Golden Ride, the electric transport store which recently opened in London and which is a brand name of Terravision Electric Ltd, recently sent us in this Terravision Touring. Unfortunately, we didn’t have it long enough for a full, in-depth review, but we still managed to get a few miles in - enough, hopefully, to give you a bit of insight on how it performs. (We've also previously had a ride of Golden Ride's hardtail e-MTB, the Ebroh Jump Carbon.)
The build
The Touring is based on an aluminium alloy frame of a step-through design. This makes it easy to get on and off, and also to put your leg down or slide off the seat when you have to stop in traffic or whatever.
The welding between the tubes is a little, shall we say ‘agricultural’, so it’s not the prettiest thing to look at, but it does at least look utilitarian. The choice of a Gloss Grey or Gloss Black finish does at least give things a boost on the aesthetics front. It’s durable paint too that’ll cope with being leant up against a bike rack or similar.
It’s a one size fits all affair, but with plenty of adjustment on offer to cover different height riders. On their website, Golden Ride don’t specify a height range, but our test model had a huge number of spacers to remove once you have cut the steerer to the required length to lower things, if needs be - plus you have an adjustable stem too.
There is plenty of adjustment thanks to a lengthy seatpost as well.
The 468Wh battery is mounted to the down tube, leaving it partially exposed, but not so much that it looks like an after-market add on to a standard bike. It’s locked in place, so you get a decent amount of security, but it can be removed for charging or for security, should you so wish.
Other than that, you are getting a decent number of accessories included for the £1,290 price tag like mudguards, front and rear lights, kickstand and a rear rack. You also get an LCD display to show speed, battery life, modes etc. It’s not the most up to date looking thing, but it does the job.
As for spec, you are getting a 250W rear hub motor (Golden Ride don’t share the torque figures on their website), a basic 7-speed Shimano gear set up, a Suntour suspension fork, just to add a bit more weight, and mechanically operated disc brakes.
The wheels are 650b, fitted with wide, lightly treaded tyres which can be used on road or various other hard packed surfaces.
It’s not a bad build for the money, but something like Ado’s Air 28 delivers more for the money with a better looking frame, belt drive and hydraulic brakes for just nine quid more than the Touring. It also gets a very cool multi-colour display too.
The ride
The first thing you notice about the Touring is its weight. If you have to push this bike anywhere, or heaven forbid lift it, you’ll wince at its 23kg heft. Thankfully though that isn’t noticeable once you are moving, and I don’t just mean when the motor kicks in either.
When freewheeling through tight spots or in traffic the balance of the Terravision is fine thanks to most of the weight being lower down on the bike.
The motor is reasonably punchy, and smooth too. When you first start pedalling it kicks in pretty quickly and more importantly, when you stop pedalling it cuts off pretty much instantly. I’ve had some cheaper motor systems show a bit of a delay here which can be unnerving when stopping at traffic lights or when riding in stop/start traffic.
You get a range of modes to choose from which helps you eke out battery life with Golden Ride claiming a range of 70km/43.5 miles. I didn’t have chance to empty the battery completely, but I’d say that’s achievable on the flat, in the lowest mode setting, with a tailwind.
Riding on typical terrain with some climbs, plenty of stop-starts and using the highest mode, I was looking at a predicted range of about 50km/31 miles, which is still more than most people would need on a bike like this. It’ll cover most local commutes for instance, or trips to the shops, school run etc.
Bombing along at the Touring’s limited top speed of 25kph/15.5mph it feels pretty planted and easy to ride. There is a small amount of flex in that adjustable stem which can be a little irritating, and the fork does an okay job of taming the big bumps although as befitting its entry level price, it doesn’t move quick enough to cope with vibrations sent up from broken and rippled surfaces.
If you aren’t too bothered about being that involved with the actual bike/rider interface then you’ll be reasonably pleased with the Terravision on the whole.
The large volume tyres bring plenty of comfort as does the seat if you like plenty of padding, and I found the riding position to be generally good overall with my weight spread comfortably between the saddle and the handlebar.
There are a few downsides mind. Cable operated disc brakes aren’t as powerful as a hydraulic setup, especially at the entry level. It’s most notable when slowing down to a stop even from that 25kph limited speed, with plenty of squidge in the cables and not a lot of braking performance. Brakes like these are working very hard against that 23kg bike plus rider weight.
You’ll need to brake as early as you can on descents just to be on the safe side.
Also, while the motor means that you probably won’t use the gears as much as you would without one, when you do, you’ll find the gear change is quite clunky and there are some big gaps between the sprockets. That’s mostly because the technology on offer is very old school. The shift lever and Tourney rear mech really is from the bottom of Shimano’s parts bin.
On top of that, if you are going to ride in the rain then be confident in the fact that you aren’t going to get a wet rear end, but because the front mudguard is so short, you’ll definitely have soaked feet.
Round up
So, there it is: my initial thoughts on the Terravision Touring.
To sum it up, I’d say it’s a decent bike for the money. There are a few compromises to bring it down to this sort of price point which may detract from it for those who might want to travel further and faster, but for short commutes or trips across town it’ll appease most.
Things like the rack and lights are also a bonus for this money, as you won’t have to factor in extra funds for those accessories - both of which will make your life a bit easier.
For the money there are some arguably better specced bikes out there, but the Touring has most bases covered.
