Last weekend I was very lucky to start the New Year off right by road-testing a new Juiced Bike “Camp” Scrambler in some of the most ideal off-road conditions imaginable- rugged terrain that alternated between soft and fine sand, several inches deep in some places, and gravely dirt roads. It was a gorgeous 70 degree day in a place called Ladder Canyon, deep in the heart of Southern California’s Coachella Valley, around 9 miles north of the Salton Sea.
We plan to release a full review of the Scrambler ebike next week but here are some quick observations from this initial ride.
- The Juiced Scrambler’s 750watt Bafang motor delivers a ton of torque and power. The thrust of the throttle can even catch you off guard if you’re not used to riding an ebike capable of delivering this much force.
- In soft sand, probably 2-3 inches deep I had to keep the pedal assist low (eco or level 1), otherwise I’d get stuck and have to push myself out of the sand with my legs. Pedaling was not really an option for this ride btw because of the difficulty of the terrain. In short, even with the knobby 20 inch “camp” tires, there are limits to what terrain you can conquer on a Juiced Scrambler.
- Handling of the Scrambler was AMAZING on harder packed, sandy gravel and I had a blast launching the front tire of my bike off small jumps. The front suspension system performed flawlessly, while the cushiness of the banana seat made for a comfortable ride upon impact.
- After about 40 mins my knees started to get sore because the inner part of my leg kept banging into the metal sides of the frame. This is not an issue on level pavement but if you intend to ride this ebike on rough bumpy roads for longer than 30 mins, you could easily bruise the inside of your knees. It would make sense for Juiced to offer some frame padding as an optional accessory for this bike.
- According to the specs provided on the Juiced Scrambler, the 52v 13Ah battery should deliver a normal riding range of 45 miles under ideal conditions. That means level pavement, for the most part, on lower pedal assist settings like Eco mode. After nearly draining my entire battery in under 10 miles of riding, I found out pretty quickly that riding in three inch sand was nowhere in the realm of “ideal conditions.” It made sense as I found myself completely stuck in the sand with my back tire spinning in place on many occasions. Long story short, if you don’t have enough momentum going then your bike’s not going to get very far once you hit those softer patches of sand.
- Once I got comfortable riding I had my hand on the throttle pretty much the entire time and had no problem getting to 20MPH, which btw, feels pretty fast on rugged dirt roads surrounded by sharp rocks and boulders!
Those are my initial reactions. In next week’s review, which will encompass footage from multiple test rides on both city streets and more bike trails, we’ll go into greater detail.
For a sneak peak at some of the footage from my Ladder Canyon ride, check out the teaser video we put together below. If you find our video helpful please subscribe to our youtube channel as we’ll be regularly adding more reviews and other content.