Gocycle GS London Commuter review

I'm really enjoying riding my gocycle GS to work every day, I can't wait to get on it in the morning or evening, riding it is just a fantastic feeling. The lights are really good and bright, the range is good, riding up the hills is great! I can ride 7.5 miles into central London just wearing regular clothes, overtaking people on regular bikes and then overtake people having showers at work because I don't need one. I reckon I save 30mins to 1 hour per day and in 2 weeks around £60 on train travel. Plus commuting is fun! As long as I don't try to hurry then the GoCycle gets me to work quickly enough The front luggage bag is very good, I love the way it clips quickly on and off, however the velcro has already started to fray, so although that is a secondary connection point and is just there for stability, I wish this was a bit more durable. I'm quite popular on the GoCycle, a few people have asked me about it, I do feel very lucky to have it. Originally I thought the GoCycle was a bit poserish, but it's very practical - the kick stand and folding pedals mean I can push it right over to the side of the hallway where it keeps well out of the way, also carrying it up the stairs to my flat is manageable - not sure another e-bike would have been. My retired parents are interested in it, it will be fun to give them a demo when I see them next.

There are a couple of things not perfect though, sometimes the app looses connection with the bike while I'm riding it. Sometimes the motor doesn't come on when it is supposed to, but stopping pedalling and starting again makes it come on. Sometimes the chain skips a little. The measure of how much charge the bike has is very imprecise, last night it was saying 100% charge, so I turned off the charger, but when I start to use it today it immediately says 90% - apparently it wasn't quite at 100% after all - it only shows increments of 10% and those might be off by 9.99%. Some accessories seem to be hard to get, I bought the lock, the mudguards, the front bag, the lights and some puncture resistant tyres - having commuted before I felt these were essentials. But the front mudguard and tyres are still in transit somewhere - hope they will arrive before rainy season gets going and I haven't had a puncture with the regular tyres yet so maybe I'll be lucky. In summary I've commuted by car, bicycle, moped and train and GoCycle is my favourite method.

I haven't dared leaving at the supermarket yet, but I'm considering how and where that would be okay, and what to do about the easily removable seatpost.

Before buying the GoCycle GS I tried the Mustache Friday 27 Black (amazing, but huge for carrying up stairs), and the orbea Katu E-20 (cute, but heavy, not very fast and pitiful lights), oh and of course I tried the GoCycle G3, which felt very "premium" - the GS feels similar with less nice contact points (seat, handlebars, pedals) and slightly less perfect, but still great.

Nice review!

 

I have an G3 and it the GS was available a few month ago I may have to have gone for this one. Even when I got a good discount in the G3 there is a good price difference.

 

At what average speed do you ride and in what mode?

 

I also love not having to have a shower although sometimes I get a bit exacted and go over the assistance so sweet a bit.

 

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Hi, thanks! I tried the G3 and got a very good feeling from it, so there is for me a bit more of a sense of luxury (and maybe build quality) to it, although I wonder if my particular GS could use some fine tuning. But the G3 is more desirable and I considered upgrading to it (how did you get a discount?) I have had it in City mode and set to 20mph (average speed so far is about 13.5mph), although after reading about the law on that, I have changed the speed and acceleration down a bit, I find myself stuck behind other cyclists quite often and matching their speed would be useful - I don't want to be the "Audi" of cyclists, also obeying the law is good, although the 20mph speed limit is completely ignored by all motor vehicles in South London (not an exaggertion), after the New York situation I don't want to be part of any conspicuous e-bike anti-social behaviour.

Still there's no way to safely leave the GoCycle in public anywhere which is a bit of a disadvantage - even more so with the G3 which looks shinier and fancier still.

Edited November 4, 20178 yr by richard calvert

Imprecise charging additional:

I have the "fast charger" (4.5 hours total charge time) and it is supposed to cut out when the bike is fully charged (over-charging is bad for the battery) but having tested the auto-cut out I wasn't convinced it was working, however, last night it did actually stop charging by itself, so now I know it works I don't need to stop the charger manually, therefore the imprecise charging figure on the app is slightly less of an issue than I made out.

