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In 2012, less than 1% of bike sales were e-bikes. Ten years later and the latest figures suggest that’s risen to 23%. And will continue to rise. That’s because there’s a perfect storm brewing of an improving (though far from perfect) infrastructure and the need to move away from heavy polluters like automobiles. They’re also incredibly good fun and liberating, helping you to ride further and explore more. And, of course, they’ll boost your fitness. That’s because despite them having a motor, battery and a control unit, they’re not mopeds – you must pedal but can receive assistance when needed. They’re lighter and have better range than ever before. Here’s everything you need to know about your next bike……

01. CONTROLS Most ebikes have controls on the handlebar or top tube and some have LCD screens, which make it easier to switch between modes, monitor battery life and see your speed and mileage. Some systems also now offer Bluetooth connectivity and phone apps, so you can track your heart rate and other data. 02. FRAME As batteries and motors become smaller and better integrated, ebikes are becoming almost indistinguishable from regular bikes – at least until you spot the beefed-up bottom bracket or big rear hub, or an ebike-riding cyclist blasts past you on the climbs at warp speed with little apparent effort. 03. BATTERY While battery range is getting bigger, the power packs themselves are gradually shrinking in size. Many are now small enough to be hidden inside…

Mike Baczkowski has ridden bikes seriously, and ridden serious bikes, since his late 20s. Now 80, he recalls over the phone to from his winter home in Florida of his penchant for fixing up old and abandoned bikes. Forgotten treasures, such as a 1986 Raleigh Touring 14 bike that he rescued from the garbage, restored and took over to Italy to ride the original L’Eroica vintage bike event in Tuscany. There’s also a 1980 Colnago Super that he’d put in the miles around his home in Hamburg, New York, close to Niagara Falls and the Canadian border; and the steel Bianchi that he was on in 2005 when he got wiped out by a motorist at an intersection on, ironically, Cycle to Work day, an incident that left him with…

Looking for a silver lining in a pandemic is problematic, but the world of cycling can take solace in what the government has said was up to a 70 per cent increase, in certain places, in the number of people on bikes in the first seven weeks of lockdown. The government wants this trend to continue, and to help alleviate pressure on public transport and prevent gridlock as the country returns to work. Unveiling a £2bn plan to boost cycling and walking, transport minister Grant Shapps said: “Outside London, half of all journeys are under three miles. If cycling increased by five per cent it would result in eight-million fewer car journeys, nine million fewer rail journeys and 13-million fewer bus journeys. You don’t have to be a cyclist to…

Genesis’ Smithfield resembles a classic urban roadster thanks to details such as a twin-spar top tube, ‘nurse’s’ lock, metal mudguards and fine metal detailing on the dropouts, bosses and cable ports. Then it mashes things up with a powerful motor, high-capacity battery, disc brakes and 29in wheels for a modernretro mix that cuts a stylish path through the usual commuter drabness. The Smithfield is made predominantly of steel and, at just shy of 23kg, that’s a lot of weight to carry up steps. But the quality of the frame imbues the Smithfield with a glorious compliance and a lively feel that you don’t normally associate with a commuter bike. Combine the lively frame, big wheels and wide tyres and you get the smoothest ride on test. As with the Canyon,…

SCOTT ADDICT E RIDE PREMIUM £9199 Scott’s e-road range is topped by this Premium model, and all four bikes share its HMX-grade carbon frame and fork. This flagship model has components that wouldn’t look out of place on a pro-Tour bike, with its full Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Syncros Capital carbon wheels. It’s pretty much the same specification as Scott’s Addict RC Pro (£8699) and with a very similar frameset. Even the down tube is the same size – and it’s hiding a 250Wh battery! The eRIDE Premium boasts Mahle’s ebikemotion system. We’ve tested a few ebikemotion bikes and been impressed. However, this is by far the best execution of the system we’ve tried to date. It’s built around a 250W rear-hub motor combined with a slim, integrated 250Wh battery.…

GRAVEL is now firmly established as a great way to get you riding away from the trauma of traffic and a means to open up a whole new range of off-piste route options. But with longer and tougher events being added to the calendar all the time, what if your range is restricted by your fitness or other factors? We met up with Debs Goodall, from Yorkshire True Grit events, for a sneak preview of the 100-mile Five Forests event route taking Whyte’s Fazua motor-powered Gosport and humanpowered Gisburn to see how electric and epic compare. ESCAPE AND EVATION As we roll out from Spiers House Cafe in Cropton, any worries about e-bikes shattering the peace of the forest are quickly dispelled. Even in ‘Rocket’, the most powerful of its…

