New Gtech ebike

[LeighPing]

Who is riding that? Chris Boardman? It must have been doing 25 on the flat before the hill

It's Damian Doherty, a member here. Perhaps you should ask him about his Whoosh Rio bike.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?rio-mtb

 

[Neilgriff]

It doesn’t hang about. But looking at the speed and riding style he must be a lot younger and fitter than me.

I looked at the bike, 6 kilos heavier, but it does have suspension and gears. Hate the mudguards though. No use for commuting. Also another 150 needed. If it was closer to the gtech or 1100 I could offset the guards, saddle etc. Thanks for sharing.

Taking onboard comments from other posts about buying European bikes, it might be worth contacting whoosh to see what deals/discounts they have.

 

[LeighPing]

It doesn’t hang about. But looking at the speed and riding style he must be a lot younger and fitter than me.

He's pedaling hard, but you needn't do that. Simply turning the pedals, or pushing the throttle, whilst lowering the gears, would maintain the same speed.

 

[Neilgriff]

Tempting.......

And he is 40

 

[John5001]

I was thinking of their road models.

 

[Neilgriff]

Whose road models?

 

[Damian.Doherty]

I'm not fit by any means.....the reason I got the e-bike is that the cycle home from work absolutely killed me on my road bike. (2 miles uphill)

I can not say enough good superlatives about the Woosh Rio, I have put nearly 300 miles on it now and it has never missed a beat....I haven't even had a flat tyre in that time.

Zero mechanical or electrical problems. I indexed the gears the first day I setup the bike and have not needed to adjust them since. The bike handles incredibly well, is extremely comfortable to ride and the brakes are unbelievable, they have endless stopping power but also have great feel through the levers, I have yet to lock up the brakes as you can really feel exactly how much brake to pull before losing grip.

I did change the seat for this on Volusia's recommendation:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=New+Wide+Bike+Saddle+Comfortable+Bicycle+Seat+Sporty+Soft+Pad+Universal+models&_sacat=0

It was £8.35 when I bought it, its now just £4,35! My boss now refers to my bike as the electric sofa!

I also agree that the mudguards included are not great for commuting, I bought these for £7.28

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cycle-mudguards-front-rear-mountain-bike-MTB-Road-City-V-brake-set-24-26/151737557255?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The front one is perfect but because of the geometry of the frame the rear one doesn't go round the back wheel enough to protect you from all the spray.

The good folks at Woosh are some of the nicest, most patient and helpful people I've ever done business with. I bought my bike through the Bike 2 Work scheme and Hatti walked me through the whole process.

I commute to and from work every day and have not missed a single day since getting the bike!

 

[Kizza]

I took delivery of my gtech sport on Friday.

I also feel the bike holds me to 15 mph. On some flat roads I feel I could go faster and when I push it, I feel the motor pulling me back. Is this a characteristic of e bikes?
seat.

By law in the UK, the motor cuts out at 15.5mph

After that you are peddling on your own.

Gtech is good for flattish roads and tarmac. My own ebike is a hybrid so I can ride it pretty much anywhere, which for me is more fun.

 

[RPe]

id not even bother going to look at it the batt is way to small and its way over priced.

you got no chance of 30 miles more like 10 if ur lucky over 10mph.

Wrong.

 

[Jaundice]

Hi, joined this forum simply to chime in on this thread as there seems to be a lot of hate for the Gtech on here.

I used to be a keen cyclist and have commuted many miles over the last 20+ years. My previous commuter was (is) a Kinesis Tripster ATR, those of you who know about bikes will know what that is. I have recently moved more than 12 miles from where I work though and riding with all my kit that distance twice a day meant that I wanted an ebike.

My employer offers ride to work up to £1k through Halfords. I saw 2 options, one was an £850 carrera MTB dripping in cheap components, the other was the Gtech. Everything else I had access to through Halfords was over £1k so not available to me.

