Gogoro Eeyo 1 a stylish electric bike for the city

The future’s bright, the future’s electric. A phrase that Taiwanese company Gogoro, makers of the Eeyo 1 would agree with.

I had a brief chance to try out the gorgeous Gogoro Eeyo 1 on a chilly spring day. Why gorgeous? And are looks important? Am I being shallow? Possibly, but let me explain.

Electric bikes are here and they’re here to stay; they’re just too useful. On or off road, touring or commuting, or just getting around, there’s an e-bike version. Many of the e-bikes that I see around are very…practical, in the looks department. So when the guys from Greenewheels asked me to take a look at the Eeyo 1 I was expecting something…practical.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Eeyo 1 is a good looking beast. It has a great looking full carbon frame and forks that comes in four simple colours. There’s a rear-wheel based motor connected to a single chainring running a Gates belt drive. Minimal graphics and hidden cables ties it all together nicely, looking so different to some of the more, agricultural offerings out there.

What’s the ride like?

The Eeyo 1 is aimed at the urban rider, whether commuting or flitting around town. At 12.5kg it is light for an e-bike, which makes flitting easy! Mechanical disc-brakes up front and V-brakes on the rear will bring bring your flitting to a stop. And it rolls along on a set of 24 spoke wheels with 30mm tyres. Sizing on the Eeyo 1 is unusual. The frame only comes in one size, you adapt it by using different length seat-posts. The last may be a little disconcerting if you’re used to custom frames and frame-fits, but it worked for me and my 172cm height. Remember, this is a practical town bike.

And nipping around town is what the Eeyo 1 is made for. When I picked up the Eeyo 1 I started riding it as if it was my normal road bike. You know, charging around, blasting up-hills, generally treating it as a race bike. But after half an hour of riding like a roadie, I realised that this is not what the Eeyo 1 is designed for. It’s made for short trips around town, from your city-centre loft to the coffee shop. Ok that’s a cliche, but it’s kind of true.

Don’t think of it as a vehicle for covering long distances at speed. It’s a nimble beast that will handle short and twisty rides around town. And in this it excels. The light weight frame – combined with the 250W motor – means you are up to speed with a flick of the pedals. And once there, holding 15mph is easy; 19mph outside of the UK and EU.

In fact I was able to breeze along the seafront of my seaside hometown into a more than brisk headwind, with hardly any effort. Try that on your aero road bike! Yes, it’s cheating, but that’s my problem. E-bikes are not about KoMs and training plans. They’re about getting around town without getting a sweat on, without the lycra, without the stress.

The Gogoro app

And how do you know how much charge you have left and how do you select what power setting you want? Well that all runs from an app, so there’s no remote on your bars. You download the app, pair the motor with your bike and you’re ready to go. Swiping up and down on your screen increases or decreases how much assistance you get. The display will also show how much charge you have left, range estimation and notifications. You can customise the display to show what you want and it can also pair with an Apple watch. And it will lock itself after standing idle for a few minutes, which is a handy feature.

I only had the Eeyo for a few hours, so can’t give you a full run-down on how it behaves long-term. I got an hour of riding in, which included some 12 and 16% climbs, riding into a strong headwind, all on max-power of course! At the end of the hour it was showing 1% power left, but there was still enough left to keep riding. Presumably there is a ‘reserve’ built in, just in case. Charging is via Gogoro’s own quick-click charger, which takes 2.5 hours for a full charge from empty. It’s light enough to carry in a backpack, so charge up at work and ready for the ride home.

So, although I only had the Eeyo for a short time I was impressed. It is a great bike to get around town without any stress. No worrying about parking when you get to your destination and being an ebike, you won’t turn up sweaty to that meeting. And it will look great when you do get there!

Check out the Gogoro website to see some more of the Taiwanese company’s electric transportation ideas. And for more details, go to the Gogoro Eeyo website