The best women’s electric bikes for any occasion

The idea of cycling to work is enough to turn us off going into the office. With the advent of working from home becoming more popular, we really can embrace any excuse not to commute in.

However, your mind might be changed if your bike was electrically boosted with the aid of an eBike? Electric bikes are becoming increasingly popular and making substantial technological advances look much sleeker and way cooler than they used to be. Batteries have become integrated into frames, motors have become more powerful and reliable, and the bikes do not look as clunky as they used to.

The downside is, of course, the price. They’re not cheap either – a decent eBike will start at around £2,000, and that’s not for any other reason than the build cost. Once you consider that a decent bike costs you about a grand, you realise motors and batteries do too. So, if you want a decent eBike, you’ll be looking at around £2,000.

If you’re a London resident, you could justify this with the cost of your annual travel card. Zone 1-4 travel annually costs £2,208 - so over the course of a year, if you use your eBike to commute, you’ll have earned that back. If you’re outside London and usually commute by car, let’s say you put £50 of petrol in your car per week over 40 weeks, you’ll have made £2,000 back. Think of it as a Christmas bonus…

The differences between men’s and women’s bikes

The differences between men's and women's bikes can be subtle. Typically, it's simple geometry - on a women's bike, the top tube is shorter, bringing the handlebars closer to the saddle. In turn, this brings the wheelbase closer. Other geometry differences, too, make it much more comfortable for women to ride.

One traditional difference is a step-through frame or slanted top tube, which tapers down. This makes the bike easier to get on whether you have luggage on the bike or not. The lower taper top tube also helps shorten the bike’s wheelbase without compromising performance.

What to look out for in an eBike

Motors

To ensure you get something right for you, you'll need to pick between two different motors - hub or crank.

Hub motors, which are mounted in the rear hub and help the wheel to rotate, are best suited for lighter use of an eBike.

Crank motors help the pedals turn. Having a motor house in the cranks is generally heavier, but they give you more assistance when riding, and you feel their effects much more than a hub motor.

Brakes

You'll be hard pushed to find an eBike which doesn't have disc brakes, as the heavier bikes require the greater stopping power found with disc brakes. They will either be mechanical, the traditional method of a cable pulling the brake calliper, or hydraulic, which is a fluid movement removing the brake calliper shut.

The mechanical systems are fine and work well, but as they're open, dirt and grim can clog these up, with cables becoming stretched and needing to be changed.

Hydraulic systems will be closed, and you get more braking power, so it may only require a couple of fingers to pull hard on the brakes, leaving more room for modulation. The downside to hydraulics is that they're more expensive, are more technical to replace, and often require a mechanic.

Frame

The frame will be something you will have to decide on too. You will get a choice of aluminium or carbon fibre frames. Aluminium is cheaper but tends to be heavier.

You should balance the weight and cost of what you can afford because the likelihood is you won't mind a couple of extra kilograms on the bike frame if it saves you a couple of grand.

Torque

Torque on an eBike is very similar to a car; the higher the torque a motor can produce, the more weight it can shift. It's not uncommon to find pedal-assist motors that can produce up to 80Nm of torque, and this is plenty to get you off the mark and up the hills.

Watt and Watt-hour (Wh)

• Watt is a power unit, and Watt-hour (Wh) is a unit of energy
• Watt-hours measure the amount of energy for a specific period
• If you have a 250Wh battery, it will give you 250 watts of power for one hour.

Use this as a rough guide, though, as when you're in the most assisting mode (which usually gives you 250 watts of power), the run time depends on how hard you're working, steepness of inclines, the amount of weight the bike is carrying and environmental factors, like temperature and wind.

The best hybrid eBikes for women

We love this one, a reasonable price for a well-specced eBike and look at that colour and white tyres! This is a big yes for us; with the tan saddle and handlebar grips, there’s even front suspension to soften up the ride and racks for pannier bags, mudguards, and lights come fitted. Nice touches like a chain guard don’t go unnoticed either, helping to keep oil and road spray off your jeans.

Cost is kept low with a Shimano 7-speed drive train and Tektro mechanical disc brakes - this means a wire controls them as opposed to hydraulics which is controlled by a fluid; hydraulic disc brakes offer better stopping power but are generally more expensive and trickier to replace.

The 400Wh battery will be good for up to 60miles, and the bike utilises a Suntour Canbus E25 motor on the pedals.

Pros
• Looks stunning
• Big battery pack
• 60 miles of range should be plenty

Cons
• Mechanical disc brakes offer stopping power but less modulation

Another super sleek design but this time by Cannondale, the Adventure Neo 4 electric hybrid bike has a super low step-through frame, allowing easy access with the batteries integrated into the downtube. Working with a Shimano Altus 9-speed groupset Riderever hydraulic disc brakes for superior stopping power, the ride is even more comfortable with the 27.5” Kenda Kwick Seven.5 tyres. These tyres are perfect for inner-city riding and can be run at a slightly lower pressure allowing for a bit more comfort.

