GoCycle GX/G4 - really as good as the hype?
- Thread starter DSK
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I dont.
15.5 is already a higher average speed than most folk who need the assistance could manage on their own.
15.5 is already a higher average speed than most folk who need the assistance could manage on their own.
figbat
Slippery scientist
- Location
- South Oxfordshire, UK
By my calculations, a rider plus bike at 20 mph has 67% more kinetic energy than the same combination at 15.5mph.
Electric allows completely sweat free ride- if you want it. Desirable if showering facilities not available
It makes no difference to kinetic energy whether bike is propelled by human power or assisted. Many a rider can ride well above 15 mph. I know I can comfortably
figbat
Slippery scientist
- Location
- South Oxfordshire, UK
Indeed, but if an e-bike can do it then more people will do it more often, so statistically the risks increase.
I see as more folk riding is a good thing. Exponentially safer than driving a car for other road users
OP
OP
DSK
Senior Member
I'm a traditional road race cycle enthusiast. Got back into Cycling in a big way since the original lock down and got some local 2nd places on Strava (without trying but, rather doing my own route as briskly as I could) so speed is not an issue. If I could take either of my road bikes I would but, this is not an option.
The issue is the new office does not have shower facilities so I need to get there in the least sweaty manner and I hate London tubes. A brisk power walk which I used to do for my last place of 3.5 miles each way was easy but could get you into a sweat in summer and I'm guessing I'd sweat less or not at all on a brisk Ebike. This is where the GoCycle looks like winner, clean and efficient and should take me around the same time as it would on the Tube from St Pancras to near Victoria.
The issue is the new office does not have shower facilities so I need to get there in the least sweaty manner and I hate London tubes. A brisk power walk which I used to do for my last place of 3.5 miles each way was easy but could get you into a sweat in summer and I'm guessing I'd sweat less or not at all on a brisk Ebike. This is where the GoCycle looks like winner, clean and efficient and should take me around the same time as it would on the Tube from St Pancras to near Victoria.
This is exactly how/why I've managed to commute most of winter on my eBike. On max assist mode, even with 'just' 250watts going up a 7% hill is like sitting on the sofa.
I use max assistance and little effort on the way into work, and on the return leg I use minimal assistance but put the effort in. You can tailor how much work/effort to put in, even if there is a 20mph headwind all the way into work the eBike will see you there hardly out of breath.
Commuting also means adding lights, mudguards, spare inner tubes, D locks + laptop/lunch all to carry. Its enough to turn the most mimble road bike into a lumbering beast. But with eBikes you just don't notice the extra mass, I even stop enroute to pick up shopping these days. Yes a normal bike can do commuting fine, but I don't enjoy riding along at sub 10mph struggling against every hill like most bike commuters I pass, which is why I've never really commuted by bike before, certainly not during winter.
I see my eBike as a partial car replacement and not as a replacement for a bike.
Last edited:
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Fantastic route, passing literally hundreds of points of interest.
Lots of options for varying it as well.
I have limited ebiking experience in central London, but don't think I would worry about illegal speed derestriction.
Not really needed, and London is the most heavily policed/camera covered area in the country.
One could attempt the mathematics, but occasional bursts of 15.5mph+ will make very little difference to the elapsed time over such a short journey, assuming you intend to ride responsibly, obeying traffic signals and the like.
Much more fun and much less stress to sit up and enjoy the ride.
I've been using my wife's ebike to get early ride fitness without trying too hard. First few rides I was using level 3 or 4 out 7 to waft me up gradients or into headwinds. Now just a week later Im using level 2 mainly, adding shopping weight. With a tailwind I go to zero assist, cruising 18,19 mph. Soon as I turn into headwind, or climb over a bridge etc, I dial in a level of assistance. This and my effort allows me to almost sustain the pace without going into the red on HR.
I sometimes now outride the limiter for a bit of a workout, then to recover but still have a decent pace add assistance for 30secs to aid recovery
OP
OP
DSK
Senior Member
@Pale Rider - I worked in Wimbledon for the last decade. Driving from Nottingham to my Berkshire based man pad and then driving around the M25/A3 into work. Only been Central a few times and hated it, people just pushing in, lack of mannerS and for a new the tube system looks like spaghetti.
Google maps states I'd go past Buckingham palace which, I've only ever seen on Yotube/TV so POI's would be a nice change.
With the Ebike the purpose would be, rather than rely on a tube, just take the bike if it takes roughly the same time and as cyclists, we enjoy a nice ride rather than being stuck in a tin can.
Google maps states I'd go past Buckingham palace which, I've only ever seen on Yotube/TV so POI's would be a nice change.
With the Ebike the purpose would be, rather than rely on a tube, just take the bike if it takes roughly the same time and as cyclists, we enjoy a nice ride rather than being stuck in a tin can.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Cycling in central London is not for everyone, but I really like it, not least because even on a push bike I'm faster than the average speed of the motor traffic.
I also thought 'Buck house' when considering your route, although you might be able to hack around the south of St James's Park, depending on where in Victoria you are aiming for.
Horse Guards (dodge the piles of poo) and Storey's Gate may assist in this endeavour, although I'm not sure of cycle access.
On t'other hand, your tube journey is straightforward, being all on one line.
My gut feeling is the elapsed time on the tube would be shorter, although the Victoria line is fairly deep, so you would lose a few minutes burrowing underground, then climbing back up to ground level.
Not to mention however far your office is from Victoria station.
I've ridden a GoCycle (outside London) and there's no doubt they ride nicely and are quite perky for a legal ebike.
As with all folding ebikes, they are not very wieldy for humping on and off trains, but that's one only you can decide.
At least you would only be doing it once in London at St Pancras.
I also thought 'Buck house' when considering your route, although you might be able to hack around the south of St James's Park, depending on where in Victoria you are aiming for.
Horse Guards (dodge the piles of poo) and Storey's Gate may assist in this endeavour, although I'm not sure of cycle access.
On t'other hand, your tube journey is straightforward, being all on one line.
My gut feeling is the elapsed time on the tube would be shorter, although the Victoria line is fairly deep, so you would lose a few minutes burrowing underground, then climbing back up to ground level.
Not to mention however far your office is from Victoria station.
I've ridden a GoCycle (outside London) and there's no doubt they ride nicely and are quite perky for a legal ebike.
As with all folding ebikes, they are not very wieldy for humping on and off trains, but that's one only you can decide.
At least you would only be doing it once in London at St Pancras.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
Its a great route - I used to do Euston to Victoria (and before that Euston to Liverpool street) and I've used both a Brompton and a hack bike at each end method. At the end I was doing Eus to Vic on a single speed, we didn't have showers at the last place I worked, but I rode a leisurely pace and its downhill or level on the way there, only a small rise through Traf square on the way back. Even without e-assistance, a change of shirt and quick spray was all that was needed, you get more sweaty using the tube on a crowded morning. Even on hot days the morning is cool for cycling, and riding up the Mall and past Buck House is a great way to start the day. With E-assistance it will be ideal.
and factor in (in pre covid times) queueing on the platform to actually get on the Vic line, plus its quite a schlep from Pancras to the Vic line platform. It used to be pretty similar times for me bike or tube to v close to one of the Vic station exits, but tube had a bigger chance of delay.
Last edited:
