JuicyBike Owner Reviews

[RichardB]

Submitted by: Bob

Model: Sport

Retailer: JuicyBike

PurchasePrice: £700

TimeOwned: 4 Months

Terrain: Moderate Hills

Strengths: Light weight, powerful motor, 36 Volt battery. Tip up saddle makes battery easy to remove. I think it looks good. Comfortable to ride and very well assembled with excellent instructions (dutch, english).

Weaknesses: Had to get mine from Eindhoven! Saddle might be a little wide for me - but easy to change.

Summary: I can't find fault really. This bike has recently become available in the UK for much less than I paid, but I still think I got a bargain.

Overall Rating: 9.5

 

[GeoffM]

Juicy Bike Sport Review

Reviewer: Geoff

Purchased From: Juicy bike

Purchase price: £ 695

I've had this bike just over two weeks and thought I'd share these comments.

Delivery was prompt (Buxton isn't far away from me) and the bike came with the dealer, Bob Wales, who helped assemble and showed me the ropes.

The packaging was excellent - thick card board with reinforced corners, bike well protected in plenty of bubblewrap.

Bob had charged the battery so before he left everything was tested and I could ride it straight away.

On the flat the pedal assist seems to take most of the strain up to about 15 mph and requires very little help in top gear. Up the hills, which are very steep round here in the middle of the Derbyshire Dales, again, I need to put in very little effort, but do need to be in a lower gear.

I am really pleased with this bike. I think it looks good and seems an incredible bargain to me. I've seen the same frame used on another range with a weaker battery and motor for almost twice the price.

Only gripe I have is with the free rack that came with it, which was a little awkward to fit - I don't really need a rack and I should'nt complain because it came free along with led lights front and back (rear light fitted to rack) and a reasonable little tool kit with allen keys and a little socket set. Also fitted to the bike (which I wouldn't use normally) is a water bottle and holder and a nifty little pump.

Tyres are nice and chunky, seat comfy, brake cables all neatly tied, though the front disk brake cable is a little short I think.

Overall I think it would be picky of me to give this bike anything less than 10 out of 10. The service in particular was great and Bob is clearly passionate about these bikes - Good luck to him I say!

 

[Blotty]

Juicy Bike Sport

I brought the Sport in October and what a great investment. It eats up the hills I went up the Great Orme at nearly 10mph ( with pedaling - but it wasn't hard). Did 38 miles, on the flat on first charge and regularly do 30 miles in hilly areas without the battery failing. It has brought the joy back to cycling. Coming from a running background I had kept myself very fit but on reaching pension age I was finding cycling hard work and therefore not so enjoyable. Now I can get back out again. I like Sustrans type trails, forestry etc with as little road as possible, so whilst I wouldn't take it over Jacobs Ladder at Edale I would, and will, take it round Ladybower.
Wind is no longer a problem, can cycle merrily against it. On the flat, battery power isn't really needed and whilst I wouldn't want to have to pedal uphill unassisted, I could if the battery did fail. It takes about 4 hours to charge so no problem.
Juicy Bike sales are very helpful and the bike is of good quality. The only possible criticism is that the motor whines, I quite like it but others may not. Its a characteristic I believe of the currie motor. It is so comfortable that I could almost do with a second battery, 3 hours easily does nearly 40 miles so I would happily do more if the battery would allow it.
Peter (Stoke on Trent)

 

[davekermito]

Juicy Sport Extended Battery

Reviewer: davekermito

Purchased From: Direct from :: Juicy Bike :: stylish electric bikes and scooters ::

Purchase Price: £859 (standard battery £715)

Time Owned: Not very long...

Local Terrain: Urban - very hilly

I'm not going to review strengths and weakness' or mark this bike out of ten as I have no yardstick to measure the bike against. However, I can give an honest review to the newcomer to the world of electric bikes.

Service: Ordered on a Saturday, Bob delivered the bike fully set-up (barring a few tweaks to the brakes, and a minor adjustment to the derailleur) to my house four days later. That is excellent service in my opinion.

The base bike: Chinese, massive welds, heavy (compared with my old GT standard bike!), budget accessories. But, solidly built and with a look of strength and reliability, fingers crossed. I was not expecting a Cannondale S-Works but you would hope that a little more finesse would be taken in the factory. Overall, I've got what I've paid for yet feel slightly disappointed.

The fun stuff: As a total beginner to electric bikes (well 25 miles of experience!) I was surprised at how simple it was. ONce the basics were mastered I went on a night time 6 mile circuit to give it a run in prior to the usual set-up tweaks. Minor lag on the motor for pulling way was easily remedied with a quick tweak of the throttle. I've got to be honest, for my level of fitness and the terrain around my house it was as close to the perfect level of assistance I could ask for. The very steep hills (1:4 in parts) needed a bit of throttle which is what I would expect. On the flat, I would argue the motor gave a little too much assistance, but I won't moan too much!

Overall: I believe this bike will meet my needs and will prove a fun investment! However, new bike reviews are always full of positives rather than being too realistic, so I hope to give a further review after I've given the Midland's canal towpaths a thorough investigation!

Hope that helps anyone thinking of getting a Juicy Sport!

 

[JuicyBike]

Review of the Juicy Bike Sport


The neighbourhood team at Trinity Road Police Station in Bristol have had a Juicy Sport electric bicycle on long term loan over the last 10 months. The aim of the trial was to not only conduct a review of the bike itself, but also to establish the practicality and usefulness of an electric bicycle for police work.

