profstack

Made in Hungary and just starting to be imported to the U.S., I bought one of these a few weeks back here in Seattle, at Electric Bikes NW. It weighs 58# with one lithium-ion battery. A dummy battery sits in place of the missing one.

The tires are 700x38 and inflate up to a recommended max of 65psi. The suspension up front works great as does the seatpost suspension. I like the cushy ride compared to my other standard bicycles.

The Gepida felt right the first time I test-rode it and better the second. The company says it will get up to 30 miles per charge on one battery. That seems to be correct so far, but hilly Seattle will knock a few miles off that figure. The battery can be charged either on or off the bike.

I like it that the lights are integrated. The computer screen is large. Ten settings for power boost are nice. I try to keep it at 5 or less for fitness sake. The Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub seems to work fine.

I wish the odometer would output miles with tenths rather than whole miles. The power assist quits a little above 15mph, and that is about as fast as I normally ride. You have to pedal to get a power boost. The motor is pretty quiet, more so than the other electric bikes I tested.

I bought the Gepida to ease my commute where I go down a large hill (Queen Anne) and up another (Capitol Hill) to get to work. I get a good workout but still have energy to walk the dog and such when I get home. Being close to 60 years young, I don't have the legs I did 20 years ago when the hills seemed less steep.

Last summer I rode other electric bicycles but didn't buy one. The Giant Twist with rear cassette gears was stately and decent. The other Giant, with derailleur and more bicycle like, was good, too. The electric bikes at REI (flagship store in Seattle) felt cheaply made. The Gepida just felt better in most every way, including being lighter than the big Giant.

My goal is to commute by bicycle as often as possible. I don't take a bicycle when it is rainy in the morning. But the predicted $5/gallon gas prices forecast might make me change that line of thinking.

edcastrovalley

Not a bad looking bike. It looks decently equipped with lights, dashboard, rack, fenders, etc. The 30 mile range ain't bad either though it probably won't do that with me on it. Congrats!

profstack

I can do two days of commuting, about 18 miles, before having to worry about charging the battery. The guys at Electric Bicycles NW say that it can be topped off after each commute with no harm to the battery. Seattle's hills definitely reduce the optimal 30-mile range as advertised.

Today as a test I took my previous commuter, a much lighter Schwinn Probe 26-inch bike now with fenders, rack, old-school German generator, and 1.25" tires. I didn't use the generator, but rather the LED's on front and back. Anyway, with tire pressure set to the max I could feel every bump, and pedaling was easy. Easy, until I started the final uphill portion of the commute. At work my legs were more tired than when I rode the Gipeda, but it was a good ride.

Going home is where the difference was more noticeable. My home is at a higher elevation than my workplace. Back home I was pretty worn out, more so than with the electric-assist bike. It made it very clear that getting this new commuter was the right decision.

dgk02

Around $2500 at NYEWheels. That's about the same as my Trek cost. 250 Watt front hub motor. Hopefully that means you won't have the broken spoke problem that some Treks are having. Looks like a nice practical bike. I like that you can add a second battery.

profstack

Today I tested the Gepida battery and ran it full-boost (10 out of 10 bars on the screen) to and from work. With lights also using the battery I got to work more quickly and with less strain than before. The bike is effortless to pedal on all but the steepest hills. The battery was at 80% remaining after 4.5 miles to work.

But the trip home took more out of the battery due to some stiff Seattle wind and the higher elevation of my house from work. When the battery is down to 30% the computer ratches down the power boost to 40% max to preserve battery life (and to give me more work going up the hills to home, heh). Back home the battery was ready for a recharge. The bike was ready for a cleaning thanks to the 30% chance of rain in the afternoon to mean 100% today.

Normally I will keep the boost off for level ground and downhill and usually boost up to 50%, but today's test was instructive.

Funny story: About halfway home I was stopped at a light (yeah, some of us actually do that...) talking with another bicyclist dressed in riding uniform. He looked around 10 years younger on his very skinny-tired bike that probably weighed half of the Gepida. His legs looked very bicycle strong. I followed him most of the way home until he pulled over going up a hill, looking to rest. I kept riding as he probably wondered why this older guy on a cruiser bike was still in his rear-view mirror! But I got my workout, too.

profstack

More data points. Today I ran an errand after work and ended up the day with 17 miles ridden, rather than the usual 9 miles. The battery was at 50% charge back at home. I used the battery only for going uphills and was glad to have full boost to finish the ride. The lights were on about half the time. They don't seem to draw much away from the battery.

The boost stops at about 15.6 mph, according to the display. So if I keep the pace at or below that there is assistance. Without the battery the Gepida rides like a heavy cruiser. I really like the Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub, and the lack of a bunch of exterior sprockets front and back.

dgk02

I was thinking that the internal hub would be great for winter riding here in NYC. I haven't had any problem with the gears though but of course they do require maintenance. I've also noted that the built in lights on the Trek don't have much of a draw. I don't think any of the ebikes have done enough with the built in lights. I've written to Trek that they should make the big red rear light (built into the battery) have a flash mode. There also isn't any reason not to have turn signals built in. I hate having to take my hands of the bars to signal a turn (on the rare occasions that I do so).

