My Gtech eBike Sport review!.

[KeithMac]

Hello all, after riding my old "normal" bike home from work and not finding it very enjoyable today I thought it would be the appropriate time to review my Gtec eBike Sport, so here goes!..

First off I am a reasonably fit 12 stone 39 year old bloke so what I was looking for in an ebike may not be what others want/ need.

My daily commute is a 6 mile round road trip, in rush hour so plenty of stop start traffic (and plenty of gear changing previously!). There is a medium hill on the way to work and a long incline on the way home.

The selling points of the Gtech for me were the single speed (no faffing with gears), Gates Carbon Drive (no messing about lubing/ cleaning chains) and the actual look of the bike (clean and stylish to my eyes at least!).

I searched high and low for any review from an actual owner and could only find odd comments, luckily this didn't put me off from trying one as I would have missed out on making my commute enjoyable again!.

The bike is well built, very light at 16kg so easy to flick about in rush-hour traffic. Considering I'd come from hydraulic disc brakes the rim brakes on the Gtech actually very good, more than adequate for stopping in a hurry!.

I use the bike on full assist all the time, it gets away from the traffic lights with ease! I view the hub motor as basically another form of automatic gearbox, rather than messing with gears coming to a stop you can just brake and know you're ready to go again.

The 36v battery is "only" 200 watt hours (5.6ah) and while waiting for the bike to arrive I had read people saying this was far too small which was worrying. Well on my first charge it managed 53 miles which I was over the moon with!, I decided to chhage second time at 40 miles because it was over the weekend and one less thing to worry about over the week..

I normally have the assist to get me away from the lights and up to 15mph then pedal on to 16/17mph which is my natural cadence. The bike is very easy to pedal and the tyres give very little resistance, freewheeling at 20+mph is very easy to achive down even slight inclines.

Over the last 3 weeks the bikes come into it's own a fair few times, normally wind is a real killer for me especially on the way home from work but the Gtech just gives me a good nudge and it's much easier. Instead of being a mess crawling along at 6mph in the granny gear I'm sailing along at 13mph with no worries!.

It really has transformed my journey to work (and especially back when tired after a long day), well worth the money just for that alone!. I'm genuinely over the moon with it!.

As far as hills go, from what I've encountered it works very well with some pedal input from me, the brunt of the torque/ assist is at 12mph so the trick is to slow down slightly and then the hub takes the sting out of it.

This bike isn't a sit on moped with throttle, it requires input from the rider to get the best out off it and I believe thats why some people have been disappointed.

For me it takes all the destractions away, you can just get on and ride it. Nice, simple and very well engineered; exactly what I was looking for in my commuter!.

Reviewer: Me!

Purchased From: Gtech (direct)

Purchase Price: £995

Time Owned: 3 weeks

Local Terrain: Flat + Moderate Hills


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Strengths: Simple and effective, low maintenance. Silky smooth Carbon Drive, no gears very easy to ride in traffic (stop start). Very light and very quiet. Looks great!. The helmet supplied as part of the package is excellent, very well made and comfortable.



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Weaknesses: Being single speed there are a couple of times where I've wanted more than 18mph on the flat (my top cadence), but after riding my other geared bike recently I honestly wouldn't change it now. The thin tyres can be interesting over pot-holes but to be fair that's the local Councils fault not the bikes!.



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Summary: The Gtech does everything I bought it for, it's transformed my commute to work and I've actually taken it out at the weekend just for fun (which I never thought I'd say!). Really pleased I took the chance and tried it out!.




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Overall Rating (out of 10) :10

 

[KeithMac]

 

[D8ve]

Good review. Informative with boundaries

 

[LeighPing]

Great info and a superb review from a satisfied owner. Cheers Keith.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Nice seeing the right bike doing the job well for the right person. If you get my drift.

 

[KeithMac]

Cheers all!, just to point out have nothing against throttle operated ebikes at all; they are just not for me..

 

[LeighPing]

Cheers all!, just to point out have nothing against throttle operated ebikes at all; they are just not for me..

Yes. Down with throttleism!

