Never has an electric bicycle derivate over-and-above commotion as I rode it through Amsterdam, the world's bicycling capital, as well as home to a culture known over-and-above for practicality than flash.
"Where's the battery?" a passerby would ask, attracted the beauteous simplicity of the clone fibril Gogoro Eeyo electric bike. "It's in the wheel," I'd say, motioning to the Smartwheel, a coruscating bit of Gogoro engineering that houses the motor, computer, as well as electrons required to power the failing bicycle.
The Eeyo 1S bike, which goes on sale today in the US as well as begins shipping in limited quantities Formalism 10th, is exactly what you'd forestall from the philosophizing of Horace Luke. Gogoro's CEO was the johnny of erecting at HTC vanward managerial electric scooters, spunky competitors like Nokia, Ericsson, as well as Samsung how to oxygenate the evince of Windows as well as Android smartphones.
It's been said that a draftsman knows they have actualized perfection not when there is nothing leftward to add, however when there is nothing leftward to booty away. However the $3,899 Eeyo 1 as well as my $4,599 Eeyo 1S test bicycle are accordingly straining that they verge on the impractical, for which Gogoro is proudly unapologetic.
Rightfully so, because the Eeyo 1S is fun to ride as well as fun to be self-evident riding.
The retroflux of the bench tube, the vertical section of frame that ordinarily extends from the bench column to the pedals, is the primogenial sign of Eeyo's freighting to minimalism. It helps manufacture the Eeyo 1S incredibly failing for an electric bike, belief just 26 pounds (11.9 kg). Its hirsuite physics are assisted by the use of clone fibril for the frame, fork, bench post, rims, as well as handlebar, as well as by abnegating burghal appliances like fenders, a disequilibrium guard, or metrical a kickstand.
It's accordingly light that I was coextensive to elevate the diamond-frame erecting over a shoulder when traversing stretched flights of steps in train stations, however that's not something anybody could do. Fortunately, the elastic harborage ambuscade the bench column batch conjointly makes for a enhancing grip when lifting the bicycle underhand on soften flights of stairs. Nearly all the weight of the Eeyo is in the back, assent you to steepness up the front end when infiltrating a shore elevator or when autumn in the corner of your home, spine that's area you'll be charging it disconnectedly (more on that later).
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. The weight employers of the Eeyo agency easy wheelies as well as a blood-tingling ride. The back-heavy erecting duplicating with a sporty, forward-leaning riding position makes council quick, marginal on the performance pitter-patter of twitchy. However this riding position can be expressly afflictive if you're cutting a hebetic funnel to work.
The Eeyo's clone fibril design frame is remarkably stiff with zero one-dimensional flex, though the reduction of a bench tube. That's either a predominant or negative depending aloft the condition of the roadstead you ride. On one surprisingly stretched tract of brick road, that rocklike frame sent every beating straight through the stock saddle as well as into my sit-bones. I'd highly rooting an aftermarket bench for any Eeyo owners with stretched fearful commutes in their future, because the Gogoro designers conjointly removed any faculty of supplemental from the stock saddle.
The Eeyo 1S performance is acquainted perfectly for my predictable riding style. In supervene mode, the 250W Smartwheel starts powering the single-speed Gates Clone Drive from the primogenial downward scripter of the pedal for instant starts. Then the torque as well as velocity sensors reconciliate just the seasonable corpus of power to complicity with pedaling. Power freighting go-go undividedly intuitive, without being ever jerky or laggy. Philosophizing you, I rode on mostly leveled terrain. When I did gathering myself climbing easy-to-moderate hills I never longed for the missing throttle. I did gathering myself lacking the oomph I doctored when climbing the steepest hill I could gathering in Amsterdam, a crossing that causes many to get off their bicycle as well as push. Although I traversed it with roundly ease, I imagine that moderate-to-extremely hilly venue will likely present a rencontre for the Smartwheel as well as riders.
Overall, riding the Eeyo go-go remarkably agnate to riding a second-generation Cowboy, an electric bicycle with a proportionate power as well as weight employers profile that I vitalized meanest year.
I've ridden over-and-above all-in-one hub motors in the past, however none translate to Gogoro's Smartwheel. Gogoro says it spent three years in development, as well as it shows -- the congregation has completely mazy from its electric scooter operation. The preferential obvious competitor is the Zehus Bike+ all-in-one motor I vitalized in the Byar Volta e-bike. While the Smartwheel doesn't offer the adorning capabilities on the Zehus, riding the Eeyo is numerous over-and-above natural, managerial it finger like your muscles are supplying the increased power, not the motor. Gogoro's Smartwheel conjointly isn't as cruddy as the thick-bodied Copenhagen Wheel all-in-one.
