Gtech eScent any good?

[kingsknight]

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/electric-bikes/gtech-escent-650b-electric-mountain-bike-27-5 < link to bike!

So I got a message from my friend telling me he has ordered himself a ebike for £900 this morning. I looked at it and it looks ok for £900 but I'm not impressed by the 200w battery! That battery will die very quickly as he is a big guy.

IMO it looks ok for him but I'd always go for a mid drive Bosch motor when I'm buying a bike but they cost way more.

So my advice was to buy a spare battery as i think he would be lucky to get 10 miles out of 200w..... turns out you cannot buy a spare battery anywhere!! Contacted Gech and they said cycle republic sells them when they don't..... So he is stuck with a 10 mile range....

Anyone know where we can by the V2 battery pack from?

any advice form anyone?? lol thanks all

 

[lutin]

I just got this bike last Friday. I have only ridden it for about 40 mins and it's my first ever ebike so take anything I say comes with a large pinch of salt.

So far I love it. All I wanted is a bike for my 5 mile round trip commute. It looks fantastic, handles really well and does the job of getting me from a to b sweat-free.

I got mine for 765 (CYCLING15 code plus 10% off for being a member of British Cycling which you can get for cheap/free). Your mate can get a further 10% off if he presents a British cycling voucher (assuming he has a friend who is a member or becomes a member)
Anyway so far, and it's very early days, but I'm really pleased with what I got for the money.

 

[kingsknight]

hi mate, thanks for your reply!

What kinda range are you getting out of your battery?

 

[lutin]

hi mate, thanks for your reply!

What kinda range are you getting out of your battery?

I really haven't used it enough to say yet, but I reckon it should handily do my 5 mile round trip twice on max (I weigh 75kg btw). But honestly I have no idea yet about range.

Also I meant to say (totally forgot but this is the reason I replied in the first place), I rang the cycle Republic gtech support line and they said they're getting more stock of batteries on the 12th July. The batteries cost 299 pounds.

The number for the support line is 01527914315

 

[lutin]

Also, I should say that the 10% British Cycling discount is applied at the til when you actually pick up and pay for the bike, so it's not too late for your friend to get it.

 

[kingsknight]

Yeah so the bike turned up at Halfords today but he couldn't collect it because it didn't have a bloody battery! They said there wasn't one in the box!! truly shocking! Also they refused to find another battery so they have to order a whole new bike..... wow

 

[lutin]

Yeah so the bike turned up at Halfords today but he couldn't collect it because it didn't have a bloody battery! They said there wasn't one in the box!! truly shocking! Also they refused to find another battery so they have to order a whole new bike..... wow

Ah sorry to hear that. Very frustrating as I'm sure he was looking forward to giving it a go. Hope he gets sorted soon.

 

[lutin]

Yeah so the bike turned up at Halfords today but he couldn't collect it because it didn't have a bloody battery! They said there wasn't one in the box!! truly shocking! Also they refused to find another battery so they have to order a whole new bike..... wow

Well, what did your mate think of it (apart from having the fork the wrong way round - saw your other thread) and did you get a chance to check it out?

 

[kingsknight]

Well, what did your mate think of it (apart from having the fork the wrong way round - saw your other thread) and did you get a chance to check it out?

Well i know 3 people with one now. They are amazing ebikes! Range is VERY low even in Eco. Getting around 10 miles in eco which isn't the best. But saying that they are really easy to ride with no power. Very small amount of drag.

 

[Amoto65]

Damn that is low range I am getting close to 100mls on the Carrera Crossfuse in eco.....

 

[kingsknight]

I found Eco to be not so Eco on the escent to be honest. Still puts a lot of power to the motor. Also you can easily trick the motor to kicking in without putting much effort in at all.

Don't forget that it only has a 200w battery pack.

I'd still pick my Active line plus motor over a hub any day! Hubs are fun but mid drive motors feel so much more natural and a mid drive is so much more effective!

 

[lutin]

Well i know 3 people with one now. They are amazing ebikes! Range is VERY low even in Eco. Getting around 10 miles in eco which isn't the best. But saying that they are really easy to ride with no power. Very small amount of drag.

So I think that eco mode gets you up to 8mph and max gets you up to 15mph, so in theory if you never go above 8 then both modes would us the same amount of battery. I don't know if that's how all eco modes work, but I've read that that's how it works on the escent.

Battery life was definitely the compromise when I purchased the escent, but my commute is so short that I should get two round trips between charges.

 

[kingsknight]

for £810 i think it is one of the best bikes for your money! He has ordered another battery via halfords for £270 which isn't too bad. Shame there isn't a 400w pack option but oh well. I think its great for the price!

 

[lutin]

for £810 i think it is one of the best bikes for your money! He has ordered another battery via halfords for £270 which isn't too bad. Shame there isn't a 400w pack option but oh well. I think its great for the price!

I don't see the battery advertised on the Halfords website but I know they are partnered with Cycle Republic. Was your friend able to use a discount to get 10% off?
Thanks for all your input btw!

 

[lutin]

Well i know 3 people with one now. They are amazing ebikes! Range is VERY low even in Eco. Getting around 10 miles in eco which isn't the best. But saying that they are really easy to ride with no power. Very small amount of drag.

Have had a couple of days with it now. Love it.
Have done 2 round trips to work, totalling just over 10 miles, all in MAX mode and I'd say the motor was pushing me 95% of the time. Battery still has 12 percent left, so I'd say its good for just 11 miles in max mode.
Battery life is definitely not great by ebike standards, but certainly sufficient for my needs. Bike feels so well built and I love every aspect of it.