Gocycle GX Review

To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This in-depth review was sponsored by Gocycle. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased with you, this video and writeup are not meant to be an endorsement of Gocycle products. I welcome your corrections, additions, and feedback in the comments below and the Gocycle electric bike forums.

Observations:

• Made in the Gocycle traditon of being a brand new frame and bicycle design from the ground up, this doesn’t take existing frames or systems and components, but rather is a complete redesign of an ebike, the purpose of the GX here is to be a unique folding electric bicycle, different from many others in design and engineering
• The frame is solid using an injection molded magnesium structure, this is very impressive, light, and sturdy, if you look around there are solid pieces, such as the one-sided fork, stem, and handlebars all being welded together, the welds are seamless and high quality too… very solid, something most would be proud of
• In addition to the frame, the design and aesthetics are also very unique, Gocycle is known for their unparalleled engineering, one of their claims to fame is that the company was started by a former McLaren engineer, for those unfamiliar with McLaren, they are a highly successful automotive manufacture in the UK that is famous for their race cars and hyper sports cars

Pros:

• A fully featured, lightweight, and unique design from the ground up folding electric bike from a company known for innovation and engineering, one of the sleekest and exotic folding bikes out there, a real head turner and joy to ride
• The wheels are made of magnesium instead of traditional spokes, the magnesium wheel is superior since it needs no tuning or adjusting of any kind, these are also much stronger and handle weight better
• For tires, the GX makes use of a set of these specific 20” x 2” ballon tires, These are very comfortable with a higher air volume and are perfect for the street with the included tread pattern, I also love that these have a reflective sidewall stripe for visibility and safety, very cool
• The bike is comes in at around 40lbs which is pretty light weight, and that weight includes the battery, motor, and everything on the bike ready to ride, if you wanted to shed some weight for carrying it around or loading it on and off a rack, you could always remove the battery and stow it somewhere else
• Has a lot of cool accessories, like battery integrated lights for both the front and rear, as well as this accessory bag that mounts in the front
• The accessory bag is my favorite, it holds a fair amount of stuff while having a lot of different compartments, it has a really unique mounting system on the frame with a quick release tension arm, this makes the accessory fully removable
• I have to mention this unique seat post setup, it has a sleeve as well, these two shafts offer adjustments and releases, that seat post is at a pretty diagonal angle, so extension will move it up and back or down and forward, with this, you can accommodate a fair amount of riders
• Unlike most urban bikes, this actually has a rear suspension included, it has a travel of 25mm which isn’t a whole lot, but great for the city riding it is intended for and makes it much more comfortable than others
• The double legged kickstand makes parking the bike easy and very stable, especially if you have cargo in the front you want to load in the basket, in true Gocycle fashion, the kickstand is unique in that it stows forward rather than backwards
• The folding aspect is designed to be quite fast and speedy, once it is folded it is secure and easy to carry since it is pretty light weight, check the video for a demonstration, I found it to be quick and easy
• It is tucked away under the ergonomic grips, but if you look closely, you will see a integrated bell underneath, just goes to show they covered everything from head to toe on this bike
• Mechanically, the bike makes use of a Shimano Nexus 3 speed internally geared hub, this is operated by a smooth grip shift on the right handlebar, the system is reliable and pretty well protected
• Gocycle calls the protection around the drivetrain “Clean Drive”, so not only is everything enclosed to keep you clean, but it has benefits for complete protection of the internals, some may say this would hinder maintenance, but the internal gearing system needs much less than a typical bike, I love that it can keep grease out of where you store the bike too like in the office or an airplane
• Stopping the bike is a set of hydraulic disc brakes in both the front and rear, the rotor size for each of these is 140mm which is smaller than most, but since it is hydraulic as well as mounted on a small well, it still packs quite a punch for stopping
• Driving the bike is a powerful front hub rated for 500 watts nominal and 750 watts peak, this is a lot of power coming out of a little motor and I was pretty impressed with how it did
• Engaging the motor is done by using either the itty-bitty little red thumb throttle hidden in the handlebar or you can propel by the torque based pedal assist system, either work great and I had a lot of fun with both as they excel in smoothness
• Powering the GX is a discrete 21.6V 13.34ah battery tucked away into the down tube, charging is done with the provided 2amp charger, to really care for this and other lithium-ion packs, I have heard that storing in a cool dry location vs. extreme heat or cold will extend the life and try to keep it about 50% full when not using for long periods so you won’t stress the cells, try not to let it run down to zero, because that’s really hard on the cell chemistry
• The Gocycle GX uses a minimal display that really only shows the battery level in round LED ticks across the handlebar, however, you can connect your smartphone to the bike via an app that lets you configure settings and even has rubber mounting straps to use your phone as a full fledged display, make sure to watch the video review for more details and instructions on how to set the app

Cons:

• I had a lot of fun with the bike, I have also tested many of the Gocycle models both past and present, in my personal opinion, I think the other models use the unique frame design better, if you can live without the folding aspect however, if you are really looking for a folding bike, this does extremely well
• Very minor gripe here, the kickstand design is wonderful and sturdy, however, it did take me a while to get used to and I felt annoyed by it a couple of times, but if this was your daily, you would get used to it in a jiffy and should not be an annoyance at all
• If you are uncomfortable putting your smart phone on the handlebars (the new iPhone’s cost over $1,000 and I would hate to crash with that out!), then the bike really has no real display at all, no speedometer or even a way of knowing what the assist is set at, just a set of battery LEDs, however, I am a minimalist, I liked to set it up in the app and just tuck my phone away and ride distraction free, so this could be a plus if you are like me
• The seat and torque system are a little on the active side and pedaling, so if you are looking for a throttle cruiser, you may want to look at other options out there, this does have a throttle, but the bike shines for those that like a mix of both pedaling and cruising
• Because of that single sided fork design, if the tires have low air, it will accentuate this feeling of lopsided steering that takes some getting used to, like I said, that profile isn’t as apparent if you have good air volume, but something to be aware of
• I found all of the accessories to be incredibly handy so it was a shame to hear they didn’t come included with the bike and must be purchased separately, still the price is very fair for all the engineering and technology that came to gather to make this bike happen, just make sure to set aside a tiny bit if you want those lights and useful basket

Resources:

• Official Site: Official Gocycle Ebike Website