To be honest, the attractive design and passion are not enough to make a good bike. But at first sight I recognized massive and easy-to-control mate to ride in EasyGO. My eyes opened wide and had to be shut close moments after because of the reflective green lines around the frame and the bars. The 1370 EUR price tag won’t make you roll your eyes if you are familiar with prices of other electric bikes on the market.
The new bike to ride is a celebration of a body movement – I feel almost like I should open a bottle of champagne. Because I consider myself a human charged full of energy, I rode down the street without the support of a motor included in the hub (partly because of the low battery warning). But of course – it was downhill. Anyway, you’ll have no problem to ride without the help of a motor if you find yourself trapped in the city jungle with a flat battery. As for the motor itself, the manufacturer claims it has a very simple maintenance, because of a patented system of motor case removal, which I fortunately didn’t test.
I have to say that an overnight recharge (8 hours under optimal conditions) offers you a plenty of juice for short journeys around the city – you can squeeze approximately 45 km out of the battery. You can also save lots of power by switching the motor off for a downhill and flat stretches like I did. With such precautions it’s no problem to stay charged until the evening, even if you have to travel longer distances. The big plus is that even if the battery dies, you can get back to 80% with only 1,5 hour of recharging. The charger is only a little bit bulkier than something that came with an older laptops and the battery is cleverly hidden in the saddlebag.
Now, let’s go back to my first ride on this puppy. During the trip I encountered two different surfaces, which tested the bike’s balance ability (the tire’s diameter is approx. 3 cm). All went well except for wet and larger man-placed rocks. But come on, it’s not where you expect such a bike to shine. Despite that, I rode without any compromises on a smooth, flat surface.
That’s why I took the bike up the hill as a next step because I wanted to say hello to Prague Coffee Festival and finally see the motor working harder. The big surprise follows – none of the people there came on a bike (I know, that hipster prejudice again!), so I parked the bike easier than I thought. So, how did the bike deal with the hill? I hardly noticed that I’m cycling uphill with the standard mode set on the display, therefore awesome.
Now is the time to say something about the display and user interface. An accelerator works until you reach 6 km/h, and levels (or modes if you like) of assistance are Eco 1:07, Standard 1:1,5, Sport 1:2,5 and Boost 1:3,75. The last one really unleashes the power of a 250W motor and makes you take off like a rocket. I tried it on the flat cycle path outside the city and it moved so fantastic that I enjoyed the ride as I never did before. Joyful, elegant riding with zero harm and collisions. In one word – perfect adventure. Until I’ve gotten thirsty.
The pub called „Konec žízně” (transl.: The end of thirst) served this occasion perfectly. Right after I ordered my drink, the people sitting around started to ask immediately what kind of vehicle I brought with me. The middle-aged guy was more than excited, so I lent him the bike to test it. He was absolutely fascinated by the low weight (just about 16 kg) and the turning stability and in the end of the testing he said: „If I didn’t have a present for my wife’s birthday already and was thinking about how to make her happy, I’d give her this bike. She’s crazy about cycling and she would really love the lightweight frame and the help the motor has to offer.“
Well said mister, and honestly, it makes a perfect description of what the EasyGo Race 2015 offers, I thought, while pedalling back to Prague in the darkness.
