Biktrix Juggernaut Hub Duo Review

Biktrix Electric Bikes eMountain Bikes Fat Tire eBikes

The Juggernaut Hub Duo is Biktrix's most popular ebike model. There are a lot of different Juggeranut models that Biktrix sells, including the Juggernaut Hub Duo, the Classic Duo, and the Ultra Duo. The Hub Duo is Biktrix's lower torque model bike, and more of a universal bike for any user. The Hub Duo is capable of both throttle and pedal assist exertion and has a 750w rear drive. Weighing in at 80 lbs, the Juggernaut Hub Duo is quite a heavy bike, unusually heavier than a lot of other ebikes with similar same components. The Hub Duo scored a 70 on our tower ebike score.

DISCLAIMER - Biktrix and Juggernaut HD are trademarks of Biktrix Electric Bikes, and use of that trademark in this review does not indicate that the reviewer is claiming any interest in the mark or any affiliation with or sponsorship or endorsement by Biktrix Electric Bikes.

Biktrix Juggernaut Hub Duo

We're going to review and rate the BikTrix Juggernaut HD. The Juggernaut HD received an outstanding rating of 70 on our Tower 100-point Score and 78 points on the Specialty Score. I'll get into the difference between the Tower Score and the Specialty Score later on.

But before we proceed, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Stephan Aarstol. I'm the founder and CEO of the Tower e-Bike Repair Shop here in San Diego. We get hundreds of different brands and models of e-bikes coming through our repair shop every month. Our e-bike mechanics get a thorough look at a wide array of electric bikes, from junkers that you buy off from Amazon to high-end model which you can get for thousand bucks. So we really get to see the gamut of how often these bikes come in for repairs, and what kinds of maintenance they require.

What we really wanted to do was to put together a Tower e-Bikes Score. It’s a single point score that helps consumers grasp the quality differences across bikes. Many people often believe that e-bikes have only one function, whereas they do not. An e-bike is more than just that. There’s a wide range of differences between them, which are great. You really have to be almost an expert in this industry to distinguish quality from non-quality; Otherwise, it might pose a problem for consumers.

This is the reason why we put together the Tower e-Bike 100-point Scale. We rate this e-bike on the seven key attributes. Each of these attributes will be given a 1 to 10 score. Then, we’ll normalize those seven points to get a 100-point scale.

These seven key attributes are the following:

Materials quality
Mechanical quality of the e-bike
Low maintenance
Hill climbing ability
Range
Comfort
Universality

The first thing we really consider is the materials quality of an electric bike. The second attribute is about the mechanical quality. The low-maintenance comes next. It's all about how much money you're willing to spend on maintenance. The higher the score, the less maintenance your electric bike will require. The fourth attribute is the hill climbing ability. e-Bike are popular mode of transportation for many people. Basically, you don’t want to ride an e-bike that can't go uphills. Although there's a lot of bikes out there that don't mind this attribute, it’s a critical aspect of an e-bike’s quality, so we rate and built it into our Tower Score.

The fifth attribute is range. All of the bikes we got are stock versions of the models they are based on what these brands are promoting and advertising. If an e-bike company gives a really undersized battery, then they'll get ding here. This indicates that they're providing you less than the optimal product. But they’ll receive a high score if they bundle in like a good battery for the motor size and everything like that. The last two attributes are comfort and universality.

Universality is about how this bike work for a lot of people. This is what the Tower Score is all about. Again, it's a score from 1 to 100 and it's similar to a wine spectator score. It is a single point score based on many trusted experts. Personally, I don't know a lot about wine. However, if I see a score of 94 on a bottle of wine that costs $15, I know it's a pretty good deal. Because it has a quality single point score built in by people who are kind of experts in this field. We're kind of trying to create the same thing for e-bike shoppers.

