Ribble Endurance SL e Ultegra Di2

£4899

HIDDEN SECRET

The SL e looks like the standard SL bike but on closer inspection you’ll notice a large rear hub and a curious button on the top tube. The rear hub is ebikemotion’s smart lightweight X35 motor, powered by a battery hidden in the down tube. The top tube button (called iWoc) is simple to use and you soon get the hang of the colour coding.

MAP YOUR RIDE

More detail is found within the ebikemotion app, with accurate battery level along with distance, altitude, average/current speed, cadence, navigation (from downloadable maps), gradient and it will upload to Strava, too.

SNAPPY AND SMOOTH

The SL e on the road feels just like the Endurance SL: the geometry is the same, so it has the snappy handling character of the SL. It is tempered a little by the weight at the rear, which initially takes a little getting used to, though we soon learned that the low-down weight adds a great deal of stability especially when riding fast downhill. Going up, the smooth delivery of the assistance is impressive. You’ll still work hard on the climbs but you’ll be moving far swifter. Shimano Ultegra Di2 is superb here, as usual, and our test bike has upgrades in the form of some pretty special Cosmic Pro carbon wheels from Mavic in a special build with the EBM hub. This, along with the Level one-piece carbon bar/stem, helps reduce weight down to an impressive 12kg but ups the price a lot from the £3199 for the standard Ultegra Di2 bike.

ONE THING WE’D CHANGE SPEED UP

Nothing about the spec, ride quality or overall performance but a change in the law from the 15.5mph limit would add wider appeal for more riders. A drop in price for ebikes wouldn’t go amiss either.