Best budget electric mountain bike: Power-up your ride without breaking the bank - MBR

With the best cheap electric mountain bikes starting at around £3k, you don't need to spend the earth to discover the joy of assisted trail riding.

The best electric mountain bikes are more popular than ever before; they take the effort out of big climbs, and allow you to ride further, faster, or just pack more into your lunch break. And while you can spend an absolute fortune on an electric mountain bike, there are some superb options out there at much more affordable prices. We’ve over ten years of experience testing e-bikes, and these are the best budget models we’ve tried tried.

The Polygon Siskiu T7E has the ride quality to compete with much more expensive models, despite some teething problems.

Frame: ALX Enduro alloy, 144mm travel | Motor: Shimano EP801 600W, 85Nm | Battery: Shimano 630Wh | Weight: 24.62kg | Rating: 9/10

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Polgon’s Siskiu T7E impressed us from the moment we pulled it out of the box. A genuine Shimano EP801 motor and full size 630Wh battery provide ample assistance, while the low-slung frame has the geometry to shrug off the fastest and most technical tracks we could find. All the components, from the four-piston brakes, to the wide-range drivetrain and fully adjustable suspension are on the money, leaving nothing wanting on the trail. Only the front tyre could do with a softer rubber compound to fully exploit just how hard we could ride the Siskiu. But our test was not without problems; the battery mounts hadn’t been positioned correctly, so the battery fell out, and the rear shock blew. A new shock and recalibrated mounts solved the issues, but both are worth keeping an eye on.

Read our full test review of the Polygon Siskiu T7E

The Decathlon Rockrider E-Expl 520S amazed us with its level of performance for under £3k.

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Decathlon’s Rockrider E-Expl 520 S is an amazing deal at under £3k, coming with everything you need from a modern electric mountain bike. There’s a quality aluminium frame with up-to-date sizing and geometry, sorted suspension with air fork and shock, so you can easily set-up to your body weight. A dropper post lets you get the saddle out of the way for descending, and the Brose motor is smooth and silent, offering plenty of assistance to take the hurt out of steep climbs. And thanks to that smooth, silent motor, modern geometry, and decent suspension, it rides way beyond its price tag, and left us us grinning ear to ear on every ride. There’s also a cheaper version with a detuned motor, less travel, and no dropper post for under £2.5k.

Click here for our full review of the Decathlon Rockrider E-Expl 520 S

Giant Stance E+ 1

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Giant has always been a brand that delivers great value along with the back-up of a physical store. So if you’re looking to get your first e-bike, and want a bit of hand-holding through the process, the Stance E+ 1 is a compelling place to start. It’s relatively short travel, so doesn’t feel overwhelming and inert on forest tracks and trails, but has enough cush to provide comfort, confidence, and traction in the rough.

The SyncDrive motor, built by Yamaha and tuned by Giant, is fairly quiet and delivers its power smoothly, so you can concentrate on hitting the right lines and reaching the summits of impossible climbs. And it will deliver its power without having to spin your legs at dizzying speeds. As we said when we tested it: “The frame, rear suspension and the rest of the components are all sorted, and combined with Giant’s extensive dealer support, the Stance E+1 makes a great foundation on which to upgrade”.

Read our full review of the Giant Stance E+ 1

Voodoo Zobop E-Shimano

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Voodoo’s Zobop is getting a bit long in the tooth compared to the other bikes here, with a small capacity, externally mounted battery that looks pretty ungainly next to the latest e-bikes with internal batteries. The geometry and sizing hasn’t changed in about five years, so it’s not as stable as newer bikes, and the saddle and top tube can get in the way a bit when descending. But it’s very good value, available from your local Halfords store, and it’s got a decent mid-mounted Shimano motor and quality RockShox suspension. Despite ageing noticeably, it’s still a blast to ride, so if you can pick one up at the right price, it’s worth a look.

Read our full review of the Voodoo Zobop E-Shimano

Canyon’s latest Neuron:ON 6 looks sleek and modern and comes in three different colours, from mild to wild.

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Canyon’s Neuron:On is geared towards cruising along dirt tracks and forest singletrack with the sun streaming through the trees and the breeze ruffling your jersey. It’s fast-rolling and efficient, so you can cover ground with less effort, and yet it can also be taken around black-graded trail centre loops and even more technical trails without getting out of its depth.

