Would be interesting to run a Gtech on your track (even a customer supplied one if anybody's local?).

 

The lack of gears and Carbon Drive were actually the selling points for me (due to less maintenance etc).

 

I can see the point if a rider struggles to maintain 10mph on the flat then there would be better choices, for me it was bought as a no nonsense commuting bike.

 

One of it's strong points is the weight, if they load it up with bigger batteries etc it moves it into a machine that's no different to the majority that are already out there for sale..

 

It is true that if you add mudguards,additional 5Ah battery,lights and gears you would add about 3kg to the weight,which makes it pretty much identical to my new Stealth/Alamo bike at 19kg.

But all those features are desirable in the UK....the lady in the G-tech video with white clothes would not ride a bike in the UK without mudguards,I am criticised as having too small a battery at 10.Ah,you can't go out without some form of lighting and we live in a hilly country gears are essential to go up steep hills....they ended up producing a niche bike but their expensive advertising campaign needed volume.

I agree that would be following the crowd,but that spec is what most of the crowd wants.

There are many e-bike users who struggle to get the bike moving on a hill,many on this forum,the Bafang BPM motor was 'tuned' to give low speed high torque to get the bike away,some will not be able to get up to 10 mph,the BPM starts giving useable toque from 4 mph.

I think the e-bike industry has a few years of development behind its technology,we probably don't give ourselves credit for the state of the art that e-bikes have currently reached.

KudosDave

Just don't understand why G-tech didn't put a 10Ah concealed battery and some gears,with their advertising investment they would have sold thousands.

The additional cost would have been minimal

It wasn't necessary to be pioneers with the little battery and carbon belt drive,they would have been the first seller to do a proper marketing job in the UK,but the lack of gears was a risk that wasn't necessary.

Having said that I admire their bravery of spending so much on marketing to a country which has very low e-bike usage.

KudosDave

there are a couple of reasons I think. They wanted the carbon belt making derailleur impossible, the only choice for adding gears would be a hub gear or the 2-speed SRAM automatix and the motor will have to be at the front. The battery on the Gtech looks not strangely similar to the battery on their lawnmower.

 

I think their markup is sufficient to pay for TV advertisement, about £50 per bike.

Remember that very large companies do not pay the same advertising rates small companies do. They have the negotiating power to pay much less.

 

They also have large battery volume sales so their buying price will be lower.

 

And nobody knows how many did they have made, unit price may be very low indeed.

Remember that very large companies do not pay the same advertising rates small companies do. They have the negotiating power to pay much less.

 

They also have large battery volume sales so their buying price will be lower.

 

And nobody knows how many did they have made, unit price may be very low indeed.

 

The advertising I agree with,they must get a good deal.

I got a quote for one of my bikes 1000 units including batteries,it was cheaper than the 200 off rate I currently pay but not much,I buy from the biggest e-bike producer in China so the volume scale is already there.

G-tech direct sell so no dealer margin.

KudosDave

Good review Keith! I too am surprised about the lack of YouTube videos or reviews on the Gtech.

 

I've got mine turning up on Saturday so quite looking forward to it. I'm glad you still have to 'cycle' it too. I'm looking to improve my fitness along with a little bit of help on the hills or on the way home etc.

 

It was a toss up between the gtech and the crossfire from halfords. I chose the gtech because it looks clean, uncluttered and 'simple'.

 

Guess I'll see if I've made the right decision on Saturday!

Let us know how you get on with it, sound the same as me.

 

The Carbon Drive is lovely .

33 miles down still 3 bars out of 4 showing on battery .

That's pretty impressive! Gtech's 30 mile range sounds quite conservative then obviously depending on how it's ridden!

Just hit 2 bars at 36 miles when I got home.

 

It does depend on how you ride it, I'm normally around 16mph, mainly use the assist on starts, hills and wind (assist is always on I just slow down a bit till it kicks in).

 

Another awful head wind tonight and it dealt with it very well!.

