Tenways CGO600 PRO - a workout on my commute
Created: 2024-03-17 Sun
Can I commute on this bike year round?Purchasing experience
I purchased this bike from Tenways US as part of a Black Friday deal. The bike came with the panier medium bag, rear carrier, fenders and kick stand for free for which I paid $1,468.00USD ($2,081.75CAD). I then shipped the bike to a post office in the US next to the Canadian border. I picked up the bike in person and I had to pay $95.99CAD import fees (I believe as the bike is not fully assembled it has a much lower duty fee when imported into Canada). The total price of the bike was $1,535.69USD ($2,177.74CAD).I ordered the bike on Nov 14, the bike shipped more or less the same day. I then picked it up from the border on Nov 18th. So I received the bike 4 days after I ordered it. The panier bag, rear carrier and kick stand came as separate shipments at about the same time.
All in all the purchasing experience was extremely smooth, fast and I had visibility into all the tracking information for all the items throughout the transit process. From my point of view any Canadian living close to the border can purchase one of these bikes very easily.
NOTE: The bike gets shipped in a sturdy triple ply cardboard box. Just in case you want to know if it will fit in your car, the dimensions of the box are 25 x 90 x 145 cms (9.9 x 35.5 x 57 in) and the box weights 28 kg (62 lbs). I didn't have any issues single handidly loading it into an SUV.
Assembly process
The assembly was very smooth. I followed the set-up YouTube video Tenways provided without any issues. All the tools needed for assembly are provided with the bike. And it took me about 1 hour to get the bike together.The rear carrier took a little fidgeting to get fixed on the bike but it wasn't more than 10 minutes.
Riding experience
I might still be in my honeymoon period but I love riding on this bike regardless of the weather.My ride is a little over 40kms a day crossing the entire city. I ride 90% on pavement and 10% on gravel through a large park. And the bike is doing flawlessly in both conditions.
When I arrive at work I am left with 50% battery. So I use about half the charge for 20kms of riding. Once at work I charge the battery to full for my return trip home. Depending on the weather conditions the return trip can use up to 65% of the battery (on cold, rainy days with lots of traffic light stop and go). At home I recharge the battery for my way back in to work in the morning. I charge the battery while it is on the bike so I don't remove it from the frame.
The range varies depending on the type of ride I have. For the stop and go I encounter during my commute the range of the bike is 40kph. I use mostly Pedal Assist level 2 and 3 throughout.
Here is how the elevation and speed of my commute look like:
I appreciate having the medium sized paneer bag - it fits my lunch, laptop, a fresh t-shirt and a small repair kit. I noticed though that the bag slides a little on the rear carrier. This resulted in the retaining clamp that keeps it vertical sometimes coming off the frame (especially when I ride like a wild animal over speed bumps). I added a small plastic tab to prevent the bag from moving too far back and this fixed the problem.
Bicycle Specs
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Tire size | CST700*48C |
| Tire pressure | 50 - 75 PSI / 3.4 - 5.1 bar |
| Power | 350W |
| Weight | 16kg |
| Operating temperature | 0 - 30 dC |
| Range | 60 - 100kms (40kms for my use) |
| Battery | 36V Li-ion (42V max) |
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extremely light (16kg) for an ebike. This means not only it is easy for me to cary the bike upstairs but there is also less wear on the parts (break pads, belt drive, etc).
- Belt driven. This means there is no chain to maintain. And no chain to catch your trousers while biking. And it is also very, very quiet.
- Single speed - I am one with the bike at all times. I don't need to change gears all the time. The top speed I cruise at is around 30kph which I find optimal from a safety point of view.
- Support is outstanding (so far).
Cons
- Rear light is too feeble for this bike.
- Single speed. At close to my max cadence I ride at around 34 kph (21 mph). So that is the top speed on flat sections of the road.
- Minor: App application buttons overlap with Android home buttons.
Accompanying items
Since I bought the bike I purchased a few different items that made my life easier. Here is a list of the most useful ones.| Product | Notes | Pictures |
|---|---|---|
| Additional battery charger |
$
Need one more bike charger so I can charge at work. |
|
| Air Claxon |
$29
Sometimes drivers in cars need to be made aware of a bike's presence. This Airzound is the best invention for that. I need to inflate the bottle every now and then using my bike pump. |
|
| Full size bike pump |
$
A full size bike pump inflates the tires much faster than a travel pump. |
|
| Glasses |
$
Full face glasses |
|
Issues
| Date | Milage | Issue / Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-19 | 6 kms |
Issue: Need additional battery charger.
Resolution: Using Tenways app I reached out to customer service for charger specifications. Within less than a day Tenways got back to me with charger specifications and I purchased an additional charger. |
| 2024-02-XX | 20 kms |
Issue: On my first commute ride into work I slipped on black ice
and slightly damaged the left brake lever and twisted the handle
bars.
Resolution: I picked myself up, straightened the handle bars and kept riding. The battery came lose from its holder and I realized this about 10kms later when the power started cutting out. I unlocked the battery and placed it back in its holder without any further issues. |
| 2024-02-22 | 380 kms |
Issue: Maintenance check.
Resolution: Tightened most bolts - there weren't any that were too loose. |
| 2024-03-15 | 820 kms |
Issue: Right pedal is squeaking when I press down close to the
top of the travel.
Resolution: Tightened belt ring bolts (they were a little loose). I actually forgot to tighten them when I did my maintenance in February. Also washed the belt and chain ring. Squeaking is gone. |
| 2024-04-10 | 1,403 kms |
Issue: Handlebars are too far forward. Bike position is
tireding.
Resolution: Replaced handlebars with more curved ones from an old Kona bike. This took about 20 minutes as the grips come off very easily. |
| 2024-04-17 | 1,610 kms |
Issue: Kick stand extensions fell off while riding. I didn't
tighten the retaining screw well enough when I installed it.
And I forgot to retighten it when I did the maintanance at 400
kms.
Resolution: Reinstall the kick stand extension and tighten it more this time. |