Commuting on your ebike can be more pleasant with the right backpack. Whether you’re looking to upgrade an old faithful or have finally lost patience with the floppy old sports pack you found in the back of the cupboard, we’ve been out riding with a quartet of the top picks to help guide your choice. We’ve reviewed a wide range, from bikespecific commuter packs to more versatile luggage hybrids. Regardless of the bag’s size, we packed exactly the same kit for testing: a laptop, a packing cube with a change of work clothes, a shoe bag and my regular tool roll. In a 20-litre bag, this should be a good fit, with perhaps space for a lunch box and a few extras. In our view, minimal packers will appreciate a…

Volume 45 litres Weight 967g Laptop sleeve No Fully waterproof No Light clip Yes Designed as a travel bag (evident from its generous capacity), the Transition’s practical layout nonetheless makes it versatile and worth considering for commuters. It’s made from 450 denier TPU-faced ripstop fabric, which is highly water-resistant and hardwearing. It has one large main compartment with internal mesh organiser pockets, but no laptop sleeve. There are two exterior pockets, both with waterproof zips and one fleece-lined for glasses. The padded straps use opencell foam and are mesh-lined for comfort, plus it comes with a chest strap – but no waist belt. The Transition opens from the back, making it easy to open right up for fast access Its unique extra is a separate, expandable base section for wet…

Ever wished you could listen to music and hear what’s going on around you while riding? You could try ‘Boneconduction’ headphones which sit on your cheekbones just in front of your ears rather than in or over your ears like traditional headphones. Shokz (formerly Aftershokz) has been making high-quality, sport-orientated bone-conduction headphones for a while and its latest version, the OpenRun, has some useful upgrades. If you’ve never tried them, rest assured this type of headphones works well with a bike helmet and glasses. The sprung titanium band of the OpenRun sits around the nape of your neck, well out of the way of your helmet and there’s minimal intrusion over your ears so there’s room for glasses too. Plus, at just 26g, these are so light you’ll barely notice…

electric bikes are growing in popularity, but what are the benefits of adding a motor to your pedal power? Whether you’re new to cycling or are already a regular rider, there are a number of reasons why you might want to try an electric bike, from health and fitness, through to financial and environmental benefits. With that in mind, here are 14 benefits of riding an electric bike… 01 IMPROVE FITNESS Like cycling any bike, riding an electric bike will boost your aerobic fitness. The effort required to keep yourself moving may be less than on a normal bike, but you’ll still be turning the pedals and putting in a significant amount of the energy required to move yourself along. Studies have suggested that ebike riders’ hearts can be working at…

The record turnout for the Salford Cycling and Walking Forum reflects an unpleasant but unavoidable aspect of life in 21st century Britain – that we seem to be incapable of sharing a few metres of road space in a safe and respectful manner. “I commute 75 miles a week on my bike and just want to feel safer,” says one of those present at the meeting in Salford. The next day, on the other side of the River Irwell in Manchester, Chris Boardman is contemplating how we arrived at this state of affairs. “As human beings, we are taught to think short term, in the span of our own lifetimes,” says the man best known as the 1992 Olympic pursuit champion, a wearer of the Tour de France’s yellow jersey,…

The X3 is based around the same well-considered technology that VanMoof used in their S3 model but in a more compact design. The X3’s X-shaped frame sets it apart and the attention to detail on the frame adds to its air of quality. A signature design seen on every VanMoof since 2009 is the top-tube that extends beyond the head-tube and the seat-tube junction and holds an integrated light at each end. A new feature for the X3 is that the bike forgoes a traditional computer-type display in favour of a matrix of 166 LEDs in the top tube, which shows current speed and a remarkably accurate battery level indicator. When the bike is dormant but unlocked, the LEDs form a ‘V’ logo. When you lock or unlock the bike,…

GoCycle is a genuine British success story. Its founder Richard Thorpe started out life as a Formula 1 engineer for McLaren before designing the original G3 GoCycle a decade ago. The commitment to the single-sided frame and fork, plus small wheels wrapped around clever electronics, continues, and the latest foldable G4 features a full-carbon fork and a carbon mid-section, helping to shed weight. The single-sided design not only makes the fold compact, but the stub axles mean you don’t need to remove a wheel to fix a puncture. Although, with toughened tyres over two inches wide, punctures aren’t that likely anyway. The GoCycle’s rear-end swing arm pivots at the bottom bracket and is suspended from the main frame via a one-inch-travel shock. The swing arm is made from magnesium alloy,…

