Single-speeding around London on the Tenways CGO600 Pro

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When we tested the Tenways CGO600 Pro recently, we concluded that it was a “light, easy to get along with single-speed that’s at home in the city”. It therefore seemed like the ideal e-bike to take on a trip to London – so that’s precisely what we did.

We’ve now taken a look at three different single speed models from Tenways, all using the excellent combo of Mivice rear hub motor and single speed belt drive. 

Our review of the CGO600 highlighted its light weight at just over 16kg, concluding, “Tenways sticks to the essentials of the riding experience and does it admirably and at a great price.”

2024 Tenways CGO600 Pro, by Oli Pendrey

Ian’s review of the CGO600 Pro concluded, “low weight and simple, traditional geometry make it easy to live with and transport,” while its in-built front light, removable battery and adjustable handlebar stem are all features that the non-Pro version lacks.  

Tenways CGO800S, by Richard Peace

Heaviest of the three is the CGO800S – but the 23kg model is also blessed with the most feaures, as it comes complete with hardwired lights including indicators, a rear rack, front suspension and larger volume tyres.

The CGO800S is therefore the most comfortable option and the best choice for less confident e-bikers – perhaps those returning to cycling after a long break or even first time cyclists. 

2024 Tenways CGO009, by Oli Pendrey

Also well worth a mention is Tenway’s most sophisticated e-bike yet, the CGO009, which packs a plethora of smart features and is clearly looking to fill the void left by VanMoof. 

I picked the CGO600 Pro to hop on train from Yorkshire to London to see how it coped with some big city riding. I alighted on this model as it’s a great balance of a minimalist, fast riding design with a few more utilitarian features and aspects aimed at comfort like the adjustable handlebar stem. 
 

Why is the Tenways CGO600 Pro suited to city riding?

It’s efficient: The Mivice M070 drive, with a claimed weight of only 1.7kg – very light for a rear hub motor – combines super-sophisticated double-sided torque sensing with a single geared Gates Carbon belt drive. 

It’s low maintenance and easy to use: The single gear means all you have to do is get on, turn on and ride. There are three nicely graduated power levels to choose from and the oil-free belt drive means a transmission that should last for around 18,000 miles or more with no lubrication required and mimimal cleaning. 

It’s fast: The CGO600 Pro has semi-slick tyres that roll quickly on road and on well-made unsealed trails. The riding position is sporty yet comfortable and the frame design smooth and aerodynamic. 

It’s pretty light: At around 18kg it’s relatively easy to pick up and move about – even to take up stairs and certainly to lift on and off trains. 

It doesn’t stand out as an obvious e-bike: With its slick design and quiet operation, it won’t immediately stand out to would-be thieves as a powerful e-bike with a big battery.

It’s tough: The single-speed belt drive and puncture resistant tyres combo means less stopping to fix punctures or transmission problems and more time just riding. The tyres are also suitable for riding on better quality towpaths, rail paths and similar. 

You can carry what you need: I used the optional extra Tenways rack. Weighing only 1.7kg, it has a load capacity of 25kg. 

It can handle hills: Contrary to what you might think, the CGO600 Pro is a pretty good hill climber. No slope in London defeated it and that included a tour of the pretty hilly Wimbledon area. 
 

Single-speeding about London

Trains and e-bikes don’t always go well together, but the journey down from Yorkshire to Kings Cross was as smooth as it could be. I had remembered to book a bike storage space on the LNER intercity service and the CGO600 Pro was easy to lift on and off and just fitted into the vertical storage type compartment where you’re obliged to stow your bike.

Larger wheeled bikes can be too long but the Tenways just fitted in and its light weight meant it was easy to manoeuvre into the compartment. 

Navigating with a GPS-enabled smartphone meant it was a 15-20 minute trip from Kings Cross to a lunch break in the sun in Hyde Park.

The Tenways Power Bank I chose to strap on board was invaluable to someone who doesn’t know the streets of London like a cabbie. It meant I never ran out of phone power – without it the phone would have inevitably died after a few hours of battery-heavy GPS use.

This meant finding the hotel cunningly hidden on the south side of Hammersmith flyover wasn’t a problem.

The CGO600 Pro was easy to ride in the busy stop-start traffic of Kensington High Street to the hotel, where I chose to carry it up the stairs rather than squash into a fairly small lift. It probably would have fitted, and if I’d been heading to the 20th and not the 2nd floor I could have always resorted to quickly undoing the front wheel if I had really needed to. 

Day two saw a roastingly hot trip to Richmond Park with photo equipment and lunch in a single pannier.

The single gear proved ideal for cruising along Richmond’s waterside at a good lick before heading around the crushed stone surface of Richmond Park’s Tamsin Trail, which involved a good test of the motor up one of the park’s steep hills.

With a fair bit of effort, I just about made it to the top where the incline appeared about 15% -though it did involve a good workout. Later in the day, I returned via Wimbledon Common whose steeper hills also failed to defeat the bike (or me).

A final day’s trip to Hampton Court meant boarding another train – this time a local one where getting the bike into the ‘roll on, roll off’ storage space was a cinch.  

There was then more blissfully easy and cooling waterside riding along the Thames to the grand spectacle of the Palace.

In summary

The Tenways CGO600 Pro is a fantastic city e-bike. It’s easy, comfortable and intuitive to ride, requires no day to day maintenance and allowed me to ride 30-40 miles daily using only around 50-60% of the 360Wh removable battery.

It was also an easy e-bike to take long distances on a train and to keep in a hotel. It would also serve big city residents well for daily cycling. 

You can check out all the Tenways models at their UK service centre Ecomove or check out Tenways developing UK dealer network to see if there is a stockist near you.