Forte F-series electric bike review

A double review of the Forte in Velovision magazine.
The bike was tested alongside the Sparta Ion and BionX kit.

Paul's report: This is a nice-looking bike with Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub gears, neat cabling and a good level of equipment. The lights are similarly integrated and operated by a switch on the handlebar. It also has front suspension, though with the tyres I'm not sure it's really needed.

The ace up the sleeve of the Forte is concealed under the bottom bracket. Turn the bike over and fish out two wires. Disconnect then zoom, zoom, zoom! 50cycles stress that this 'turbo' mode is for off-road use only, to comply with UK regulations. The extra turn of speed meant that I needed to put on an extra layer of clothing for my Sprint morning commutes!

After commuting on these [three] bikes for a few weeks I concluded that they didn't really save me any time because of the speed limiting, but they did save effort and, therefore, sweat... the exception was the eZee Forte with the speed limiter removed (for off-road use only of course) which saved about 15 minutes because I could cruise at over 20 mph.

Chris's report: It's a stylish bike and it's obvious that it's not a normal bike. There were shouts from the kids along the lines of 'great bike' and 'nice bike Vicar'.

The eZee took the hills in its stride - keeping a steady 10 to 12mph on the fair gradient with just gentle pedalling. The power is much more obvious on this bike. There's a 'surge' as you twist the handle to start off and then you can hear the motor working. It's more akin to a twist and go moped in this mode and you can set off without pedalling. Power fades away at 15mph (Uk regulations) - quite fast enough really, but takes a little getting used to, This power for pulling away is useful in city traffic, helping you get through gaps and keep up with the speed of cars.

The eZee bike was the only one that coped easily with the steeper hills, which is a major plus living where we do. Not only is the power obvious, there's more of it. A further test without the speed restricter (in off-road mode), and the eZee bike showed it had been hiding its light under a bushel. This thing can move!

No longer flattening out at 15 mph it carries on to 25 mph on the flat - even 17 to 20 mph going u a slight hill! The extra power is quite exhilarating. You begin to treat the bike more like a moped - just twist and go to start off, in whatever gear, and then you just remember to start pedalling to save power once you're under way. Overall endurance even at these speeds on a mixture of gentle and steep hills with a little flat was a creditable 15 miles, even with just gentle pedalling.

For a petrol-head car driver, the sheer power of the 'twist and go' eZee bike will appeal - you can be lazy if you wish and the bike will still drag you along at a respectable speed. The eZee Forte also did far better on the hills - no worries at all even on steeper gradients.