Easy Motion EasyGo Race Review

The EasyGo line of electric bikes is an entry level offering from BH Easy Motion, a hundred year old bicycle company based in Spain. Since their first line of bikes, the Neo series, launched in the US around 2013 consumers have recognized and appreciated the lower price point and beautiful purpose-built frames. Most older EMotion bikes have integrated downtube style battery packs but the EasyGo lines uses a proprietary seat post mount instead. This design doesn’t lock to the frame and the capacity offered is significantly lower at 208 watt hours vs. upwards of 316 wh but it’s very light at 2.9 pounds and is quick and easy to remove… which is important because you have to remove it to plug in and charge and I’d recommend taking it off the bike whenever you park to avoid tampering or theft.

The Easy Go Race is the least expensive ebike that BH makes but that doesn’t mean it looks cheap. The frame and fork are color matched in a satin charcoal gray and the deep dish wheelset, seat post collar and grip ends are bright red. Unlike most other electric bicycles I’ve reviewed from large established companies this one isn’t plastered with stickers and logos… it looks urban. It’s actually easy to mistake this for a non-electric bike because the 250 watt geared hub motor is small and painted black to blend in and match the spokes, cranks and pedals. The bike is almost too minimal for me because it doesn’t have bottle cage bosses despite there being plenty of room on the seat tube and downtube and there are no rear rack bosses either. A beam rack could probably be added but it will be tight given the seat post battery mount arm. There are no integrated lights and even adding fenders could be difficult given the dual-pivot caliper brakes. The bike is what it is… and it’s probably very tough, I’d feel less bad about parking this at racks where it might get banged up because there’s no derailleur to get bumped and the aluminum frame and steel fork are solid. It’s the kind of bike you could use spray paint on if it was scratched up.

This is an active electric bike, one you have to pedal in order to move and one with a more aggressive body position. The handle bar and stem are relatively flat and the seat is hard and narrow. There’s no suspension and the smooth 700 by 28c tires are thin and hard. It’s perfect for urban environments but it’s not the only offering in this category… for $700 more you could snag the Riide electric bike which offers a 350 watt motor and higher top speed of ~20 mph. If you already have a city bike you love the ADD-E could transform it into electric but isn’t as quiet or polished and costs ~$1,000 on its own. I was really surprised that the EasyGo Race is set for ~15.5 mph cruising vs. 20+ because it’s called the race! In Europe this is pretty standard and indeed, the motor runs and does contribute just a little bit above that 15.5 mph (25 km/h) mark but it really drops off, even in the highest level of assist. There’s no throttle and pedal assist works using a torque sensor so you have to push actively to make it go, especially on this bike with the single speed, relatively large 46-16T gearing. You should get decent range considering the smaller battery, but you have to work for it.

If you’re into the fixie look (and no, this isn’t a fixie – you can pedal backwards) and you want to add some boost to your rides, maybe extending your range a bit, then this could be a fun product. I would love to see an integrated tail light in the future and some threaded eyelets for adding accessories but the price point is tough to beat and the 2+ year warranty is best in class. The fact that this bike is carried at a lot of dealers means you can actually go and test it out. If you’re shorter, want improved comfort or prefer a more utilitarian electric bike consider the EasyGo Street which includes a rack, fenders, suspension fork and headlight (but still no tail light!) for $400 more. Easy Motion has a bunch of other ebikes to choose from, and most have larger motors and batteries, but the price goes up even more.

Pros:

• Extremely affordable for a brand name electric bike, especially given their vast dealer network and solid two year warranty (five if you register the bike)
• Very light weight at just over 35 pounds (16 kilograms), with a conveniently removable battery pack that uses the magnetic EnergyBus standard (Rosenberger connector)
• Fast and efficient due to the larger diameter wheelset and narrower smooth tires, the deep dish rims may be slightly aerodynamic compared with traditional ones but the forward-leaning body position also helps you cut through the air more efficiently
• Excellent LCD display system, it includes lots of very detailed feedback including speed, total and trip range time and top speed, assist level and it’s backlit and removable!
• The TMM4 torque sensor is smooth and efficient, it will increase the range of this bike compared with a cadence sensor pedal assist but does require more pedal input from the rider so you’ll work harder
• Compact ~1.4 pound charger is easy to take along to top off along the way for increased range, you can also buy an additional battery for a few hundred dollars and it weighs just ~3 lbs
• Clean aesthetic, you get two color choices and the frame matches the fork, all of the accents are coordinated (from the grips to the seat clamp) and the motor, spokes, cranks and chainring are all black, the electrical cables are internally routed through the frame
• Minimal branding… just a stylized BH logo on the head tube with the rest of the tubing left alone

Cons:

• No bottle cage bosses or rack mounts and the seat post is taken up by the battery mount so you probably can’t add a beam rack… very limited storage
• Very jarring to ride over cracks and bumps because of the stiff Aluminum frame, narrow tires and aggressive forward-leaning body position, no way to add a seat post suspension because the power cable runs through the seat tube, may be possible to swap out the fork but the stock steel fork does dampen a bit of vibration
• No integrated lights (one on the battery pack would be nice), no fenders and no chainring guard to keep your pants clean
• There’s no quick release on either wheel or the seat tube, no kickstand included (but there is a mounting plat for adding an aftermarket stand behind the bottom bracket
• The motor power cable enters from the end of the axle and is more exposed than on some of the other Easy Motion e-bikes where it runs into the side and is tucked in near to the frame (which helps reduce snags, bending and wear if the bike tips over)
• You pretty much have to take the battery pack off the bike with you when parked… it doesn’t lock to the frame and you can’t leave it on to charge, thankfully it’s compact and light weight but you’ll still be carrying ~3 lbs with you at all times and there’s more potential of dropping it vs. charging on the frame
• Motor power really drops off above ~17 mph, I could hear it operating up to ~20 mph but the power was significantly reduced even when riding with the highest level of pedal assist

Resources:

• Official Site: http://www.emotionbikesusa.com/en/bicycles/ebikes/easygo-race-eg566-us.html
• More Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/iMrxtbeyMxcU1TEw8