2023-08-27 16:00:00
You may not know Flyer, a Swiss brand of bicycles specializing only in electrics. However, it is one of the first in the world to have launched a lithium-battery pedelec in the early 2000s. Since then, Flyer has taken a rather “premium” turn by targeting neighboring Germanic markets as a priority (Switzerland, Austria, Germany …) not without success. But if Flyer is also in the news lately, it’s for having signed a supply contract with Pinion, this famous German company specializing in gearboxes (yes, you read that right, like on any car) for bicycles. Behind Pinion, you find in particular former Porsche engineers…
Pinion will indeed provide Flyer with its brand new unit called E-Drive, available in several configurations according to the needs of bicycle manufacturers. Comfort or Performance, from 6 to 12 speeds, the catalog is already stocked. But Pinion has so far only chosen a limited number of partners. Flyer is one of them. And we rode their all-new GoRoc T:RX exclusively for over a month. A “box” version of their GoRoc, an all-rounder as good for the daily commute to work as it is for trail activities.
The GoRoc T:RX, one hell of a machine
Everything is integrated on this frame. A little too much, even…© Audric Doche
Might as well say it right away: our model is a pre-series prototype that still has a few bugs, particularly in the display. The black spots that we will discuss below can therefore still be largely corrected, especially on the transmission side.
Displayed at 8999 €, the least we can say is that the T:RX is not cheap. We are sailing there in the prices of the very top of the range, or squarely in the world of motorized two-wheelers. At this price, no blunder can be forgiven the Goroc T:RX. To begin with, even before getting on it, the first impressions: super powerful TRP brakes (200 front and rear discs), 34 mm FOX fork (130 mm travel), rigid mudguards, 100% integrated lighting, grips ergonomics, telescopic seatpost, Mavic Crossride wheels… the machine does not skimp on quality components. But being fussy, I would still have liked lighter and more dynamic higher-end wheels, and different mudguards to avoid reaching 30 kg. Yes, the Goroc T:RX is heavy, too heavy, especially in size XL.
However, its geometry and the balance of the masses work wonders… once in motion. The fork angle is very open (65°, as much as an enduro bike!) and indeed contributes to the stability of the bike when launched, including downhill forest. But at low speed in town, the 30 kg and the size of the machine can become annoying. It will take time to adapt for those who are not used to regularly handling electric bikes, especially like this one.
Not very easy to maneuver!
The belt is not easy to disengage from the wheel, so a puncture will require some effort© Audric Doche
Another pitfall, and not the least: the weight of the machine and the way the screen is integrated into the handlebars pose a problem in the event of a puncture. Don’t expect to turn the bike over to take the wheel out, you risk damaging the screen. And anyway, good luck with 30 kg to put upside down! And then, you also have to block the belt tensioner (with a tool) to release the rear wheel. The operation can be complex and tedious. Fortunately, Flyer has planned for this with generously studded tires with a super-stiff carcass that won’t risk puncturing easily. Especially in tubeless assembly.
Let’s finish with the practical finishes and sides: the Goroc T:RX has a carbon front triangle and an aluminum rear. A combination sometimes found on full-suspension bikes that cuts costs compared to a full-carbon frame. The finishes are excellent and the paint does not smudge on the brake supports or the bearing surfaces.. However, the total integration of the cables has its disadvantages: that of the rear light passes through the mudguard. So you can’t remove the mudguard… unless you undo the light and unwire it. Damage.
The magic box
Pinion’s E-Drive gearbox is efficient, even if gear changes are noisy© Audric Doche
The heart of this Goroc T:RX is therefore Pinion’s MGU (Motor Gearbox Unit). On our Swiss bike, it’s the Comfort version with its 600W and 85 Nm at 48V, like on… a micro-hybrid car engine. Values that place the engine at the level of a Bosch Performance CX (operating, him, in 36V), the reference of the category. But know that the Performance version of Pinion reaches 800W in Crete. Delirium.