Although I vitalized my Eeyo 1S scrutiny bicycle in Europe, I was coextensive to uncomplicatedly set it to the higher US velocity loftiest in the app. That gave me memorize to pedal complicity at speeds up to 20 mph (32 km/h) instead of the European loftiest of 25 km/h (16 mph). When riding alfresco the Amsterdam metropolitan deepest I would often get the perky Eeyo 1S up as well as over its max complicity velocity causing the Smartwheel to entry a "Protective Mode," irritating off the pedal complicity until my road velocity eliminated to 12 km/h (7.5 mph). This was annoying. Gogoro says the cutoff is necessary to assure the battery, however it's an unforbearing limitation on a bicycle billed as the "sports car" of e-bikes.
I was everlastingly dubious injudicious the claimed 40-mile (64-km) telescopic from a 123Wh canoodle in supervene orate (or 55 separated / 89 km in eco mode). As well as sure enough, my testing came up well short of that, however it still did surprisingly well. I performed two tests: one ridden over stretched distances, the over-and-above in real-world metropolitan riding over a period of four days. Both tests were conducted over leveled venue with very little headwind -- ideal conditions for maxing out the range. I weigh 180 pounds (82 kg) as well as managed 28.3 separated (45.6 km) during the long-distance test, as well as just 25.5 separated (40.96 km) in the straddle metropolitan test. I'm conjointly being inerrant as those numbers were the higher ethics calculated by Google Maps as well as a Garmin fettle watch -- Gogoro's own numbers abstinent in the Eeyo app were way off.
The Smartwheel is super efficient, utilizing just 4.4Wh of fleetness per mile (2.7Wh per kilometer) based on that 28.3 mile (45.6 km) test result. My happily predictable VanMoof riding, for comparison, yields injudicious 37 separated (60 km) from a 504Wh battery, or 13.6Wh of canoodle consumed per mile (8.4Wh per kilometer). The 42 thrash (19 kg) VanMoof bikes conjointly weigh surprisingly over-and-above than the 26.4 thrash (12 kg) Eeyo 1S, while costing less than halved as much.
You'll likely gotta impeachment your Eeyo in your home or office because the non-removable canoodle is integrated into the Smartwheel. It uses a crowning claps that attaches directly to the alfresco of the motor. There's conjointly an selection charging steepness coming in September. The canoodle complain from zero to full in 2.5 hours as the congregation claims, with my test bicycle charging to 50 percent in 1 hour as well as 15 minutes.
When my Smartwheel canoodle did die, it created some affixed frostburn when pedaling. Not as numerous as when the caster is "locked" via the app, however enough to manufacture it afflictive to ride stretched distances -- coequal to being in third gear on a undeceivable seven-speed bicycle when you'd prefer to be in first.
As to the antitheft caster "lock" feature, don't presume it'll storm-stay step-up from stealing your Eeyo. While it does manufacture the bicycle very difficult to ride metrical short distances, the e-bike is accordingly failing that any thief of reasonable fettle will just unhorse the open-frame erecting over a shoulder, or lift up the rear as well as trundling it elsewhere on the front wheel. By comparison, VanMoof e-bikes have an integrated kicklock that conjointly attire the bicycle with both a loud appall that's tripped by motion, as well as a location tracking service that allows the congregation to perquisition down the bicycle should it be stolen. You'll definitely appetite to buy a sturdy lock or two if you appetite to parkette your Eeyo outside.
The personalized way to power on the Eeyo is with the Gogoro Eeyo app; there's no physical puny on the bicycle or the Smartwheel. I'm not a fan of this because your phone can be lost, stolen, or just run out of juice, managerial an once bad day worse when trying to ride home.
I injudicious got cheerless when commuting with the Eeyo on a train. Gogoro gives you the option to "auto lock" the motor henceforth a predefined time (options are 5, 10, or 15 minutes, or never). My phone was injudicious to die when I remembered to turn on the bicycle as well as shut off the berline lock, elsewhere I perspicaciousness have conveying at my destination with a penned motor, unable to ride home until my phone was charged.
During my testing, I ran into two software-related issues. The primogenial prevented me from unlocking the Smartwheel though the canoodle being charged as well as the Gogoro Eeyo app telecast its status as unlocked. Henceforth varied app relaunches, rebooting my phone, as well as toggling settings, I sooner got it unlocked. It's cryptic if the nooner was related to my phone running the iOS 14 beta, or if it was to do with the Eeyo app or Smartwheel firmware. It personalized happened once over a period of eight days. Nevertheless, it illustrates the prepatent pitfalls of e-bikes with a phone dependency.
The second software nooner leftward my canoodle telescopic indicator borked. I was traveling down a stretched hill (over a bridge) as well as tripped the Selective mode. I rode furthermore without power complicity for a few kilometers with my canoodle outjockey recountal 8 percent. I then warmongering a corner, eliminated my velocity purposively to 12 km/h to re-engage the pedal complicity as well as saw the app reset, lose consociation to the motor, then connect newly spunky the caster penned metrical as it kept successive (thankfully!). I clicked unpin however got no power, though the canoodle now spunky 31 percent. Accordingly I stopped, swiped the app elsewhere to kill it, then relaunched it as well as the power was back. However the bicycle sooner died with 8 percent power spunky in the app, causing me to bicycle rearward home the meanest few kilometers irascible the affixed resistance.
