Gas Gas E12 16 Inch - Review

[miom]

I've been following trials central for a while but have only just joined the forums, which have been of great use over the past couple of years.

We have been using Oset's, first a 12 inch and for the last 12 months a 16 inch 36 volt bike for my 5 year old. The Oset was second hand when we got it and we just decided to buy him a new bike now he's been competing for a few months.

After looking at Oset and Gas Gas versions we opted for the Gas Gas, which was quite a bit cheaper at £900 (36 volt). I was sceptical as everybody else seems to favour the Oset!

We have been running the Gas Gas for a few weeks now and all so far is well with it. If anybody else is thinking of changing I would have a look at one, as they appear to be a little better thougth out than the Oset, and just a bit more modern. The plus point so far vs Oset are as follows:

• Power delivery seems smoother and therefore has more traction (the Oset has very aggressive delivery)
  
• The controls such as charging plug, key and speed restrictor are much more accessible/sensibly placed
  
• It doesn't have those stupid MTB forks which spin 360 degrees, therefore it has a steering lock, which is much better and safer for kids
  
• The electronics are better protected being held between the frame with a nice plastic cover which keeps the water and mud away from them
  
• The swingarm has more shock positions and I thinks is 1 piece rather than 2 (haven't taken it off yet!)
  
• The batteries are better kept in place with individual rubber covers
  
• It's more modern looking, and of course Gas Gas have made it more visually pleasing (not that important for me, but for the boy he now has the same as Raga!)
  
• Small things like the use of hex bolts vs philips screws
  

The bad points:

• The standard tyres are only 2.4 wide, which is fine for the front, but not for a rear
  
• The standard mechanical disc brakes are not great (although have upgraded to hydraulics as this is what he was used to)
  

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

[mooky]

What is the parts availability like - and how cheap/expensive are parts?

The OSET parts seem readily available (if they have them in stock) and all parts seem pretty cheap.

[mooky]

It looks like the GAS GAS is in fact a re-badged mecatecno?

They look identical aside from colours...

[miom]

It looks like the GAS GAS is in fact a re-badged mecatecno?

They look identical aside from colours...

Hi Mooky

That's because it's made under licence by Mecatecno for Gas Gas.

I was having problems with Oset parts, first no springs/shocks, then no front mudguards so figured part availability couldn't be any worse. Gas Gas and Mecatecno UK have stock of mudguards etc, and that was my main requirement, as the electrics on these things are basically the same apart from the control unit. Incidentally you can get both 30 amp and 40amp controllers for the MecaGas. So I can get the motors from Oset, Gas, Mec or cheaper still by just Googling. And this was my major concern, as we run the Oset for 12 months and had 3 bearings and a motor failure. A few months in and the bearing is nosiy on this bike, but thankfully MecaGas come with 12 months warranty.

Having said that I have just found one really good difference between Oset and MecaGas, and that's the motor is dropped out by 3 bolts, no need to remove and split swingarm, which is great given how much these fail when they're used properly. Oset should take note of this.

So, so far, only a good experience, and his results have improved as well, which of course could just be coincidence.

Can't wait to move to a petrol bike though, find these electric bikes more like toys (nice toys!) with less reliability and more maintenance required. Once he's old/big enough enough I suspect the electric bike will be confined to practice only.

[gwhy]

how can you say that a gas bike is more reliable than a good electric bike ( well i can see it in your case with 3 motor bearing replacements in 12 months , ) . Things ware out and brake but I bet you cant replace the main bearings on a gas bike in 20mins for £4 but you can on a electric motor , parts are cheaper on a electric so just carry spares as the complete electrical system can be swapped out in 30mins. The nice thing about a electric bike is less maintenance over a gas bike not sure what you are doing with your bike my guess is the chain is not adjust correctly or the bearing seals are not seated correctly. The oset motor is not a standard wind motor so very difficult to get off the self from anywhere else without a lot of trial and error and the new oset motor is a totally custom motor, your obviously not to bothered about performance.

