I test rode one of Edinburgh's new Voi electric hire bikes - and they're the business

There’s new electric bikes in town - and I think you’ll be impressed.

After a frankly unbelievable four-year gap, hire cycles are finally back on Edinburgh’s streets, and they do not disappoint.

The Scotsman Transport Correspondent Alastair Dalton tries out a Voi Explorer Light 1 electric bike on the High Street in Edinburgh on Wednesday | John Devlin / The Scotsman

Some 50 bikes became available for hire from Wednesday at the start of Swedish operator Voi’s two-year contract with the city council.

Unlike the previous Just Eat Cycles scheme, it’s an all-electric fleet. There are two models to choose from - the lighter, zippier, gearless Explorer Light 1 and the Explorer 4, which has a comfier saddle, larger luggage basket and two gears, making it better for longer rides.

Hiring them is simple - download the Voi app and add your payment details, locate a bike, scan its QR to unlock it and off you go.

The larger Explorer 4 bikes also have a handy clip for your mobile phone between the handlebars, which enables you to see your route and destination, while also charging the phone as you ride.

To end your ride, park the bike at one of the designated locations on the app, press a button to end the hire and it’ll lock the bike and charge the rental to your card.

Voi's Explorer Light 1 electric bike, left, is nimbler but has a smaller saddle and luggage basket than the Explorer 4, right | John Devlin / The Scotsman

Choosing the Royal Mile and adjoining steep side streets for a test ride, I picked a Light 1 model to see how it fared over the hilly setts. I had low expectations after finding the Glasgow hire scheme’s electric models somewhat underpowered when they were introduced six years ago.

But the Light 1 is a nimbler beast - and it packs a punch. Being electric, it’s still relatively heavy compared to a regular bike, slightly awkward to manoeuvre, and difficult to get going on the steepest slopes.

However, when you master those, it really takes off and is a joy to ride uphill - bringing a smile to my face, just like it did on my first e-bike experience eight years ago.

It’s often been said e-bikes are the gateway drug into cycling, and if you’ve never given one a go, I urge you to try the experience.

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Hires cost £2.20 for 20 minutes, then 11p a minute, with my 32-minute spin up and down the High Street, Canongate, Cranston Street and New Street coming to £3.52. Other options include five hours of cycling over a month for £29.99.

Alastair Dalton riding a Voi Explorer Light 1 over the tarmac of Canongate in Edinburgh - altogether more pleasant than cycling on setts | John Devlin / The Scotsman

But a word of warning - cycling on setts or cobbles isn’t great at the best of times, but you won’t want to go fast over them on one of these bikes, it’s seriously hand-shaking.

For now, the cycles, based at 40 locations, can only be used within a relatively small “geofenced” area in and around the city centre, bounded by Dalry, Warriston, Easter Road and Marchmont, beyond which the motor should stop working.

Hire bike use is initially limited to the city centre and adjoining areas | Voi

Voi said it would work closely with the council to “responsibly increase” the area and fleet size. The company told me: “Rather than working to arbitrary targets, we will let the data guide us on the pace of expansion.”

The firm is due to take over the successful 11-year-old Glasgow City Council scheme by the end of the year too, also converting it to an all-electric fleet of at least 1,000 bikes compared to the 1,200 at present, most of which are non electric.

It won’t say yet whether it’ll be offering the same models as in Edinburgh. But electrifying the scheme has to be a good move in a city that’s just as hilly in parts as the capital.