Hi there I'm new to this, let me just say amazingly explanatory and well informed forum! Really brilliant! Hats off to Court and everyone involved!
My name is Marleen, I am from The Netherlands so you could say naturally an absolute bike junkie, but more importantly in this context, an avid Electra fan!
Because my still superfit and equally Electra loving 72 yrs young ;-) mum is currently looking for a new ebike I ended up here. Main reasons for her wanting a new ebike are more stability and more safety. This partly because of some minor and major incidents that happened in the past year that sadly ended up making her (and me about her) feel less secure on her bike.
Her current ebike is a Gazelle Innergy Chamonix frameheight 49cm and she has been really very satisfied with its flawless(!) performance over the passed 6 years. Used it daily and extensively for commuting, leisure, for longer and shorter rides at home in The Low Countries but also in more hilly conditions abroad.
The only downside turned out to be the fact that with this bike she is not able to reach the ground while remaining seated in her saddle at the same time. Something that, as we recently discovered, sadly is still not possible when she tried a Gazelle in their current smallest frame height 46cm. She is 163cm btw. I also should mention that a frame height of 46 and 49cm are considered fitting and appropriate for a person of 163cm. Luckily because she also owns an ELECTRA cruiser bike she knows that there is actually a bike that does offer the possibility of having your feet flat on the ground whilst being firmly seated! Also known as Electra's 'flat foot technology'.
Another very positive aspect of the ELECTRA cruiser are its fat frank tires! The relatively smaller tires on her Gazelle can pose quite a challenge, especially with all the tramrails we Dutch happen to have in all of our city centres. They can get stuck in there pretty easily and when it has been raining, not too uncommon here, you can imagine that can happen even quicker as goes for the risk of slipping. The fat frank balloon tires just give you an instant boost of confidence for they immediately enhance your stability, on and off road, plus they act as an extra cushion protecting you from experiencing every bump in the road yourself.
So after the most recent incident, where she ended up hurting herself after toppling over (because she simply wasn't able to reach the ground quickly enough while she was still seated) we decided it was time to look for a new ebike. Preferably one with all the aforementioned benefits of her ELECTRA.
Only then did we discover ELECTRA now actually have an ebike range! Now even combined with the top end Bosch motor system. Already familiar to us because it is also used on the Urban Arrow Family ebike we use. It really is just a super neat and frankly, in our opinion, one of the best motorsystems out there for an ebike. The combination of an Electra bike with its flat foot technology and the fat frank tires combined with the top end Bosch motor just has to be the best of both worlds!
So after we narrowed our search down to the ebike collection of ELECTRA, that are all called Go! btw, we now face 'the problem' of choosing just one of the three available models. There is the already slightly older ELECTRA Townie Go! (already reviewed by Court in another great video) but now you also have the ELECTRA Townie Commute Go! And there is the ELECTRA Loft Go! Online I could, up until now, only find a short introduction of the two latest additions by ELECTRA themselves, but this consisted of a mere summing up of some of the specs.
Now luckily Court (after some serious stalking on my part ;-) has promised to do his review on (one of) the new two Go! models in the nearby future. Depending on whether and how soon he can get his hands on (one of) these bikes ofcourse.
But this would be extra nice because right now there are still some questions about the pro's and cons between these three models.
The newly added models offer hydraulic disc brakes. On paper this looks like an upgrade, but is it also an upgrade in reality? Then there is the alteration to the steer; the new models sport the so called 'café bar steer' it is less straight than the one on the original Townie so what does this mean for your actual seating position? Then there is the difference in the used tires; while the original Townie Go! Sports the famous 26 inch Fat frank balloons the newly added models seem to have less fat tires and am I right to assume they are 28 inch? And what about the differences in total weight?
These are all technical differences apart from the obvious visual differences between the various models of course and the two frame options; step over (male) and the lower step thru (female)
Plus they all come in different colours.
And some questions about the Go! series as a whole.
Like do they also offer walk assist? It is not mentioned anywhere, but I know from our Urban Arrow Family bike, that all Bosch powered ebikes provide this rather handy feature. In The Netherlands f.e. we have quite a lot of underground bike cellars not only near train stations or other public buildings but also underneath quite a lot of appartment buildings in the city. So having to push your electric bike up a pretty steep hill on a daily base is not a very nice idea. Especially when you don't travel light in the first place, or when you're a bit older. Plus the average ebike is just always a bit on the heavy side compared to a regular bike, so a little walk assistance seems like a very good idea and would be a very neat feature on the Go! series indeed!