 

[Yamdude]

I've not rode the G Tech, so i cant really have an opinion on it...... but i do think it looks pretty cool.
But i have noticed that it seems to be well rated by almost all those on here that have bought one...... and slated by almost all those on here that haven't even rode one.
Make of that what you will.

 

[trex]

I have tried it, and I also believe EddiePJ also has. It's good, but it's pretty specific in suitability. People under 50 will find it more than adequate but definitely under powered if you are fairly chunky, a majority among pedelecers.

 

[D8ve]

I have tried it, and I also believe EddiePJ also has. It's good, but it's pretty specific in suitability. People under 50 will find it more than adequate but definitely under powered if you are fairly chunky, a majority among pedelecers.

OI WHO YOU CALLING FAT......



Oh me

 

[KeithMac]

There's a roundabout on a hill on my way to work, you have to approach it around 5mph with the intention of going straight over if traffic allows.

I always used to get to the point of going over then either the car in front would stop (for no reason normally!) or I would have to bail out. This put me in completely the wrong gear for setting off and was basically a PITA..

Now I can roll up to it, if there's an opportunity to go the bike accelerates efforlessly over it and if I have to stop it doesn't matter at all as I have the assist ready and waiting!.

It's actually much safer on the ebike, there was times before where I'd take a slight risk purely because I had the momentum going on the normal bike.

Just little things like that make a big difference.

 

[Kudoscycles]

We had a guy turn up with a G-tech bike.
To be fair he liked its simplicity,he used it for a 4 mile journey to work and recharged it at work,it introduced him to e-biking.His journey to work was all on the flat
But he tried a 15 mile trip around London including Richmond Park,he struggled to ride it up the hill and had to use maximum power most of the journey,he ran out of power at about 12 miles.
He tried a KTM fun and absolutely loved its performance,we promised him minimum 30 mile range. He intended to try to sell the G-tech on e-bay then come back for the KTM.
KudosDave

 

[KeithMac]

I'll be running mine till flat again on this charge, re-set the trip and will be expecting another 50 miles hopefully?.

Must be some near vertical climbs in London to drain a battery in 15 miles!.

 

[Kudoscycles]

I'll be running mine till flat again on this charge, re-set the trip and will be expecting another 50 miles hopefully?.

Must be some near vertical climbs in London to drain a battery in 15 miles!.

I spoke to the guy at length, he was a 'normal' pedelec rider. A bit overweight so used the bike on max power most of the time....but from experience that is how most pedelec riders use their e-bikes.
We have over 40 different e-bikes in stock,KTM,Kudos,Haibike,Raleigh and have sold over 3000 bikes,the bikes vary in type from crank to hub,derailleur gears or hub gears. But they all use the battery at about the same rate of 3.0 to 3.5 Ah per mile,they have average 10,4Ah battery,givinga realistic range of about 30-35 miles. Crank drive tends to be a bit more economical due to the interaction between rider and motor power,but the difference to hub is minimal.
Unless G-Tech have some new chemistry that is not available to the rest of us a 5.5 Ah battery should give about 15 miles range so 12 miles drain,with heavy usage is about right.
The only way to get 50 miles out of a 5 Ah battery is to use the bike as a non assisted bike or ride it above the cutoff speed,using the battery only when absolutely necessary but that is not the way most e-bikers use their bikes,especially as the G-Tech has no gears so that will put more reliance on the motor on hills.
The e-bike industry has over the years made some crazy claims about ranges,because there is no testing standard, I had an amusing bet with a Dutch e-bike supplier at a show in Kortridjk who claimed 100 kms out of a 10 Ah battery,all on the flat,his power ran out at 45 kms,he bought the beers,hehe!
KudosDave

 

[KeithMac]

It seems that I'm out of assistance most of the time then, it kicks in from every stop and I've used it on the hills a fair few times (and in the wind!). On the flat it is that easy to pedal the assist isn't needed (for me).

I don't sit on the assist all the time hence the milage.