Two other electric bicycle models were trialled during the same period – the Smarta GT and Urban Mover 36V. This review will include some comparative references to these other models.

The neighbourhood team consists of 5 police constables and 9 PCSOs, all of whom regularly use pedal cycles at work. The local terrain is moderately hilly and distances covered during a normal shift are usually between 20-30 miles. Bicycles are used for high visibility patrol as well as attending calls from members of the public. Shifts are up to 9 hours in length; with a maximum of approximately 7 hours on patrol. Equipment in general gets heavily used in the police service; bicycles are no exception to this. Over 9 months the Juicy Bike Sport has received extremely heavy usage in all types of weather by multiple users.

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Brief Summary

The Juicy Bike Sport is a good value entry level electrically assisted bicycle and is the cheapest of all three bikes trialled at £740 (2010 price). The core components (battery, motor, controller and frame) are of very good quality and have performed well. Cost saving is reflected in some components used and there have been some minor faults which have been easily rectified. The bike trialled has a 10Ah battery.

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Strengths

Value for money (the cheapest of all three bikes trialled)
Power / speed / hill climbing ability
Quiet motor
Battery capacity (although 10Ah too small for prolonged use by heavier riders)
Rapid charge time
Rear rack quality
Adjustable handlebar stem
Riding position (for average user)
Dealer support

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Weaknesses

Frame size (for larger users)
Some minor mechanical/electrical faults (discussed later)
Short mudguards
Battery lock / housing loose

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The Juicy Bike Sport is the cheapest of the three bikes trialled by the neighbourhood team but uses similar components as bikes which cost considerably more. The Sport has a 36V 250W brushless Bafang rear hub motor paired with a 10Ah lithium battery which gives a range per charge of around 20-25 miles range with low-moderate assistance from the rider. The Sport has a Pedelec sensor as well as throttle assist and 6 speed Shimano Tourney gears. Braking is provided by cable operated discs front and rear by Zoom. On the rear of the bike is an LED light operated from a button on the handlebars.

The motor gives a very healthy level of assistance and managed to propel even the heaviest riders up the steepest hills of Bristol (albeit at a fairly steady speed with some rider effort). When fully charged the assistance on a flat road creeps a little beyond the legal limit of 15mph but soon settles to around that level. Performance is maintained throughout the full discharge of the battery and only drops off slightly just prior to the battery going completely flat. The motor is very quiet and can barely be heard at cruising speeds; when under load a low and quite satisfying growl can be heard as the motor pushes the bike along.

Recharging from flat takes just a few hours. Incorporated into the throttle assembly is a very basic battery level warning – a series of three coloured LED’s. We found that essentially all three LEDs stay lit until the battery is nearly depleted rather than offering a linear indication of charge level. As the battery approaches exhaustion the green light flickers and this is the time to head towards a charger! The battery suffers in very cold weather, the charge indicator lights flickering much earlier. For use in a policing environment the standard 10Ah battery is barely adequate. Utilising a mid-shift charge during a refreshment break enabled the Juicy Bike to be used for most of the day however heavier riders found that this was not the case and the battery depleted before the end of the shift. Pedalling without assistance is possible but an extremely tiring experience due to the extra weight of the bike and the drag of the motor. A slow ride back to base is the only option with a flat battery. A 16Ah battery is offered which I think would be more suitable for police use. Alternatively two 10Ah batteries per bicycle with one kept on charge whilst the other is in use.

The bike is supplied as standard with an adjustable stem which allows for a very comfortable riding position. The seat has a sprung post which also adds to comfort for lighter riders however we found that for anybody over about 70kg the post just compresses to its minimum length and offers little benefit over a traditional fixed version.

The rear rack is of high quality – very strong and no rattles.

The tyres have performed very well; we have had no punctures at all with hundreds of miles accumulated over the last few months.

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A few issues have arisen during our time with the Juicy Sport although non serious and I understand that some may well have already been addressed with the newer version of the Sport which has now been produced.

The brake cut-out switches (which cut power to the motor when you brake) seem prone to sticking and therefore not activating. We have had two failures on the loan bike. One was replaced and has not failed since, the other failed and we have continued to use the bike with just the one switch. This has some safety ramifications as approaching a junction on Pedelec assistance can result in power still going to the motor as you brake.

The Pedelec sensor failed and was replaced (an easy and low cost job however).

The rear light is not bright enough to be used on its own legally.

The battery tends to rattle around in its mounting as there is a lot of play between it and the frame. This was easy to rectify with some small pieces of foam strategically placed. This makes the bike so much quieter and could really be implemented at the factory (but easy for the user to fix). I believe that this has also been addressed in the new model.

The front suspension forks have little damping which results in a slightly harsh rebound and some play which can be felt on braking; they are however adequate for typical road use.

The main power plug which is a kettle plug type connection has a habit of shaking loose over time. The result is a sudden loss of power when the plug disconnects. I understand that the later Sport model no longer uses this connector.

The Sport is only available in one frame size. This has proved to be a little small for the taller members of the team (although still useable with a raised seat this is not an ideal riding position).

The mudguards are short sport style ones which look nice but provide little in the way of wet weather protection. These are inadequate for police use in inclement weather.

The brakes are adequate but basic. They are cable operated calipers made by ‘Zoom’ with very small brake pads which tend to squeal, especially when wet. We have found also that due to the small size of the pads they tend to wear out quite quickly and we have been through several sets (although it must be said our trial bike has received some extreme usage!).