Tom Morgan

The best electric bikes: AnalogMotion AM1 Plus reviewed

  • From Spectator Life

This review is part two of a two part series on picking the right bike for the city-dweller’s electric commute

This bike came into being thanks to a terrible London commute. One of the founders of AnalogMotion saw his daily trip to work go from five minutes up in Scotland to an hour when he moved to the capital. And, rather than shrug his shoulders and pack himself onto yet another tube train, he set up this East London electric bike company after raising £350,000 on Kickstarter.

The look

It’s a bike so good-looking I took it out for coffee
It’s a bike so good-looking I took it out for coffee

The AnalogMotion is a stunning bike – so much so that people asked to take pictures of it when I rode it to and from work. There’s no doubt that the two founders have designed something which is a bike first, an electric bike second. Its hybrid quality separates this bike from the pack: it’s remarkably humble – it doesn’t brag about being electric. So subtle is the integrated electric motor and the battery which camouflages itself as a water bottle, that often I found myself explaining to people that it’s electric – cue a look of awe from the observer.

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The ride

The AM1 Plus and the AMX are the newest releases from AnalogMotion

This is a bike you’re proud to cycle. A near-silent motor propels you along with ease, including some boost capacity off the lights. It’s shape and structure provides for a comfortable fit, even on the slightly-too-small frame I was given for the review. Being a fixed-gear bike, hills should be tough – but I found them to be easy. This is the way to build an electric bike for the city. The aircraft grade aluminum frameset is strong and lightweight, as well as feeling luxury – but most impressively means the bike weighs in at just 14kg.

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