New Gtech ebike
- Thread starter spikey
- Start date
nice, I only hit 300 miles after 1 month, still going strong, i only have some issues with the pedal.
how come u have disk brake in the front? did u install it on the stock fork?
Its an old wheel with a Dynamo hub that I had made for my old disc braked Kinesis. Luckily I was advised to have a rim brake rim fitted. When I swapped it over to the Gtech, I just left the disc on. Makes it easier to swap back to the Kinesis if I want to (but mostly I couldn't be bothered to take it off).ah true, so it's just for aerodynamic purposes only
If anyone knows of any cheap, steel, disc compatible forks that would fit this bike, I'd be grateful if they could post as I have everything I need to convert to disc on the front except the fork....
Many carbon forks on Ebay. Cheap enough. You need ones that are slightly raked to match yours.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-1-8-Full-Carbon-Fiber-Mountain-Bike-Fork-Disc-Brake-Rigid-Forks-26-27-5-29er/263720324855?_trkparms=aid=555018&algo=PL.SIM&ao=1&asc=56004&meid=d1ed10d43d03418bb1db320fbf9bc8f7&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=12&mehot=pp&sd=143042792028&itm=263720324855&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&redirect=mobile
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-1-8-Full-Carbon-Fiber-Mountain-Bike-Fork-Disc-Brake-Rigid-Forks-26-27-5-29er/263720324855?_trkparms=aid=555018&algo=PL.SIM&ao=1&asc=56004&meid=d1ed10d43d03418bb1db320fbf9bc8f7&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=12&mehot=pp&sd=143042792028&itm=263720324855&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&redirect=mobile
Bad news, this morning, just after 370 miles, my gtech decided to die half way through my commute.
It just stopped, with this warning:
01 - WAIT
Low Temperature.
It was a sunny, but chilly ( -1 C ) day
I used it when it was -5 and it was fine before.
Anyone had this?
Never. I’ve cycled it in torrential rain and freezing cold to 39 degree heat.
Never had that.
I went back to where I bought it ( cycle-republic) and they just lent me a new one till they investigate the problem
I called Gtech customer support when I had a (different) battery problem and the sent a brand new replacement battery out next day delivery.
-7° C is the lowest I've ridden mine in. I do bring my batteries indoors when not in use though.
Have you registered your warranty with Gtech? Well worth doing in my opinion.
-7° C is the lowest I've ridden mine in. I do bring my batteries indoors when not in use though.
Have you registered your warranty with Gtech? Well worth doing in my opinion.
no, I have not ... I deal with the bike shop directly, they gave me a new battery on the same day
Best for what? Hanging on your wall as a trellis for climbing plants? Boat anchor?
What I can say that they're good at is marketing. You see the same bikes in every magazine, newspaper and online review sites where it's (lets say) professionals reviewing them. I guess whoever wrote that review never rode a Dawes Swift or a Woosh Karoo or they were 5ft 8" and weighed less than 65kg.
Here you go.
https://www.bikeradar.com/author/oli-woodman/
Does he look like your typical ebiker (sub £1000)?
If you want a genuine review, you can ask anybody here that's ridden one. Don't forget to ask their weight and fitness level.
In my opinion, there are a whole load of better general purpose electric bikes than the Gtech for less than £1000, though the Gtech does have some advantages if you have specific circumstances that suit it.
What I can say that they're good at is marketing. You see the same bikes in every magazine, newspaper and online review sites where it's (lets say) professionals reviewing them. I guess whoever wrote that review never rode a Dawes Swift or a Woosh Karoo or they were 5ft 8" and weighed less than 65kg.
Here you go.
https://www.bikeradar.com/author/oli-woodman/
Does he look like your typical ebiker (sub £1000)?
If you want a genuine review, you can ask anybody here that's ridden one. Don't forget to ask their weight and fitness level.
In my opinion, there are a whole load of better general purpose electric bikes than the Gtech for less than £1000, though the Gtech does have some advantages if you have specific circumstances that suit it.
I don't need to ask, I own one.
I paid £683 for it, it came with a spare battery, mudguards, Sealskinz waterproof gloves, a pannier rack and a lock.
Since July, I've done 2356 miles on it.
I've only had to change the brake blocks and fix one puncture in that time.
Its been out in all weathers, including some terrible rain.