The aluminium frame is sleek and good-looking, expertly integrating the Shimano motor and hiding the 630Wh battery within the down tube. You get quality Fox suspension, a wide-range Shimano drivetrain capable of conquering the steepest ascents, and light-action Shimano brakes for confidence and control. A great e-bike to get you started riding off-road.

Read our full review of the Canyon Neuron:ON 7.0

The Haibike AllMtn 4 is powered by Yamaha’s PW-X3 motor, meaning it gets a huge 85Nm of torque

Wheel size: 29in f/27.5in r | Frame: Aluminum, 160mm travel | Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL | Motor: Yamaha PW-X3 Series | Battery: Yamaha InTube 750Wh

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The Haibike AllMtn 4 has one of the most under rated motors on the market right now. Powered by Yamaha’s PW-X3 motor, it delivers 85Nm of torque just like Bosch CX and Shimano EP801, but you’ll find it on entry-level bikes like the AllMtn 4 here. So that’s top end power to match the motors grabbing all the headlines, but without the top end price tag. It’s also 20% smaller and 10% lighter than the older PW-X2 we spent a year testing on the AllMtn 6, and that makes for a nicer looking bike with better weight balance and performance.

The AllMtn 4 is a proper rider’s bike too, it’s not a looker for sure, but then who cares when you have 160 mm travel that we’ve found supple enough to gain grip and smooth out the biggest hits? It’s bang on trend with mullet wheels too, while the Shimano drivetrain is sensible, reliable and cheap… if not exactly inspiring. Best of all perhaps, Haibike has fitted a massive 750Wh battery to this bargain of a bike, so there’s enough juice to power that high power motor.

Read our full review of the Haibike AllMtn 6

The Neuron:ONfly is the most affordable best lightweight e-bike out there, it’s a stunning piece of design for the cash

Wheel size: 29in | Frame: Carbon, 140mm travel | Frame sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL | Motor: Bosch SX, 55Nm max torque | Battery: Bosch 400Wh

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The Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF7 is probably the best realised lightweight e-bike you’ll get on a budget. And by that we mean, it’s pretty much the only lightweight, mid-power bike that costs less than £5,000. We tested the posh Canyon Neuron:ONfly CF9 version at its launch in Germany and I was impressed with its nimble ride and sheer speed on flowy trails. The cheaper CF7 comes with much of the same spec, it gets a carbon frame, Bosch SX motor, and sub-£5k price tag and a weight just creeping over 20kg.

The best news is that it’s currently on sale from Canyon too, at £3,699. That’s incredible value for a lightweight e-bike that’s genuinely light in weight. In fact it’s the ‘cheapest’ lightweight option we can find, coming in at 20.34kg in size L on our scales.

Canyon’s Torque:ON is a beast on anything gravity-orientated, just be careful you wouldn’t be better off on something with less travel!

When brands like Specialized, Trek, YT and the rest launch a new bike, they tend to want mbr to test the best bikes in the range. Understandably they want to show off the pinnacle of the design, but that also means they’re usually not the best value.

We go out of our way to source and ride the other end of the scale though, those bikes that impress us precisely because they ride well despite having a low price point. It’s a harder engineering task for sure, throw money at a modern bike and it’ll probably work reasonably well on its components and suspension hardwear alone, but budget bikes have to be brilliant in every way to succeed.

The Canyon Torque:ON CF7 is probably the most aggressive e-bike out there, a downhill bike with a motor, it’s designed to shuttle you to the top of the hill and let you lap out the descents until the massive 900Wh battery runs out of juice. That’s right, the CF7 here is currently on sale for £4,079 but still gets the biggest Shimano battery, it’s removable too so you can swap it for more juice if you’re an absolute sadist and 3,000 or more of descending just isn’t enough for you.

I tested the Canyon Torque:ON CF9 to try and figure out whether weight still matters on a mountain bike (hint, it really does) and loved its sheer composure at speed. It doesn’t even blink until you’re over 25kph and nothing seems to shake its confidence on the roughest tracks. There’s 175mm of rear wheel travel to play with, a 180mm fork, mullet wheels and Shimano’s EP8 motor to power you up the climbs.