The discount was a bit of good luck. I bought it online and the shop had the commuter pack (bike + lights + mudguards) for the price of the bike.

 

In Addition the site had a 10% discount coupon for some bikes but by mistake they left that opened for all bikes. Luckily the onoured the price I got in their site.

 

Only bad thing was I wanted the blue one and they only had the black one in-stock to keep the price. At least they also gave me the standing base as compliment.

 

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Interesting to read others' views of this wonderful bike. I've now got a few weeks commuting under my belt and my experience mirrors the above pretty much.

 

I wish the bike had a higher top gear - I do find myself spinning a bit too fast if I want to maintain a speed over 15.5 mph. But if the rumour in the thread on the main forum about the ebike speed limit increase is correct that would make this a non issue. And I assume a simple app update is all that would be required...

 

I am still waiting for my rear mudguard. The front one came a week after the bike, and I have been told I should have the rear in a couple of weeks.

 

I have found the default city setting fine so I don't bother with the app anymore. I used the LEDs to keep an eye on the battery level and charge it up every couple of days and that seems to do the trick.

 

With the darker evenings with us now I really appreciate the excellent lights and upright stance I have on the bike. Those fat tyres also mean I can corner with confidence on wet, leaf covered roads.

 

All of my riding is on suburban London streets and I am constantly building up speed only to have to slow for some hazard or other. This can be tiresome on my CX but it's a complete non issue on the GS when the motor kicks in and gets me back up to speed quickly again.

 

The bike attracts a lot of interest and a couple of times I have explained the bike's features to curious colleagues. Doing this does drive home how well thought out it all is, in particular the pit stop wheels and front pannier.

 

It was quite a leap of faith for me to spend a significant sum on this bike on the basis of some positive you tube videos but I am so glad I did. Ebikes have the potential to revolutionise transport in cites - even Simon Cowell has been extolling their virtues - and it's exciting to be part of this journey.

I wish the bike had a higher top gear - I do find myself spinning a bit too fast if I want to maintain a speed over 15.5 mph. But if the rumour in the thread on the main forum about the ebike speed limit increase is correct that would make this a non issue. And I assume a simple app update is all that would be required...

 

That is also the only change I would make it. Although I notice this closer to 30kmh then it gets difficult to go faster.

 

Regarding the paneer, is it waterproof? I am thinking on getting one.

 

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I've been fortunate not to have been caught in the rain yet so I'm not sure. If looks good quality though and I'm sure if should cope with rain for the length of my commute.

 

That aside it's a wonderful bit of kit - very easy to attach and demount, with some very handy external pockets for bottles.

First issue with the Gocycle, I had a puncture yesterday and the repair sealant did not work.

 

Good thing about the Gocycle, I folded it and called an Uber

 

However folding it with mudguards is not that easy.

 

If this happens again soon I may consider to change the tyres with the puncture resistant option.

 

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Hi, 250 London miles on the odometer (saving around £100 on rail fares so far) and my rear tyre went flat. I've been waiting 3 weeks for fullycharged.com to supply Schwalbe Big Ben puncture resistant tyres and they apparently haven't been able to get them yet.

When I took out the inner tube I found one sliver of glass going through the thickest part of the tyre, but then 5 separate holes in random places in the inner tube, apparently unrelated, including one on the inside...

This is a first for me, never has more than 2 holes before.

For me this means the GoCycle performance tyres are not more puncture-resistant than regular tyres (regular tyres are not practical in London, unless you like fixing punctures) and something better is required, but what's up with the Schwalbe / FullyCharged delay? Also still waiting for my front mudguard from the same, luckliy the front wheel isn't spraying water at me, I think the frame is blocking it and it gets chucked forwards too. FullyCharged were blaming GoCycle for delivery delays, I want them to provide servicing and so in future, but I might have to source my tyres elsewhere.

Also I have been successfully riding in the rain with a Brooks John Boutlbee Cambridge rain cape, which isn't perfect btw, I have to physically hold the cape onto the handlebars (the magnetic straps immediately fall off), but I did ride my 7.5 route miles in pretty insistant rain and only had wet shoes / top of socks (you can get gaiters to take care of this).

