

We haven't tested this version, but highly rated the non-electric Tern Verge X11 and believe that you won't be disappointed in this electric cargo model. 

To help the rider find the perfect fit, the stem and saddle are adjustable, making it a good interchangeable option for the whole family, from 4'10" to 6'5". Coming with an integrated rack, compatibility with child seats is a breeze as no additional adaptors are required.

Its integrated rack will be fantastically useful, but will add to the already quite large folded down package size, so if it's stowaway capabilities you're after, you might be better off with the Brompton Electric Folding bike option. 

The bike boasts dynamo powered lights, alongside hydraulic disc brakes and highly regarded Shimano Deore groupset. The high spec does push the price up though, and weighing 22.5kg /48.7Ibs makes it a fairly hefty folder, and a limited one at that. 

The best lightweight electric folding bike