Electric bikes

My plan to cut congestions on our roads

Much of the current antipathy towards the car derives from the excessive influence Londoners exert over national debates. London is an outlier in being one of the very few places where you can avoid owning a car, and where cycling or public transport is faster than driving. Indeed a car is less useful in the middle of London than anywhere else: you can’t drive to work, you can’t park at the shops and, if you set out from inner London, after 30 minutes of fraught driving you will merely end up in a worse part of London. This is not true in other cities, where 30 minutes’ drive will take

The best electric bikes: The Volt Metro reviewed

Tucked away in an unassuming street near Borough, you’ll find Volt Bikes – who were one of the first UK bike companies to spot the growing appetite for electric commuting. The Volt Metro is the company’s newest folding bike, pitched directly at the commuter looking for a great quality, compact electric bike at a competitive price. At just under £1400, I think this is a very well priced bike when compared to the rest of the market. For the kit you get, the fully folding functionality, the performance and range, it’s worth it. It’s kitted out very nicely with a Velo Plush saddle, ZOOM and SR Suntour suspension (more on

The best electric bikes: AnalogMotion AM1 Plus reviewed

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 The AnalogMotion is a stunning bike – so much so that people

The best electric bikes: VanMoof Electrified X2 reviewed

The X2 electrified is the latest from VanMoof, the Dutch company looking to (in their own words) ‘redefine cycling and open it up to the masses’. The X2 is the sister to the slightly larger S2, and both have a non-electrified variant. Owned and loved by an increasing number of London commuters – including, I was reliably informed, Lord Russell of the APPG on cycling – it’s a clear eye-catcher at traffic lights. Ride The VanMoof X2 in Thunder Grey As electric bikes go, it’s fast. A 250-500W motor in the front hub gives this bike all the maneuverability you could ask for. Head into the settings and tell it