Pure Free City Hybrid Electric Bike Preview

Hot on the heels of the Pure Flux One, the major British high street e-bike retailer has now released an affordable city bike. The Pure Free City is a budget electric hybrid bike available from Pure Electric. In this preview article, I will take a closer look at the specifications and hopefully get ahold of one shortly for a full review.

Summary

There are plenty of cheap hybrid electric bikes available, but not many of these are likely to have the nationwide after-sales support of a company like Pure Electric. The Pure Free City is a rigid-frame, hybrid e-bike aimed squarely at the budget end of the commuter market. The nearest competitor I can think of is Halfords with their Carrera Impel hybrid, which is in a similar price bracket.

At a glance, the Pure Free City looks okay. There’s nothing that stands out about this particular e-bike – it looks nice, uses tried and tested technology and is reasonably priced. It’s quite a basic bike which isn’t a bad thing – all the serviceable parts like brakes, chains, tyres etc. will be cheap and easy to maintain.

Now available from Pure Electric Spain

Electric components

As you would expect at this price range, there’s nothing particularly special about the choice of electric components used. The Shengyi motor is widely used on budget e-bikes and has a proven track record for reliability. There’s a modest 36v 8.7Ah (313Wh) rack battery, which should give a realistic range of between 20-30 miles.

Bikes components

Looking at the specification of the Pure Free City, there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Most of the components like the Shimano drivetrain are typical on bargain basement bicycles and e-bikes.

Gearing is a 7-speed Shimano, with a grip shift and Tourney rear derailleur. There’s a 40t front chainring with 14-28 rear freewheel – this is quite a low gearing and means that at 20mph, pedalling cadence will be at 90 rpm. At the maximum assisted speed of 15.5mph, pedalling cadence will be around 70rpm.

Braking is provided by Promax v-brakes – these should be more than adequate for day-to-day riding, although they won’t work as well as discs in wet weather.

The Pure Free City Electric hybrid has a host of accessories, that you would expect to see on a city bike – lights, kickstand, mudguards and a pannier rack.

To add to its all-around appeal, there are some CST 700x38c tyres which will be suitable for all weather and even unpaved surfaces like some cycle paths and forest trails.

Who is the Pure Electric Hybrid aimed at?

I would say the Pure Electric Hybrid is aimed at people looking for a budget commuter e-bike from a recognised brand. Pure Electric are still quite a new company but has quickly built up a good reputation and nationwide presence.

The specification of the Pure Free City is very basic but functional – it has everything the average commuter would expect from a city e-bike. In true hybrid fashion, it has a ‘go anywhere’ design with chunky tyres, steel fork and low-step frame. I’ve included the Pure Free City on my list of best electric bikes for commuting in 2023.

Specification

This latest offering from Pure Electric doesn’t bring anything new to the table, but I’m sure it will be a huge success. Cheap electric hybrid bikes are in abundance and readily available from places like eBay and Amazon, but Pure Electric have a nationwide network of shops and that counts for a lot. Factor in the 2-year warranty on electric components and the 3-year warranty on frame and fork, the Pure Free City starts to make a lot of sense.

If I was in the market for a cheap hybrid e-bike, I would seriously consider the Pure Free City. With its traditional step-through design and proven hub motor technology, there’s not a lot that can go wrong. The battery is a bit on the small side for an e-bike of this price, but you do get peace of mind when it comes to after-sales support – something not always available from the hordes of e-bikes available from the big e-commerce platforms.

Visit Pure Electric for more information

Now available from Pure Electric Spain

Thanks for reading. If you have purchased one of these, please feel free to leave a review in the comments section below.