The Ampere Deluxe Pro is the latest and top of the range model from a Devon-based outfit who have been in the e-bike biz since 2020. It looks to be a value for money bike, as are all their other models, and comes packed full of useful features. 

The Deluxe Pro is a one size step-thru design that aims to tick as many boxes as possible for as many riders as possible and comes with a choice of three battery sizes to fit different range requirements and budgets.

Ampere have a good spread of dealers south of Leeds, but nothing north of that. They offer a 12-month warranty which you can also pay to extend by 12 months. 

Ampere Deluxe Pro, by Richard Peace

Spec

Lets start with the mid-drive.

Motinova may not be a name you have heard of but apparently they are a multi-national company and, "part of Midea Industrial Technology which has 27 research and development centres throughout the world" with, "5,500 patents to its name". So when it comes to electrical technology, they should certainly know what they are doing.

The Motinova mid-drive is a step up from the Ampere Deluxe (non-Pro) which features a hub drive and one less derailleur gear, so you would certainly expect a performance jump for the extra £500 or so. The Pro version also a bigger down tube that can accommodate a very sizeable 630Wh capacity battery, which is what our test bike came equipped with (the 360Wh and 504Wh versions cost £1,999 and £2,199 respectively).  

With nine derailleur gears and hydraulic disc brakes, both from Shimano, you would expect reliable, effective and longlasting performance, whilst the Zoom-branded seatpost, adjustable- angle stem and riser bars also add to the reassuringly trustworthy list of names associated with the various components.

The Pro package is pretty complete as it's rounded off by hardwired LEDs, a solid rear rack, alloy full length mudguards and a kickstand. 

The only design element I wasn't keen on - a general comment on many town e-bikes rather than any specific criticism of Ampere - was a heavy, steel sprung front fork. Large air volume tyres can accomplish much the same and add less weight and complexity.

The Ampere Deluxe Pro tipped our scales at 25.2kg - certainly no lightweight, but on the good side of what you might expect for a solidly built step-thru with a biggish capacity battery. If you remove the battery the bike weighs 22kg and so would be a little easier to lift if that is absolutely necessary.   
 

Performance

The first question on many potential e-bike buyers' minds will often be how powerful the motor is - especially on models like this one where the motor brand may be unfamiliar. You'll be pleased to hear the Motinova mid-drive was a superb hill-climber - right up there with the best in class on our two standard hill climb tests. It was also pretty quiet and wonderfully smooth.

There was tons of low speed torque on our ultra-steep climb test and the lowest gear was just low enough to make it easy going without having to press on the pedals really hard to keep your momentum going up the 25% grade slope. 

Just about everything else on the bike fits nicely with its super-practical around town and leisure target market. The rack is strurdy and rated at a very capable 25kg; the hard wired LED lights are bright enough for unlit roads and tracks; and the semi-slick tyres will handle mild off-road conditions too. The Shimano gearing and brakes performed faultlessly, providing quick, easy gear changes and plenty of smooth stopping power on the steepest of hills.

The centrally located display was easy and clear to read and the battery bar style gauge declined predictably in line with increasing mileage - I estimated a range of 35-45 miles in hilly Pennine conditions. 

The left hand thumb button was easy to use to toggle through the power levels and I even discovered a Smart mode which I assumed varied the assistance according to gradient or pedal effort (or perhaps both).

My only quibble with the power levels was that the bottom Eco level was more than sufficient for a lot of conditions so an even less powerful bottom level would have helped to eke a bit more range from the 630Wh battery.

Apart from that heavy steep suspension fork my only niggles were a rather weedy walk assist and a kickstand that had quite a bit of play in its pivot - it worked very well but I would question its longevity.

Overall - as you would expect from this design of bike, it was stable, very comfortable and safe-feeling to ride in all conditions including busy traffic.  
 

Value and competition

If you are in the market for this style of e-bike you should certainly also check out the Mako Shark that we really loved. Okay, it costs £600 more, but for that you get effective hill climbing power plus eight Shimano hub gears and a Gates Carbon belt drive, making it terrific value. 

Cube's Supreme Hybrid range gives you Bosch mid-drive quality in a low maintenance city package and we have seen them discounted for as little as £1,839. Raleigh's Motus Grand Tour, meanwhile, is currently going for £1,700. Both feature the rather less powerful Active Plus mid-drive however. 

Another of our favourite high power mid-drives from a brand other than the big four of Bosch, Brose, Shimano and Yamaha is the Neoassist that we tried on the Neomouv Adonis 2. Whilst we haven't tried its successor model, the Elaia 2, it looks to use a version of the same powerful, fast mid-drive. At around the £2,000 mark it should certainly be added to the 'possibles' list. We've also tried and been impressed by the very effective power of Ananda mid-drives, one of which features on Ecobike's LX model. 

Finally, the Romet E-Modeco URB 3.0 has plenty of power in the form of the well-regarded Shimano EP8 mid-drive and comes highly recommended but carries a heftier price tag. 

All in all the Ampere Deluxe Pro is a solid choice for those who are looking for a really practical city and leisure e-bike that will also take on just about any hill you put in front of it. Highly recommended. 

ampereelectric.co.uk