On a more general note I'd like to add that sadly ELECTRA is, up until now, not very present in my country The Netherlands. Meaning test riding one of their ebikes here has up until now just been impossible. They currently only have one flagship store in Europe which is located in Hamburg Germany. In The Netherlands their official dealers only sell the bikes online meaning they want you to buy the bike first for only then will they order it for you and then they even refuse to take it back because 'they ordered it especially for you'. Meaning there is, up until now, no possibility to check these bikes out first or take them for a test ride prior to deciding if and what kind of model you would like to purchase.
I find this especially sad because the whole checking, trying, comparing and buying process of a bike could and should be such a nice and awesome experience in itself. It could also be such a priceless opportunity for a brand to show and sell themselves to its potential customers and to keep its fanbase happy!
I remember buying each and every bike I own exactly and with my first ELECTRA I even considered sleeping over in the garage. Ok so maybe Im a bit crazy, but just referring people to an anonymous online shop experience while you are marketing and selling a so called lifestyle bike does seem a bit odd? Or at least contradictory.
But I am an optimistic person so let's hope for some progress here and the introduction of some properly equipped ELECTRA (e)bikestores here in The Netherlands soon! For seriously not a day goes by while I'm out and about with my bike that I don't get some positive remarks on my ELECTRA wheels and let me tell you there are quite a lot of bicycles here in The Nethetlands. Just saying! Plus the potential market for safe and stable yet funky looking ebikes is pretty amazing here!
For now I am very much looking forward to watching Court his, no doubt awesome, review video on the newly added member(s) of the ELECTRA Go! Family and on discussing his findings (and those of other people who have had the opportunity to (test) ride any of these bikes and are willing to share) here further. And on informing whoever else is interested here about the further developments in this whole process. Maybe you could help us with your experiences or maybe you find yourself in a similar situation and our story could end up helping you along the way of finding your new ELECTRA ebike!
Keep on rolling ;-)
Marleen
My name is Marleen, I am from The Netherlands so you could say naturally an absolute bike junkie, but more importantly in this context, an avid Electra fan!
Because my still superfit and equally Electra loving 72 yrs young ;-) mum is currently looking for a new ebike I ended up here. Main reasons for her wanting a new ebike are more stability and more safety. This partly because of some minor and major incidents that happened in the past year that sadly ended up making her (and me about her) feel less secure on her bike.
Her current ebike is a Gazelle Innergy Chamonix frameheight 49cm and she has been really very satisfied with its flawless(!) performance over the passed 6 years. Used it daily and extensively for commuting, leisure, for longer and shorter rides at home in The Low Countries but also in more hilly conditions abroad.
The only downside turned out to be the fact that with this bike she is not able to reach the ground while remaining seated in her saddle at the same time. Something that, as we recently discovered, sadly is still not possible when she tried a Gazelle in their current smallest frame height 46cm. She is 163cm btw. I also should mention that a frame height of 46 and 49cm are considered fitting and appropriate for a person of 163cm. Luckily because she also owns an ELECTRA cruiser bike she knows that there is actually a bike that does offer the possibility of having your feet flat on the ground whilst being firmly seated! Also known as Electra's 'flat foot technology'.
Another very positive aspect of the ELECTRA cruiser are its fat frank tires! The relatively smaller tires on her Gazelle can pose quite a challenge, especially with all the tramrails we Dutch happen to have in all of our city centres. They can get stuck in there pretty easily and when it has been raining, not too uncommon here, you can imagine that can happen even quicker as goes for the risk of slipping. The fat frank balloon tires just give you an instant boost of confidence for they immediately enhance your stability, on and off road, plus they act as an extra cushion protecting you from experiencing every bump in the road yourself.
So after the most recent incident, where she ended up hurting herself after toppling over (because she simply wasn't able to reach the ground quickly enough while she was still seated) we decided it was time to look for a new ebike. Preferably one with all the aforementioned benefits of her ELECTRA.
