Review: cycling to school on Eskuta SX-250

My kid’s school is about a mile from our house. It’s walkable for sure, but that requires girding our loins and leaving at the right time – one that combines when my wife and I need to be at work and when she has to be at the gates.

We live in a small town which has a serious car problem. Roads are often chock-a-block, particularly with enormous cars that take up huge amounts of space. In other words, from a travel perspective as well as an environmental one, we wanted to find an alternative way to do the school run.

We might well have found it in the Eskuta SX-250 (we tested the leisure model). I was struck initially by how it looks – those of you of a certain vintage might remember European holidays where you saw teenagers gadding about on something that looked like this, a combo of a moped and bicycle. But aside from the initial aesthetic, what that scooter style means is a roomy and exceptionally comfortable seat. My daughter and I fitted easily onto it and I could have ridden it for miles and miles without a sore, you know, bum.

From the moment we pulled up at school on it, we got curious folk desperate to chat – if you’re one of those people who likes to be noticed, then this is the vehicle for you. But aside from the double takes, everyone was far more interested in its rideability and ease of use.

And this bike has that in spades. With fat tyres and robust suspension, it’s a dream to ride. The battery, though not super-fast to charge, lasted a good long time, particularly for the constant short hops that we were doing. You’re not cycling this to Land’s End and back on a single charge, but that’s fine.

Given the regulations in the UK, this has a maximum of 15.5mph (though it did slip up to 17 on occasion), but if you were to use it in Europe, there are modes that allow it to go faster.

That’s plenty quick enough for the commute to the station or school and means you never feel out of control, which I was a bit worried about initially.

Luckily, it’s easy to get into the swing of things. Eskuta have put a nifty set-off button on the handle which gets you off the mark (or up a curb for instance), before you then take over pedalling. Because of how this bike’s motor works, you do have to keep pedalling, but with almost zero resistance. It’s strangely comforting to gently pedal as you go along, rather than just press a throttle.

The dashboard is laid out simply and the alarm/immobiliser is loud enough to scare off potential thieves. I was worried about that when I parked it at the station and in town, but with a back tyre that locks and using a D-lock on the front, I never had any problems.

Charging is easy. You can either remove the battery from under the saddle and do it inside, or you can utilise an outside plug and go direct into the bike itself. I tried both and didn’t notice any difference in charging speeds, but I didn’t test it loads.

And then there’s its cost – when I arranged the test initially I assumed this would have been £3000+, but the leisure model is only £1795. That’s a bargain.

What I would improve

1. The bike, because of its 120kg weight capacity and comfort levels, is unwieldy. We live at the end of a cul-de-sac and I was able to hide it behind a shed out the front of the house, but if you live somewhere a bit more built-up, you’ll need to figure out where you’re going to leave it overnight.
2. Because you can’t change the height of the seat, you have to be careful taking corners. You can’t bank too sharply or the pedal will hit the ground. I had a couple of near-misses early on, but once I got used to it, it was fine.
3. This didn’t bother me, but one the parents at school pointed out that because of its look, car drivers and/or pedestrians might get confused about what kind of bike this is and think you’re on the wrong bit of road. Because of how it’s classified, you can actually go on bike paths or roads which is fantastic, but I can sort of see what they mean.

What I really liked

1. The comfort of this bike is off the charts. You won’t want to get off.
2. I tested the bike with an added tech bar. It was incredibly helpful as you can attach your phone there.
3. The little starter button to get you going makes this an unthreatening ride for beginners and you feel very safe on it.
4. The little footrests for the passenger.
5. Halfords welcomes the Eskuta SX-250 e-bike on its Cycle2Work Salary Sacrifice Scheme.
6. The mounted mirrors enabling you to see everything behind you are excellent.

Buy an Eskuta here. I’m planning to.

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• Childcare flexible working fatherhood