Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro 3 - 30 mile review

 

I bought this bake based on my experiences with prior bikes given where I like to ride.  I go off-road much more than on pavement.  I put 1,200 miles on my Rurui XT10 and learned many things about the pros and cons of hub drive electric mountain bikes.  I realized that for my riding I needed a powerful mid-drive bike so after shopping around, I bough this.

The power delivery from this bike is much better suited to my riding.  It uses both crank torque and cadence sensors to determine how much motor power to add.  This is a much more controlled and natural way to add assist power.  It also takes advantage of all the gears, 11 on this bike, to provide high torque and a wide speed range.  The mid-drive is also all suspended weight which gives better suspension dynamics in rough terrain.  

It arrived in a box very similar to my Rurui bike did.

Like the Rurui, I had it assembled in about 30 minutes.  Pretty easy.

I took a couple short rides around the neighborhood and adjusted it to get everything working well and the best ergonomic feel.

My first off-road ride was out to a trail I had been building, less than 8 mile round trip.  Later that same day, I took it for a 23 mile loop which included paved bike path, long steep hills, loamy washes, rocky hard-pack, and everything else the desert has.  I had ridden most of this route before on the Rurui so this was a great ride to contrast them.  This bike is so much better suited to off-road riding.  With 11 speeds and the mid-drive, it can climb any hill with ease.  I shot a YouTube video with some clips from that ride.

I don't even have the range extended battery installed yet but so far the battery life is fantastic.  Surely this is at least partly due to the mid-drive motor being in a much more efficient operating range, especially in the off-road situations that require high power such as steep hills and loamy terrain.  The hub drive was just turning too slow and to close to stall where it become very inefficient and is hard on the controller too.  The mid-drive has a much narrower operating speed since it is based on crank speed and takes advantage of the gears to handle a wide wheel speed range.  

The Biktrix has a better suspension too.  It has air suspension front and rear.  The front rake has more angle which makes the wheelbase a bit longer, making the bike more stable at higher speeds.  This also angles the wheel more when turning.  

  

New bike on the way

 I finally ordered a new electric mountain bike.  After long research I decided on the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro 3.

I have now put over 1,100 miles on my Rurui XT10 and I have learned much about what I needed for where I ride.  I chose the Biktrix bike because:

• Bafang M620 ultra mid-drive is the best motor for serious off-road with steep hills and loamy terrain that I ride in.
• 52V batteries are more efficient and powerful with the M620 motor than the typical 48V.
• 11 speed cassette with 11-42 gears supports a wide range of riding conditions, including steep hills and loamy terrain. The bigger rear gears will work much better in the technical or real steep riding.  It is a proper cassette too, instead of the screw-on freewheel than has limits.
• Fat-tire and full suspension for serious off-road riding.
• It has an optional add-on battery for extra capacity when needed but easily removed to reduce weight when not needed.  Main battery alone is 126% capacity of the Rurui.  With the additional battery I will have 220% capacity of the Rurui.  I have only run the Rurui out of power one time so while this will be nice it is likely more than I will generally need. This will give the option of longer, steeper rides at higher speeds.
• Air shock and forks.
• Inverted fork has less un-sprung mass and is more rigid. 

The next best option I found in this price range was the Eunorau Specter S.  It was less expensive than the Biktrix.  It has the same motor and 11-speed cassette. It used 48V instead of 52V and lacked the air suspension.  Besides, it is hard to pronounce the name.  

The Rurui was great for street riding and off-road in less steep areas.  The rear hub drive did not provide enough low speed power for climbing for where I like to ride.  It did great at speeds from 11mph and up but for lower speed technical stuff, or long steep hills it did not work well.  

I also looked into more aggressive off-road bikes that were closer to electric dirt bikes.  Here are some examples.

CAB Motorworks. They make bikes from 750W all the way to over 20kW.  These are based on motocross bikes more than bicycles.  They had some very appealing features such as proper motocross suspension, wheels, and tires and regenerative braking.  I also like the moto seat option.  However, these would not be welcome anywhere but off-road.  They would not pass as a bicycle to most people.  They are also much heavier that most ebikes and are single speed (pedal).  The one I was most interested in was the Falcon.

UltraTRX. They make a range of off-road ebikes that include bike that are based on the higher end of ebikes all the way to motocross bikes.  The Cheetah looked the most interesting to me.

I ordered the Biktrix but it has not shipped yet.  Once I get it and take it for a few rides, I will post about it here on this blog.