The Cycle Show has been and gone for another year, but the most recent edition had plenty of e-bikes for us to ogle with an entire hall dedicated to them. And if that wasn’t enough, there were plenty available to try at the demo track - although the weather didn’t always make this an enticing option. If you missed out on going to the event or just want to remember what you saw, then here are nine e-bikes that caught our eye at the 2023 show.
Estarli e20 Play
We reviewed (and liked) the Estarli e28 Pro back in January. The latest addition to the Hertfordshire based brand’s line-up is the e20 Play, which is kind of like the big brother to the popular e20 folder they already had in the range. It’s more BMX inspired than the e20, and is designed to be ridden on a wider variety of terrain too.
It’s still powered by a hub motor, but a slightly more torquey one, and the brakes have been upgraded to hydraulic. All this and it still remains under 20kg. The e20 Play is now available for pre-order for £1,850 with first deliveries aiming to be made towards the end of May.
Beameo
A new e-bike brand, Beameo were there with their full line-up of bikes. From folders to cruiser style e-bikes, they have them all. We did a full rundown of the Beameo range earlier in the week.
Ultima Mobility
Among the most interesting e-bikes we saw at the show were those of French brand Ultima Mobility. They’re not yet available in the UK, but highlight modularity in their range with interchangeable forks that can help the bikes go from cargo to gravel or city bikes.
The frames are all from the same mould, and use recycled carbon fibre from the automotive industry as well as other materials. They’re quite hefty looking bikes, but they have a lot of interesting tech packed inside of them, including the long-awaited Valeo mid-drive motor and gearbox, which provides things like intelligent riding modes and up to 130Nm of torque.
Velomont
Customisation has made its way into the e-bike world, and Norfolk based brand Velomont are tapping into the electric mountain bike market in this way. Customers are given a carbon fibre frame and motor and battery system (from Bafang) as a starting point, and then the bike can be customised to your desired spec – and paint!
Prices start from £4,750 and custom builds have a one month turnaround. The bikes they had at the show did look impressive, and with a combination of the powerful Bafang motors (which provide up to 95Nm of torque) and a reasonably low weight of 21.5kg, the torque to weight is rather decent.
Morfuns
While the bright coloured frames caught our eyes, the carbon fibre folders made us stay and chat to the co-founders of Morfuns, Nick Phillips and Blux Shen. The Eole S is what they’ve called their carbon fibre creations, which use 20” wheels and weigh a claimed 14.5kg.
The frame design is quite minimalist with a mid-frame hinge and folded dimensions of 850 x 390 x 660mm. They suggest that the bikes can be a genuine multi-modal contender, but also still enjoyable to ride outside of cities. These particular bikes cost £2,499 and you can buy them from their website or from selected dealers across the UK.
Volt
Brand new for 2023 from British brand Volt is their LITE, a lightweight e-folder (16kg) with a belt drive and minimalist design. It will cost £2,199 and is quite well featured for the price point, with a Gates CDX drivetrain and Shimano Nexus three-speed gear hub, as well as hydraulic brakes.
Also new for Volt is the use of a front-hub motor. To make sure this doesn’t result in lower riding performance, they’ve installed a pedal torque sensor for smooth power assistance. The battery is hidden in the removable seatpost and overall it looks like a neat package for commuters or urban riders. It’s expected to be available for pre-order in autumn 2023.
VELLO
The brand new bike we covered last week, the VELLO Bike+ GEARS was on display this weekend, which is the first e-bike for VELLO that uses derailleur gears. It’s fitted with a three-speed drivetrain, which can effectively be doubled with the use of the Schlumpf Speed or Mountain Drive systems.
Cairn Cycles
Although announced late last year, we finally got to see a Cairn E-Adventure 1.0 Rambler Edition gravel bike in the flesh. It’s sleek and uses the Fazua Ride 50 Street Drivepack for plenty of punchy assistance off-road.
VOK
Perhaps the most ‘different’ e-cargo bike/quad we saw at The Cycle Show was the VOK four wheeler. If you want to learn all about it, we took a closer look at VOK's electric delivery vehicles a couple of months back.
