Guides

E-bike guides

The buying and jargon questions people ask before they pick a bike. Plain answers, grounded in the specs we've normalised.

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The short version: decide what you're using it for, then compare four numbers. Everything else is detail.

It depends almost entirely on whether it replaces car trips. Here is how to work that out before you spend.

Three classes, two questions: does it have a throttle, and how fast does the motor keep helping.

Two different questions get the same name. One is about a single ride; the other is about years of ownership.

E-bikes are heavier and faster than normal bikes, so a few parts wear noticeably quicker. Most of the rest is ordinary bike care.

Every range figure on every spec sheet is a best case. Here is how to translate it into what you'll really see.

The wattage in the headline is usually the peak figure, which can be roughly double the number the motor actually sustains.

Where the motor sits changes how the bike climbs, what it costs, and what wears out. Neither is better everywhere.