GREG LEMOND’S bike-building career started when he produced a carbon-framed bike back in 1990 and rode his eponymously named bike for Team Z in the 1991 Tour. Eventually, LeMond Bicycles became part of the Trek group (reportedly netting the Wisconsin company in excess of $100 million). The partnership lasted for 13 years but ended in acrimony, when Trek seemingly backed the wrong horse (Lance Armstrong) in a dispute, after Greg was outspokenly critical about the state of professional road racing, specifically doping. Since those troubled times, LeMond has been behind a smart trainer (the pro-Tour-team-backing LeMond’s Revolution trainer) and enjoyed a partnership with high-end French carbon bikemaker Time back in 2013, building beautiful and exclusive models bearing the LeMond name. CARBON FOR DECADES A pioneer of carbon fibre back in the ’90s,…

The Quick 4 Disc is an entry-level sport hybrid designed to be nimble and fast for dashing around town; it even has reflective paint highlights on the frame. We were impressed by just how well it rides – the position is fairly upright but it’s still sporty enough to hustle the bike along at pace. This Cytronex model adds an electric boost to make it even zippier. The Quick’s Microshift drivetrain is a simple 1x system with a good gear range that’ll carry you up steep slopes. The shifting is accurate; it’s certainly not SRAM slick or Shimano smooth, but over a few hundred miles of testing it hasn’t faltered or become misaligned. The Quick 4 offers everything we’d want from a commuter bike – and that’s before you add…

With the temperatures rising and overseas ventures back on the menu, it’s time to feel the sun against your skin when you pedal. The epic day rides and increased heat and humidity will place plenty of demands on your choice of summer kit, however, with potentially opposing forces such as sun protection and ventilation, aerodynamics versus a restriction-free ride and day-long comfort from lightweight materials all adding to a lengthy checklist. The good news is that the fabrics, technology and construction quality has never been higher, with the jersey of 2022 being lighter, cooler, more fitted and offering better breathability than the weighty numbers of old. Many jerseys feature filter-down tech from those found on the backs of the pro peloton. Some offer added aerodynamics, while others have sun protection.…

When it comes to electric bikes, it’s not all about buying a new model – there are other options available including converting your current bike. The Revoloutionworks Revos is an affordable and efficient electric bike-conversion kit that fits most bikes, can be fitted at home in around half an hour and weighs so little that you can happily ride without it being powered up. HOW DOES IT WORK? The beauty of the Revos is that it consists of only three main components: the drive unit, pedalassist sensor and the battery. Its design also means that it can be fitted to most bikes within minutes using just a couple of tools and a few cable ties. There’s also no controller at the handlebar to worry about, and switching assistance on and…

Volume 30 + 10 litres Weight 1.22kg Laptop sleeve Yes Fully waterproof No Light clip Yes Vaude’s pack is not so much a backpack but a portable office with its incredibly organised storage. The main compartment has a roll-top fastening with the additional security of a zip closure. The laptop sleeve can be accessed from the side so you don’t have to open the top to reach it, and it also has a small mesh zipped pocket. A large external front pocket has even more mesh organiser sections, plenty more room (the extra 10 litres) and a rain cover clipped into its own storage bag. A helmet holder sits over the front pocket, and there are multiple attachment points and compression straps. Both the shoulder straps and the inverted Y-shaped…

The ebike took mainland Europe by storm years ago and is now a commonplace sight, helped at first by Europe’s combination of a superior infrastructure and much more reliance on the humble bicycle as transport. For many of us, an ebike as urban or suburban commuter transport is the smart choice for getting to work. There’s also the ebike as sport – the first sport-focused ebikes arrived a decade ago as a concept at trade shows, brands are running with it and now there are increasing numbers on the roads. They remain a big investment though, so whether you’re thinking of buying your first ebike, or are an early adopter looking to upgrade your current model, or you just want to know what all the fuss is about, this guide…

Park Lane may be a place of high-end shops patronised by well-heeled clientele, but before Covid struck a bike ride there was about as pleasant as ingesting a glass of cold kitchen cleaner. In the blink of an eye, the experience of riding down the second most expensive street on the Monopoly board has changed beyond recognition. What was an acre of tarmac has been rapidly civilised, divided into a safe, wide lane for cycling, leaving a narrower aperture for promenading drivers. This follows the realisation that, with public transport reduced to 15 per cent of its capacity during Covid, London’s roads would grind to a wheezing halt if serious steps weren’t made to improve road efficiency by making way for cycling. As London’s walking and cycling commissioner, Will Norman,…

