OPINION
latest 13-speed groupsets and 100+ Nm motors, which would significantly reduce prices. Don’t get me wrong, I love the latest gear on my bikes. There will always be a market for the enthusiasts, but recent years have shown there are only so many people who’ll buy the “latest thing” on repeat to keep inventory moving. The quality of lower-level components has improved dramatically in the last decade, and a bike that works well and lasts a long time needn’t cost the earth. Battery safety is a more
using less conventional supply chains, and risks deflating the enthusiasm for active e-travel we’ve identified.
Pricing vs Perceived Value The other barrier to e-bike ownership that the survey picked up is simply cost. People’s perception of what a good quality e-bike should cost is significantly different from what is available from known brands and reputable bike shops the “E-Bike Positive” campaign rightly promotes. 31% of people think that a good-quality e-bike costs less than £1000, which helps explain why there is such a big market for super-budget bikes or dodgy conversion kits from online marketplaces. This appetite seems persistent in spite of people’s awareness of the risks e-bike batteries can pose. If you try to shop in this price range from reputable brands or retailers, the pickings are slim indeed. A further 11.7% identified £1001-1500 as their price point, 10% chose £1501-£2000, and only 12.6% thought over £2000. Take a look at where the majority of models from conventional brands are priced, and the discrepancy is clear. The proliferation of direct-to-consumer brands selling
affordable folding, compact and cargo style bikes is further evidence of the opportunity outside expensive sport-focused models. There’s a real risk that the “legacy” bike industry gets left behind by new players who cater better to the needs and budgets of mass-market mobility customers. The opportunity is there to be missed! (35% said they didn’t know what an e-bike should cost— unsurprising given that 39% are not interested in owning one.)
So, what can we do about this? Bike cost and product positioning are within the industry’s control. If brands focus on what potential new customers want to use bikes for, there might be less need for the
54 | June 2026
difficult problem. We can call for robust secondary legislation under the new Product Regulation and Metrology Act, and for better enforcement against online sellers who flout the legislation, but that will take time to have an impact, and will not remove existing substandard products already in use. Unfortunately, further fires from these products are inevitable. This is the reality facing stakeholders deciding whether to allow e-bike use. Ultimately, e-bike bans are likely to continue unless we do something proactive, and we run the risk of a transition to e-mobility and active travel in our cities being thwarted before it builds real momentum. Kitemarks and labels are easily faked. Lists of safety-
audited brands are likely to reassure customers at point of purchase, but it’s not practical or cost-efficient for people with no bike knowledge to check individual bikes to allow them into buildings or onto trains, etc. I’ll obviously advocate for the work BatteryIQ is doing
to monitor batteries remotely with smart BMSs and asset tagging to give stakeholders visibility of batteries and their health, but there are other companies looking at solutions too. Powershelter is one example leading the charge (pun intended) on charging lockers which keep batteries in safe spaces whilst charging and at highest risk of thermal runaway. If we want to seize the opportunity e-mobility presents in the UK, it’s not enough to say “e-bikes from known brands are safe” and hope the message lands. We need to do more.
Survey info: The survey was conducted by OnePoll on behalf of BatteryIQ between 5th and 11th March 2026 and questioned 2000 UK adults, comprising a nationally representative sample. ●
www.bikebiz.com
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