Between the age of 10 and 14, my favourite TV hero was the Knight Rider. The protagonist was David Hasselhoff, equipped with an omnipotent sports car that had many talents. The heart of the rig was a moody computer that was able to speak, express emotions, see through walls or catapult an unbeknownst passenger off the car, if need be. Inarguably, however, my favourite feature was “Turbo Boost”. It catapulted the car to such speeds that it was able to jump over basically any obstacle that life and the screen writers could throw at its way. You can see the Turbo Boost feature in action in the following video (the actual button can be seen at 1:15).
When I first pushed a similar red button on the humble dashboard of our test-GoCycle, it was like religious. Turbo Boost on two wheels! And this revelation characterizes well the first couple of days of use: you can’t push the red button enough. It makes pedaling suddenly effortless, it makes stopping at traffic lights fun and previously formidable climbs laughable. A few of our readers might know Dog Kennel Hill in South London: a short but rather steep climb. Nothing major, if you encountered it in the middle of your weekend ride, but it can be a dreaded enemy if your daily commute starts with climbing it on a single speed Trek Soho. It is hard to describe the elation I felt when arrived at the top of the hill without breaking a sweat.
The little red button of joy.
If you are the gloating type, you might also find endless joy in overtaking struggling cyclist on inner city climbs. Some of these overtaken cyclists might voice their disapproval, so tread carefully. Especially, that if the battery ran out of power, we might be humiliated by the next climb, but more on that later. Once you arrived home, you just plug it in and next morning, you’re good to go.
The heart of the system is this little electric motor.
Though I wouldn’t go so far to call the GoCycle an attention magnet, it is probably the only bike on the market, that attracts attention from all demographics, regardless of age, occupation, or gender. Yes, even girls checked me out on the bike, though maybe they were just thinking: poor guy, he’s not strong enough to pedal a proper bike, how lame is that. My commute consists of a 30 min train ride from Clapham Junction to Gatwick Airport and there were at least two people on average, who approached me and asked about the bike.
Even though it is not a folding bike, commuting is much easier with it than a proper hybrid or road bike.
Speaking of commuting, it was much easier to wade through Europe’s busiest train station in rush hour with the GoCycle than with my good old Trek. Though, technically it is not a folding bike and therefore you are not allowed to take it down with you to the tube, the bike’s size makes storage and train rides much easier. The size and the material of the frame would suggest a very light bike but due to the batteries, it’s weighs much more than a similarly sized folding bike. To make its users life literally easier, there is a point on the bottom of the bike where you are supposed to grab it and then its weight is distributed perfectly, making bike carrying much easier.
So it’s all jolly-good, right? Well, almost. The first shock came when I looked at the price tag: £1500. In theory, I wouldn’t mind spending £1500 on an excellent bike, but I would never leave this bike chained to a railing while I’m meeting friends, or even just buying some groceries at the local shop. It’s too enticing for thieves and the loss would be a bad effect on my financial situation. The cheap and ineffective lock that is supplied with the bike doesn’t do much to reassure me that it’s safe to leave the bike outside while I’m buying some food for dinner.
The bike sports three gears which help a lot to climb hills or make descents faster.
Let’s assume, that I became very forward-thinking and was doing my shopping during the weekend, thus there’s no need to lock my bike. But what if I forgot to plug it in last night and the battery dies in the middle of my commute – as it has happened to me. The tiny electric engine, that provides the extra power, resides in the front hub and it doesn’t interfere with you cycling if you are not using it. It’s not nice to push all that extra weight up on even a smaller hill. Saddle height was another issue for me, though it probably won’t be for the majority, I couldn’t get the saddle up high enough for my 6’ 4” height.
The weapon of choice if you want to chat up commuters.
What’s the verdict? I don’t know. I love the Gocycle, one of the most interesting bikes I’ve ever ridden but I wouldn’t use it for commuting if I didn’t have an absolutely secure storage space at work. I used to work for a media agency and every now and then I had to dress up properly – on these days, cycling to work wasn’t an option, I couldn’t afford to arrive sweaty at the office. A GoCycle could have eliminated that problem by making my journey much easier. Which takes us to another point: if you want to commute or cycle to get fitter, this is not a bike for you since it takes the majority of the effort out of cycling and you end up burning way fewer calories.
My heart was bleeding when I had to give the bike back and I’m sure, that one day I’ll buy one for myself. Until then? Burning legs every morning on Dog Kennel Hill.
Great review of the GoCycle – very useful and glad there was an objective look into it from a commuter prospective. I’ve tested it out recently too and will be adding a review to my site.
Hi.
I just bought a GoCycle – here are my first impressions.
This bike is well overpriced. If you want one you can get over that, but be prepared for family to suck the joy out of your purchase, as they rabbit on about how you could buy 5 “proper” bikes for that price.
