From day one, 50cycles Ltd has only sold the most advanced electric bicycles available. We blazed a trail by being the first to offer the Honda Step Compo folding electric bike (below) to customers outside Japan. It's compact, futuristic design proved very popular and scores of the little Step Compos are still in use all around the UK.

We were also the first to offer a folding electric bike with a Lithium ion battery, the Panasonic WiLL bike. This was back in 2004 when even Nickel metal hydride batteries were rare in electric bikes.

The Panasonic system has now returned to these shores in some style, in the shape of the Kalkhoff Agattu electric mountain bike and Pro Connect pedelec electric bicycles. These are simply the best electric bikes you can buy at the moment and we are proud to be the distributor for this excellent German brand. Read more about how and where the bikes are manufactured here.

Lithium-based batteries are more common now, but again, 50cycles were the first to offer Lithium Manganese power packs across our range.

We have been the official UK importer and distributor for all the eZee Electric Bikes since their debut here in 2004. The eZee Sprint was one of the best electric bikes on the market according to A to B magazine (and they've seen them all...), and was quickly overtaken by the eZee Torq, our first hybrid style electric bike.

A 50cycles van, packed with bicycles and ready to deliver.

Our bikes prove that high-quality, high-performance electric cycling is something everyone can enjoy.

Just think of the benefits: it's good for the environment, it's a great way to get out of your car or off public transport and it provides exercise and exhilaration at the same time.

Why should cycling be hard work?

50cycles Limited is owned and run by Tim Snaith, a graduate of Jesus College, Oxford who specialises in the technological, communications and online side of the business, and Scott Snaith whose years of business experience have seen the company expand apace. The company is the UK distributor for the eZee range of electric bikes and has warehouses and offices in Loughborough, Leics and a demonstration facility in central London.

Why 50cycles though?
50 cycles (or 50 Hertz) is the frequency of the alternating current used in UK mains electricity. This means that the current changes polarity 50 times every second.

How to order an electric bicycle from 50cycles

1 Go to your favourite model's home page to read about its specifications and features, and what current owners think of their bike. Click on the 'order' link to put your chosen bike in our online shopping cart. You can change the number of items you wish to buy at this stage and add more models if you wish - as many as you want.

2 Once you've filled your basket and you're ready to pay, click the checkout button and use the next page to tell us how to contact you and where we should deliver your bike. Once you've filled out that form and checked our terms and conditions, just click the payment button at the bottom to finish your order.

3 You'll be taken away from our site to HSBC's Secure ePayments page to submit your payment directly to our bank - we never actually see your card details ourselves (it's the most secure way to buy online we've come across). Moments later, the bank passes an instruction back to 50cycles telling us to confirm your order by email.

4 We deliver your new electric bicycle, fully assembled and ready to go, within days! Alternatively, you can collect your bike from our premises in Loughborough.

Or... place your order by calling 50cycles on 0844 800 5979 . We'll process your order over the phone or tell you where to send a cheque. You also get to have a chat with us, which is totally free!

Our privacy policy is very simple.

1. 50cycles will not pass your details to any third party except on those occasions where we have to give your name, address and telephone number to deliver your order using trusted courier companies.

2. If you use a credit or debit card to place your order through our website, your card details are only disclosed to the bank that handles these transactions: we never take or store your credit card number ourselves through this system. The process is handled by the bank through their own secure systems. We are informed of your order, delivery and contact details after the payment has been confirmed by the bank.