Eskute are quite well-known to ebiketips as we have reviewed their Voyager, Wayfarer  and Netuno models. All were well-priced when launched, resulting in similar - 'decent e-bike for the money' type reviews. What marks the C100 out is a huge discount that puts it around half the price of its forebears.

Its current discounted price of £549, down from £949, means it is competing with the eBay and Amazon bargain basement crowd, but it doesn't seek to do what many in that category do. At this sort of price, you will tend to see either super-macho (and often illegal) fat bike designs or folding e-bikes (the weight of cheap e-folders often makes the utility of the folding aspect very limited).

Pleasingly, the Eskute C100 appears to be fully legal in performance terms, as indicated on the EN15194 frame-mounted sticker.

Eskute C100, by Richard Peace

It's worth noting straight away that part of the cost saving has been achieved via assembly. I spent half an hour putting on the front mudguard, wheel and light plus handlebars (including connecting up the brake cutout wires), kickstand, rear rack (including connecting the rear light) and finally inserting the seatpost and screwing on the pedals.

On the plus side, it was all pretty self-evident and easy to do. If you aren't happy doing this and need to pay a bike shop, it will make the bike much less of a bargain of course. 
 

Spec

The C100 comes in one, pretty small frame size with old-school sized 26" rims and it weighs 27.2kg - truly hefty for such a small e-bike. The main cause is full-equipment, including full-length mudguards, hardwired front and rear lights, kickstand and a practical looking rear rack all on a steel frame. Although clearly there aren't too many lightweight components elsewhere either at this price.  

There are lots of old-fashioned bike bits; solid and dependable choices which have been overtaken by more modern components only because they were slightly lighter or a bit more functional. We are talking the likes of a quill-type handlebar stem and steel chainrings here. Really, there is nothing at all wrong with them - especially when the weight they add over more modern components is somewhat offset by the fact you have power assistance.

The electric assist is a basic rear hub motor from budget specialists Bafang, allied with a very cheap and cheerful volt-based controller (a bit of a disappointment - see performance) and a medium-sized 374Wh battery. There's a also a decent-sized LED display. 
 

The ride

You immediately notice the very small reach from the seat to the bars - partly because it looks a small frame and also because of the swept-back handlebars. I'm only 5ft 8in tall and I found myself perching on the back of the very comfortable seat to get a comfy ride position. Given that, much bigger riders would probably feel quite cramped on a bike this small. I noticed a previous review of Dave's on an Eskute model which criticised the one-sized frame for being too large, so perhaps the brand has taken that to heart and over-corrected.

Power delivery is acceptable for such a budget-priced e-bike. There is both a bit of lag and run-on from the pedal sensing, but it's certainly no worse and in fact a lot better than many other budget models I've tried. No throttle is provided, but there is an option to buy one on the Eskute website and there looks to be a spare connector on the wiring loom for it. Its legality will depend on whether it operates independently of the pedals or not. Not having tested it, we can't comment on that aspect.  

The Shimano SIS 7-speed gearing was accurate and reliable in shifting, if a little clunky, but for a bike of this price its performance was excellent. A lower bottom gear would have been nice but the Eskute C100 completed the uphill leg of my regular commute which is eight miles long and involves some 15% plus gradients and nearly 900ft of climbing.

Okay, it slowed to around 7mph on the steeper climbs and needed quite a bit of pedal effort to keep it going, but it made it without drama. For a road-legal ultra-budget model, that's impressive. 

Braking is another matter. I would describe the cable-operated disc brakes as adequate, but given this is no high performance model I felt they gave enough stopping power to cover most situations.

A final quibble on performance came from a heavier rider who tried the bike who found it cut out (or perhaps ground to a halt) a couple of times at the top of steep hills. It was hard to pinpoint what happened, whether this was a failsafe of some kind to stop motor or controller overheating or just a lack of low gears and pedal power. Either way, it didn't stop our enjoyment of the bike as it seems to have been a temporary blip in otherwise consistent performance. 

It's disappointing that this happened, but good to see (if indeed it was the case) that such a bike has a failsafe mechanism like this. Still, heavier riders in hillier areas might want to look at pricier mid-drive options.

Having said all that, I was pleased and impressed with its performance up some very steep hills and it never cut out once for me. (I weigh around 74kg.) 

Range was rather disappointing at around 18 miles from a 374Wh battery - though the bike took on some very challenging hills in mid-winter temperatures.

The battery gauge was definitely in the budget camp, making it difficult to tell when the end of the useful watt hours might be approaching. Once the battery gauge on the display is down to one bar, the power starts to wilt, though you still have a few miles of very gentle assistance that will still help a bit up moderate gradients. 

There are five power levels, but in practice you are likely to whack it straight up to five as the levels are effectively speed regulators. They don't give you more power, just more speed.

I felt I could live with these performance compromises on a bike that is so competitively-priced. In performance terms, it is certainly way ahead of some cheap and cheerful offerings I've tried in the past such as the E-trends Trekker and the seriously compromised Axon Pro 7.

It completed many of the tasks that e-bikes many times the price have completed - perhaps a little less nippily and smoothly - but practically speaking it was on a level with them.

Of course it may well need more replacement parts over time compared to higher quality e-bikes, but if you want a quick, cheap runaround, this could be a very effective option. The mudguards keep you dry, the hardwired lights are bright and the rear rack is sturdy and practical (there is a also an option to purchase an easily fitted front rack). 
 

How budget is the C100?

As noted in the intro, there is plenty of competition around the C100's discounted £549 price tag - though far less for this type of very practical, step-through frame design with full equipment. 

Compared to this Hitway fat tyre model that Tony recently reviewed, the C100 is bang on the money. Okay, the Hitway has a bigger battery and an aluminium frame, but the C100 has a more practical rack and is a whole £150 cheaper (at its discounted price).

One outstanding bargain I came across with a similar design from a more illustrious name was this Raleigh Array at £700.

That's another point that picks out the C100 from the rest of the budget crowd though. It's a brand with a track record, its own website with a clearly stated warranty and returns policy and shop contacts in London and Scotland. This is more than you'd get with the typical Amazon or eBay budget e-bike. And if my delivery is anything to go by, the shipping and tracking is quick and accurate. 

So much for the competition from other new e-bikes - but if this is your price bracket, you may get something superior in performance and quality by going second-hand. A quick look at the likes of eBay and Mynextbike reveals e-bikes from Raleigh and Cube for the same or not much more money - some even with Bosch mid-drive motors. Of course, second hand sales are always a calculated risk, but undoubtedly there are some outstanding bargains to be had out there.

But in terms of brand new budget e-bikes, the C100 is undoubtedly a good 'un. As you'd expect, there are performance compromises and at this end of the price spectrum some parts may well not last as long as ones on pricier e-bikes. It performed reliably though and got me from A to B comfortably and with the ability to carry plenty of gear in any weather, day or night. At this price, you can't ask for much more than that. 

eskute.co.uk