[miom]

how can you say that a gas bike is more reliable than a good electric bike ( well i can see it in your case with 3 motor bearing replacements in 12 months , ) . Things ware out and brake but I bet you cant replace the main bearings on a gas bike in 20mins for £4 but you can on a electric motor , parts are cheaper on a electric so just carry spares as the complete electrical system can be swapped out in 30mins. The nice thing about a electric bike is less maintenance over a gas bike not sure what you are doing with your bike my guess is the chain is not adjust correctly or the bearing seals are not seated correctly. The oset motor is not a standard wind motor so very difficult to get off the self from anywhere else without a lot of trial and error and the new oset motor is a totally custom motor, your obviously not to bothered about performance.

Thanks gwhy

I'm fairly methodical about checking and adjusting chain tension before each ride (and he rides 3-4 times a week). I don't think the motors are designed for the type of terrain they're used on, not enough waterproofing. Having said that last time I rebuilt the Oset motor I put an oil seal on the sprocket shaft, and that seemed to help. I'll do the same with the Gas Gas motor this time.

I hear what you say about carrying spares, but you I've never had to do that with a petrol bike, no need, they don't need it. Rebuild it every year or 2, but no need for in season rebuilds. Last trial I was at there were about 3 OSets all with noisy motor bearings.

I'm not sure why you think I'm not interested in performance. There's nothing special about the 36v motor. I hear the new 48v is bespoke, hope it holds up better.

[gwhy]

Thanks gwhy

I'm fairly methodical about checking and adjusting chain tension before each ride (and he rides 3-4 times a week). I don't think the motors are designed for the type of terrain they're used on, not enough waterproofing. Having said that last time I rebuilt the Oset motor I put an oil seal on the sprocket shaft, and that seemed to help. I'll do the same with the Gas Gas motor this time.

I hear what you say about carrying spares, but you I've never had to do that with a petrol bike, no need, they don't need it. Rebuild it every year or 2, but no need for in season rebuilds. Last trial I was at there were about 3 OSets all with noisy motor bearings.

I'm not sure why you think I'm not interested in performance. There's nothing special about the 36v motor. I hear the new 48v is bespoke, hope it holds up better.

The bearings on all oset motors now have a dust/oil seal and if they haven't then they should. The 36v motor is a off the shelf motor but I think it has been wound to spec for oset ( I could be wrong on this ) but the 48v is defo a custom wound motor and the new 48v motors also have custom end caps specific to oset, unless they are being sold by the manufactures to other distributors . A brushed motor is a brushed motor at the end of the day and the only things that can change is the internals but the bearing arrangement will be a constant on 98% of all brushed motors and all the oset motors fall with in this 98% if you are replacing bearings bought from oset or another supplier then next time get a much better quality bearing from a different supplier and defo fit a dust/oil seal or buy a sealed bearing or even better a ceramic bearing.

[betarambo]

Your experiences are the opposite of mine as far as reliability of gas bikes versus electric. With little gas bikes I often have had issues trying to get them to really run right, jetting etc. I have seen a few of the little Gas Gas 50cc bikes that never did run right. Then again, TY80's have proven themselves bulletproof over the years as long as you use a good fuel filter to keep rust out of the jets.

My daughter rode her 16" Oset for 5 years with the only failure being one throttle. We don't get much water here so maybe that is the difference. That bike even handled running it at up to 40 volts and a couple of after hours romps by 200 pound dads.

I guess all of our reliability data is kind of annecdotal as we can't pull real statistics. For my personal experience I will take electric every time for reliability, but I can see why you wouldn't with your particular experinces.

One piece of hard data is in the parts list. I was a trials dealer for a few years for all the gas brands. Recently I started being a dealer again but only for Oset. The parts list for any given size of Oset (for all years) is smaller than the parts list for any trials engine (just the engine). It makes it pretty easy for me to stock just about anything that any customer would need.

Interesting info on the price of the Gas Gas mini electrics. In the US I heard that the Gas Gas 16" is something like $400 more expensive. I wonder why the big difference after you cross the pond.