Last week the San Diego-based electric bicycle company Juiced Bikes unveiled its newest e-bike, the RipRacer. The bike features a smaller frame and 20″ wheels, making it ideal for for either smaller riders or city dwellers that want an elevator-friendly, space-conscious ride.
Juiced Bikes’ founder and CEO Tora Harris gave us a closer look at the new e-bike in a video released on the company’s YouTube channel.
In the video, Tora showed off a 90% complete production prototype of the new RipRacer e-bike. The prototype has minor cosmetic differences from the production vehicle, which is expected to roll out early next year.
In the first up close look at the bike, Tora showed off the ‘fun-sized’ design along with the inspiration behind it.
As he explained:
“First of all, you’re going to notice that the bike is on a BMX-style platform with 20-in tires. And they’re 4-in wide tires, so they’re super fat. It really works with this form factor bike, making the bike really fun to ride.”
The bike is shown off fitting into small elevators without having to lift one end of the bike up.
While the bike is certainly smaller than most fat tire e-bikes, that doesn’t mean it precludes adult riders. The company says the RipRacer should fit riders from 5’0″ to 6’3″ (152 to 190 cm).
We also got a first look at Juiced’s new G2 battery pack. The second generation 52V battery comes with a number of new upgrades over the traditional battery back used across all of Juiced’s e-bikes.
A carry handled was added on top of the battery, which will be useful for carrying the high capacity batteries. The battery demonstrated in the video was Juiced’s 52V 15.6Ah battery configuration with 811 Wh of capacity, but the company also offers batteries up to nearly 1,000 Wh. Those dense battery packs can benefit from a carry handle to ease the process of lugging them around when they’re off the bike.
The fuse cover on the back of the battery is now hidden and the waterproofing of the entire battery has been upgraded to IP65 rating. That means riders won’t have to worry about the battery if they get caught in a rainstorm on the way home.
The battery also has a built-in apple AirTag compartment to help track the bike and/or the battery if it happens to become separated from its owner.
The power button on the battery has been relocated to the bottom of the battery where it locks against the bike. Tora explained that this adds another layer of security, since you can’t turn the bike on without being able to remove the battery to reach the button.
The video also gives us our first look at Juiced’s upcoming charging dock. The rather large device allows the battery to not only be charged, but also adds ports that can provide AC power from a pair of 110V outlets for running appliances up to 500W or DC power via USB for charging phones, tablets and other electronics.
We’ve explored battery-powered generators before for outdoor power use, but they often cost $1,000 or more. With a device like this, your large capacity e-bike battery could serve dual duty as a backup battery or power source for camping and other outdoor activities.
Next, Tora showed off the motor, which is a 750W rear geared hub motor. The bike in the video is the Class 3 version (up to 28 mph or 45 km/h), though a Class 2 version (20 mph or 32 km/h) is also available. In the Class 3 version, the controller is limited to 25A, meaning the 750W motor actually pulls closer to 1,300 watts of peak power, as Tora explained.
The new motor also uses an updated wire connection, meaning it is easier to disconnect and service in the future.
The bike also features better braking, as Tora continued:
“With the high power and speed of this bike, we also include hydraulic disc brakes. It’s very important that we have very powerful brakes for safety. So you get a lot more power, a lot more control, and also less maintenance.”
The bike is also designed to be comfortable to pedal, even with its single-speed transmission. The rear cog is a 12t while the front chainring uses a 52t setup. That results in a higher gear ratio to prevent your feet from spinning like a food processor at higher speeds.
Single-speed electric bikes have actually become increasingly common. Many riders leave their e-bikes in the highest gear all the time, as the inclusion of pedal assist means less time is spent accelerating to higher speeds.
Tora also showed off the accessory mounts and explained that the bike is designed to be an accessory platform. The top tube features four bottle bosses that function as hardpoints for mounting frame bags or carriers. The headtube of the frame has a mounting plate for a front rack or basket, and the rear dropouts sport a large M8 threaded receiver for a heavy-duty rear rack.
While many e-bikes skip the built-in lighting in favor of charging for accessory lighting, the base RipRacer comes with bright lighting including a 1,000 lumen headlight.
The tail light has an always-on function as well as a brake light function.
The seat is also custom designed and includes a grab handle to help maneuver the bike.
The bike was also designed to be easy to service, as Tora explained.
“Another thing that is very important is serviceability. So we made this bike very easy to get to the motor, very easy to get to the controller and the wiring harness. We don’t have any cables moving through the frame, which would make it hard to service.”
While that may be true, there’s also some spin there as well. Several years ago, e-bikes began featuring internal wire and cable routing to create a sleeker, cleaner look without a rat’s nest of cables. Once hydraulic brakes became more popular on e-bikes though, manufacturers quickly learned that if the brakes ever needed work, it was a headache to pull and then re-bleed the lines. The same goes for replacing electrical wires, which are harder to service when routed through the frame tubes.
In Juiced’s case, the RipRacer features a wire channel on the underside of the downtube that includes a wire cover to retain a clean look that mimics internally-routed cables. The wires appear to be hidden in the frame tube, but are actually just concealed along the bottom of the tube. It’s the same approach that Rad Power Bikes implemented when they unveiled the new RadRover 6 Plus earlier this summer.
The Juiced RipRacer will go on sale starting Nov 26th, starting at $1,399 for the Class 2 version. The higher power and higher speed Class 3 version will be priced at $1,599.
Both of those are promotional prices, and the final price of the bikes is expected to rise after the holiday season.
Deliveries should begin in March, just in time to prepare for riding season in much of the US.
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