There are a variety of ebikes motors on the market, so it’s important to do your research and choose one that has a good reputation.  

Read reviews and compare prices to find the best ebike motor brands; what are the strengths and weaknesses of each and do they match your usage and requirements?

Take a look at our guide to the best ebike motor brands here if you need to learn more…

Ultimately, when looking at an ebike motor, your considering a few specs:

• What type of motor it is? Is it a mid drive (generally considered the best) or a hub drive (over either the front or back wheel hub)

• What is the weight of the motor? Usually anything between 2.5kg and 6kg

• What is the wattage output? 250w is the UK road legal ebike motor wattage, but they come in 500w, 750w and even 1000w

• What is the max torque? This is basically how quick it get going / accelerate / perform on inclines. It’s measured in Newton Metres (Nm) and is usually between 30Nm to 85Nm.

• What is the maximum speed it supports? Usually 25km/h or 15.5mph as is legally allowed in the UK. But you will find some that support 45 km/h / 27.9 mph.

When it comes to ebikes, the motor is one of the most important components. After all, it’s what makes your bike move!

So, it’s important to choose a quality motor that will last. Here are some of the best ebike motor brands on the market and information about their most popular motors and what they offer you…

Bafang

Bafang have been developing e-mobility motors since 2003 and has over 1,000 staff worldwide.

Their head office is based in Suzhou near Shanghai, but have offices in the US, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and China, with a factory in Poland too.

They are one of the leading ebike motor manufacturers, they offer a variety of drive systems on their motors.

They can be often found in entry level to mid ebikes and also offer conversion kits, but you may find a Bafang motor in your Luna Cycle, VanMoof Asia, Synch, Volt, Sondors, Juiced or FreeBike ebikes. 

Bafang’s M-Series are mid drive motors, their H-Series are Hub motors (M for Mid and H for Hub) and they do a variety of front or rear hub ebike motors in their H-Series.

Bafang put their motors into five ebike categories:

• eMTB  range includes M820, M600, M510, M500, M410, H630and H630. These range from 250w to 500w, 50Nm – 120Nm and weights of 3kg to 4.2kg. The M600 offering a massive 120Nm max torque, at 500w with a decent weight of 3.9kg.

• eROAD range includes M820, M800 and H600 with 200w – 250w, 30Nm – 75Nm with low weights of 2kg – 2.3kg. The Bafang M820 gives you a 250w motor with a nice 75Nm and light 2.3kg.

• eTOUR range includes the M420, M400, H630, H620, H400B and H400, they’re 250w – 500w, 30Nm – 80Nmand 3kg – 4.1kg.

• eCITY range includes M420, M400, M300, M200, H700, H600, H400B and H400 with 250w – 300w, max torque of 35Nm – 80Nm with weights if 2kg – 3.9Nm.

• eCARGO range includes the M620, M410, M400 and the H550. These motors are designed to carry heavy loads and therefore provide wattage of 250w to a whopping 1000w with high torque of 80Nm to 160Nm(!) to match, you pay a small price with a slightly heavier motor for this power and max torque of 3.4kg – 5.3kg.

Bosch 

Bosch is a leading name in the ebike world and for good reason, they’re one of the leading ebike motor brands. Bosch motors are powerful, efficient, and reliable – Bosch only use mid drive motors, stating that poor performance on hills from hub drive motors is one of their main reasons for this.

Bosch motors power some of the leading ebike brands and are definitely seen as one of the leading manufacturers of high quality ebike motors. You’ll find Bosch motors in some of the following ebike brands: Ghost, Riese & Müller, KTM, PEGASUS, Raleigh UK, Conay and Scott.

Bosch ebike motors operate a ‘smart system’ which connects the battery, display, control unit, drive unit, app and ABS. These are regularly updated over the internet and offer an integrated system from Bosch, which helps them to dominate the ebike component market.

Bosch ebike motors fit into the following categories as defined by the manufacturer themselves:

• Active Line – with an award wining design from Red Dot, a max torque of 40Nm and a backpedal function for easier braking, the Active Line motor from Bosch can be found in the Scott eRIDE, QiO A-8 and Raleigh’s Motos Tour. A mid drive motor which is small, light (at just 2.9kg) and easy on the eye is a popular choice of ebike motor with plenty of reputable and leading ebike manufacturers. 

• Active Line Plus – slightly heavier than the Active Line, the Active Line Plus comes in at a still very lightweight 3.2kg, it has a slightly higher max torque of 50Nm and still maintains the back pedal function for improved braking. It’s maximum cadence of 105 is slightly higher again than the Active Line max cadence of 100. 

• Cargo Line – one of the newest lines of Bosch ebike motors the Cargo Line receives continuous updates ‘over the air’ via the Bosch app. As you may have guessed, the Cargo Line is built for heavy loads and steep inclines, offering up a powerful 85Nm with a maximum performance of 400%, which translates to x4 of your own pedal power. It’s built to work efficient under heavy loads and not overheat, with a maximum cadence of 120 but still lightweight at 2.9kg!

• Performance Line – powering your ebike up to 75Nm maximum torque with maximum support of 340%, (x3.4 your pedal power) with backpedal function once again. The main difference for Bosch’s Performance Line offers a ‘sporty riding sensation’ with minimal pedalling resistance and sporty acceleration. Maximum cadence is a decent 120 with a ‘sporty start up’ and a light 3.2kg in weight, supporting speeds of up to 25km/p

• Performance Line Speed – Bosch’s Performance Line Speed is similar to the Performance Lien but guess what, it offers more speed. Considerably more actually, supporting up to 45km/h, a massive 80% increase.

• Performance Line CX – the CX version of performance line gives you a big increase in max torque of 85Nm. It also have different rising modes of Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo. Support levels of 340 and cadence of 120 remain the same. 

• Performance Line CX RACE Edition – CX RACE Edition of the Performance Line battery has an exclusive race mode, with a 400% maximum support, 85Nm max torque and super lightweight at just 2.75kg. It’s start up behaviour is described as ‘super sporty’.

Yamaha

Yamaha is a Japanese company that’s been making quality products for decades, they’re extremely well known for motorbike and musical instruments, but are also one of the best ebike motor brands out there.

Yamaha offer a great range of mid drive ebike motors, which they refer to as their drive units as follows:

• PW-X3 – Yamaha’s PW-X3 is compact and lightweight at just 2.75kg, it’s 250w and provides 85Nm of maximum torque. It supports a max speed of 25km/h and is a mid drive. Yamaha call the PW-X3 their high end sport motor for ebikes. 

• PWseries S2 – the PWseries S2 from Yamaha is again a mid drive motor, weighing just 2.85kg, 250w output with a max torque of 75Nm, supporting speeds up to 25km/h / 15.5mph. It’s their ‘powerful, quiet and lightweight multi purpose unit’.

• PWseries TE – slightly heavier than the previous two Yamaha motors, the PWseries TE comes in at a fairly light 3.4kg

• PWseries CE

• PW-X2 45

Shimano

Shimano is another big name in ebikes. 

Fazua

This German-made motor is used in a variety of ebikes.

Now you know the best ebike motor brands to look for, take a look at our ebike motor guide here.