New Juiced Bike Model: The Scrambler, fat 20" Wheels, Class 3, Double-Seater

[Asher]

Juiced has announced a new model, soon available for pre-order on Indiegogo.

It has 20" diameter wheels with 4" wide tires, and 750-1100 watts, depending on the model selected. It seats two. It has no rack or fenders pictured* and looks to have the 12.8ah battery as the stock option starting at $1499. It's got an upgraded, 1,500 lumen headlight.

*There is a city option, which may have different options.

My thoughts:

This bike looks super cool. I could see the extra seat working out great for people who like to tool around small towns with their friends a lot - especially beach areas. Also looks great for casual off-roading, and for using at festivals. Definitely has potential among the trendy crowd.

That said, I can't imagine you can pedal very hard with that geometry, which means fuel economy and range will be poorer than on say, the CCS and RCS. If you think of a spectrum of recreational <---> utility, this would definitely be on the recreational side for most people, with the CCS on the opposite side (not that it's not fun, but it doesn't make any design choices that sacrifice utility for recreation). Unlike the video, I don't see people riding this out to go off-roading, but putting it on the back of their car.

Also, this is a muuuch better use case for electrification for a beach cruiser. Unless casual pedaling is physically challenging for you, I never quite got the point of electrifying a bike just to ride along the beach where paths are packed and going fast is dangerous or impossible. Here, the motor lets you have a more relaxed posture, AND take on a second passenger with ease. I could see this bike being a huge hit at beach bike rental shops (hopefully they'd limit the speed to 15-20 mph).

I don't know these kinds of bikes well, but shouldn't there be a sissy bar? That's a bar on the back of the seat that the passenger can grab onto.



Also, lol at Juiced advertising a class 3 bike without helmets in the marketing...

I'd love to see Juiced put out a deluxe CCS , as a 'Stromer-killer.' That would really shake the industry up.

I was surprised they went the Indiegogo route, I thought they were beyond the crowdfunding phase as a company. But some companies use it as a marketing device, I guess. I'm sure there's enough demand for it to justify production regardless, so it doesn't seem necessary to test the waters via crowdfunding.

Link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-scrambler-choose-your-e-bike-adventure/coming_soon/pies
Youtube:

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I think it's a PR blunder at this point in their development. But if it sells like hotcakes, then I'm wrong.

 

[WalkinTarget]

This commercial looks like a Coca Cola ad from the 70s to me. And I too was stunned at the lack of helmets. That dude's hair would be a nice cushion on a fall, but I think ultimately a helmet would be a better idea.

All he needed was a t-shirt that read 'If you can read this, the b*t@h fell off' to make this ad work for me.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I don't know these kinds of bikes well, but shouldn't there be a sissy bar? That's a bar on the back of the seat that the passenger can grab onto.

It is not a reinterpretation of a banana bike, but rather a 60's/70's gas-powered minibike.

 

[Asher]

I think it's a PR blunder at this point in their development.

Ha considering that I doubt they'd get this out in numbers before summer is over, I agree.

 

[Dunbar]

Assuming this has a torque sensor it’s a big improvement over the BBSHD-based Super 73 and Luna knockoff. IMO this type of e-bike appeals to non-bike people so I can see it being successful. The lack of seat adjustment would be a deal breaker for me personally but there’s always the CCS and RCS for those who want a more traditional riding experience. Court has a review of the Super 73 on the EBR YouTube channel if anyone is interested in his thoughts on that bike.

 

[Barry S]

It is not a reinterpretation of a banana bike, but rather a 60's/70's gas-powered minibike.

Minibike is the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the video yesterday. Oh, how I wanted to have one in middle school because my friend did but then I grew up and now I'm looking at fat tire bikes. Same boy, different toys.

 

[dean1]

Not very revolutionary. Its a Super 73 with pedal assist https://www.lithiumcycles.com/. But I do think they are kinda cool

 

[Reid]

Not very revolutionary. Its a Super 73 with pedal assist https://www.lithiumcycles.com/. But I do think they are kinda cool

Exactly! They will sell well! A much better execution than the Super 73, even if it had pedals. They will sell well:

Build it before the Dakotas freeze over and they will come

(quote from Left Field of Dreams)

 

[geddyleesnose]

I actually asked Tora last summer what he thought of the Super 73 and if he had anything in the works that was similar. He smiled and remained quite mum. I took that as a solid 'yes'... and here it is.

Torque sensor? Front suspension? Mac motor? Pretty durn cool.

I have the CCS, which I really enjoy, but this would be a very nice and fun addition (if I only had the cash LOL).

 

[Tora Harris]

Winter spy footage of the 1100 Watt MAC powered Juiced Scrambler with hydraulic disc...

 

[Barry S]

The only thing missing is the patrol car chasing him followed by the officer telling the rider he can't ride his minibike on the street.

 

[J.R.]