That gets worse once they find out the £1500 won’t get lights or a carry-bag, not even the soft case (and that’s just mean), no stand, no rack, and insurance will cost around £120/year.
If you intend to fold this bike, check out the size of the carry-cases. What will you do with those cases when you re-assemble the bike at your destination?
Shop owner assured me the GoCycle was fully charged, so I was dismayed to find the charge didn’t even last 90 minutes. I’m charging it up overnight, so we what happens tomorrow.
I did use the supplied chain to secure the bike while I popped into a shop, but frankly I feel the local yobs are more likely to quickly nick the saddle post – that’s about their level of stupidity. If they do cut the chain away, the bike “breaks” at the back – so would they get far?
Positives now. I liked the gear ratio – but would have appreciated a 4th gear. The gears were so good, I actually felt I had engaged the motor at times, and the “standing start” is easy in 1st gear.
When the battery gave out, the bike was still very ridable. It’s a commuter bike though, so don’t expect to rattle on home by pedal power alone.
The bike did cope with bumps beautifully and I was able to ride it in the torrential downpours of that evening. The bottom line for me is that the GoCycle is comfortable and fits me very well, but the price of the GoCycle and basic accessories is off-putting.
Overall (so far), it’s a 7 out of 10.
Hi Colin,
Thanks for your review!
Cheers,
Balint
Hi Balint.
I had to leave the GoCycle while I went on holiday, but now back I felt you might like an update.
The bike broke! The twist-grip for the gears became loose – i.e. travelled well beyond the 1-2-3 indicator. When I took it back to the shop, they told me that the cable had “come off” from the bottom end of the gears. There is a little U-shaped clip that holds the nipple in place down there and the clip had bent, hence the cable simply pulled out.
They replaced the rather flimsy clip with a more sturdy one, but it took over an hour of waiting, as the bike had to be taken apart to solve the problem. When I got it back, the chain was rattling, which was a bit worrying, but I am assured that the 6-week free check-up will sort that and any other rattles that occur.
On the topic of gears, the method with the GoCycle is that you can turn up while peddling (i.e. go 1-2-3), but when changing down (i.e. 3-2-1) it is important to stop peddling for a second. Makes all the difference.
I still find it fun to ride, and I am still amazed how far up hills I can get without any “motor assist” (this bike really is light) , but I haven’t tried breaking it down yet. I have to travel with (cycle unfriendly) SW trains next week, so I may be forced to see how that works then.
Cheers,
Colin
Hi Colin,
Awesome, keep the updates coming
Balint
Hi again.
Travelled by train today, so here’s my impressions.
I don’t have a carry case, so the bike travelled as a reserved bike. There were 2 bikes already in place in the 3-spot bike area, but I couldn’t get in there without scraping the Gocycle paint, so I held the bike until one biker got off the train.
First point to note, is that the Gocycle fat tyres will NOT fit into the V-shaped holders in the bike carriage. How do I know this? Because the Gocycle fell over - no stand fitted as standard, remember? - and broke the front mudguard! “Luckily” the break is where the mudguard “ducktails” and so doesn’t show up much, but it’s another £14 gone west.
Second consideration: it takes a lot of confidence to leave £1500 of bike near the doors and take a seat inside the main compartment. I didn’t have that confidence, so I perched on the silly little fold-down flap “seat” beside the toilet, for the entire journey. I was actually regretting bringing the bike at this point.
When I got off at the station, the rain was torrential and I was soaked by the (brief) time I reached my destination. While drying the Gocycle as recommended, I was still wondering why I bothered bringing it.
Good points: colleagues who saw it were very impressed and had trial rides – the fun of rising the Gocycle wins again!
AFter a perfect ride back to the station, the kudos continued, when one guy from a bike shop came to discuss the Gocycle and took pictures of it, then a station employee came along the platform to discuss the bike with me – he was considering buying one. He said Evans has a 10% off voucher – why didn’t I see that a fortnight ago?
On the return journey, there were 6 bikes for 2 spots, so again I held the bike upright next to the toilets. This time the toilet door opened parallel to the corridor and I found that if I sat on the 2 fold-down seats opposite, the Gocycle was exactly the right size to wedge into that area and stood by itself. So it was a better journey back, despite still having the sights, sounds and smells of the loo.
Summary: The Gocycle doesn’t fit into standard v-shaped rests on the train, so couldn’t be locked onto them. As the space is so close to the exit, I was continually worried someone would (literally) walk off with the bike, so I chose to sit guarding it for 2.5 hours each way – not at all restful. The Gocycle attracts admirers and impresses.
Despite this, my 7/10 is now a disappointing 6/10 for the Gocycle and unless it is folded, I have reservations about travelling with it again on busy trains.