The belt has never come off.
I've never had to re-index the derailleur (it doesn't have one).
Its climbed every hill I've attempted on it without any trouble.
The furthest I've been on a single charge is 36 miles.
I'm 39 years old, male and have cycled for pretty much my entire life.
My last commuter bike was a £2350 Kinesis with a Ti frame and Shimano 105 groupset, but no electric assistance. It was occasionally a PITA and required extensive maintenance to prevent issues with the drivetrain.
I completely agree with what Oli Woodman says in his review.
There is nothing out there that comes remotely close to the quality of the Gtech in this price range.
I do not want a Kudos or a woosh or even a carrera.
They are equipped with low end poor quality components. A decent air sprung fork will cost most of your £1k budget. A decent shimano Drivetrain is upwards of £350.
They will struggle to continue to operate when exposed to poor weather for long periods.
They are nasty to look at.
They will have reliability problems.
They will come with a huge maintenance burden.
They won't have anything like the support offered by Gtech when something goes wrong.
I've commuted on various bicycles various distances for many years and I know how much hassle even the higher end shimano components can be.
Please stop telling me what I want for my commute, there is nothing I would rather have for less than £2000.
I'm glad your happy with it. I did say that it suits some people. It doesn't suit me. I found the bike components to be a bit cheap and nasty, and there was something weird about the steering geometry.
I'm a regular cyclist, and I have been for many years. I'm about 90kg. I found it a little uncomfortable on what I'd call a medium hill, that's pretty easy on a bike like a Wisper using level 3 of 5.
I've ridden a couple of good light bikes round here that had similar 20 cell 36v batteries. I can get 20 miles with a bit of effort. These bikes had gears, so would make more efficient use of power, so my range would be a lot less on th Gtech if it could get me up the steep hills that I encounter, which I'm very sure it couldn't.
An old guy I work with lives at the highest part of the Malvern hills you can drive to. He easily gets home on his with barely any effort. Uses lots of battery though and his range under those conditions is probably down to about 12 miles. 3 times further than his journey...
Hub drive motors do not gain anything from gears. Crank drive motors maybe, but as hub drive sits after the gears in the drive line, I don't see how having gears can make it more efficient
Which components did you find cheap and nasty on the Gtech? The Tektro V brakes? Or the Gates Carbon Drive? They're the only components I could find. I assume whatever bike you currently ride must have a Shimano Alfine hub gear and Hope disc brakes if you think the gtech is made of poor quality parts. Or more likely it's 8 speed Shimano Tourney or Sram x4 and the bike had barely covered 100 miles and only on dry days
Hub motors do indeed gain something from gears because the rider can still pedal at full power in a low gear to help the motor climb a steep hill. The problem with the Gtech is that as the bike slows down to climb a steep hill, the gearing is too high for the rider to give it any useful assistance, so you lose something like 100W power to the wheel compared wto a bike with gears.
The components that I didn't like are rim brakes, square taper BB, cranks, handlebars and things like that, but the main thing was that it just sort of felt cheap when I rode it, probably mainly due to the slightly weird steering and crappy brakes. I ride many cheap bikes as well as expensive ones because I do a lot of electric bike repairs, so I'm used to the different characteristics, and cheap bikes don't always feel cheap when you ride them, neither do all expensive bikes feel expensive.
The acid test is which you'd choose to ride if you had a choice of several. For me, the Gtech would be at or near the bottom of the list. I have around 12 electric bikes of my own, but I ride just one most of the time because it does it's job really well as a general purpose bike. The others all shine in the right circumstances.
The components that I didn't like are rim brakes, square taper BB, cranks, handlebars and things like that, but the main thing was that it just sort of felt cheap when I rode it, probably mainly due to the slightly weird steering and crappy brakes. I ride many cheap bikes as well as expensive ones because I do a lot of electric bike repairs, so I'm used to the different characteristics, and cheap bikes don't always feel cheap when you ride them, neither do all expensive bikes feel expensive.
The acid test is which you'd choose to ride if you had a choice of several. For me, the Gtech would be at or near the bottom of the list. I have around 12 electric bikes of my own, but I ride just one most of the time because it does it's job really well as a general purpose bike. The others all shine in the right circumstances.
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how do you know my customers won't have anything like the support offered by GTech?
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