Cars are definitely my passion and what I love today, but before the age of 16, it was all bike all the time. From the age of roughly 5 to 16, anywhere I needed to go was basically accomplished on bike. Countless miles and playgrounds and errands all achieved with the power of two stubby legs and as long as those bike tires would last.
Biking today, for me, has been less about mobility, but more about adventure, taking our kids in our bike trailer, and yes, some much needed exercise in an attempt to get this father figure (ok it’s a full out dad bod) in check. But I think we’re seeing a resurgence in biking aided by lots of new technology. Plenty of cities now have point to point bike rentals like Capital Bikeshare here in DC, Divvy Bikes in Chicago and of course the Citi Bike in New York. Some even offer version of electric bikes (or e-bikes) where small electric motors and battery packs can help assist with the pedaling effort needed.
At first I scoffed at the idea of e-bikes – doesn’t the idea of assisted pedaling remove the actual physical and health benefits of biking? The answer might be a bit murky. Sure you expend less effort when receiving the boost, but if that assistance encourages or allows you to making biking a bigger part of your daily mobility overall it’s probably a net positive impact.
To that end, the folks at Gocycle reached out and offered a loan of their G4i. While I’ve seen many e-bikes around, the Gocycle’s blend of compact foldability and electric assist, as well as highly engineered components like the single-sided swing arm type architecture with a fully enclosed chain drive and gear set (no getting anything caught in your chain!) really intrigued me. As far as specifications, there’s a removable and rechargeable (3.5 hours with included charger) lithium ion battery that they claim can provide up to 50 miles of assist on the G4i. In our testing that seemed to be closer to 30 or so miles, but we live in a hilly section of Northern Virginia and DC and as a result we were calling on additional power pretty regularly.
And that power comes on naturally as you start to pedal and all controls are easy to use. There are 3 modes to select from. City mode starts your pedal assist almost immediately while Eco mode waits until you are pedaling harder. In either mode, there’s a twist grip on the left handle bar where you can summon “full power” for On Demand assist. I liked Eco mode with the option of the On Demand for when and where I needed more power. If you’re going up a steep hill, do be mindful that on this bike, the drive assist motor is on the front wheel hub, so you’ll want to keep some weight on that front axle to make sure it doesn’t pop up and spin needlessly!
There are also 3 speeds to the transmission, which you can either leave to its own predictive devices, our preferred state, or with the twist grip on the right side handle bar, you can sequentially shift up and down through the 3 gears. Switching between either the riding modes, or turning the predictive shifting on and off does require connecting to the bike through the smartphone app. Do wish there was a way, at least for the riding modes, to make changes directly from the bike itself, but the twist grip for On Demand largely suffices for any additive needs.
I appreciated the step-through design, no high frame bar to contend with, as it makes for easy on and off if you have a lot of stops and errands to run. I was a bit concerned with how the foldable design would feel on the road in terms of any potential loss in rigidity and over bumps and curbs, especially since the folding and latches were so easy and quick to use. My fears were not warranted however, as the ride was ultra smooth with nary a quiver from the bike, it feels solid, as do all the attachment points in spite of their simplicity of use.
On one of my longer loops, I took the G4i in from Arlington across Key Bridge into Georgetown. Georgetown is a cluster when driving with so many cars and so very little parking not to mention tight narrow streets. Here, the biking stands out as a huge plus. I can slip through traffic and tight alleys and I can easily find a spot to lock up a bike rather than the constant circling of the block for a car parking spot. As long as the weather is nice, it was a terrific option to have for us. And if it’s a little wet, the G4i also has fenders front and rear that would presumably save the rider from any tire spray at least.
So are we sold on an e-bike? Potentially! I don’t know if we’d personally benefit from the foldability of the Gocycle, I don’t have to take a bike into a small office on my commute and I have easy garage storage at home. I’m sure that added complexity impacts some of the cost of the bike, nearly $5,000 at listed prices, so would say someone truly in the city could value that much higher than I do. Other limitation was, with the unique hubs and axles, I wouldn’t be able to affix our kid trailer carrier to this configuration and again thus limiting my direct biking adventures. Again, other use cases may vary. In the end, I believe the Gocycle G4i is a beautifully designed, well-executed and thought out features that is built to high exacting standards and that is something to be celebrated!