Four assistance modes are offered on the Pinion motor: Eco, Flow, Flex and Fly. However, it is possible to individually adjust the power level on each of them via the dedicated application. And since we are on the settings, know that the screen (particularly readable and well backlit) is full of menus, information and settings. You can see the slope, the speed, the power that your legs produce, the remaining autonomy, the calories, the temperature, the gear engaged…
A small gas plant that finally takes itself quite well in hand, but it’s time to see what this German-Swiss watch industry has in store. First information, and not least: you can change gears in a stationary state. Very practical in town at a red light, when you have forgotten to “downshift”. And this is an action that is (partly) impossible with a derailleur since you have to turn the crankset to change gears. However, this particularity is not new since Shimano Alfine type hubs with integrated gears have already offered this possibility for a long time. The Pinion box, however, goes much further with truly impressive speed of execution. Those who have tasted the Shimano Di2 know what I’m talking regarding, but here it’s even faster!
When we tasted it…
The efficiency is there and the weight is almost similar to a set with derailleur, cassette and specific hub© Audric Doche
Once launched, you shift gears like on any bike except that here, without cables, the electronics do all the work for you. A simple press of the button is enough. The gears pass at lightning speed, including forcing the pedals like a damn! This was hitherto impossible on old-generation gearboxes which required lifting the foot when changing gears.
The Pinion transmission is impressively efficient and smooth, even if it is necessary to note two jumps of important reports, around the 4th and between the 8th and 9th. These passages still lack progressiveness. Apart from that, the driving experience is stunning, and although I have tested many different high-end transmissions (wireless AXS at SRAM, Di2 Dura Ace at Shimano, XTR…), I must admit that this gearbox gears opens up great prospects.
Battery, motor, gear shifting, safety: the bike is making its electric revolution
Like, in particular, having a 100% automatic gearbox. In short, you don’t even have to change gears anymore, the bike does it for you according to a predefined pedaling speed instruction. And guess what? Flyer confirmed to us that a big update will be deployed in the next few months to customers of bikes equipped with Pinion so that they have a fully automatic transmission!
In the meantime, there are already two semi-autonomous modes. The first, Start.Select, allows you to choose a gear to which the bike returns each time you are stationary. For example, you decide that every time you put your foot down, you want the bike to automatically shift to gear 2. The second, Pre.Select, shifts gears for you during freewheel phases downhill to avoid spinning unnecessarily when resuming pedalling.
A word, to finish, on the autonomy of the Goroc T:RX: consistent. The 700 Wh battery does wonders on a very heavy and inefficient bike (very upright position, and therefore unfavorable aerodynamics around 25 km/h). We completed an outing of 45 km and 1200 meters of elevation with 33% battery remaining, yet ending on a terrible climb of 9% on average over 2 kilometers at full throttle in Flyer mode, the most powerful… Suffice to say that on the flat, it will not be complicated to reach 100 km avoiding too much use of the highest assistance.
Pinion E-Drive, for whom, for what?
Pinion quickly unsheathed his MGU on several different products: from the VTC like our Goroc to the pure and hard mountain bike at Rotwild through the urban, it adapts to everything. But in our opinion, the gearbox is not yet made for standard bikes without electric assistance, for the simple and good reason that it requires a frame with a specific bottom bracket to accommodate the motor. It can therefore easily retire the derailleur on electric bikes which are already designed to receive a central motor, but not on the “muscular” ones equipped with a simple “hole” for the bottom bracket. In addition, this MGU must be seen as an “all in one” where the engine is inseparable from the gears and gears part.
The advantages offered by Pinion’s E-Drive are numerous: automatic speeds, ease of use and above all reduced maintenance. The Gates belt is robust, there is no more rear derailleur or lubrication (like on a chain) and the only service is a box oil change every 10,000 km. A Flyer manager also told us that the German company had tested its box at more than 150,000 km without any particular wear.
A small revolution that will initially not concern many people: the E-Drive is currently reserved for high-end and expensive electric bikes. But if Pinion manages to make his business profitable and grow, it is not excluded to see this technology in the future on cheap pedelecs. It will then be the certain death of derailleurs, cassettes, cables and other shifters on electric bikes. Which will not please Shimano and SRAM, for whom the VAE is a huge market.
A small indicator on the side shows the state of charge© Audric Doche
There are many settings on the Fly screen© Audric Doche
You have to move the belt tensioner to get it out, and this requires effort, and a tool to place to block the tensioner © Audric Doche
The equipment is of high quality on the Goroc T:RX, even if we would have liked higher-end wheels at this price…© Audric Doche
The rear light cable passes through the mudguard: not very practical. © Audric Doche
The display is ultra complete and full of information! © Audric Doche
You can adjust the behavior of the gearbox. And future updates will further improve all this. © Audric Doche
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