
- REVIEWS
My eBike Journey: Gocycle G2 vs Haibike sDuro Full Nine
By Martin Brown |
Where it started?
It was late September 2014, my brother was visiting for the weekend and we decided to pop up to Covent Garden and do something touristy. As we walked through Covent Garden, we passed a Smart Car display, and there were a couple of Smart e-bikes on display too. I hadn't really done any cycling since the early nineties. I briefly tried cycling again back in 2007, but this only lasted a few days! So I wouldn't say that I was that mad about cycling, but the idea of an electric bike seemed quite appealing.The next step?
While surfing the web, I came across the Gocycle G2, and decided to take a closer look. So the following weekend I went to the closest dealer to try out the Gocycle G2. It was surprisingly easy to ride! It really was fun, but it seemed expensive (for me at least). After much deliberation I popped back to the dealer the following weekend and came away with my new Gocycle G2. I cycled home in the pouring rain with big smile on my face.To sum up the Gocycle?

Longer term thoughts?
Now that I've lived with it for a year I can say that there are some points that really stand out.
I'm guessing the range may be a bit short for some. I probably get about 15 miles, but obviously this will vary depending on hills and the level of assistance. The Gocycle really opened my eyes to the benefits of e-bikes, so much so that I bought another e-bike!The Gocycle is a great little bike that attracts a lot of attention!
What did you go for?
Back in March 2015 I had been surfing the web again when I came across the Haibike range of mountain e-bikes and I was curious about the crank drive system. I phoned e-bikeshop to see if they could give me a bit more information about the benefits of the crank drive over the hub drive. I spoke to a very helpful chap named Martin and he simply said I should try it out. They were organising a demo day on the South Downs and Martin suggested that I come along and try a few different models.How did it go?
The Haibikes are a very different proposition to the Gocycle. The demo day was a lot of fun, and I came away trying to work out how I was going to convince my wife to let me buy another e-bike so quickly after the first one, because my mind was definitely made up.The crank drive kicks in as soon as you start to pedal, which really helps if you are trying to push off on a steep hill. The ride is really smooth and everything feels so tight. The range is surprisingly good. It's just an awesome bit of engineering.The next week I took delivery of the Haibike sDuro FullNine. It is a great bike!

Do I prefer the Gocycle or Haibike?
That's actually quite a difficult question to answer. The Gocycle is just so easy to live with and is bursting with great ideas, not to mention that it is possibly the most stylish bike I've seen. On the other hand the Haibike is a marvel that you feel you could ride just about anywhere. They both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I'm not sure I could choose one over the other. I use them both fairly equally. I love both of these bikes and I don't plan on parting with either of them anytime soon.To sum up my eBike experience?

I've seen articles which suggest it is for those people that aren't very fit for one reason or another, but I don't really agree with that assessment. An e-bike is a really efficient means of personal transport for anyone, much better in the city than a car, or even a motorbike. With thanks to David for this interesting article covering both the Gocycle & Haibike FullNine.If you haven't considered an e-bike, I would thoroughly recommend that you do.