It was the Gtech tv advert that gave me the idea for an ebike. It had never entered my mind before. After researching, I didn't go for the Gtech, I guess I'm too heavy and tall for it, so I went for the Ebco instead.

 

I wonder how many others were enticed into looking further into ebikes as a result of the only ebike tv advert.

Finished work for the week, bike still had 2 bars showing at 49 miles but I decided to charge it up tonight as busy tomorrow.

 

It took 2hr 37min to charge to full on a 2amp charger.

 

I work out 2.62hr x 2a = 5.24 amps put into the battery, therefore 5.24 amps used for 49 miles.

 

Sounds about right?.

I work out 2.62hr x 2a = 5.24 amps put into the battery, therefore 5.24 amps used for 49 miles.

 

Sounds about right?.

 

Sounds cheaper than a taxi and quicker than waiting for a bus.

that's very low power consumption. 5.24AH is roughly 200WH, divided by 49 miles = 4WH per mile, about half the average consumption for most riders. You must be a strong pedaller.

I have been feeling my way recently with the bike, you can feel the assistance and can lean on it where necessary or alternatively you can add more in (or come out of it completely).

 

I'd estimate sometimes I'm using 25% motor which is enough to take the edge off it, first 500m roll out on a moring I'm using all motor while I loosen up.

 

Brunt of the assist is around 12-13 mph, sometimes I'm at that speed but putting in half my normal effort in so I presume as the hub is only under half load it only uses half the current?.

 

Still quite new to all this really!.

Having a small battery increases millage per ah.I run Twin 4ah.When I add more batteries my bike becomes more slug like.Best I have done is 33miles on 8ah,fully loaded with 24 ah and clothes in panniers. If I lost a couple of stone and run with out mudguards and rack and just two batteries I bet my 33 mile best would increase.Time to get fit,I have put on weight with having a ebike.I used to push my pedal bike up the hill I just glide up it now.

So I'm quite impressed with the gtech, nice looking bike and it goes well too.

The biggest surprise was the amount of work you still have to put in to travel without assistance (above about 15mph).

 

Having never riden an electric bike before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Turning the assist off though really shows how much help it gives you when pulling away, quite impressed.

 

I did 14 miles throughout the day yesterday and I used two bars or battery.

Hopefully I'll get fitter over time and start getting some mileage like Keith ;-)

 

Might need to replace the seat though, little sore this morning!

Might need to replace the seat though, little sore this morning!

 

Tesco, £10 gel saddle. Ebay for a suspension seatpost. Make sure you get the right sized diameter.

Tesco, £10 gel saddle. Ebay for a suspension seatpost. Make sure you get the right sized diameter.

 

Cheers Leigh

Cheers Leigh

 

Here's the gel saddle and a cheap seatpost fitted to my bike.

 

Leighping

 

I notice the saddle is nose up.

Are you aware the pressure it then places can cause injuries 'ahem some thing to stay down' in the long term that is.

Are you aware the pressure it then places can cause injuries 'ahem some thing to stay down' in the long term that is.

 

It's ok, I have medication for that.

 

Tom, I've fitted a Suntour NCX seatpost (28mm) to min and it's a lot better over pot-holes etc.

 

Did you give full charge to the battery, the lights all turn off on the front when it's fully charged.

 

I think it encourages you to put more pedalling in!.

Yes i fully charged the battery, however i was doing a lot of stop and start tests so i guess i used more battery than normal.

 

I like the carbon drive belt too.

 

I think i will be keeping it, however i am slightly intrigued about how the Carrera Crossfire from Halfords compares to the Gtech.

Hi anyone got any reviews on a btwin 36 v bike from decathlon was going to buy a gtech but couldn't decide which bike to purchase after looking a a few decided on the btwin great bike but a bit heavy on the back where the battery sits still deciding whether to go for the gtech any information would be much appreciated

Thanks jean

Which one? Original 700? I recommended one to a friend because it was on sale at under 700€. It was the version before with 24V front motor. I understand why they upgraded to 36V and my friend will too when his battery fails.

 

They aren't bad but they aren't worth 1100€.