The beauty of the Gtech is its simplicity. No gears, and on a bike for less than £1k thats a good thing!!! It looks as if its been aimed squarely at short to medium range commuting, minimal maintenance, and no fancy bells or whistles to keep the costs down. My only bugbears really are that the frame is too stiff and its ever so slightly too small for me. One other annoyance is the lack of headlight mount at the top of the fork (just below the head tube). Not the end of the world, but meant I had to get a bit creative mounting my lighting. But I'd Rather that than constantly adjusting gears/suspension/brakes, lubricating the chain and replacing cheap components on the Carrera. I plan on doing some big miles in all weathers commuting, this bike has got to pay for itself in fuel savings so I don't want days missed due to mechanical problems.

I did have an issue in the first week with a battery display failing. The battery still worked and I did get home, but no display is no good to me. One phone call to Gtech and a replacement arrived next day. I also was told to keep the other one (which does still work, just not the display).

I've had the bike since July and put about 600 miles on it so far, real world range for me is around 20-25 miles. I work in Malvern so I go up a great big hill to get there, the bike does slow, but not much. I'm 90kg plus another 10 kg of kit, with no effort from me I'm climbing big hills at 10mph.
No gears is no issue up hill, it spins out on the flat though, I may change one of the cogs one day, but not until its paid for itself!!! No other issues at all so far.

For me and what I'm using it for, its an excellent solution.
YMMV

 

[Jaundice]

According to google maps, my commute is 11.3 miles with 269 ft of climbing 203 ft descent. Obviously, the return journey is the exact reverse. I haven't yet, but I do think I could do it on a single battery charge.

 

[Fingers]

I was the same as Jaundice over 2 and half years ago when I joined. Ive had the Gtech for almost as long as that. Ive done thousands of miles. There are a few bug bears. I go through brake pads fairly reguarly and the frame and handle bars are a little low but its still comfortable enough ride for me. I really should work out how much its saved me in money but my commute with public transport costs about £9 on the extremely rare day I have to use it so I reckon its upwards of £3500.

I get about 24 miles out of each charge now ( bare in mind I'm up to out a 1k of charges ) but that is dependant on the route I take and the effort I put in.

It's a great bike for a city commute. I reccommend it to anyone.

 

[Jaundice]

I've hit the 1000 mile mark on mine now and I'm coming to the end of my first set of brake blocks. I've had zero issues and done no maintenance.

I'd say that the biggest factor affecting battery range is the wind, I've noticed when its very windy that I get to work with only 10-15% battery left compared to 50-60% on a calm day.

The other thing I've noticed is that according to my Garmin, the electric assist actually cuts out at 14.4 mph.

 

[J.B.]

Pretty good hatchet job all round. OK so its basic, some people want basic. Oh, and its 100% overpriced, its biggest failing in my view, but it is the only full size real road bike around at 16kg. I also do like the belt drive although accept that this is only possible without deraillieur gears.
I would like to know how it manages inclines without gears. does the motor compensate.......Does it need gears or is it a dead duck on medium slopes?

Gears
Hub gears solves the problem with gates belt drive. Also a chain will last many many times longer with hub gears. The gates should last longer still. People who use electric bikes are in my opinion looking for minimum maintenance. Therefore hub gears. No gears and small battery price £1699....taking the ****

 

[Fingers]

I will hit 3 years this Jan on the gtech.

Have to say. Despite laying out on about £220 on brakes, a new wheel and probably 4 new inner tubes. It’s saved me thousands in commuting. The wheel was because of a massive pot hole I missed following a black cab. I could have got that 80 quid back had I sued Haringey council but I couldn’t be arsed.

I love it. I’d like to get a go cycle but wouldn’t trust it to be there once I returned from work. The gtech is invisible to bike thieves.

I reckon I’m over 3 grand up using my beautiful, reliable steed. On days when I go in hung over this beast gets there.

This is the best bike I’ve ever had. The battery now gets me closer to 22 miles than the 30 but it suffices.

 

[Jaundice]

Just did 24.23 miles of cycling on my Gtech on a single charge and got home with with 27% battery remaining.

60% of that on max assist setting, the rest on eco. On a calm day it will easily do 30 miles on a single charge.

