Rize RX vs Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro?

[sjj530]

Hey guys -- new to the forum, and just picking my first eBike. 65 yo, 250 lbs, and starting to need some help riding. I'm planning to use it on forest roads, trails, gravel roads, and pavement. No technical downhill, no rooty-rocky singletrack.
After about a month of research I decided on the BikTrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro at ~$4200. Fat-tires, Bafang Ultra 1000W motor, reasonably good components, full suspension. Upgraded to quad hydraulic brakes from stock. But then I get on this forum and find lots of people complaining about fat tires. I've tried them a couple of times at the beach and on some trails and thought they were OK, but I've never used them on pavement.

So could I do better then the Biktrix? I looked at the Rize RX. About $1K cheaper. Components seem lower quality, but it also has a Bafang 1000W (think it is the BBSHD), 2.3" tires. Lower cost of entry and maybe more versatile than the FS PRo with the narrower tires?

Any suggestions? Maybe I should just assume I'm going to need a fat-tire AND a skinny tire eBike and spend the money for both?

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

 

[indianajo]

Fat tires are for powder snow or fluffy beach sand. You have to decide how fluffy is your beach. At Galveston or Panama City I've been to, generic Gulf Mex beach sand, not fluffy. There are 3 downsides to 4.0" up fat tires. 1. can't be inflated over ~25 psi so limit your range due to massive consumption of watthours 2. hard to change tube on the road by yourself 3. cost & life.
Personally I don't like wearing a brown stripe up my back so I wouldn't ride a bike without fenders. The rize has them.
Biktrix has air suspension, so may allow for adjusting air for weight changes. Rockshock rear is one of the more respected brands, I don't know about the proprietary front. After x000 miles or y years the seals will need replacement, good luck on finding the parts.
Court hasn't reviewed rize so I don't know who makes their suspension. If you find out, read mtbforum to find out what hard users of suspensions think about the various brands.
I ride without suspension, but only 9-10 mph. I don't have spine problems; other people do and need a smoother ride. I'm 9000 miles into my bike and no suspension maintenance. 5 sets tires. I ride 2.1" x 26" tires at ~45 psi. 55 on rear with a heavy load of groceries.
Biktrix has 37 posts on known problems thread today. Rize has 101. You have to divide that by market share, which is a big case of whonoz? I respect blix with 1, kona with 0, yuba with 1. I own yuba, which is special for people that don't like the front tire snapping sideways out of their hands. My 3 previous bikes did that to me. 5 times thrown on my chin.

 

[Brew61]

Fat tires are for powder snow or fluffy beach sand. You have to decide how fluffy is your beach. At Galveston or Panama City I've been to, generic Gulf Mex beach sand, not fluffy. There are 3 downsides to 4.0" up fat tires. 1. can't be inflated over ~25 psi so limit your range due to massive consumption of watthours 2. hard to change tube on the road by yourself 3. cost & life.

Your first down side is incorrect. I have a fat tire bike and the tire calls for 30 lbs. and thats what I run it them. Your second down side that it's hard to change a tube on the road by yourself. I have taken my front and rear wheels off a couple of times and pulled the tires and tubes off to do something with the rim tape. Had absolutely no problems at all. Everything came apart and back together quite easily.

As for the choice between the BikTrix or Rise, I would go for the BikTrix. I know a few people who have the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro and also the BikTrix Juggernaut Ultra Beast 2 and they love them. As for fenders I am sure that is something that can be added.


Bruce

 

[AHicks]

I would add a 4th downside to the fatty's. That, is depending on the tread design. The knobby designs are noisy on pavement at speeds over about 10mph. Many can be REALLY distracting, to you and those around you. The street/smooth/slick treads have this thing called self steering. THAT can be distracting as well. You can avoid that by inflating them to the point that good ride they're supposed to provide has pretty much disappeared, but what's the point?

Regarding the Ultra powered Rize bikes, they make both a fatty (RX Pro) and a more conventionl RX model with the much more desirable (IMHO) 27.5x2.3" tires. I bought a PRO, loved the bike, hated the fatty tires, and converted it to 27.5" rims. Most of the bikes in this price range have pogo stick front ends, but they are easily replaced for air over hydraulic for 150 or less. A really simple swap. As far as the rest of the components used, I'm not sure why anyone that's actually checked them out might call them "lower quality". They aren't!

 

[sjj530]

Thanks for ll the feedback guys! I decided to go with the Bixtrix, and I'll probably get an additional wheelset so I can swap out the fat tires for a 27.5"x2.8" slicks for pavement.

Anyway, it's just my first eBike. As my mother-in-law told my then fiancee - "You can't start on your second marriage until you get through your first."

 

[SVRACER295]

How long is the delivery time estimated for this? I believe this is also the way I am going also..

 

[sjj530]

I ordered the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro 2 on 3/24/22 and it showed up on 4/4/22 - not bad, I'd say. I've only put about 40 miles on it so far but in general I'm happy. The bike is well made but at 72 lbs (without battery) is heavy! It's a bit of a struggle to get it onto my car rack. I can pedal it without power-assist but the weight is noticeable. Setting it to ECO PAS 1 just about takes the weight away plus a little more -- I can roll over roots and rocks that would have my old Trek bouncing back.

Assembly was simple, although the Bixtrix assembly instructional video did not match my bike exactly and I was stumped on one part. I emailed Bixtrix support and they responded the next day. Incidentally, Biktrix support (so far) looks pretty good - they've been quite responsive.

My only criticism (again, so far) is that I had to buy the 4" wide wheelset. Some of Biktrix's advertisements say you can custom order it with the 27.5x3 wheelset, but that's not the case at the moment. When I called to order an additional wheelset they told me they were out of stock, so that will have to wait.

One last thing - the bike showed up with 5 psi in the wheels, making steering tough -- like a car with the power steering turned off. I pumped them up to 25 psi and the improvement was significant. I would imagine that you only want 5 psi on sand or snow -- and really soft sand or snow, at that.

Good luck!