If you’re already familiar with Gogoro, it’s probably from their hugely popular electric scooters and novel battery-swapping program. In their domestic market of Taiwan, Gogoro dominates the electric scooter market and touts over 1 billion miles (1.6 billion km) traveled on their 300,000 electric scooters with over 100 million battery swaps so far. Now Gogoro is applying their electric two-wheeler expertise to the e-bike market, today announcing the innovative new Gogoro Eeyo 1 and Eeyo 1s electric bikes.
Gogoro Eeyo 1 and 1s unveiled
The new Eeyo line of electric bikes from Gogoro focuses on high tech and ultra-lightweight design, to the tune of just 26 lb (11.9 kg) per bike.
In a call with Electrek, Gogoro’s founder and CEO Horace Luke explained that the Eeyo e-bike is intended for e-bike commuters who want a quick, lightweight e-bike that offers a premium experience over other brands. There are many cargo, utility, and mountain e-bikes out there, and Gogoro decided to take their e-bike in a different direction, aiming for a premium ride experience with an ultralight design.
This isn’t an e-bike that you wait for the elevator with at the train station. It’s 10 steps, you can just toss the Eeyo over your shoulder and jog up the stairs with it.
The word premium might be an understatement here. The Eeyo 1 features a carbon fiber frame and fork, while the Eeyo 1s also includes carbon fiber rims, seat post, and handlebar. Pretty much anything that can be made out of carbon fiber is made out of carbon fiber. The frame also uses a novel design that removes the typical seat tube.
Other than the extra carbon and the paint color options, the two models are otherwise nearly identical.
Both feature a Gates carbon belt drive transmission with a torque sensor for ultra-smooth pedal assist as well as front disc brakes and rear V brakes.
The inclusion of V-brakes on the rear struck me as a bit odd at first, but they make room for the biggest innovation of all: the Gogoro Eeyo Smartwheel.
The Smartwheel hides the motor, battery, and controller in the hub of the rear wheel, giving the Gogoro Eeyo 1 its clean look. It offers Sport Mode and Eco Mode, and uses the bike’s torque sensor to provide more accurate power application based on the rider’s own power output. The motor propels the bike up to 19 mph in the US, or a slightly slower 25 km/h in the EU.
The battery is rather small compared to other e-bikes, at just 123Wh. But Gogoro claims that by designing the entire powertrain in-house, their system has been made efficient enough to reach as far as 40 miles (64 km) in Sport Mode or 55 miles (88 km) in Eco Mode. That range equates to an efficiency of around 3 Wh/mi — an efficiency that I have hit before on other e-bikes, and so this range is entirely possible with enough rider input — despite sounding fairly extreme.
Charging can be accomplished with either an innovative proximity charger that snaps around the hub (no hidden charge ports), or via a Stand Charger. The Stand Charger is actually really cool; you just drop the bike on the stand, and it starts charging while also serving as a neat way to display and park the bike.
The Smartwheel also features a proximity lock, so that the motor locks the bike when the owner walks away, preventing a thief from easily riding it off.
The Eeyo 1 and the Smartwheel are both designed with a “worry-free” philosophy, including choosing parts that are as durable and long-lasting as possible, such as the Gates carbon belt drive. The Smartwheel is also capable of over-the-air updates to future-proof it for firmware updates.
For now, the Smartwheel is only available on the Gogoro Eeyo, but the company plans to offer it to other OEMs in the future, allowing them to design more creative e-bikes. One of Gogoro’s specialties has always been creating electric vehicle hardware that can be incorporated by other OEMs into new EVs. They’ve demonstrated this with their modular Gogoro batteries and have now done it again with an entire electric bicycle drivetrain housed in a bike wheel.
Gogoro will begin taking pre-orders for the Eeyo 1 and 1s in mid-June. Shipping is expected to begin in July, and the bikes will be available in the US, Europe, and Taiwan. The Eeyo 1 is priced at $3,899, while the additional carbon fiber wheels, handlebar, and seat post of the Eeyo 1s bump the price up to $4,599.
Electrek’s Take
Obviously this isn’t going to be an e-bike for everyone, but it’s a beautiful and impressive e-bike nonetheless.
Companies like Rad Power Bikes have the “everyman” e-bike segment on lock. And I think it was smart for Gogoro to avoid competing in that category. Instead, Horace Luke explained to me that they wanted to create a premium e-bike that made no sacrifices. And I think they got almost all the way there.
To be fair, some sacrifices were made. There’s no multi-speed transmission and the battery is rather small. But I think Gogoro made up for those two shortcomings well. Multi-speed transmissions, while nice, aren’t as necessary on e-bikes that can use their extra power to overcome a lack of lower gears with higher torque. And the small battery is offset by the fact that this is an ultra-efficient, lightweight, pedal-assisted e-bike. I don’t think 123Wh would cut it on a throttle e-bike, but I ride my personal pedal assist e-bike with a 180Wh battery all the time, and I never run out of juice in the city.
When it comes to pricing, I’m not jumping for joy, but I also think $3,899 is reasonable for what you’re getting. Look at it this way, every one of these things adds to the price: carbon fiber frame and fork, Gates belt drive, custom designed high-efficiency motor, hidden battery, proximity electronic locking, wireless software updates, novel charger, etc. The list goes on, and when I first saw the spec sheet, I was preparing myself for the shock of a $5k+ price tag. We’ve seen e-bikes with higher prices yet that offer a lot less all the time.
And ultimately, this isn’t meant to be a budget e-bike. This is for someone who buys a Model S, not a Nissan Leaf. It’s a premium e-bike that offers features that will appeal to people who actually cycle daily. If you just want an electric beach cruiser, this isn’t the bike for you. There are other good options for those out there. But if you want a convenient and lightweight daily driver e-bike to get some good fitness on your way to work, and you want something built to last — and this could very well be it.
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts on the Gogoro Eeyo 1 in the comment section below!
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments