Can This E-Bike Replace A Car?
I cover golf, luxury technology, and the intersection of the two.
I am officially selling my car to ride an electric bike full time. No, this isn’t a publicity stunt. It’s a real thing. I ran the numbers and it makes perfect sense. Our auto insurance has gone through the roof. Maintenance, gas and registration costs are rising again. To boot, I drive my car maybe 4,000 miles each year. And I can share our other car with my wife, when needed. Or just take an Uber. I love the two electric bikes that I own and ride them religiously to do errands within five miles of the house. I’ve mildly fantasized about getting rid of the car, so that I could use the bikes full time. But my eyes have been further opened the past two weeks, as I’ve been trying out Juiced Bikes’ CrossCurrent X model that debuted earlier this year. Why?
First of all, it’s fast. I can easily get it to 28 miles per hour and feel completely stable and in control on it. Secondly, it’s just plain powerful with plenty of torque you can feel. In the 85 miles I’ve cruised with it thus far, I’ve taken it up hills that other e-bikes can only make topping out at 12 miles per hour. The Juiced negotiates these same slopes at 19 miles per hour. Add a headwind? No problem. It just flies. It also has a thumb throttle, which is incredibly handy at times — even though I prefer to pedal. And for whatever reason, I really like that the throttle is on the left handlebar — away from the gear shifter. It just seems to work better than bikes that commonly have it on the right side, amid the other controls.
I’ve now tested about 15 e-bikes and this model is far-and-away the most-legitimate candidate to be a true car replacement. It’s well made and includes a 750-watt Bafang geared hub motor, 52V 19.2Ah LG Chem battery that can travel up to 70 miles per charge, hydraulic disk brakes, nine-speed Shimano Cassette transmission, and seven pedal assist modes including an “eco” mode. The aluminum alloy frame contributes to the 58-pound weight, as does the 12.6-pound battery. The back rack holds 50 pounds. There’s a headlight and battery-operated LED tail light. The 120x64-pixel backlit LCD display is easily visible, so you can see the speedometer, wattmeter, odometer and battery gauge at a glance. To put it mildly: This design is very well thought out.
Today In: Lifestyle
Last week, I took out the Juiced for a 31-mile trek along the Pacific coast. It glided along without a hitch. I already envision using it for regular activities that were slightly out of range for my other e-bikes — not because those bikes were incapable but because this has so much power. I just feel more confident on it. It’s sleek-looking, too, with a relatively slender frame that doesn’t scream it’s an electric model.
Thing is, it sells for $2,500. That’s about half the price of other high-end e-bikes. I’ve already told my friends who’ve been considering buying an e-bike that this may be the single-best bargain in the market, if they can afford it.
PROMOTED
So yeah, I’m finally ditching the car – lucky to be graced by Southern California weather, which means year-round riding is totally do-able. And I’m glad to pitch in my share of carbon-footprint reduction. Wish me luck!
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