Don't get many calm days though.

Up to 1600 miles now and still all I've had to do is change the front brake blocks. I did wash it, but only because you couldn't see the reflective strip round the tyre for all the road grime.

 

[RPe]

Just did 24.23 miles of cycling on my Gtech on a single charge and got home with with 27% battery remaining.

60% of that on max assist setting, the rest on eco. On a calm day it will easily do 30 miles on a single charge.

Don't get many calm days though.

Up to 1600 miles now and still all I've had to do is change the front brake blocks. I did wash it, but only because you couldn't see the reflective strip round the tyre for all the road grime.

Good to hear . I love mine and it’s done exactly what I wanted. The snobbery on here is unbelievable ... They slag off the gtech and then produce a picture of what you could have for x pounds. Most of them look like something Mary bloody Poppins would ride around on !

 

[Crossroads]

Halfords are now selling them, so that overcomes any reservations of sizing, test rides and a bricks and mortar back up. They look a good option if the spec fits your intended use. Cycling weekly gave them a good write up.

 

[Jaundice]

Gears
Hub gears solves the problem with gates belt drive. Also a chain will last many many times longer with hub gears. The gates should last longer still. People who use electric bikes are in my opinion looking for minimum maintenance. Therefore hub gears. No gears and small battery price £1699....taking the ****

With the motor in the rear hub there is no room for hub gears. A decent hub geared bike with no electric motor will cost you £1k. Its a shame, this bike would be better with a higher gear as I do spin out at the end of the assistance, but I think adding hub gears would make it too expensive and you'd have to move the motor to the crank. As I've written above, I'm at 1600 miles and the only maintenance is a set of front brake blocks. That's easily the lowest maintenance bike I've owned.

As I got this through the Halfords ride to work scheme (who own cycle republic where I went to buy it) I don't pay income tax or NI contributions on that £1000, so it works out at about £685 real world cost to me. I also got a £100 voucher to spend in store, that got me a pannier rack, mudguards, Sealskinz waterproof winter gloves, and a new lock. There was also a deal at the time to get a free spare battery apparently worth £300.

For £685.

That's a very good deal.

If you earn more than I do, the tax break is even higher on the RTW scheme so even cheaper. You don't need to spend £1699 to get one of these bikes. If you did, you'd be getting ripped off.

 

[Fingers]

With the motor in the rear hub there is no room for hub gears. A decent hub geared bike with no electric motor will cost you £1k. Its a shame, this bike would be better with a higher gear as I do spin out at the end of the assistance, but I think adding hub gears would make it too expensive and you'd have to move the motor to the crank. As I've written above, I'm at 1600 miles and the only maintenance is a set of front brake blocks. That's easily the lowest maintenance bike I've owned.

As I got this through the Halfords ride to work scheme (who own cycle republic where I went to buy it) I don't pay income tax or NI contributions on that £1000, so it works out at about £685 real world cost to me. I also got a £100 voucher to spend in store, that got me a pannier rack, mudguards, Sealskinz waterproof winter gloves, and a new lock. There was also a deal at the time to get a free spare battery apparently worth £300.

For £685.

That's a very good deal.

If you earn more than I do, the tax break is even higher on the RTW scheme so even cheaper. You don't need to spend £1699 to get one of these bikes. If you did, you'd be getting ripped off.

I had the only annoying thing in this bike happen again on me today. It may be a sign I need to treat myself in the new year...But. I’m cycling down a very steep hill and the battery came off again. It happened on my very first ride and properly skittered down the road after hitting a pot hole. I told gtech and explained their lock doesn’t work well. In fact not at all. But they sent out a replacement. I had to send the original back. Only fair. But still couldn’t lock in the battery properly. Not really a big deal as I always carry the battery with me.

But todays spill meant I lost the top of the battery. This means if I use the bike in rain it’s done. I can and will glue the top back on but this is a design flaw. My battery unit is proper scarred from about ten ejections.

I might get a new gtech for the weight. But looking at those new juicys.