Vitus E-Mythique LT VRX is probably the best budget e-bike ever made (so far)… we mourn its loss

If you were reading this a year ago, wondering what the best budget e-bike is, there’d have been a clear winner. The Vitus E-Mythique LT VRX e-bike was one of the best e-bikes we’ve ever tested. For £4,000 you honestly couldn’t find a better bike, the geometry was spot on, the suspension sublime and the bike’s build kit had no obvious shortcomings. For the first time in this new era of e-bikes, you could get genuinely great performance without having to pay a high price.

You probably know the story after that, CRC went pop, the biggest retailer in the UK collapsing and with it some of the best bikes in production at the time. We have seen a few Vitus bikes back in stock recently after Evans bought the rights to the brand, but so far it’s been hardtails only and not eebs. Here’s hoping Vitus, Nukeproof and the rest will see the light of day again.

The Yamaha Moro 07 looks quirky, but it makes up for that with its light weight and smooth power delivery

The Yamaha Moro 07 is the big motor brand’s first e-bike, and while it might look quirky, over a month of testing it revealed itself as a really good bike. In parts. Yes it’s only got 27.5in wheels, the rear end is a shade too long and the integrated 500Wh battery is too small, but it’s super light at 23.6kg, lighter than most carbon bikes. Its own brand PW-X3 motor is a weapon too, dishing out 85Nm of torque with a very smooth delivery.

If Yamaha was designing the Moro 07 today and not way back in 2020 I’m thinking most of these shortcomings would be done and dusted. The geometry and wheel sizing is an easy fix, and combine the great spec, light weight and powerful motor with this and you’ve got a proper e-bike on your hands.

Cube’s AMS Hybrid ONE44 doesn’t rely on a spindly build to save weight, with good tyres and a piggyback shock, but it’s still one of the lightest SLs out there

The lightest e-bike I’ve ever ridden is Cube’s AMS One44, the secret sauce is the frame, which is made from a special carbon fibre weave that contains less of the heavy resins bonding the dark matter together. You’d be forgiven for thinking the bike costs a fortune then, and while the top end Super TM version isn’t cheap, step down the range a little and the C:68X Race 400X 29 version currently retails for well under £4,000. It’s not a bike for gravity lovers though, the suspension is reasonably active but the back end is flexier than most other SLs I’ve tried. Perfect for generating grip on regular trails then, not up to bike park laps.

Bikes with automatic shifting usually go for double the price of the Rockrider E-Feel 900 S

Decathlon is in the midst of a major price readjustment right now, with some astonishing deals and lower regular prices on e-bikes. Pick of the bunch is the Rockrider E-Feel 900 S, it sneaks in under £4,000 but comes with one of the coolest bits of tech around today in the form of automatic shifting. When we tested Shimano’s Autoshift and the newest EP801 motor it blew us away on rolling terrain, selecting the right gear automatically when it wasn’t possible to sneak in a pedal stroke. Yes it’s sometimes a too slow to shift down but you can also override the system and shift those electric gears at the press of a button. Not bad for a ‘budget’ e-bike then.

Whilst you can probably buy something called an ‘electric mountain bike’ for under $1500 or £1,000, chances are it wouldn’t really be suitable or capable of doing any proper mountain biking. And it’s not worth the risk trying to go too cheap, as the extra weight, power and speed of an e-bike means that you can’t make compromises when it comes to strength of the frame and components, or the power and quality of the brakes. Not to mention the risk that it may catch fire – something particularly prone to cheap, unregulated e-bikes and conversion kits.

E-bikes let you climb the seemingly impossible.

You’ve got to draw the line somewhere. And for the purposes of this guide, we’re going to come out and state that any electric mountain bike worth getting must have a mid-drive motor. For proper mountain biking, we’d always recommend a full-suspension bike, but a hardtail will be fine if all you want to do is cruise around on some dirt tracks and forest paths. For a full-suspension e-bike, £3,000 / $3,500 is the real starting point for something worth spending your heard-earned on.

Which bike you should go for will depend on a number of factors. Yes, budget is one of them but you’ll also need to consider the type of terrain you’ll be riding on and what kind of riding you’re planning to do.