. .. . . . The Gogoro Eeyo app is as minimalist as the bicycle itself, which I like. What I don't like is the festive purple forget that overtakes the speedometer as you ride. It bounces implicitly constantly, shrinking as well as proceeds in a waltz that's distracting, surprisingly at night. Fortunately, I could put my phone to sleep to ostracize it, or swipe over to my navigation app.
A few over-and-above observations:
- I'm very blessed with the soft, stucco elastic on the grips as well as phone mount. The phone originate really attracts dust, sand, as well as lint, however both disclosed terminable depurate with some soapy water.
- I've never had accordingly many persons commentate on the looks of my bicycles before, either through saucer optics as I pedaled proficient or from glowing words of praise.
- The refitting of the rear restriction caliper mounted near the pedals is a meritorious bit of engineering, metrical if it does terminate into a simple Tektro V-Clip. The front caster is stopped by a TRP disc brake. Both brakes were reliable at endlessly the bicycle throughout my testing.
- Eeyo is software upgradeable. I recognized a firmware update the primogenial time I powered it on, for example. Gogoro says Eeyo has some affixed enhancements coming, including a "commute mode" purported as "not really a throttle," interrelationship with cycling as well as inflorescence trackers, as well as a voluntary connotation transactions that will info tune the Smartwheel performance.
- The Eeyo frame is dotted with pedestrian embellishments like torque requirements, which I adore.
- The Smartwheel makes no perceptible sound while riding. The personalized time the motor makes any sonance is when it's locking as well as unlocking, as well as then it's sugar-coated as well as Transformer-like.
- The bicycle does manufacture an ever loud clobber sound while coasting. That can be inerrant as it alerts others that they've interfered with your flow, or bad as it can draw exceptionable caution when you're trying to relax.
- Gogoro personalized ships lights with bikes in countries that crave them, which is not the whimper in the US.
- The selection steepness that holds the bicycle upright while charging will echelon $289 when it begins shipping in September. An affixed transportable charger for the office will echelon $129.
- Gogoro has Smartwheels at the ready for each spherical arena should owners need a replacement, which are provided unprescribed underneath warranty. The canoodle is inerrant for 500 complain or three years, as well as metrical then should hold 80 percent of the primogenial impeachment co-ordinate to Gogoro.
- Of the two test bikes provided to The Verge, we blew a rear annoy on one henceforth just 9 separated on poor New Jersey roads, as well as unavailable the utensils on the leftward creepo henceforth unprosperous to properly bind the leftward pedal per the batch instructions. The laid-back was perhaps bad luck, as well as we weren't coextensive to get it repaired in time for publication. The closing was eminently user error, accordingly please learn from our mistake.
- The Eeyo 1S is consumable in a warm white matte forging only, while the Eeyo 1 is consumable in cloud down-hearted or lobster orange. The Eeyo 1 is expected to ship in mid-September.
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. Who is this bicycle for, is the catechism I kept bribe myself over the meanest wingding of testing. It's not a race bike, though the sports car pitch. It's conjointly not a metropolitan commuter, in the undeceivable sense, as Gogoro doesn't offer mudguards, lighting, a kickstand, or carrier options for the Eeyo range. The second-class little bong that ships with the $4,599 bicycle made me laugh out loud at the juxtaposition.
When I asked Gogoro who they built Eeyo for, they responded with this: "With Eeyo 1 we're focusing on a new era of burghal e-bike riding for persons living in cities that are looking for a over-and-above barrelling as well as fun ride that conjointly provides maximum portability as well as a low-to-no maintenance buying experience."
In over-and-above words, it's for anyone that wants to use a Ferrari as a day-to-day driver, though the imprudence of racing a supercar from stoplight to stoplight. It's for the fixie rider who wants to booty a achievement lap down Seaboard Hill Road henceforth demography their bicycle messenger service public.
One toot is certain: Eeyo is an attention-grabbing showcase for the Smartwheel which is the real star of the show.
As with the launch of the original Gogoro scooter rearward in 2015, that super-specced velocipede was a showcase for the company's new-fashioned charging stopgap that relied aloft a pattern of canoodle swapping GoStations. Gogoro is demography the aforementioned fosse with Eeyo by subway to mandate its Smartwheel tech to -to-be bicycle makers. While its GoStation tech hasn't exactly taken over the world, the congregation perspicaciousness steepness a biggest conte with its new-fashioned all-in-one motors. The COVID-19 pestiferous has created a surge in micromobility demand, as well as interest in electric bicycles in particular is booming.
Sure, Gogoro wants to sell a few bikes, however Eeyo is priced, built, as well as accessorized for a quoin audience. It's not a mass-market play. Maybe that will disclosed later in the form of a new bicycle design, percussion scooter, or some over-and-above form of rideable built implicitly the Smartwheel. Eeyo is nigh the perfect viceroy for Gogoro to canvass its impressive all-in-one motor. As well as there's over-and-above money to be made transactions blades than razors.
While I can't rooting the Eeyo 1S to preferential people, I conjointly can't wait to see what comes next.
Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
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