An electric bike might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about subscriptions. But just as you pay monthly for things like Netflix or Amazon Prime, you can now do the same thing for an e-bike.
You don’t technically own the bike - it works as a rental scheme - but a subscription is a great way to get an e-bike without the longer term commitment or that sizeable initial cost. Many even include things like insurance and servicing – and some even include free battery swapping so you don’t need to charge them at home all the time.
If you want to gain a better understanding of the quality of some of the e-bikes on offer, we've reviewed plenty of them and a number feature in one or more of our various e-bike buyer's guides.
Quite a few more brands have jumped on the bandwagon since we first produced this guide a few years ago, and what once seemed a service largely reserved for those living in London and the South-East now looks to be expanding into the rest of the country - although choices are still relatively limited outside the capital.
Best electric bike subscriptions 2024
- Best e-bike subscription for those in London – Swapfiets | Find out more at Swapfiets
- Best e-bike subscription for couriers – Zoomo | Find out more at Zoomo
- Best e-bike subscription for families or commuters - Blike | Find out more at Blike
- Best of the rest
Best e-bike subscription for those in London – Swapfiets
Swapfiets is a Dutch company - 'fiets' meaning 'bike' in Dutch – and it’s one of the most established subscription companies around. Now it’s in the UK, albeit only available to those in London. You can get both electric and unassisted bikes on loan from Swapfiets. There are two electric options: the Power 7 and Power 1.
The Power 1 is a single-speed city bike, and starts at £54.90 per month. The Power 7 comes with a seven-speed drivetrain, a bigger battery and starts at £74.90 per month. With that monthly subscription, you get repairs and maintenance.
There are two membership options to choose from: Flexible and Regular. The Flexible option means you pay a one-time joining fee and then you can cancel at any point. With Regular, there is no joining fee but you can only cancel after six months.
Find out more on the Swapfiets website.
Best for couriers – Zoomo
Zoomo is primarily aimed at gig economy workers like food delivery riders. This perhaps isn’t a surprise given the company was founded by former Deliveroo executive, Mina Nada in 2017. Zoomo also offers fleet management and B2B e-bike services, including the recent addition of e-cargo bikes.
Currently the company operates in London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham, and subscription prices start at £45 per week for the Boost plan, which is aimed at full-time couriers. On top of that, you'll need to pay an additional refundable bond of £45 and a starter fee of £25.
If you want things like theft insurance or an extra battery, you’re looking at more per week. The Boost option comes with a 12-week contract and full maintenance of the bike. If you need the flexibility of being able to cancel any time, the Flex Weekly price goes up to £55 a week.
Currently, there are just two e-bikes to choose from: the Zero and the Sport. Both are hub-drive urban e-bikes, although the Sport uses a rear-hub and the Zero a front. Both offer a claimed 80km range, and come with rear racks with a weight capacity of 27kg.
Find out more on the Zoomo website.
Best for families or commuters – Blike
Blike has quite the variety of e-bikes on offer, from nippy urban models to e-cargo bikes perfect for getting the kids to school on. You can lease the bikes privately or through your employer if they use the Cycle to Work scheme.
Currently they offer bikes in London, and then outside the capital they also operate through partner shops in Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester. If you lease a bike in one of these cities, there is a surcharge for getting the bike delivered to your local store.
Bikes start at £78 a month, for an Analog Motion Black Edition e-bike, and can be as high as £191 for the Raleigh Stride 3. There’s also a £99 joining fee to be aware of. Subscription lengths can be as little as one month, and you own the bike after 36 months.
Insurance and servicing are included in your fee, although be aware that parts over 12 months old which need replacing are likely to incur a fee.
Blike looks like a good option for commuters and families with a fair few brands to choose from, and, you are paying towards owning the bike rather than a continuous lease.
Find out more on the Blike website.
Best of the rest
Buzzbike
Buzzbike only offers one e-bike for now, and it’s an ‘own-label’ urban e-bike called the Buzzbike-EZ. Currently the service only runs in London and Manchester, and the company offers different types of subscriptions to meet different needs. For instance, a rolling monthly contract where you can cancel any time costs £79.99 per month. There are also 6- and 12-month plans, which cost £69.99 and £59.99 per month respectively.
Buzzbike also offers theft replacement of their bikes and ‘on-demand repairs’, with all servicing and parts included when one of their ‘bike professors’ comes to fix your bike.