My first thought was it looked like a moped from the 1970's. It'll sell, people in Europe buy these sort of scooters, I suspect city dwellers here will as well. Could be an inexpensive way to get around a city and unlike gas powered mopeds, you could bring this into the workplace or your apartment for security.

I do think the Indiegogo platform is a bit of a worry though. One doesn't pre-order or purchase from Indiegogo, you invest in the people making a product with the hope of a payoff in the form of a perk. No guarantees, no redress should anything go wrong or change from the original proposal. The instant you invest your money it's theirs, no matter how long it takes to get your perk, if you do get your perk. You can't even change your mind the next day, there are no refunds. Kickstarter at least allows you to pull out if you decide to before the campaign is fully funded. Credit card companies can't even do a chargeback because you aren't actually buying anything, you're investing in a product or a company. An Indiegogo campaign just adds to the many suspicions I've read here on the forum that JB doesn't have money to make anything until customers pay up first.

I invested in a Kickstarter ebike 3 years ago with several others here on the forum. Specs changed, frame changed, but the bid deal-breaker was an innovative battery pack that was the real selling point was scrapped due to the pack designer and patent holder pulled out of the project. We all bailed at that point because on Kickstarter that was allowed if the project wasn't fully funded. Indiegogo doesn't allow refunds at all, ever.

Nearly four years ago a friend, a well respected person in LEV's sent me some information on Tora. I was so impressed by Tora's knowledge and vision of LEV's. I thought one day I'd be buying a bike from what was then called Juiced Rider. JR made the best cargo bike on the market. Huge battery! Then the Cross Current came out and wow that was impressive. I was waiting (and still sort of am waiting) for a MTB. It just seemed like the natural next bike, but it has yet to arrive. Maybe it's the fact MTB are moving away from hub drives and JB is a hub drive brand. There's no reason it has to stay that way. I still think he could make a great MTB with a big battey pack at an affordable price.

Tora is a great designer, with vision and common sense when it comes offering battery packs people want. I've spent a few decades as a production manager for industrial products, nothing retail so I may be way off base, but the conclusion I come to from the many disappointed customers waiting for bikes is Juiced bikes needs a very good business manager. Tora is great at what he does, and what he does is give the people what they want, but timelines, deliveries, parts and communication are a mess. And now a 6 year old company starts an Indiegogo campaign to get money to keep the lights on in the shop. As far as I understood Indiegogo and Kickstarter were for startups.

I want to see JB succeed, but more models doesn't necessarily equate to more business and more money. There's been more than a few car companies fall into that trap. Good luck Tora and for the customers waiting. Here's hoping June is the month everything turns for the better.

 

[jazz]

Meh, not feeling this at all. Wasn't a fan of the Luna Super Banana either. I also agree with J.R. that going to Indiegogo to fund this seems to be a step back

 

[Asher]

More details available on the site.

Couple interesting things:
*Given how they're going to 52V for the smaller batteries, I'm betting Juiced will stop providing wide format batteries in 48V in the future. Not a technical problem, since wide format compatible bikes can use 52V batteries.
* Producing only three colors, one size each, helps achieve economies of scale.
* The City version costs $200 more than the Camp version because... it has slick tires and fewer but stronger spokes? I don't get that.
* The bike will come out mid to late fall (translation: early December lol).
* Given the timelines, I doubt the CCS will see any updates in 2018.

Also, the chunky looking 1 on the right side looks dumb. The Juiced logo would look better.

I'm a little surprised they're back to producing non-street legal bikes... I predicted the opposite. I guess the profit margins are there.

https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/scrambler?variant=7399109066775

 

[Nova Haibike]

The City version costs $200 more than the Camp version because... it has slick tires and fewer but stronger spokes? I don't get that.

The cast magnesium wheels cost more to produce. They also weigh more and technically perform worse, which is why you do not see mag wheels on performance bicycles of any kind. So it's a Hipster tax.

 

[Asher]

The cast magnesium wheels cost more to produce. They also weigh more and technically perform worse, which is why you do not see mag wheels on performance bicycles of any kind. So it's a Hipster tax.

Haha. Maybe we'll get clarification, but if you're right, charging $200 more for worse performance...

 

[Nova Haibike]

Perhaps it is just me, but they look goofy with a big hole in the middle. There needs to be something there, like a storage box so you can carry stuff.

 

[Asher]

Between the hipster tax magnesium wheels and the absence of foot pegs and a sissy bar (check out how the girl's legs are flailing about when she's sharing the seat with him), I have to wonder about Juiced doing it's due diligence. Scratching my head....

For a direct sales company, having a complete bike out of the box is pretty imperative. Not, "hey if you want to actually use this central feature, buy more stuff elsewhere."

I'd think that accommodating a second rider is a primary part of the appeal. So why half ass that?

The Lithium 73 version didnt have a long seat that could accommodate a second rider (missed opportunity IMO).

 

[Barry S]

Perhaps it is just me, but they look goofy with a big hole in the middle. There needs to be something there, like a storage box so you can carry stuff.

Probably going to be sold as an accessory.