I haven"t yet had an opportunity to ride a Go-Cycle, the electric-assist bicycle designed by Forumla One designer Richard Thorpe, but it seems like everyone else has. I"ve now seen three reviews for the Go-Cycle (at TreeHugger, the Times Online and The Guardian), and if you live in a hilly town, or just aren"t a fan of pushing your quads to their limit, you should check them out.

The consensus is almost entirely positive. But lets start out with the cons, just for fun. First, it"s pretty heavy. Though it"s designed with light-weight materials, the battery and motor make it difficult to cary up and down stairs. However, you can disconnect the battery (the size and weight of a brick) and cary it up and down stairs for charging at home while the bike stays on the street. The £1198 sticker price might also make you a bit wary. There are, after all, cars that are almost cheaper than that now. Some riders wished there were higher gears, and it"s more complicated to fix if it ever breaks down.

The good news is that it"s extremely intuitive, can add power to your ride for up to 20 miles, charges in less than three hours, and works just fine as a regular bike once the battery is dead. The sleek, collapsible design will also (apparently) turn heads and make life in a small apartment simpler.

And for those of you hard core folks whol don"t believe bikes should be tained by the scourge of coal-fired electricity, just think of this as an alternative to an electric vehicle which would, of course, use much, much more power.

Via TreeHugger

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