If you've spent any time on our site, you'll have noticed three names keep coming up: Fiido, Engwe and Pixar. Between them they account for most of the electric bikes that leave our shop in Ballymount, and nearly every conversation we have at the counter starts with some version of the same question: "Which brand should I go for?"
It's a fair question, and the honest answer is that each brand does something a little different. Fiido builds light, tidy bikes that are easy to live with. Engwe builds big, characterful fat-tyre machines with serious battery capacity. Pixar sits somewhere in between, with utility-style bikes that come fully kitted out and are only available in Ireland through us. So rather than another top-ten list, this week we're taking each brand in turn, picking its genuine best-sellers (straight from our sales figures, not a wish list), and telling you who each bike suits.
At a glance: the bikes in this guide
- Fiido D3 Pro Mini – best on a budget, and our best-selling e-bike outright
- Fiido C21 – best for city and gravel, with a proper torque sensor
- Fiido M1 Pro – best fat-tyre folder for the money
- Engwe M20 26Ah – best for range and pure character
- Engwe Engine Pro 2.0 – best full-suspension folder
- Pixar M9 – best all-rounder for two-up riding and deliveries
- Pixar C1 Pro – best step-through for comfort and everyday errands
All seven are in stock in Dublin, eligible for the Bike to Work scheme, and available on Humm or Klarna instalments if you'd rather spread the cost. Every one of them comes with our 1-year limited warranty and is serviced by our own team in Ballymount.
Fiido: light, tidy and easy to live with
Fiido's whole approach is about keeping things simple. The bikes are light, the frames are clean, and the assistance is tuned for real city riding rather than showing off. If you live in an apartment, take the DART part of the way, or just don't want to wrestle a heavy bike up a step every evening, this is usually where we point people first.
Fiido D3 Pro Mini – best on a budget
In stock at our Ballymount shop, in white and black
The Fiido D3 Pro Mini is, by a distance, the bike we sell most of, and at €579 it isn't hard to see why. It's a small-wheeled folder with a 250 W geared hub motor, a removable 36 V 7.8 Ah battery and a 6061 aluminium frame that keeps the whole thing to 17.3 kg. Fiido quotes up to 33 km on a charge, and in our experience most riders in Dublin see somewhere around 25 to 30 km, which is more than enough for a week of short hops if you charge it a couple of times.
What makes it such a good buy is how little fuss it is. The stem folds in seconds, the seatpost drops, and it'll sit in a hallway, under a desk or in a car boot without a second thought. Assistance cuts off at 25 km/h, so it meets the EU pedelec standard and is treated like any other bicycle on Irish roads. It's the bike we'd recommend to a student, a first-time e-bike buyer, or anyone who wants to try electric without spending four figures.
Fiido C21 – best for city and gravel
In stock at our Ballymount shop
The Fiido C21 is a very different animal. This is a full-size 700C bike with drop-style gravel geometry, and at 17.5 kg it's light enough that you'd barely notice the motor was there if you didn't switch it on. The clever part is the Mivice torque sensor: rather than kicking in with a lurch, the 250 W motor reads how hard you're pedalling and adds power in proportion. It feels like your legs on a very good day.
The 36 V 5.8 Ah battery is small on paper, but because the C21 is so light and efficient Fiido quotes up to 100 km in eco mode. Real-world figures will be lower on hills and with higher assist, but it's a bike that genuinely rewards pedalling. Hydraulic disc brakes and knobbly tyres mean it's as happy on a canal towpath or a Wicklow forest track as it is on the Rock Road. There's no throttle, which keeps it squarely within pedelec rules. At €975, it's the one we'd suggest to anyone who already likes cycling and wants the hills flattened rather than replaced.
Fiido M1 Pro – best fat-tyre folder for the money
In stock at our Ballymount shop
Our second-best seller overall, the Fiido M1 Pro takes the fat-tyre formula and applies Fiido's usual restraint to it. You get the big 20-inch tyres, front suspension and a rear shock, hydraulic disc brakes and a torque sensor, plus a removable 48 V 12.8 Ah battery that Fiido rates at up to 80 km in pedal assist. It weighs 25 kg with the battery, which for a fat-tyre bike is impressively manageable, and the frame folds so it still fits in a boot.
At €1,049 it undercuts most of the Engwe range while giving you the same confident, planted feel on rough surfaces. It's road-legal at 250 W with a 25 km/h cut-off, so it's a genuine everyday commuter as well as a weekend toy. If you like the look of a fat-tyre bike but want something you can still lift and store, this is the sweet spot.
Engwe: big batteries, big tyres, big personality
Engwe bikes are the ones that turn heads. They're heavier and more substantial than the Fiidos, with motorbike-style styling, chunky fat tyres and battery capacities that make range anxiety a thing of the past. They're also, it has to be said, great fun. The trade-off is weight, so think about where you'll keep one before you fall for it.
A word on power: several Engwe models have motors capable of more than their 250 W rated output. On public roads in Ireland they should be ridden in their standard pedal-assist setting with the 25 km/h cut-off, which is how they're treated as bicycles. Any higher-speed or throttle-only modes are for private land. If you're unsure how that works on a particular bike, just ask us and we'll walk you through it.
