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E-bikes are getting better and better: greater torque, slimmer batteries, more intelligent stem-mounted control panels. But not every consumer demands such feature accretion. Simplicity is sometimes preferable, and that’s clearly the philosophy behind the design of the Gtech e-bike.
While most bike companies add complexity, Gtech – an industry outsider – has taken the opposite approach. (As proof of its outsider status Gtech describes its electric bike as "electronic".) The Gtech e-bike has hub-powered pedal-assist, and little else. It’s a stripped-back machine – no gears, no chain, and no fat frame tubes. Instead, the bike is slim, light, and simple to understand and operate. There are just two modes – eco and not eco – and the 200Wh battery isn’t there to power you for a long day in the saddle, it has just enough juice for a few short urban trips, perfectly acceptable for commuting or shopping.
The Gtech e-bike has a Gates Carbon belt drive instead of a chain, and the battery is shaped like a water bottle and sits where a water bottle would. Critically, the Gtech e-bike costs a shade under £1,000.
Gtech, a nimble rival to Dyson, advertises on telly, and the company’s ads for the e-bike stress its simplicity. The company is selling e-bikes to non-cyclists. But then this is also touted as the demographic that’s supposed to be attracted into bike shops by the latest e-bikes.
The Gtech e-bike might be made by a vacuum-cleaner company but it certainly doesn’t suck. Even the sizing has been simplified – it’s one-size-fits-all (17-inch for the step-though version, and 20-inch for the top-tube model) and one colour (white). At 6kg/35lbs it’s heavy for a hybrid but pleasingly light for an e-bike.
Bike-brand e-bikes are big-ticket items and have given a much needed boost to IBD bottom lines, but with the latest e-bikes dripping with high-tech (even e-bike helmets are now becoming feature-packed) I argue there are now too many bikes in the "better and best" categories and not enough in the "good" category.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLW75qNKWYk
While bike companies fit denser batteries to expand range, and increase torque too, Gtech has taken the "if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it-approach". The company’s e-bike has been available for two years and it remains as simple today as when introduced. (The company also has a £1899.99 eMTB but, this too, is stripped back compared to many bike brand eMTBs.)
Hub-powered e-bikes may now seem passé to many in the industry but, to many consumers, the difference between the performance benefits of mid-motors and the simplicity of a hub-motor are very possibly not worth the extra expense, or the steeper learning curve of finding out what all the (superfluous?) bells and whistles do.
Clearly, there’s a market for feature-rich e-bikes, but adding complexity – and costs – won’t attract customers who are just after a little boost not the extra features now considered essential by bike industry techies. It’s also worth noting that the Gtech’s assistance appears to cut out before 15.5mph – perhaps this is a recognition that not every e-bike buyer is obsessed with speed?
Might the market expand were bike companies to also produce no-frills e-bikes? I think the direct-to-consumer appeal of Gtech’s "electronic" bicycle shows that it would.
