Lekker's Jordaan GTS eBike review: ‘Sell your car and buy this instead’

There’s a big trend sweeping my suburb — parents using eBikes. So I tried out Lekker's Jordaan GTS and it was a hit with my daughters.

Lekker's Jordaan GTS eBike is a big hit with my daughters. Picture: Supplied

There’s a new trend taking over Parramatta. It’s simultaneously happening all over Sydney and in other Aussie cities too.

The parents are revolting and tossing aside their car keys in favour of eBikes.

I tried out one of the new models from Lekker to see what all the hype is about.

Lekker's Jordaan GTS eBike. Picture: Supplied

Lekker

Lekker is one of those Dutch words that defies translation in English. Depending on the context it can mean tasty, sexy, nice, good or satisfying. That was the name Meindert Wolfraad chose for the brand that he started in Sydney. After finding success in the Australian market, Wolfraad is now selling bikes in his home country Netherlands.

The local supplier offered me two different bikes to choose from. The Jordaan GTS is build for every day use, including commuting and running errands. The Amsterdam is more sporty.

I went with the Jordaan as it conformed with my goal — taking my daughter to her nearby school.

The premium carbon belt drive and Enviolo system on the Jordaan. Picture: Supplied

You see, this year I ran into a problem. The local school is absolutely overflowing with kids. And in its great wisdom, the department saw fit to cut our suburb in half and bustle off the kids to another school on the other side of a giant park, across the Parramatta River (exaggerated tales of my parents travelling epic distances to school are ringing in my ears).

The only available solution was to use a car. However, I noticed other crafty parents were onto the eBike trend so when Lekker offered me the chance to trial the bike I immediately accepted.

Jordaan

The Jordaan is quintessentially Dutch. It has a tall frame with the rider in the classic upright position and curved bars.

It came with the child seat helpfully installed and the bike was charged.

It was my first time to ride an eBike and like almost every male, I went ahead without reading any instructions.

Thankfully, it is extremely simple to operate. You simply turn on the power and select the assistance settings, which range from 1 to 5.

I immediately cranked it up to 5 and felt the joy of an electrical force helping to propel me down the local bike path. In front is the TFT Display, which has various information including speed and battery life.

As I set out, the first thing I noticed was the Jordaan is extremely smooth.

This is likely due to the Dutch engineering as the country is miles ahead of Australia in terms of the adoption of eBikes.

The bike is smooth and safe to ride. Picture: Supplied

Changing gears is just a matter of rolling the shifter on the handlebar. The 7-speed Enviolo system is seamless and there’s no sudden gear drop like on other bikes.

On my first outing, my two daughters had a blast as I toured them around Parramatta Park in turn.

On a more practical level, I found it is perfect for school drop-off. It’s faster and easier than using the car. I zipped across the park and after a couple of days found myself in an eBike gang with other parents.

I proudly compared the battery and speed of my bike to my fellow gang members and they were surprised when I revealed I had only charged it once that week.

I did, however, find that it’s best to keep the charge above 60 per cent as performance drops off considerably below that point.

The battery can be disconnected and charged inside the house, which is easier than lugging a bike upstairs. There are two types available, the standard has a range of 70km and the upgrade 100km.

The bike comes complete with good safety features including a strong front and rear lights.

Other handy elements include front and rear racks, a kickstand and locks to keep it safe.

I also found the bike to be resilient. I took it off road and it also survived a couple of showers on the school run.

My take

It’s easy to see why parents are turning to eBikes en masse instead of driving cars for the school drop-off.

It’s nice to get some exercise, fresh air, and chat with your child as you ferry them to school.

My daughter loved it.

I say, sell your second car and buy an eBike! The Lekker Jordaan is a great alternative.

It has a powerful battery, runs extremely smoothly and is perfect for commuting.

Find out more about the Jordaan here.

Originally published as Lekker's Jordaan GTS eBike review: ‘Sell your car and buy this instead’