Ribble AL E Trail

This machine might have ‘Trail’ in its name but it is in fact a wellrounded bike equally at home in the city as out in the country

Over recent years Ribble has been building a solid reputation for offering great value bikes under its own brand name. By selling directly, the company can keep overheads down and pass on the savings to its customers. In the case of the AL E Trail, that means you get lights, a kickstand, rear rack and mudguards for the same price as a similar model of bike without these useful accessories, and fitted by a trusted brand.

The starting point for the build of the AL E Trail is an aluminium frame, built using T6 heat-treated 6061 tubing. This has been manipulated and shaped to create what Ribble calls a “semi step-through frame design”.

In order to provide a bit of comfort the front wheel is held in place by a Zoom suspension fork with 120mm of travel and that in combination with the large- profile Schwalbe Marathon tyres will help to make the ride more forgiving when the going gets a bit ragged. If that doesn’t provide enough cushioning you’ll appreciate the fitment as standard of a Level Urban suspension seatpost with 40mm of travel underneath the ample Selle Italia saddle.

To get those wheels spinning along, Ribble has outfitted the AL E Trail with a Sram Apex 1x drivetrain, which sees a single chainring matched to an 11-speed cassette at the rear wheel. That wheel also incorporates the 250W Ebikemotion X35+ motor into the hub.

The clever integration continues with the inclusion of the battery inside the frame’s down tube. That same battery also provides the power for the 1,000- lumen headlight and 50- lumen taillight. They can even be turned on and off from the iwoc Trio control button on the handlebar that also controls the motor’s different modes.

► From £2,599 ribblecycles.co.uk