Engwe M20 26Ah – best for range and character
In stock at our Ballymount shop, in green and black
The Engwe M20 26Ah is the bike people photograph outside the shop. It's a moped-style fat-tyre machine with dual headlights, a long padded seat and two 48 V batteries giving a combined 26 Ah. Engwe rates it at up to 150 km in pedal assist; in real Irish riding, with hills and weather, we'd tell you to expect roughly 90 to 120 km, which is still more than most people ride in a fortnight.
It's not a bike for carrying up stairs. It weighs around 40 kg with both batteries, it doesn't fold, and it supports riders up to 150 kg. But if you have a shed, a garage or a secure bike store, and you want a bike that'll do a long commute and a Sunday spin on the same charge, there's nothing else at €1,399 that comes close for sheer capacity. If you don't need the second battery, the M20 13Ah is the same bike with one pack at €1,299.
Engwe Engine Pro 2.0 – best full-suspension folder
In stock at our Ballymount shop
If the M20 is the cruiser, the Engwe Engine Pro 2.0 is the all-terrain workhorse. It has full suspension front and rear, fat tyres, hydraulic brakes and a removable 52 V 16 Ah battery (832 Wh) rated at up to 110 km in pedal assist, with something like 70 to 95 km being realistic on Dublin's hills. And unlike the M20, it folds, though at 32 kg you'll want to be honest with yourself about how often you'll actually do that.
This is the bike for the person whose commute takes in a bit of everything: rough cycle lanes, kerbs, a stretch of gravel, maybe a canal path that turns to soup in November. The suspension soaks it all up, and the 52 V system gives it a lot of pull on climbs. At €1,499, it's the most capable bike in this list and the one our staff tend to reach for when they're heading somewhere the road runs out.
Pixar: only at Inner City Scooters
Here's the bit that makes Pixar different. Inner City Scooters is the official and only Pixar stockist in Ireland. That's not a marketing line; it means every Pixar bike sold here is a genuine unit, it carries a real warranty we honour ourselves, and it's serviced by our own mechanics in Ballymount. If you see a Pixar advertised elsewhere in Ireland, it hasn't come through the official channel.
What we like about the brand is that the bikes arrive complete. Where other manufacturers charge extra for a rack, a basket, indicators or a lock, Pixar fits them as standard, so the price on the tag is what you'll actually spend to get riding. Both models below have moved up our best-seller list steadily since we introduced them.
Pixar M9 – best all-rounder for two-up riding and deliveries
In stock at our Ballymount shop
The Pixar M9 is a fat-tyre utility bike in the same broad family as the Engwe M20, but with a different set of priorities. It's built to carry things and people. There's a front basket, a rear rack, a long dual seat with fold-out footrests for a passenger, full lighting with indicators, mudguards, a chain guard, a phone holder and a lock, all included in the €1,049 price. It also has dual suspension and hydraulic disc brakes, and the motor is a 48 V 250 W unit with five levels of pedal assist and a 25 km/h cut-off, so it sits within pedelec rules with the throttle limited to a 6 km/h walk-assist.
Range is the headline: two quick-release 48 V 17.5 Ah packs give a combined 35 Ah and a claimed range of up to 130 km. It's a heavy bike at just under 50 kg, and with a 120 kg maximum load you'll want to be mindful when carrying a passenger, but for food deliveries, school runs or anyone who wants one bike that does the job of a small car around town, we haven't found a better-equipped option at the price.
Pixar C1 Pro – best step-through for comfort and errands
In stock at our Ballymount shop
The Pixar C1 Pro is the one we recommend most often to riders who want an upright, easy, no-nonsense bike for the shops, the school gate or a relaxed commute. The step-through frame means no swinging a leg over, which matters more than you'd think on a wet morning with a bag of groceries. It comes with a front basket, integrated lights, full mudguards, a chain cover, a phone holder and a lock, and it's available in black, white, blue and green depending on stock.
The 36 V 250 W motor gives five levels of pedal assist up to 25 km/h, and the quick-release 36 V 18 Ah battery is rated at 55 to 65 km, lifting out for charging indoors. At 32.9 kg it's lighter than the M9 and easier to manage in a hallway. A throttle is available as a separate accessory, but ridden in pedal assist as supplied it meets the EU pedelec standard and needs no tax, insurance or licence. At €949, it's one of the best-value complete city bikes we've had in the shop.
So which brand is for you?
If we had to boil it down: go Fiido if weight, storage and simplicity matter most, or if you already enjoy cycling and want it made easier. Go Engwe if you want range, presence and the confidence of fat tyres, and you've somewhere sensible to keep a heavier bike. Go Pixar if you want a fully equipped bike that's ready to carry people and things from day one, backed by the only official Pixar warranty and servicing in the country.
Whichever way you lean, every bike above is on the shop floor at Fashion City in Ballymount, and we're always happy to let you take one for a spin before you decide. Bike to Work paperwork is no bother, Humm and Klarna are there if you'd rather pay monthly, and we deliver across Ireland if Dublin's a bit of a trek. Call in, give us a ring or drop us a message, and we'll help you match the right brand and the right bike to the riding you actually do.
