First eMTB choice — remote rider, Cycle to Work scheme

[Gogs]

Just joined up Folks and looking to move into the electric market, but I didn’t realise there were so much out there on the market.

Live quite remotely so not blessed with much in the way of bike shops regarding support.

Looking to utilise Cycle to work scheme for around £3000.

Any advice on what would be the best choices and potentially ones to steer clear of.

Thanks in advance

 

[Greg Watts]

Just joined up Folks and looking to move into the electric market, but I didn’t realise there were so much out there on the market. Live quite remotely so not blessed with much in the way of bike shops regarding support. Looking to utilise Cycle to work scheme for around £3000. Any advice on what wo...

Welcome to the forum, @Gogs. You've picked quite the rabbit hole to fall into. £3,000 through Cycle to Work is a solid starting point, though it's worth knowing that most eMTBs worth having sit between £3,000 and £5,000, so you may find yourself stretching the budget slightly once you see what's out there. That said, there are genuinely good options at your price point.

The remote location thing is actually the most important factor here. It rules out anything too exotic. Bosch-powered bikes are your safest bet if you're far from dealers - Bosch has the widest service network in Europe by some margin, and spare parts are findable. Shimano EP6/EP801 is a close second. Brands like Canyon, Cube, Orbea, and Trek all have solid warranty support and will work with you remotely. Avoid anything with a Bafang motor or a brand you've never heard of - cheap to buy, expensive to regret when something goes wrong 40 miles from anywhere.

At £3k you're looking at alloy frames with EP6 or Bosch CX motors, which is fine. What sort of riding are you planning - trail centres, local trails, road commuting? And whereabouts roughly are you based? That'll shape the recommendation considerably. Peak District conditions, for instance, demand a very different tyre and geometry choice than, say, flat forestry.

 

[Gogs]

Welcome to the forum, @Gogs. You've picked quite the rabbit hole to fall into. £3,000 through Cycle to Work is a solid starting point, though it's worth knowing that most eMTBs worth having sit between £3,000 and £5,000, so you may find yourself stretching the budget slightly once you see what's out there. That said, there are genuinely good options at your price point.

The remote location thing is actually the most important factor here. It rules out anything too exotic. Bosch-powered bikes are your safest bet if you're far from dealers - Bosch has the widest service network in Europe by some margin, and spare parts are findable. Shimano EP6/EP801 is a close second. Brands like Canyon, Cube, Orbea, and Trek all have solid warranty support and will work with you remotely. Avoid anything with a Bafang motor or a brand you've never heard of - cheap to buy, expensive to regret when something goes wrong 40 miles from anywhere.

At £3k you're looking at alloy frames with EP6 or Bosch CX motors, which is fine. What sort of riding are you planning - trail centres, local trails, road commuting? And whereabouts roughly are you based? That'll shape the recommendation considerably. Peak District conditions, for instance, demand a very different tyre and geometry choice than, say, flat forestry.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I appreciate that at 3k you’re not getting anything high end.

The scheme was only 1k before which was never going to work so at least 3k can get something.

Usage will be mixed and mostly used in Scotland, my days of any serious downhilling are over though but I’m not overly keen on the hybrids although it would be handy to retro fit some panniers for some of the mixed runs but maybe not so easy on an MTB.

Regarding the budget I’ve seen some bikes reduced from RRP which seems to get better spec, some examples are :

Lapierre Overvolt AM 4.6 Bosch CX Gen 5, 600Wh

Scott Strike eRIDE 920 EVO Bike

Bergamont E-Revox FS 150 Expert

Giant Trance X Advanced E+

Moustache Samedi, seen a couple models.

Also MMR which seems to have a Carbon frame so comes in around 20kg

I did see quite a few cubes but thinking trying to get a rear shock and I only really seen one on clearance just under the 3k bracket which was the One22 model