The Bosch Active Line Plus motor is robust and reliable, delivering up to 250watts and 40Nm of torque; more torque means the more weight it can move, and the quicker you’ll move away at traffic lights, and a 400Wh battery should be good for around 70 miles.

Pros
• Big name brand
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• Looks fantastic

Cons
• High price

The Best Road eBikes for women

You may be looking at this Supersix and wondering where the electric motor and batteries are - well, it's all in the frame. This bike utilises a MAHLE ebikemotion X35 rear hub motor, which is lightweight and can give you up to 250 watts of additional power. A button controls it on the top tube, where you choose which level of assistance you want, of which there are three modes, eco, sports and turbo. Each way offers a little boost, with eco being the least and turbo being all 250 watts.

On the bike, you’ll get super powerful hydraulic disc brakes, a full carbon fibre frame and Shimano 105 gears and brakes (groupset).

Pros
• Recognised rear hub motor
• Full carbon fibre
• Big brand name

Cons
• High cost

Here we have something for the elite of road bike riding with electrical assistance. The Specialized Turbo Creo SL E5 is the lightest in its class, and the SL 1.1 240-watt motor will double the effort you put in. That means you could be flying up the hills in no time with a 320Wh battery giving you up to 80 miles of range (depending on how you use it) and an optional range extender which can add an extra 40 miles.

You can view how much life is left in your battery using the Mission Control app and fine-tune the motor to give you everything you need. If you do not have the app, all this info can also be viewed on the TCU display on the top tube.

Gearing-wise, you have one on the front with a SunRace 11-speed cassette offering a wide range of gears on the rear. Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brakes round out the spec.

Pros
• A range extender for massive miles
• Specialized own motor built for the frame
• Hydraulic disc brakes

Cons
• High cost
• Mission control app to see battery life can be fiddly

The Best Folding eBikes for Women

Folding bikes are a great option to help you cut down your car travel time, be it for the last mile hop from the train station to work or to store compactly. If you are short on space, they are excellent bikes, and this from Raleigh is no different.

A lightweight TranzX 250 w motor gives you all the boost you need for buzzing about town or uphill, and accompanied by the TranzX 250Wh battery, which is removable for ease of charging, you’ll have everything you need to get you going.

Shimano-mix 7-speed gears offer a great range of capabilities while keeping costs low and robust; powerful v-brakes give you confidence in all conditions. The 20” wheels couple space-saving design with fast and smooth rolling and the reflective sidewalls on the Kenda tyres offer more safety in lowlight conditions.

Pros
• Recognised brand
• Recognised gears

Cons
• v-brakes wont offer the most stopping power

You can’t talk about folding bikes without talking about Brompton; while one of Brompton’s USPs always was an easy-to-carry bike, the installation of a battery and motor does not make it that much heavier, coming in at a claimed weight of 15.43kg.

Cleverly utilising a front wheel hub motor that effectively rolls the front wheel for you, you’re given two driven wheels lessening your workload. The 300Wh battery will provide you with 20-45 miles of range, depending on how you use it and will be fully recharged, from the flat, in four hours. The battery will also power the lights integrated on the bike and even a USB socket to charge your phone from. Lovely.

Pros
• Well recognised brand
• Decent sized battery

Cons
• High cost
• Rim brakes don't offer the highest amount of stopping power

The best cargo eBikes

Do you have kids to cart around as well as everyday life to do? Cargo bikes can be a fantastic way of getting your little ones off to school or nursery before you carry them on to town or off to work – they’re great workhorses with powerful motors and think of them as the SUV of the cycling world.

The Stride 2 is a big heavy bike, weighing 60kg before you put anything in it; bear this in mind if you’re going through turnstiles or over barriers on your commute. A 500Wh battery will give you 40miles of range, and the Bosch Performance CX Cargo Line motor is robust and durable. Integrated lights help you to see and be seen in low-light conditions.

Pros
• Huge cargo space
• Powerful BOSCH motor
• Comfy to ride

Cons
• A double battery pack would be preferable
• Very, very heavy

This rides much more like a conventional bike, and when not fully laden with kids and cargo, it’s super fun to ride with its low centre of gravity and little wheels. Utilising the Bosch Cargo Line motor, it can also house two 500Wh batteries (the second battery is sold separately, but, in our opinion, totally worth it). You’ll be able to ship the kids about with ease. The only problem is that you must purchase the rather expensive Clubhouse Fort for the kids to sit in and be comfortable during the winter months.

Pros
• Comfy to ride
• Nice strong motor
• Carries a lot of cargo

Cons
• Need to purchase accessories to tailor it to what you need
• High cost