Only then did we discover ELECTRA now actually have an ebike range! Now even combined with the top end Bosch motor system. Already familiar to us because it is also used on the Urban Arrow Family ebike we use. It really is just a super neat and frankly, in our opinion, one of the best motorsystems out there for an ebike. The combination of an Electra bike with its flat foot technology and the fat frank tires combined with the top end Bosch motor just has to be the best of both worlds!
So after we narrowed our search down to the ebike collection of ELECTRA, that are all called Go! btw, we now face 'the problem' of choosing just one of the three available models. There is the already slightly older ELECTRA Townie Go! (already reviewed by Court in another great video) but now you also have the ELECTRA Townie Commute Go! And there is the ELECTRA Loft Go! Online I could, up until now, only find a short introduction of the two latest additions by ELECTRA themselves, but this consisted of a mere summing up of some of the specs.
Now luckily Court (after some serious stalking on my part ;-) has promised to do his review on (one of) the new two Go! models in the nearby future. Depending on whether and how soon he can get his hands on (one of) these bikes ofcourse.
But this would be extra nice because right now there are still some questions about the pro's and cons between these three models.
The newly added models offer hydraulic disc brakes. On paper this looks like an upgrade, but is it also an upgrade in reality? Then there is the alteration to the steer; the new models sport the so called 'café bar steer' it is less straight than the one on the original Townie so what does this mean for your actual seating position? Then there is the difference in the used tires; while the original Townie Go! Sports the famous 26 inch Fat frank balloons the newly added models seem to have less fat tires and am I right to assume they are 28 inch? And what about the differences in total weight?
These are all technical differences apart from the obvious visual differences between the various models of course and the two frame options; step over (male) and the lower step thru (female)
Plus they all come in different colours.
And some questions about the Go! series as a whole.
Like do they also offer walk assist? It is not mentioned anywhere, but I know from our Urban Arrow Family bike, that all Bosch powered ebikes provide this rather handy feature. In The Netherlands f.e. we have quite a lot of underground bike cellars not only near train stations or other public buildings but also underneath quite a lot of appartment buildings in the city. So having to push your electric bike up a pretty steep hill on a daily base is not a very nice idea. Especially when you don't travel light in the first place, or when you're a bit older. Plus the average ebike is just always a bit on the heavy side compared to a regular bike, so a little walk assistance seems like a very good idea and would be a very neat feature on the Go! series indeed!
On a more general note I'd like to add that sadly ELECTRA is, up until now, not very present in my country The Netherlands. Meaning test riding one of their ebikes here has up until now just been impossible. They currently only have one flagship store in Europe which is located in Hamburg Germany. In The Netherlands their official dealers only sell the bikes online meaning they want you to buy the bike first for only then will they order it for you and then they even refuse to take it back because 'they ordered it especially for you'. Meaning there is, up until now, no possibility to check these bikes out first or take them for a test ride prior to deciding if and what kind of model you would like to purchase.
I find this especially sad because the whole checking, trying, comparing and buying process of a bike could and should be such a nice and awesome experience in itself. It could also be such a priceless opportunity for a brand to show and sell themselves to its potential customers and to keep its fanbase happy!
I remember buying each and every bike I own exactly and with my first ELECTRA I even considered sleeping over in the garage. Ok so maybe Im a bit crazy, but just referring people to an anonymous online shop experience while you are marketing and selling a so called lifestyle bike does seem a bit odd? Or at least contradictory.
But I am an optimistic person so let's hope for some progress here and the introduction of some properly equipped ELECTRA (e)bikestores here in The Netherlands soon! For seriously not a day goes by while I'm out and about with my bike that I don't get some positive remarks on my ELECTRA wheels and let me tell you there are quite a lot of bicycles here in The Nethetlands. Just saying! Plus the potential market for safe and stable yet funky looking ebikes is pretty amazing here!
For now I am very much looking forward to watching Court his, no doubt awesome, review video on the newly added member(s) of the ELECTRA Go! Family and on discussing his findings (and those of other people who have had the opportunity to (test) ride any of these bikes and are willing to share) here further. And on informing whoever else is interested here about the further developments in this whole process. Maybe you could help us with your experiences or maybe you find yourself in a similar situation and our story could end up helping you along the way of finding your new ELECTRA ebike!
Keep on rolling ;-)
Marleen
