Tenways CGO 800S E-Bike Hands On: Powerful and Elegant

The Tenways e-bike CGO 800S is a beautiful, well-put-together urban e-bike that offers power and comfort for a variety of riders.

To prove that, we sent the test bike to a 16-year-old (Riley - not her real name) who needed transportation to and from work and school. In short, she loved it.

"All my friends said, 'ooh, that's cool,'" she told me on the phone. "They thought that it was really big and they thought that it was cool that it had a screen on it."

The bike includes some higher-end kit like a Gates carbon belt drive, a huge improvement over those oily chains of old, and a rear hub-mounted 350W Mivice M080 motor that promises 45 Nm of torque assist and a sensor to know how hard you're pedaling. As a Class 1 pedal-assist e-bike, the CGO 800S doesn't have a throttle, which would have made our high school friend a little happier, but it does have several levels of assist, including a walking mode, which helps Riley walk the bike up the steeper hills in her hometown.

"But it also does give me exercise at the same time," she said. "I do have to pedal to make it accelerate. Plus it cools you down in the air and it doesn't make you sweaty."

Safe and Comfortable

Riley is cautious, too, but feels safe on this bike. Her brother has pushed it to 20 miles an hour, but Riley takes it a little slower.

"I usually use Boost because it's very manageable and you can control it easily because if you have your hand on the brake at all times, to move slowly in some places so you don't crash," she said.

The aluminum bike frame itself is a step-through design, making it easy to get on and off the bike, no matter what you're wearing. the bike includes a built-in cargo rack in the back and an easy-to-adjust seat post for multiple riders.

The 36V, 10.4Ah, Lithium-ion battery can be charged both on or off the bike, which makes it perfect whether you're parking in a garage near a power outlet, or need to cart the battery up some stairs to your apartment. That gives riders up to 53 miles in range, which is decent for this class of e-bike.

Tenways CGO 800S Electric Bike

The main screen display is bright enough to be seen in bright daylight. It includes all the info, like battery charge, speed (capped to 20 mph in the US), odometer, and pedal assist level. Both wheels—28-inch CST Puncture-proof 700*48C tires—include fenders to keep the dirt and water off of you as you ride to and from your destinations.

Riley said the included saddle still feels a little uncomfortable to use, granting that it might just be something she has to get used to. Still, it's easily replaceable with any standard biking saddle, so you can make it your own.

There's also a pretty great app that can record your rides in real time and track stats like distance, duration, and average speed. Most riders I know use something like Strava, but this is a nice addition for the newbie. Even better, you can cast biking directions right to the LCD panel so you don't need to have your phone out while riding. Plus, if you need tech support with the Tenways CGO 800S you can chat with the company right in the app.

One of the things about e-bikes in this class is the weight. Most of them are heavy, but the CGO 800S is lighter than some. It's 46 pounds fully loaded with the back rack, fenders, and battery, which made it a bit of a struggle for Riley to push it up steeper hills. Luckily, she discovered the walking boost mode that can help her get up those summits after sending me some pictures of the manual.

"It feels like a big vehicle because of the size of it," Riley said, "but it's really smooth and it's very quiet. It's fast too. That's nice. And the brakes work really well."

Assembly Is Easy

Setup, then, was fairly easy, said Riley's dad, who had the honor of unboxing and assembling the bike.

"It was easy to do," he told me via email. "It was pretty much assembled. The hardest part was getting it out of the box. The rear wheel and tire were already on the bike along with the belt. I had to put on the front fender, front wheel, the handlebars, and the pedals."

All the tools needed came in a little box, along with a couple of color-coded electrical connections to plug in at the handlebars to make the headlight, brake light, and turn signals work. Even the battery came 90% charged so the bike was ready to ride.

Ultimately, Riley loves Tenways' CGO 800S e-bike. She uses it all the time now, and feels really safe on it.

"I saw my dad riding it and I was like, wow, he never does that," she told me. "He never rides bikes, and that just made me feel like the bike was safe if my dad was riding on it."

If you're looking for a well-designed, good-looking e-bike for your own teenager (or even yourself), you might want to check out the Tenways CGO 800S e-bike.