News: Gocycle launches entry level model for North America on Kickstarter

Karbon Kinetics Ltd has just announced its North American Kickstarter campaign to launch a new entry level model: the Gocycle GS.

Richard Thorpe, founder and designer of Gocycle, who started the company after leaving a ‘dream job’ at McLaren Cars in 2002, told Pedelecs that while building a company and branching out into Europe hasn’t always been plain sailing, his next focus is the USA: “We’ve worked hard to establish ourselves in Europe… but my vision for Gocycle is global, and that’s why we are on Kickstarter. We want to break into the North American market with a new model – the Gocycle GS.”

While the current model retailing in the UK, the G3, comes with a price tag of £3,299, the pared down GS is being offered in limited numbers at an ‘Early Bird’ price of $1,699..

Full story: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/news/gocycle-launches-entry-level-model-north-america-kickstarter/

Thorpe adds: “The GS model is designed and specced for the North American e-bike market. We don’t have plans to introduce the GS into Europe any time soon, but it certainly is an exciting and compelling e-bike proposition...."

So we can say:

- There will be a grey market

- One day they will have to provide a more affordable bike in Europe to cover more market segments - that is business

I think that their business plan is wrong - they are assuming that introducing an affordable bike worldwide will cannibalise sales of the more expensive model. Maybe to a very small degree but I believe not as much as they predict.

Now I'm out of the 'game' so to speak I have to say the Gocycle (in my opinion of course) isn't 'worth' it. What is it? A compact bike? A folder? it doesn't do either of these very well...dare I say it but the Smart bike is better by far on price alone.

As a dealer I had over a dozen tests on their bikes, the price point is way to high for the market. Styling is subjective of course but the fact you have to dismantle the thing which takes an 'age' doesn't do it any favours as a folder.

There are other bikes that do compact very well (KTM, Freego, Kudos, Kalkoff, etc) but a true lightweight folder is the dream of any e-bike manufacturer.