The bike itself is a one-size-fits-all, which apparently suits riders between 164cm and 188cm (5ft 4in to 6ft 2in). It uses a Bafang rear hub motor with 32Nm of torque, and a 378Wh Samsung removable battery. It’s belt driven, so less to worry about from a maintenance perspective, and you won’t have to buy your own accessories as there are lights, mudguards and a rear rack included.
Find out more on the Buzzbike website.
Volt
British brand Volt has been growing pretty rapidly the past few years, both in popularity and the range on offer. You can already lease a Volt bike on a Blike subscription, but if you’re not located in their chosen cities, then direct subscription through Volt may be a better option. There are over 100 dealer locations for you to test ride the bikes first.
There are seven e-bikes to choose from, with things like the Volt London, the brand’s urban single-speed option, as well as their folding e-bike, the Metro. Prices start from £100.79 per month plus a one-off £99 joining fee. Your monthly payment includes insurance as well as maintenance and a yearly service.
If you want flexibility, this is a pretty enticing service, as you can swap between bikes as you please – unless you want to pay towards buying your bike, in which case you will own it after 36 months.
Find out more on the Volt website.
Hurrecane
Hurrecane is among the cheaper subscription services with bikes starting at £50 per month on a rolling contract. Interestingly, they also offer a ‘lifetime warranty’ on their e-bikes, including motors and batteries. The company also covers wear and tear, tyres, and supplies riders with a Gold Standard lock.
You can choose from several extras, including panniers for £1.10 a month, a helmet for £2.20 a month, subsidised theft cover for £7 a month and puncture protection for £1.10 a month. A £180 deposit plus the first month’s subscription fee is needed to secure a bike, and they deliver to a large proportion of England.
The bikes on offer range from pretty basic looking hub-driven urban bikes, to what they call a mountain bike and even a fat bike - so there’s plenty to choose from, even if Hurrecane bikes are not particularly well-known.
Find out more on the Hurrecane website.
Dash
Dash works as a salary sacrifice scheme, so is only available to those with employers that use the Cycle to Work scheme. You can get an e-bike for as little as £29 per month – if you choose the Buzzbike EZ and sign up for an 18-month rental period. Essentially, the bike pricing depends on both the bike and the contract length you’re looking at taking out.
Included in the monthly payment is a helmet, a lock, insurance, repairs, and a guarantee the bikes will be carbon offset by 400%. The company now operates nationwide, with delivery costing £22, and there are quite a few brands to choose from, including Volt and Cowboy bikes, and even a Whyte E-505 hardtail.
Find out more on the Dash website.
How to choose the right electric bike subscription
How is subscription different to hire?
Most subscription services differ to hire schemes (both ‘by the minute’ bike share schemes like Jump and holiday type rental schemes) in that subscription is longer term and you get to treat the bike as your own for as long as you subscribe to the service. There are often additional services included in the subscription fee such as repair call-out and insurance, though exactly what is included varies, depending on the provider.
So why might subscription suit you? It’s like renting a bike on a lease contract, but in theory simpler because you don't have to pay for repairs and wear and tear, so you know exactly how much to budget for each month. Those who don’t wish to get involved in bike maintenance might welcome those subscription services that offer a repair or bike swap call-out service. If insurance and a replacement e-bike is covered in the subscription payment that could also be appealing.
If you are going to be using the e-bike for self-employed work purposes, day-in, day-out, then a subscription might make sense too – it should class as a tax-deductible expense and backup services should provide some piece of mind if you are relying on the bike for daily work.
Are e-bike subscriptions worth it?
If you want to try owning an e-bike without the massive outlay, then yes, they’re definitely worth it. You’ll also likely get maintenance and servicing as part of your package, so that’s even less for you to worry about compared to owning an e-bike. The price you pay per month will vary depending on contract length and the type of bike you want to lease, but if you fancy dipping your toes into the e-bike world without the commitment of ownership, then it may be worth considering.
Why not just buy an e-bike on credit?
Buying an e-bike on credit can be an affordable way to spread the cost of owning an e-bike, but if you lease an e-bike you will likely get things you don’t get on credit - for example, insurance and maintenance. Alongside this, some schemes are flexible enough to allow you to change your mind on e-bikes, so if you decide to switch it up and go for something different, you can, whereas if you’ve bought a bike on credit, you'd obviously need to pay it off before switching to something else.
