As a sub-£2k urban e-bike, the Tenways CGO600 Pro has a bit of competition. An upgrade to the existing CGO600, it’s up against the likes of the similarly-priced Honbike Uni 4, which also boasts a carbon-fibre belt and a rear hub motor. The Tenways’ more conventional frame arrangement (it looks more like somebody set out to make a bicycle rather than an art installation at the local builder’s merchants) may however endear it to traditionalists, or at least those who might want to throw it on the back of a car.

Do that, and your dreams of skimming along rougher rural paths may alas still be dashed. The CGO600 Pro is not at home on bumpy surfaces, and much prefers the smooth, tarmacked roads of the city.

It’s a completely suspension-free frame, and despite its 40mm puncture-resistant tyres, it sends every nano-Richter of shockwave right up your spine as you go over bumps. Being a single-speed urban model it’s unfair to expect it to keep up with the e-mountain bikes of this world, and if you ride it in a style more in keeping with its expectations then the Tenways becomes a very different beast.

2024 Tenways CGO600 Pro, by Oli Pendrey

With its grease-free carbon belt drive, uncomplicated single speed, and easily removable wheels and battery, the CGO600 Pro is positioning itself as a bike you buy with long-term use in mind.

Riding it comes with very little fuss beyond inputting an optional PIN into the handlebar display to get things moving. It’s quiet, refined, nicely put together and largely free of the little niggles that can get between you and the enjoyment of your ride.

The range is decent too, with Tenways claiming up to 100km from a full charge of the 360Wh pack. To get this you’re going to need a very light rider and a non-euclidian world in which slopes always go downhill, but if you’re using it for city commuting, one charge a week isn’t out of the question.

On the flat, you’ll rarely need to increase the power above one bar unless you’re carrying something heavy on the (optional) rack. At this assistance level, it’s a bike that likes to accelerate to around 12mph and stay there, the rear hub Mivice motor achieving a zen-like state once you get going, as you don’t have to adjust anything unless you want to stop - at least once you’ve overcome the reflexive twitch of your fingers to change gear.

Hit a hill, and you’ll need to move up through the power levels instead of the gears (which aren’t there), and this means you will need to pedal harder once you’ve maxed out the assistance.

At higher assistance levels, the bike accelerates nicely to top speed, and the reaction time once you start pedalling is very fast: there's a torque sensor on-board for a seamless push-off from the kerb.

Overall, it’s a very quiet ride, with the hum from the motor audible, but no clunking or grinding from the belt drive - though there's still a click once you start freewheeling.

Stopping again, courtesy of the Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, is sharp and easily controlled, though the brake levers have a lot of travel.

And that stiff frame means it’s nimble around the corners too, making the CGO600 Pro an excellent ride for trips through parks and down the kind of cycle paths added as an afterthought to twisty city streets.

At around 18kg the aluminium-framed bike is a very manageable weight too, and Tenways even calls it ‘the lightweight champion’ on its site. If you’re having to carry a bike upstairs or past obstructions this makes it much easier to deal with, and if you’re taking it further afield means it’s easier to load into a car or fit on a rack.

The removable battery also means it can be taken inside to charge using your employer’s electricity while the rest of the bike stays locked up in an outbuilding.

There are a few downsides to an otherwise excellent bike. The handlebar-mounted display is extremely small, only about as big as the screen of a fitness band. It’s so small that it has two viewing modes you can cycle between to display all the information, such as distance ridden, remaining charge or current speed.

It can be hard to read, and the small size means the buttons are small too. You’ll be using the display to switch on the integrated front light (a separate rear light was included with our review model) as well as flick up and down between power levels, and being able to do it without taking your eyes off the road is going to take some practice.

There's a smartphone app that can be connected via Bluetooth to provide a larger display via a handlebar mount, but it would have been nice to have had something larger to begin with.

The handlebar grips are a bit harsh on the palms and the brake levers may need adjusting so they’re more easily reachable - we moved the stem up into a very high position for an upright riding posture, and this seemed to suit the bike well.

Then there are the struts that hold the mudguards in place, which could be stiffer. It’s possible to bend them while transporting the bike such that the guard shifts, rubs on the tyre, and makes a noise like a small boy’s BMX with a playing card stuck in the spokes. Luckily it’s easy enough to bend back into shape.

But these are minor niggles - avoid bumping those struts and you’ll probably have no problems, especially if you have gloves.

The clean, low-maintenance nature of the belt drive informs the design of the whole bike - the Gates belt drive system claims a lifetime of 18,000 miles (that’s more than seven years if you commute 10 miles a day, 250 days a year) before needing to be changed; its paint job is crisp; and the points at which the frame tubes join together are smoothly finished, while the low weight and simple, traditional geometry make it easy to live with and transport.

In terms of pricing, at £1,799 the CGO600 Pro significantly undercuts a couple of other urban single-speeds: the Cowboy Cruiser (£2,399) and Volt London (£2,299) - although both have larger batteries. It's the same price as the aforementioned Honbike Uni4, while a cheaper option is the Ado Air 28 (£1,499).

If you suspect you might be better off with an urban e-bike with gears, things open up further. The Ribble Hybrid AL e is perhaps in a different price bracket at £2,699, but something like the Estarli e28.8 (£1,625 without mudguards) might be a viable option.

Electric bikes are perfect for city riding and commuting, and with all the thought that has been put into tuning the CGO600 Pro for exactly this application, Tenways could be on to a winner here.

eco-move.co.uk