For a while now, no one’s been able to agree on what an electric bicycle should look like.
We’ve seen our share of iterations over the years — from the storage-centric to the style-minded. Each has had its own boons and limitations, and few have integrated into mainstream American commuting.
If any will set the gold standard, though, it just might be Gocycle’s GX, a featherlight, foldable e-bike designed by a McLaren Racing alum.
The long road to Goycle unveiling the GX is pretty textbook for the meandering e-bike industry. Richard Thorpe, the former McLaren designer and Gocyle founder, left the automotive world to make the perfect e-bike all the way back in 2002. Seven years after that, it won a Best Electric Bike Award at Eurobike. Seven years after that, Gocycle was funding on Kickstarter. And only with this year’s launch do Thorpe and his team seem to think they’ve created “the perfect electric bicycle.”
So, is it? The GX certainly has a lot going for it. Consider …
- The motor: It’s powerful and discrete. The lithium-ion battery is tucked within the chassis (from afar the GX sort of looks like a thinner version of a bike you’d rent for the day in a city) and allows for an above average 50 miles of range.
- The weight: It only weighs 36-lbs. Which is important because …
- The FOLDABILITY: It folds! Watch the video here on how to break it down. Wheel it into the elevator and keep it next to your desk at work, slot it easily in the entryway closet, etc. This is a gamechanger, especially in cities a bit behind on public biking storage.
- The design: Gocycle took pains to make sure their bike is more ergonomic than others on the market. Yes, that sounds buzzword-y, but it’s true. Many e-bike companies get a bit carried away and come up with elongated, inefficient designs that’d end up giving riders chronic back issues. The Gocycle offers adjustable handlebars and seating, and a balanced center of gravity — the motor only powers the front wheel, while pedals power the back, which makes sure the transmission is never overworked.
Unfortunately, all those pros leads to one glaring con. A Gocycle GX isn’t cheap, and will run you $3,300. If you’ve got the cash, though — and a strong disdain for either your local transit authority or Uber charges — could be worth it.
For more information on ordering a GX of your own, head here.
All images via Gocycle
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