I think the cape idea is good in principal, but might go for a different one over the Brooks, in the mean time I may fix the handlebar loops a bit more securely.

The pannier is brilliant but doesn't look waterproof, there is no sealing around the zips, but I have a waterproof rucksack cover that fits over it and has kept it completely dry when used in the same insistant rain.

Edited November 11, 20178 yr by richard calvert

Right so it appears I am overdue a visit from the puncture fairy...

 

I am still running the original tyres with a couple of spare inner tubes stuffed in my backpack. It can't take to swap out a tube with those pitstop wheels...

 

Been lousy weather recently so my rear mudguard can't come soon enough. On a positive note I really appreciate how sure footed this bike feels on wet greasy leafy roads. And - I keep saying it - the upright stance is perfect in congested city streets.

Where do you guys commute from/to?

 

I do 10 miles from Bromley to Canary Wharf.

 

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Other end - Hounslow to Heathrow area. Not generally noted for its quality cycling infrastructure - unless a painted bike in the gutter of some pretty hairy roads counts. Considering the number of Heathrow workers that live within a very easy cycling distance of the airport, the facilities round here are pretty shoddy...

Streatham to the City, 7.5 miles, sometimes Battersea. Saw some other pedelecs today - including a BMW and a very smart looking Stromer. One of my colleagues said she has a "Dutchy" with a conversion kit, I didn't see it though.

I read more about the New York "war on ebikes", it's nothing to do with the speed of the bikes, it's the cops picking on ethnic minorities and calling it "anyone who goes through red lights". My bike is now set to 17mph and I use the button if I need a little boost - only a couple of places where this is worthwhile on my route full of red lights and sluggish congestion.

Have you seen another Gocycle in the wild yet? I'm still waiting...

No so far; actually I have seen only one ebike since started cycling to the office.

 

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I saw a G3 in the summer apparently being commuted near Borough, only time ever.

Well my rear mudguard came yesterday with perfect timing given today's weather. Got to work and back in a lot less stressed state than I would have on my other bike. And attaching it was simplicity itself, and testament to the thought that has gone into this bike.

 

As noted earlier I think the key to enjoying this bike is not too press on too much. I just try and relax and enjoy the ride and not worry about my speed. The result is I get to my destination calm and happy and not a sweating nervous wreck..

The road vibrations managed to unscrew my rear mudguard and it was going to come off after a few rides, so make sure it's properly screwed on with an allen key, not just fingers.

My Gocycle is running smoothly after almost 500 miles.

 

However I have noticed the speedometer shows about 1kmh higher than my Garmin watch. This impacts when the assistance shuts off.

 

Have you also noticed this?

Edited November 20, 20178 yr by Wave

My Gocycle is running smoothly after almost 500 miles.

 

However I have noticed the speedometer shows about 1kmh higher than my Garmin watch. This impacts when the assistance shuts off.

 

Have you also noticed this?

GPS is nae perfect is it?

GPS is nae perfect is it?

I know but which of both is more accurate. I will also check with my mobile GPS.

Measure the diameter of your tyre. My 20" tyre is in fact 20.5" which is a 1% error in calculating speed. Under EN15194 you have a 10% difference in speed allowed.

 

GPS will most likely be more accurate than your controller at calculating speed.

Thanks, I measured my wheel and seems OK. Also I tested with Strava on my phone and is aligned with my watch; hence is the accuracy of the bike speedometer.

 

I would be interested if other Gocycle owners have the same issue. In a normal bike it would not be a big problem but in an eBike the assistance cut off is impacted.

Thanks for the tip about the rear mudguard. All nice and secure now.

 

I don't bother with the app so afraid I can't help with the speedo.

 

Bit blustery today - to say the least - and the sort of day I would have bussed into work rather than used my CX. The strong headwind was not an issue and I got to work nice and relaxed.

 

Really appreciate being able to cycle in normal clothes and I'm using this for a lot more trips than I originally anticipated.