I'm building a crank drive with 36v 15ah pack so that should be good for 150 miles between charges at this rate!.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I spoke to the guy at length, he was a 'normal' pedelec rider. A bit overweight so used the bike on max power most of the time....but from experience that is how most pedelec riders use their e-bikes.
We have over 40 different e-bikes in stock,KTM,Kudos,Haibike,Raleigh and have sold over 3000 bikes,the bikes vary in type from crank to hub,derailleur gears or hub gears. But they all use the battery at about the same rate of 3.0 to 3.5 Ah per mile,they have average 10,4Ah battery,givinga realistic range of about 30-35 miles. Crank drive tends to be a bit more economical due to the interaction between rider and motor power,but the difference to hub is minimal.
Unless G-Tech have some new chemistry that is not available to the rest of us a 5.5 Ah battery should give about 15 miles range so 12 miles drain,with heavy usage is about right.
The only way to get 50 miles out of a 5 Ah battery is to use the bike as a non assisted bike or ride it above the cutoff speed,using the battery only when absolutely necessary but that is not the way most e-bikers use their bikes,especially as the G-Tech has no gears so that will put more reliance on the motor on hills.
The e-bike industry has over the years made some crazy claims about ranges,because there is no testing standard, I had an amusing bet with a Dutch e-bike supplier at a show in Kortridjk who claimed 100 kms out of a 10 Ah battery,all on the flat,his power ran out at 45 kms,he bought the beers,hehe!
KudosDave

Remember the thread where I said I was getting 70 km from a 10.4Ah battery? Now that it is used on a bigger, more comfortable bike I am getting 45 km tops. Using more assist, going slower on average...

I think that in Holland I would have won the bet on a day without wind. I would have turned the motor off

I think that in Holland I would probably ride a G-tech

 

[KeithMac]

I road my old bike home the other night, I could deffinitely tell it wasn't assisted (they are both the same weight at 16kg).

The lack of assist was noticeable so that leads me to believe the hub is active on my normal journey to some extent, the incline on the way home wasn't fun!.

I can see if the motor is constantly active it would drain the battery a lot quicker but it's not really required on the flat (after it's assisted you from a stop up to speed).

 

[RobF]

I road my old bike home the other night, I could deffinitely tell it wasn't assisted (they are both the same weight at 16kg).

The lack of assist was noticeable so that leads me to believe the hub is active on my normal journey to some extent, the incline on the way home wasn't fun!.

I can see if the motor is constantly active it would drain the battery a lot quicker but it's not really required on the flat (after it's assisted you from a stop up to speed).

Your push bike is fairly heavy at 16kg, so you've been used to putting in some effort.

It would be interesting to see how you do on a lightweight 7/8kg road bike.

My only experience of the Gtech is third-hand.

A guy bought one so he could go out with a mate of mine and a few others.

He was disappointed by the range and power, but he is the typical ebiker as described by KudosDave - overweight and unfit, and he's in County Durham which has hills.

You are not overweight, reasonably fit, and ride in York, a flattish area, all of which makes a big difference.

 

[KeithMac]

Maybe we should have a rider condition/ fitness scale from 1 to 5 when reviewing the bikes?.

I tried in my review to stress this bike does require rider input to get the best out of it. If it just road itself around at 15mph with no input that would completely ruin it for me!.

The assist from lights, into the wind and up hills really takes out the extra effort required but you do still have to put "some" effort in.

 

[D8ve]

Maybe we should have a rider condition/ fitness scale from 1 to 5 when reviewing the bikes?.

I tried in my review to stress this bike does require rider input to get the best out of it. If it just road itself around at 15mph with no input that would completely ruin it for me!.

The assist from lights, into the wind and up hills really takes out the extra effort required but you do still have to put "some" effort in.

I suspect that a fitness scale won't work.
You and I can hold over 17 mph on the flat without power.
That makes us the serious exception to the road riders here.
Some struggle to reach 10 mph at all.
These people need at least10 watt hours per mile to go anyplace. Put a hill and stop starts in and range with a 200 watt battery can be 10 miles.

When my asthma plays up I'm like them unable to do much at all so I have assist available. Having the assist for hills is also important round here 1/2 mile climbs are common infact it's hard to find a flat mile to do. But like you I get huge mileage. I might even get 100km out of 5 ah ( on flat land).