The front light is also more of a "be seen" light than a "seeing" light. I have another, more serious, front light for winter biking but it's been recalled! The Magicshine light that I love so much has a bad battery pack than can explode. Yikes. That would make the ride more exciting.

The battery life seems about what should be expected. How much of a boost are you getting? The Trek has four settings of assist (25% to 200%). Ten would be interesting but does seem a bit overkill. Pedal Assist is the only type of ebike that I considered buying since I wanted a bike and not a moped.

The Gepida certainly seems like another good ebike. I'm glad to see that more companies have gotten into the action. That can only drive the prices down towards an area where more people will get them.

profstack

The ten levels of boost are noticeable and seem to be almost linear, if that is possible. The Giant Twist electric bike I almost bought has 3 levels.

Yes, I wish the back light had a blink mode. It is the German made Staudlicht (sp?) and it stays on for a few minutes after the power is turned off.

For riding in the dark I have the blinking leg light strap on my left leg.

I finally figured out how to get the display to show the total miles (or km) in other than the nearest mile. You set the trip-mode before the ride. It resets to default upon power off.

profstack

Today I returned the Gepida and got a full refund from Electric Bikes NW here in Seattle. Here's why I returned it:

1 - The front axle nut came off sometime ago. The other nut was about to slip and come off. The metal used was apparently cheap and was stripping the threads from the inside. Both were doomed to fail. Some blue threadlocker might have kept them on. The shop put better non-crown nuts in place. I didn't realize the nut was gone until they tech spotted it when I brought the bike in for problem #2. Who knows how long it was off!
2 - The computer shut down on Monday while I was going up a hill. Both batteries were charged before the ride and apparently the relay or sensor did not know to switch batteries when one was about drained. The power assist didn't work after that. Back at the shop they didn't know enough about the new e-bike's electrics and were waiting for some information from Gepida. They did get the power boost back working again with one battery in place.
3 - The trip-meter showed the miles gone to hundredths, a good thing. But for some reason those trip miles did not accumulate to the overall mileage traveled. The computer interface needs serious development to make it more user-friendly.

The owners of the shop, Eric and Dave, were very polite and didn't try to convince me to keep it. I told them they could have back their demo bike and let others see what a nice ride it is. I was their "beta" tester of sorts.

What I liked about the Gepida:
1 - Very nice and smooth riding bicycle. Without the electric power I got up the last hill okay thanks to a decent low gear in the Shimano Nexus 8-speed internal shiftbox. So I got into better shape on the Gepida.
2 - The suspension was first rate.
3 - The power boost was linear from 1 to 10, and predictable.
4 - The lighting system worked nicely.
5 - It is a very well made e-bicycle.

Now Gipeda has to fix the glitches. My hope is that by summer the units that come in will have addressed the issues. With those fixes I would be happy to buy the brand again.

For now I will ride the old Marin Edgewood 21-speed as the commuter. It probably weighs half of the e-bike, with 700-32 tires.

dgk02

Oh well, good try. The front axle nut came off? That seems really unusual. I guess it wasn't up to the torque from the hub motor?

edcastrovalley

Put a hub motor kit on the old Marin Edgewood and add a Cycle Analyist for a dashboard display.

profstack

Yeah, the axle nut was made from pot metal or something similar. The threads were stripping from the torque. The other one was about to come off, too.

The non-electric Marin Kentwood is 33# equipped with fenders, rack, and lights, computer, etc. I just got a new 7-speed sprocket set on the back for $20 which has a VERY big large sprocket to make the Seattle hills much more rideable with my old tired legs, which actually got pretty strong with the Gepida.

So, my foray into electric-assist bikes was brief but a lot of fun. I will likely pursue one again as the battery and bike weights reduce and the batteru range increases.

profstack

A final post about the Gepida:
The NY importer told me that the bike I had was not supposed to be let out of the factory. The front axle bolt was too short and the supplier was in the process of getting it corrected. He also said that Gipeda knows about the computer shutting off during a two-battery setup when one battery was used up. A firmware fix should be easy.

So I did get a beta model after all. Still, I really liked the whole Gepida vibe and hope it gets fixed up before summer.

Artmo 

This what we shall be buying when we next go to the UK, but we shall only use it over there, where it's hilly. Not much use for it in FL flatlands......yet!

https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/Electri...Bike?filter=60

profstack

Your Gepida is a whole different platform and e-bike than the one I had. You will be fine. E-bike tech has improved a lot since 2011.

I'm still riding the 2012 Ohm Urban 700, now with larger battery, and also the new Faraday Cortland S, a very elegant e-bike. Both bikes are great in their own way.

Anyway, have fun on your new one!