I am not a road bike guy. I prefer a mountain bike's wider tires, thicker frame, and front or full suspension. I grew up in the country; it's what I'm used to.
But now I live in New York where I have a small apartment and an elevator that I need to finagle a bike into and out of. Here, in this environment, weight is everything.
When Gogoro asked if I wanted to try the Eeyo 1s, a lighter, more premium version of the Eeyo 1, I was curious about how it would feel to ride such a light bike.
I've owned both aluminum and steel road bikes, but never a carbon fiber bike, and never anything in this weight range.
The day I received the Eeyo 1s for testing was a cold and rainy one. I busted out my best Gore-Tex outfit and retrieved the bike from a shop in Tribeca.
The first thing I noticed was that this bike actually fit me. Some long-time readers will remember that Vanmoof S3's frame was almost comically large for me, and I'm an extremely average 5' 10", though I have shorter legs and a longer torso than most.
It isn't difficult to find a bike that fits, but it is sometimes difficult to find an electric bike that fits, as the situation with the Vanmoof illustrates.
The second thing I noticed about the Eeyo 1s is, of course, how light the bike is. But it's not just the weight; the bike also uses a belt drive instead of a chain and gears.
These two things together give the bike an extremely interesting feel. The fixed 50 / 20 gear ratio gives you torque; standing on the pedals and really shoving (like I'm used to with my mountain bike) will almost lift the front tire off the ground.
This torque combined with the light-yet-stiff carbon fiber frame means you can really manhandle this bike. You can get on, shove off, and whip the bike around without fiddling with any gears, and it all feels absolutely perfect.
Many readers will probably be unfamiliar with a bike that uses a belt instead of a chain, as it's a pretty recent trend and makes the most sense in e-bikes.
So, you might think that the belt would stretch since it looks like it's made of rubber. It does not. It doesn't flex, it doesn't stretch, it doesn't make any sound, and it doesn't require any maintenance.
This means that all of your energy is reaching the ground. It's brilliant.
Speaking of power, the Eeyo 1s' 123.4 Wh battery and 250 watt motor are, to be blunt, small. Puny. Diminutive.
But when combined with the belt drive, the 50 / 20 gear ratio, and some pretty stellar motor control, the pedal assist feels really great. In fact, the Eeyo 1s doesn't really feel like an e-bike at all. With just a fraction of a pedal, it just goes.
Remember when I said that I picked up the Eeyo 1s on a cold, rainy day? Well, the weather did play an important role; in the 12 miles that I rode home from Tribeca that day, the battery drained about 68 percent.
When e-bike manufacturers estimate range, they usually do so under "ideal conditions," which means a flat road and warm, dry weather. On this day it was 40 degrees and rainy, which I still consider to be riding weather, but is clearly far from ideal.
The bike doesn't suddenly become useless when it gets cold, the range is just drastically reduced. Not a deal-breaker, just something to keep in mind.
The Gogoro Eeyo 1s lives in a deceptively competitive niche. At $4,599, it is expensive, even when compared to established brands like Cannondale. In fact, you can get Cannondale's SuperSix Neo 3 with twice the battery (which is removable), the same motor output (250 watts), for $100 less and it only weighs a pound more.
That said, the SuperSix Neo 3 doesn't have a belt drive and doesn't look nearly as clean and tidy as the Eeyo 1s. It should also be mentioned that the regular Eeyo 1, which still sports a carbon fiber frame, undercuts the SuperSix Neo 3 considerably at $3,899.
The Gogoro Eeyo 1s is probably not for the hardcore cyclist that's thinking of going electric. Instead, the Eeyo 1s is far better suited to someone who doesn't have a bike yet but wants one, preferably an electric one.
For those people — people who just want something great to ride around the city — this bike will blow your socks off. It feels incredible to ride on a nice fall day. If you're not a "bike person" and you've got the money, the Gogoro Eeyo 1s should absolutely be on your list.