Electric bike. Seriously considering buying one in September instead of a year’s rail ticket to bring the commute within biking distance and save £1800 a year.

Be good to hear from anybody who rides one…

the location this was filmed in does reflect the price though

CFH used one for a while. Has posted recently. will search…

EDIT: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/should-i-buy-an-electric-bike#post-3542337

I used one quite often in my last job as we had one on demo. Great bike, great fun

I think they are currently out of production but should re-hit the shops shortly (there was a short article in AtoB this month: they have reviewed it previously, as has VeloVision).

to bring the commute within biking distance

How far is the commute, why isn’t it bikable at the moment, and how do you imagine a GoCycle is going to help you?

That’s for me to know and you to, er, whatever, matey.

There are better riding e-bikes, with more suitability for all-weather commuting (rack, mudguards…). Look at a Kalkhoff Aggatu, SpencerIvy or anything else that is crank driven. Cost is about 1 years train travel, so be sure to use it.

Storage issues. The GoCycle folds up. Don’t need racks. GC can be fitted with mudguards.

Cost is about 1 years train travel

Presumably you didn’t read my OP…

Just stick an engine on your commuter with tie wraps

It’s the Future!

😆 😆 😆

Outstanding.

Stoner, my own personal stalker! 😉

Yes, I had one for a while, courtesy of the nice people at GoCycle. It was a lot of fun. Seriously a lot of fun, especially on warm summer’s afternoons blatting around town. Battery life was very good, ride position very comfortable. Mine was chipped, so possibly not as “standard” as you might expect.

Would I buy one? No. Great as a plaything/gimmick, but not really as a “proper” bike. I would instead look at one of the Giant or Trek pedal assist bikes. They’re more of a proper bike, take proper mudguards and panniers etc and are a better bet for everyday use.

The GoCycle folds up. Don’t need racks. GC can be fitted with mudguards.

Folding it is a ballache. The mudguards are utter gash.

But….

If I won the lottery would I buy a GoCycle? Hell yeah, it was a whole heap of fun!

Yes as cfh mentioned you can chip it

It was the most reliable ebike that we dealt with

a “proper” bike

I note the use of parenthesis. It’s got two wheels, handlebars and a saddle all attached to a frame. What’s not proper?

My comment was that on those wet days in the dark, when you’ve forgotten to recharge that evening, you may feel drawn to the siren calls of the train! I stand by my other point that there are better riding bikes. If it were me I’d be looking at alternative storage options. But I have the luxury of a secure site.

they do an electric version of the Birdy:

http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/hybrid.shtml

which looks like it will fold up as well as the normal birdy.

the only problem with these electric bikes is the speed limit of 15mph – so putting a limit of your commute time.

Should I now stoke the rumour mill with two words…..

Electric
Brompton

It’s coming. 🙂

the only problem with these electric bikes is the speed limit of 15mph

Two things;
1 – They’re only engine/motor limited. Not rider/gravity limited.
2 – Coughcoughchippedcoughcough

Mine was chipped, so possibly not as “standard” as you might expect.

It’s as easy as holding down a button for a number of seconds while you switch it on.. Just turns it from being UK compliant to EU compliant and gives you an extra 2mph! I’m sure there’s more that can be eked out of them by someone in the know..

I worked somewhere that sold plenty of them. They’re very well made and sturdy, and hilarious fun.. As above though, folding them is a pain, and mudguards are expensive and wibbly. none of the accessories are cheap, even when comparing them to Brompton standards! The supplied lock is also woeful, and I’m not sure if there’s a really effective way of securing them with a D lock or suchlike. You could probably wrap a solid chain round the back of the main frame.

Well, I don’t know. The folding looks really simple from the video, not Brompton-standard but it shouldn’t take more than about 30 seconds max. I’d put my spare MTB guard on the back. The front can be reinforced with a Crudguard or the like, maybe. Perhaps an after market guard. Won’t need a lock.

Anyway, much of this might not even apply – I’m after the G2, which isn’t on the market “until the summer”, apparently.

It maxes out at 20mph unchipped, BTW.

It maxes out at 20mph unchipped, BTW.

Not legal in the UK as an assisted bicycle then – it becomes a moped

How about one of these then:
A real bike that zips along http://www.cytronex.com/

So radar-gun me.

what’s your commute distance then, Mr Woppit?

I am guessing 25 miles based on that season ticket cost, assuming that there is no tube in it.

Bikewhisperer, mine was beyond that trick, rather beyond the additional 2mph. Mine had been factory chipped using the one and only laptop able to do it. Which was nice. 🙂

Not legal in the UK as an assisted bicycle then – it becomes a moped

TJ, from your high horse, what is the speed limit for motorcycles? You know, the one you happily flaunt when it suits you?

As a little reminder for you, a couple of your choice bon mots on the topic;

TandemJeremy – Member
A6 shap used to be one of my faves for speeding – wide,not much traffic fast as you like.

and

I have gone speeding at speeds that would make your eyes bleed.

TurnerGuy – Member

what’s your commute distance then, Mr Woppit?

For the Gocycle, it would be 20.9 miles. Too much for a gentleman of my advanced crumblyness to manage twice a day/5 days a week without the assistance of an electric motor, although currently I cycle about 10 miles (on an adapted Brompton) interrupted by a 15-minute train journey …

Leatherhead to Wapping (Murdoch Towers).

A mate has one, does a round trip of 17 miles on it to and from my sailing club/home every weekend (sat and sun) He carries his kit on his back because he can’t find a rack for it, he doesn’t fold it (no need), no mudguards (no need here in sunny south coast) and has once been stopped on it and breathalised for riding without a helmet (plod was a nob and didn’t know the law, mate passed BTW) Mate loves it, loves the attention he gets on it too.

Another mate has a French Solex Moped and does the same journey, he has been stopped for not riding with a helmet.

Bikewhisperer, mine was beyond that trick, rather beyond the additional 2mph. Mine had been factory chipped using the one and only laptop able to do it. Which was nice.

Bwarrp!

I can see a niche in the market here… Old grannies on Giant Twists doing burnouts at the lights..

Mr Woppit – have you considered one of the 26inch wheeled Dahons, like the Cadenza – which would be a much easier ride than the brompton.

They obviously fold in half, but probably wouldn’t be much bulkier than the GoCycle folded.

If that wasn’t working out you could then fit an electric solution, like the ones in that cytronix page.

I used to have a zero-g (like the old matrix but lighter) and it was pretty decent. A few creaks from the joints but apparently melted candle wax makes a good lube for the bike joints.

Well, the Brompton isn’t the zippiest of bikes, but for my purposes it doesn’t have to be.

Having three gears and 18″ wheels also gives me the opportunity to treat the ride over several gradients (A247 to Surbiton) as a training ride.

Occasionally. 😉

Well, the Brompton isn’t the zippiest of bikes, but for my purposes it doesn’t have to be

but if you’re coping with 10 miles on the brompton, then 20 miles on a bigger wheeled/easier riding bike is just as feasable.

Well, that would be 40 miles a day. Not sure I could manage that and still want to get on the MTB at the weekend…

Also, I’m not sure I could go fast enough to give me a comparative length of time spent travelling. Hence the attraction of the power-assist.

Having said that though (and, as you know, being as I’m a one for testing the evidence :wink:), when I’ve got my lightweight 2001-model Stumpy up and running with a pair of narrow semis, I might give it a go of a Saturday, there and back, to see how I feel about it.