The incredibly lightweight Eeyo 1S electric bike is certainly fun to ride, as I said in my review, but it’s not very practical for most city commuters. Not only is it expensive at $4,599, its unique diamond-frame design eschews both front and rear fenders — you can’t even buy them as accessories from Gogoro. While the resulting look is sleek and desirable, it also means arriving at your destination splattered in road grime whenever it rains.
That problem was seen as an opportunity by Amsterdam-based designer Oski Collado and his minimalistic Rain-Bow fenders. He’s now built a set for the Eeyo 1 and 1S e-bikes that are ready to ship worldwide. The lightweight Rain-Bow fenders are made of aluminum stays and plastic strips sourced from recycled materials.
The rear fender is priced at €55 (about $65) and attaches firmly to the Eeyo’s frame at the preexisting mount points (a sign that Gogoro is clearly thinking about future accessories). The front and rear set is priced at €110 (about $129), although Collado isn’t sure he’ll actually sell the front fender since it’s a bit of a hack.
Gogoro didn’t add mounting points on the front fork like it did in the back. While it’s not obvious in the photos, the front Rain-Bow fender is held in place by a white tie wrap. It works, blends in pretty well, and doesn’t rattle in my testing, but it’s hardly an elegant solution for this Smartwheel showpiece. Fortunately, the Eeyo’s frame does a reasonably good job of blocking much of the road spray kicked up by the front tire. In other words, your pant leg and shoes won’t suffer too much without a front fender.
It’s the rear wheel that’s responsible for most of the mess when it rains. You can avoid many rainstorms by simply waiting for them to pass, but streets can remain wet for hours.
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Just look at all the sand and who-knows-what dried onto the back of my clothes after a recent 15-minute ride on the Eeyo 1S over moderately wet roads in Amsterdam. It was worse than it looks: water was literally streaming down my ass crack as I arrived at my destination all because the bike lacked a basic rear fender. I’ve had no such problems while testing the Rain-Bow.
Collado’s one-man show makes Rain-Bow fenders (in 50mm or 35mm widths) and accessories like chain guards for Cowboy e-bikes, classic Brompton foldables, and pretty much any other bike you bring to his Haarlem workshop. He’ll even build you a custom bike of his own design.
The Eeyo still lacks a kickstand solution, but at least it can now handle commutes in inclement weather.
