Juicy Bike Sport 2011 - good option?

[tomarnold]

Hi all,
I'm about to buy a new bike (never had a new bike before, very exciting!) for my new job. It is a 9-mile fairly hilly trip each way. I'm going to be buying it using the CTW scheme and I'm on a fairly tight budget. I looked at the Powacycle Salisbury but am not keen on the idea of the 200w motor. The Powabyke X6 looked like a fairly good option but it seems to have a shorter range than most (only up to 20 miles on pedal assist).
I think I've decided on a Juicy Bike Sport 2011. Hopefully I'll be able to test ride one at Atmosphere Bikes in Bristol this weekend. It looks like a huge bargain for £765 (which works out only around £450 with the CTW scheme) and the spec looks good. Any opinions from people who are more experienced with these matters would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Atmosphere]

Hi
Yes we have the Juicy and you are welcome to test on some of our evil hills

We also have 7 or 8 other brands so you can get a good comparison

Look forward to seeing you Saturday

Alistair

 

[tomarnold]

Brilliant, thanks Alistair, looking forward to it...
Any other opinions out there?

 

[detec52]

Hi i have the juicy sport 2011, fantastic bike you wont go far wrong with this model, had mine about 6 weeks and 200miles i go out most day's weather permiting it eats the hills here in Northants, i looked around for months before deciding on the juicy i know i made the right choice, a friend of mine had a ride on it and was so impressed he rang the shop and now he is a proud owner, fitted a top box on the rear rack so i can carry my camping stove ect, great bike go for it. Rob.

 

[tomarnold]

Good stuff, thanks!

 

[mike killay]

Hi i have the juicy sport 2011, fantastic bike you wont go far wrong with this model, had mine about 6 weeks and 200miles i go out most day's weather permiting it eats the hills here in Northants, i looked around for months before deciding on the juicy i know i made the right choice, a friend of mine had a ride on it and was so impressed he rang the shop and now he is a proud owner, fitted a top box on the rear rack so i can carry my camping stove ect, great bike go for it. Rob.[/QUO

Is it a hub motor or crank drive?

 

[Atmosphere]

Hub motor - crank drives are a great deal more than the cost of the Juicy

 

[Grumpyoldgit]

My Tonaro Bighit is a crank drive, which is brilliant on hills, did not cost a "great deal more". I would advise anyone thinking of buying a hub drive to try a crank drive first.

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi i have the juicy sport 2011, fantastic bike you wont go far wrong with this model, had mine about 6 weeks and 200miles i go out most day's weather permiting it eats the hills here in Northants, i looked around for months before deciding on the juicy i know i made the right choice, a friend of mine had a ride on it and was so impressed he rang the shop and now he is a proud owner, fitted a top box on the rear rack so i can carry my camping stove ect, great bike go for it. Rob.

Nice of you to say so Rob and I'm really pleased you chose one of our bikes.

Is it a hub motor or crank drive?

Mike, we use Suzhou Bafang hub motors in the rear wheel. I think bike frames are designed to be pushed, not pulled and steering is affected by a front wheel drive. Crank drives are widely respected but are more expensive as Alistair points out.

Tom, you'll get plenty of help, advice and support from Atmosphere, by the way. I hope you enjoy your trip on Saturday.

 

[timidtom]

If I keep banging on about how satisfied we are with our Juicy Bikes it'll be really boring, won't it?
Tom.

 

[mike killay]

My Tonaro Bighit is a crank drive, which is brilliant on hills, did not cost a "great deal more". I would advise anyone thinking of buying a hub drive to try a crank drive first.

I also am a grumpy old git. Slightly arthritic. That is why I need a bike that will get me home. I live in Swansea which has the same sort of hills as Torquay. In 1960, I had a cyclemaster motorised bike, which perhaps a bit more powerful than 250 watts, needed quite some pedal assistance up hills. Then I got a NSU Quickly with two gears and the difference was profound.
Regardless of cost, I wold prefer some sort of variable gearing to the motor. As you say, the Tonaro is not much more expensive, and for someone in my situation, I would hope that it would be better. Many of the people here live in what I would consider to be very flat places indeed. I am worried by what they call hills, would I even notice them, being used to mountains?
Another point that bothers me is if I have to get off and push, can I still use the motor to help. Throttle types seem to say yes, but the Panasonic system seems to say no.

 

[Grumpyoldgit]

I'n not sure how other models work. but my crank drive Bighit does have a throttle which I suppose if you used the minimum power setting and used the twist grip throttle very carefully could assist with pushing. although it's not something I have ever tried.

 

[Biged]

There was a throttle add on for Panasonic's at one time, can't seem to find it on 50cycles new web site, which was really only to aid when pushing the bike.
Quite expensive and the one review i saw from a buyer said 'save your money'

 

[NRG]

I have a Panasonic thumb throttle on my Proconnect, it doesn't provide any real pulling power at all, only just enough to move the bike on the flat.

.............
Mike, we use Suzhou Bafang hub motors in the rear wheel. I think bike frames are designed to be pushed, not pulled and steering is affected by a front wheel drive. .....

In practice its not a problem though the only negative being on really steep hills where grip can be an issue with front drive. For the majority the benefits outweigh the theoretical steering disadvantage, broader choice of gear ratios, better balance to the bike and two wheel drive...

 

[tomarnold]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll post up what happens on Saturday after I've tried a couple of bikes...
I'm very excited!