Nick Francis

Motoring editor of The Sun

 “I was particularly impressed with Gocycle’s acceleration, speed and general ease of use and being able to customise it with an app on your phone – now that is clever.”

Peddling down a crowded London street, I looked behind me to see a bus fast approaching. Dreading the cumbersome vehicle rattling past me and clumsily cutting across my path as it pulled into a bus stop ahead, I put my thumb down and I was away. In that moment I realised my Gocycle would not only shorten my journey times and conserve my energy, but would also make me feel safer and more confident on the capital’s intimidating roads.

As the Motoring Editor of The Sun, I’m obviously a committed petrol head and more at ease on four wheels. So I have to admit I was slightly cynical about electric bikes before I began using the Gocycle. My day job involves testing performance cars such as Porsches, Audis and Jaguars. I’m also partial to the power of two wheel performance superbikes.

But once I started flying around town on my Gocycle in the most hassle free way I’ve got to say I’m a total convert. Journeys to and from meetings suddenly became a real joy – fresh air and the wind on your face beats a smelly tube or a traffic jam any time.

The ride itself was also impressively smooth. I’m fairly sure I was the envy of cyclists and pedestrians, who could only watch as I whizzed past them; in crowded cities the ebike is just a brilliant alternative.

I was particularly impressed with Gocycle’s acceleration, speed and general ease of use and being able to customise it with an app on your phone – now that is clever.  If you’re feeling tired you can make the bike do all the work or if you feel like some exercise you can work with this clever machine.

I found myself using peddles only in the tight back streets, letting the electricity do the work on the busy main roads and combining the two when it came to the dreaded hills.

It has to be said the Gocycle is also pretty stylish for an ebike – no visible clunky battery stuck to the frame. All the curves are considered and for me it looks pretty damn cool.

And when you’ve had enough it folds down simply and you can chuck it in the boot of your car – now that really is my kind of bike!