Good-looking Gocycle helps with hills and headwinds
Anybody who regularly rides a bike is familiar with those moments when, struggling up a hill or into a headwind, they wish they had a magic button that would allow them to engage an engine.
Electric bikes are one solution, but they do have their drawbacks. For a start, they tend to be expensive, heavy and ugly as sin. The Gocycle, which has just gone on sale in Ireland, bucks the trend somewhat in that it is looks quite good. The frame is a simple clean design, built from magnesium, which helps keep the weight down to something approaching a normal bike.
Using the Gocycle is very straightforward. Simply take off as you would on an ordinary bike and then press the red button on the handlebars to engage the motor. After a second or two it begins to propel you forward, so much so that you don’t need to pedal inmost circumstances.
The motor will run as long as you keep your finger on the button.
I tested the bike for a week over a five-kilometre commuting route to and from Dublin city centre. While the machine presents you with a temptation to keep your finger on the button and whizz along, I found that it wasn’t really necessary.
Instead, I ended up using it to gain or maintain speed, such as taking off from the lights, going up an incline or coming out of a corner. You end up spending most of the journey freewheeling and the experience is something like perpetually cycling downhill.
The bike is capable of a maximum speed of 24kph,which is quick enough to ensure that you’ll be moving faster than a lot of other cyclists. The battery lasts for between 13 and 30km depending on conditions and is recharged by plugging a charger into the bike. A full charge will take approximately 3 hours.
While there is no doubt that the Gocycle is great fun to ride you do have to ask if it is a needless indulgence. Commuting on a regular bike isn’t very strenuous and it takes only a short time to get used to it.
Its market probably lies mostly with those who, for one reason or another, don’t want the exercise. For example, you can ride it into the office in a suit and not have to worry about showing up sweating, and the fact that its drive train is sealed off means you don’t have the danger getting your clothes caught in it.
At €1,400, the Gocycle isn’t cheap and, for the same money, you could probably get a scooter.
However, you don’t have to pay tax or insurance or buy petrol. The recharging cost is the same as running a 100-watt bulb for 1.75 hours.
If your employer is willing, it comes under the bike to work scheme which provides tax relief on a maximum of €1,000 of the purchase price of a bike.
If you are on the top rate of tax, that means you can have one for €990.While that still makes it pricey, the advantages it offers means it is a viable option for the suited and booted commuter.
Available at www.electricbicycles.ie