Canyon’s new Pathlite:ON 5 follows on from the superb Precede:ON and not just in having an odd name! But where Canyon’s Precede:ON was all about slick integration and futuristic looks, the Pathlite:ON 5 takes its cues from the world of hardtail mountain bikes. One such cue is the aluminium frame paired with an SR Suntour suspension fork that has a generous 100mm of travel. I found the fork performed remarkably well, even when I tried it down steps and bumping over speed bumps and kerbs. The MTB experts on Mountain Biking UK say it lacks some high-speed bump response and, as a coil spring rather than an air spring, it’s harder to adjust for a particular ride, but I was impressed with it and on smooth roads, you could lock…

Each of our four bikes could take the top spot for their ability to be commuter bikes and much more. The VanMoof X3 is a brilliantly integrated design with a superb app that makes it the Apple of the ebike world. It’s perfect for about town and the great riding experience is topped up with great security. The GoCycle G4 is similarly well considered, just getting on with the business of assisting you while you pedal. Its fast fold makes it a good choice for mixed-mode commuters, reducing the stress of getting this off and on a train, yet it’s much more fun to ride than your average folding bike. Genesis’s Smithfield wins out as the most stylish bike here. It comes fully equipped with everything you need for a…

The original MiRider One was a lovely bike and the beauty of the One’s design, which is retained for this updated model, is its adjustability. The telescopic bar/steerer and telescopic seatpost, complete with clever flip-lever to lock the post height, is claimed to fit anyone between 5ft and 6ft 4in. The range for this tester’s household is 5ft to 6ft 2in and the bike works well sizewise for both of us. If you’re taller, MiRider offers an optional longer seatpost. The box-section frame remains the same, as does the boxy rear swing arm that mirrors it and is anchored above the chainset. The two parts are linked with an air-filled shock absorber. This type of unified rear-triangle suspension makes sense because the whole of the drivetrain covers the same part…

1 Jersey demands Compared to the overly thick sweat fests of yore, jersey construction and design has evolved massively. And rightly so given the multi-faceted demands placed on them during a big summer ride, including the need for breathability, comfort, aerodynamics and protection from that ball of fire 93 million miles away. “There are many elements that need to come together to create a truly great jersey, including fabric, fit, cargo and, of course, aesthetics,” says Rapha’s Jensen. “But the material itself will dictate attributes such as level of compression, sun/weather protection, moisture management and aerodynamics. It’s important to note that some jerseys will have multiple fabrics placed strategically to further focus on a particular performance element and elevate the riding experience.” Ride-friendly details aren’t to be overlooked, either. Don’t…

Over the two decades that our parent publication Cycling Plus has been putting together our intensive lock tests, we’ve always used a combination of manual and power tools, plus force and finesse, to try to break the locks under scrutiny. We’ve travelled far to put them under even greater pressure this time around. The findings for this particular selection of locks are based on testing we’ve undertaken in the state-of-the-art labs of a security manufacturer. Having been shown how to use its machines to the peak of the hardware’s powers, we then devised a series of separate tests that simulated the different ways a lock can be attacked and broken. It was a messy, at times dangerous business but it was worth it. Right, it’s time to read on and…

Volume 20 litres Weight 880g Laptop sleeve No Fully waterproof Yes Light clip Yes The Aqua is a classic roll-top drybag with backpack fittings. It has one main compartment and a larger exterior pocket with a water-resistant zip. There’s a light tab and a lot of reflective detailing down the front of the pack. Instead of a full padded back section, it has three cushioned panels, one down each side of your spine and one across the base. It also boasts both chest strap and waist belt. The welded construction means it’s completely waterproof – there’s no fancy lining but my cargo stayed dry. I used packing cubes and a laptop case because there is no integrated sleeve, but the relatively narrow shape and the roll top, which can be…

01 ZÉFAL Z ADVENTURE R5 £49.99 Volume 5L Weight 399G Zéfal’s Adventure R5 has a robust TPU plastic, polyester and Hypalon (synthetic rubber) construction that’s hard wearing and resilient to muck and moisture. The base has a rubbery layer to add extra spray protection, there’s a light loop and several reflective elements, too. Its saddle rail and seatpost straps keep this compact pack perfectly stable, plus adjustable straps neatly secure each side of the roll closure. The red, heat-sealed interior is waterproof and ideal for a couple of extra layers plus a spare inner tube or two. Two Velcro straps on top allow you to carry a little more behind the saddle as well. Overall, this pack is nicely made, easy to use and comes at a bargain price. 02…