Electric hardtails are fine for general mixed riding at a casual level (gravel roads, towpaths etc), but there’s no getting over the fact that they are rather uncomfortable to ride on proper MTB trails. You get really battered by the back end through your feet and your back, and you will probably suffer quite a few rear punctures. Without any suspension to help spring the bike over obstacles, hardtail e-bikes also feel heavier and more cumbersome.

One of the whole points and joys of riding the best mountain bike models with pedal assist is covering loads of miles with minimum discomfort. Hardtails just don’t cut it.

Sorry, but e-hardtails aren’t worth it for anything tougher than fire-road cruising.

All the best electric mountain bikes come with a mid-drive motor. This refers to the motor being mounted in the middle of the bike and assisting the cranks, rather than being mounted in the rear hub and assisting the wheel. Hub-motors don’t work well for mountain biking because they add lots of weight to the wheel, which in turn leads to sluggish handling and a harsh, uncomfortable ride.

Budget e-bike let you enjoy more trails when you’re pushed for time.

Staying within this full-suspension remit, you’ll currently do well to keep the price tag below £3,000/$3,500. Well, without ending up with a ropey old off-brand eMTB – probably with a hub motor and assorted awful components – that doesn’t really bear thinking about.

External batteries are a thing of the past, with modern power packs hidden inside the down tube.

The good news is that there are now a few good mid-drive full-suspension e-bikes available around the £3,000 -£4,000/$3,500- $4,500 mark. And although the direct sales mail order brands still dominate, there are more proper bike shop bike brands making more affordable eMTBs.

Basic, skinny forks can feel flexy and vague on a 25kg e-bike.

There are however still a two things to look out for with such entry-level electric mountain bikes: cost-cutting specs and poor geometry. Examples of corners being cut to hit the price point include: no dropper post, skinny leg suspension forks and budget-end brakes. To be frank, everything will be chosen to hit a tight price point, but these items listed above are the biggest problems to look out for because they have the most significant negative impact on your ride experience, and also cost the most money to upgrade. Having said that, e-bikes show how well most modern components performs on the trail. Entry-level kit generally works fine, it’s just heavier and doesn’t look as swish. Neither of which really matters here.

Good geometry gives you the confidence to ride hard and push your limits.

Geometry however, is not upgradeable. You’re stuck with it. No matter how tempting a deal is, don’t get an eMTB that is out of date in terms of its dimensions. Geometry numbers to look out for: head angle, chainstay length and standover. The latter two dimensions are especially important if you’re a shorter rider. E-bikes with mullet wheels (29in up front, and 27.5in at the rear) are also worth seeking out as they tend to be more agile in the turns, and give more bum clearance on steep descents. Find out what numbers to look for and why they’re important with our comprehensive guide to mountain bike geometry.

The Giant Stance E+ 1 is shorter travel than most e-bikes at 125mm.

Similarly, you may find all sorts of deals on eMTBs with relatively modest amounts of travel. We’d be very wary of getting an eMTB with less than 140mm of travel. E-bikes take a lot of (ab)use and also pass a lot of punishment to the components. With bikes this heavy, that can cover ground at such speed (uphill, downhill and along-hill!), the componentry takes a hammering. A hammering that perhaps 120mm of travel isn’t quite cut out for. And given that pedal efficiency is not as important (thanks to having up to 600W on tap) you may as well go for an e-bike with at least 140mm travel.

Buy a budget e-bike and you’ll fall in love with climbing as well as descending.

No. You could be having the best time of your whole bike riding life right now. Don’t wait. Time is precious. On a less dramatic note, although still rapid, the rate of technological advancement isn’t as crazy quick as it was a couple of years ago.

We often hear people saying that they’re going to wait to buy an e-bike until the market has matured. The thing is, this isn’t like the early days of full-suspension bikes for example. E-bikes are never going to stop advancing fast with their tech. Not having an e-bike now because of what will be available in a few years is a bit like not having an iPhone until the iPhone 6 came out. Sure, the iPhone 6 was better than the iPhone 1, but you just missed out on years of… you know, actually having an iPhone. Equally prices are only going one way – up. So if you can get hold of one now, then don’t procrastinate or you’ll likely pay the penalty later.

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