#The Tenways ebike is a lightweight steal for under $1,500

In this regard the bike has an advantage over the $1,045 Ride1Up Roadster, another stealthy single-speed bike that I’ve really enjoyed riding. Although the Roadster has a more powerful motor, the torque sensor on the Tenways allows the motor to kick in much more quickly and naturally. This is particularly noticeable when starting from a dead stop on a hill; you’ll have to grind the pedals to get a full rotation on many cadence-sensor ebikes like the Roadster, but the Tenways motor kicks in instantly.

It doesn’t hurt that the motor is almost completely silent as well; even at full power, it only makes a faint whirr that’s barely audible over road noise. The Gates Carbon Drive is already known for being smooth and virtually silent too, so on the whole, the bike is generally even quieter and smoother than an ‘acoustic’ bike.

As for the range, it’s unlikely you’re going to get 130 km/81 mi out of a 252 Wh battery, but the torque sensor and light-duty motor do make the bike more efficient than I expected. I didn’t try to fully drain the battery, but I estimate the bike could go about 50 miles in assist level one and about 25 miles in assist level 3.

Even if you did run out of battery, the C-GO 600 makes for a pretty nice single-speed bike. There is no resistance in the rear wheel whatsoever when the motor is not engaged, so the bike is fully pedal-able without the assist, although you obviously won’t want to tackle hills without gears.

The bike has a slightly aggressive geometry that I found comfortable, but riders interested in a more upright position might want to change the stem or handlebars. I do wish Tenways provided a step-through model for shorter riders or those with accessibility needs though.

I appreciate that no one’s going to notice it’s an ebike unless they’re looking closely either. The motor is small enough to pass for an internal gear hub, and the downtube barely betrays there’s a battery hidden in there. When I took the bike to a shop to fix a spoke, the mechanic didn’t notice it was electric until he started working on the wheel. On more than one occasion, riders stopped to ask me what bike I was riding, without noticing it was electric.

And while it’s obviously heavier than most analog road bikes, at 33 lbs, it’s still lighter than many non-electric bikes (for reference, that’s still about 10 pounds lighter than NYC’s ubiquitous Citibikes). I appreciated the (lack of) weight when lugging the bike up and down the stairs to my basement, and it means you could hang the bike on a wall, mount it on a car rack, or bring it on a train without much of struggle.

It’s a nice-looking bike too, even in my unit’s unfinished form, and I quite like Tenways’ 5 color options. Aesthetics aside, the aluminum frame feels sturdy and comes with smooth welds that don’t betray its price, and it comes with a variety of mounting points for racks, fenders, and a chainstay-mounted kickstand (but really, it should come with the kickstand).

Lighting is crucial for safety, and the integrated headlight is pretty decent; bright enough to both see and be seen. And while I really wish the tail-light were integrated into the bike’s electronics as well, it is at least quite bright.

Really, it’s hard to find much to complain about the bike. The ‘X-Spark’ hydraulic disk brakes feel a notch less powerful than the Tektro or Shimano brakes you’ll find on many ebikes, but they’re still much better than typical rim brakes. And because the battery is not easily removable, I hope Tenways considers offering some kind of range extender battery down the road for people who like to take longer rides.

The bigger question mark is long-term support. Good hub motors can last forever and the carbon belt is known for its durability, but potential buyers should obviously exercise some caution given Tenways is a new company. At this stage, there’s simply no way to be sure what kind of after-sales support it will provide if something goes wrong.

Of course, you could say this about any new company, but while it builds up a reputation, I’d suggest Tenways instead make it easy for users to make their own repairs. For example, folding bike company Fiido only entered the US market last year, yet the company sells practically every single replacement component — both electric and mechanical — on its webstore. It inspires a lot of confidence, and I hope Tenways follows suit.

That said, I do appreciate that Tenways is offering a 2-year warranty, when most of the competition in this price range only covers defects for one year.

If the company can deliver on its crowdfunding promises and provides proper after-support sales. the Tenways C-GO 600 gets my fullest recommendation. It’s light, it’s affordable, it’s smooth, it looks good, and it has enough power for the majority of riders.

Tenways provides a polished ride experience that took me by surprise for a new company making an affordable, lightweight ebike. Slap a big-name logo on it, and it could’ve easily sold for $3,000. At under $1,500, it’s an absolute steal.