Powerful Fat Tire E-bike w/ Torque sensor from Juiced Bikes

IMO while Fat Bikes can commute... it's not a good fit for commuting. A 'massive hill' requires acceleration and the heavy 'fat tires' will slow you down. You also can't dodge and slice thru traffic as easy as a regular bike. Only good thing a Fat Bike is good for is bombing around the neighborhood and weekend fun.

First time I rode a 4" Fat Tire bike I was surprised how slow and sloppy the steering was, but it is what it is...
 
Juiced Bikes
Published on Oct 1, 2017

"All of the HF1000 Founders Series frames got remade. We were not happy with the frame performance and just scrapped the entire batch of frames and started over. The new frames are much stronger and more capable of standing up to the powerful 1,000 Watt motor..."
" We did not have time to paint the frame and just needed to get testing as the project is very behind, but the frames will be painted black..."

"We are scheduling the assembly for after the holiday. Here in China it is something like the 4th of July week. So we will lose a few days. We will have updates from the assembly once things get underway. We are not taking any new orders until the initial batch of bikes ship which is estimated to be sometimes in November."
 
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Thanks for the video, two observations.
  • The frame in the video is XL (20"), its smaller than I expected.
  • The frame design resembles a CrossCurrent Air.
 
IMO while Fat Bikes can commute... it's not a good fit for commuting. A 'massive hill' requires acceleration and the heavy 'fat tires' will slow you down. You also can't dodge and slice thru traffic as easy as a regular bike. Only good thing a Fat Bike is good for is bombing around the neighborhood and weekend fun.

First time I rode a 4" Fat Tire bike I was surprised how slow and sloppy the steering was, but it is what it is...


Depends on your commute. I love my fat bike even on regular roads because it is so smooth. Get a bluto fork on it, don't run Kenda fat tires (get better ones), suspension seat and run a BBSHD and you won't have any hill problems even on a fat. Takes some getting used to maneuvering a fat bike but after you get used to it, it maneuvers ever bit as well as any of my other bikes
 
I know there have been problems contacting Juiced for warranty etc.. but Luna offers far less support and there are many reports of them essentially telling customers they are on their own. Just something to consider if, like me, you're not an e-bike engineer nor affluent.
 
I don't recommend going from Juiced to Luna expecting better support. I have ordered parts - not bikes - from them and had a problem every time. On top of that, their support often gives attitude when you do have a problem.

Up until now "Luna" bikes were just stock commercial bikes with a BBSHD (or other mid drive) installed and sometimes some parts swapped out. Nothing's wrong with this (Lectric Cycles does this too with some of their line), but the experience doesn't necessarily translate to the challenges of overseas manufacturing (witness all the problems Tora et al have had). The Apex (which I'll admit looks amazing) has a bespoke carbon frame and battery, lots of customization, a drive Luna has never shipped before.. Is this starting to sound familiar? Add on top of the fact that, to my knowledge, Luna has never shipped anything other than a bolt-on conversion. Juiced is running into problems and they've shipped hundreds of bikes (and aren't embarrassed to admit they're iterating as they go).

If this ships, it'll be an amazing bike, and I hope they succeed - a powerful torque-sensing mid drive was what I really wanted in the first place - but I simply don't trust the company that once shipped me a used/visibly damaged sub-$100 part as a new part with their first foray into custom-manufactured carbon fiber. And a warranty is an add-on!

Incidentally, it's likely torque sensing mid drives will be come more common (And available in DIY) soon - Lectric Cycles had one at Interbike over a year ago: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/e-rad-lectric-cycles-at-interbike-2016.8897/. I would keep an eye on their site (their E-RAD motors are just custom spec BBSHD - they deal with Bafang a lot too).
 
I don't recommend going from Juiced to Luna expecting better support. I have ordered parts - not bikes - from them and had a problem every time. On top of that, their support often gives attitude when you do have a problem.

Up until now "Luna" bikes were just stock commercial bikes with a BBSHD (or other mid drive) installed and sometimes some parts swapped out. Nothing's wrong with this (Lectric Cycles does this too with some of their line), but the experience doesn't necessarily translate to the challenges of overseas manufacturing (witness all the problems Tora et al have had). The Apex (which I'll admit looks amazing) has a bespoke carbon frame and battery, lots of customization, a drive Luna has never shipped before.. Is this starting to sound familiar? Add on top of the fact that, to my knowledge, Luna has never shipped anything other than a bolt-on conversion. Juiced is running into problems and they've shipped hundreds of bikes (and aren't embarrassed to admit they're iterating as they go).

If this ships, it'll be an amazing bike, and I hope they succeed - a powerful torque-sensing mid drive was what I really wanted in the first place - but I simply don't trust the company that once shipped me a used/visibly damaged sub-$100 part as a new part with their first foray into custom-manufactured carbon fiber. And a warranty is an add-on!

Incidentally, it's likely torque sensing mid drives will be come more common (And available in DIY) soon - Lectric Cycles had one at Interbike over a year ago: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/e-rad-lectric-cycles-at-interbike-2016.8897/. I would keep an eye on their site (their E-RAD motors are just custom spec BBSHD - they deal with Bafang a lot too).

Any thoughts on Bitrix? This is $2999. with 48 11.4 A battery - Question, if my commute is only 3 miles is the battery size just how long it will run? nothing to do with speed? granted they have a 17.5A batter for only $200. Had cadence and torque sensor, hydr. breaks, not as sick looking as that luna, but $2000 less. says 3yr warranty online as well. bitrix juggernaut mx "ULTRA" - $500 more than what I planned on spending with Juiced, includes fenders and rack. (I think). Thanks to those that replied to my earlier post.
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I'm close to ordering the Biktrix Ultra myself. The researching of ebikes has gone on too long. I do have one question: would a fat bike like the Biktrix Ultra be able to have 26x3 rims/tires installed on it? I was thinking about buying a separate set of 26x3 rims/tires to replace the 26x4. Not a deal breaker, but I think I want to have a separate set of smaller rims/tires along with the 26x4 that come with it.
 
Just watched the new HF video on 'Global Cycling Network', new frame & 12T. I already knew the HF
was fast, What impressed me was Tora's ability to sustain 30+ mph over distance. He's still one helluva
an athlete.
 
Just watched the new HF video on 'Global Cycling Network', new frame & 12T. I already knew the HF
was fast, What impressed me was Tora's ability to sustain 30+ mph over distance. He's still one helluva
an athlete.

I get excited knowing that I could go that fast during my work commute on open road. His cadence is about 80-85 RPM, I wonder how accurate that data is and how much power he has to put down to help the drive system?
 
I'm close to ordering the Biktrix Ultra myself. The researching of ebikes has gone on too long. I do have one question: would a fat bike like the Biktrix Ultra be able to have 26x3 rims/tires installed on it? I was thinking about buying a separate set of 26x3 rims/tires to replace the 26x4. Not a deal breaker, but I think I want to have a separate set of smaller rims/tires along with the 26x4 that come with it.

I'm not mechanic but i'm getting you'll need to adjust your brakes and calipers if you go with a thinner rim?? or offsets to keep the disc in the same place. just a thought to consider... give them a call and ask?
 
I'm not mechanic but i'm getting you'll need to adjust your brakes and calipers if you go with a thinner rim?? or offsets to keep the disc in the same place. just a thought to consider... give them a call and ask?

It's official. I just ordered the Biktrix Ultra. I'll do more research on thinner rims at some point. Just excited to have finally pulled the trigger on SOMETHING. Now the wait begins.........
 
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