Apart from that, we also give a second score, which we call a specialty score. It omits the last two criteria of our seven-point scale, comfort and universality. The reason we omit them is because e-bikes and bikes in general are made for different frame sizes and function. Hardcore mountain bikes and road bikes, for instance, are built for people who want to be engaged on it. Thus, comfort are not necessarily their main priority.

Whereas, in the e-bike world, the vast majority of people mainly search e-bikes for transportation. Unlike the traditional bike which is used for recreation and sports. So we include comfort and universality into our overall Tower e-Bike Score. But if you are looking for a specific function of a certain bike, such as a mountain bike or a road bike, we will give you a specialized score that excludes comfort and universality. However, you also have to be aware of the specific use of bikes so that you may determine which bike is the best for you.

The Biktrix Juggernaut HD is a part of a larger Juggernaut series that includes five or six distinct version. The HD, however, is a kind of high-end version of this e-bike.They got into the industry in 2014. They launched a Kickstarter campaign with a 750-Watt mid drive motor with two batteries. It was a high-end electric bike under a fat tire Canadian bike company.

A lot of companies were trying to put little crappy bikes out and get the price point down there. However, this company went all in to create a quality bike. Overall, I think they did a good job. A Tower Score of 70 and a specialty score of 78 are considered an outstanding rating for an e-bike.

Let's get back to the review on each of the 7 criteria.

eBike’s Materials Quality 6/10

The first attribute is called materials quality. We give them a six out of 10. Actually, flat tires are the number one issue when it comes to electric bikes. This company use Kenda tires which are considered pretty low-hand tires. Probably, they do that to save a little cost. However, you'll get flat tires and other problems as a result. You have to keep in mind that a high-priced bike does not imply that the tires are of excellent quality. There are lots of e-bike companies that cut corners on quality to save few bucks. The frame is also made of carbon fiber. Still, this is a very high quality bike with a score of six out of 10, not a horrible score for materials quality.

Mechanical Quality of Electric Bike 8/10

For the mechanical quality, the Biktrix Juggernaut HD receives an eight out of ten. They have premium hydraulic brakes, which are among the best in the e-bike industry in terms of mechanical components. This is also built like a higher-end mountain bike, with a nice front suspension. It got high-end bike components across the board. So, an eight out of 10 is a pretty excellent score.

Low Maintenance 6/10

The third attribute that we're going to rate the Biktrix Juggernaut HD e-bike is low maintenance. It received a six out of ten, which is not a bad score. Although it gets ding because they did go cheap on the tires. Since these are fat tires, I suppose you can always upgrade them but there is a little bit of expense involved. In addition to that, they also use hydraulic brakes. These are self-adjusting brakes that prevents you from having the issue of constantly adjusting your brakes.

In terms of mileage, hydraulic breaks have a significant advantage over mechanical ones. Not only because it save you the trouble of having to adjust them every couple of rides, but also your safety. Aside from that, this e-bike also includes a belt drive and a derailleur. They do have high-quality and rust-resistant components as well.

Electric Bike’s Hill Climbing Ability 10/10

The fourth attribute is the hill climbing ability. In hill climbing ability, this bike does really well. It gets a 10 out of 10, which is a perfect score. It’s similar to a fat tire mountain bike that s designed to be off-road. They put a powerful motor on it. So, if you want to be able to go straight uphill, you can on this bike. I believe the one that came through our shop had a thousand watt mid drive motor with gearing on the back.

This is one of the big appeals of Biktrix e-bikes. You can get into a granny gear and use those thousand watt to be able to go up anything. Hill climbing ability is something that a lot of e-bike companies tend to overlook because it's kind of expensive to do so. Aside from that, the battery capacity makes it even more costly. Overall, this e-bike received a perfect ten for hill climbing ability.

Electric Bicycle Range 9/10

On range, we gave them a nine out of 10. They put a single but high capacity battery on it. This huge Bafang motor is combined with a 17-amp-hour battery. Nine is probably even a little generous on the range here, but you do have the option to upgrade it. In terms of stealth, nine is a good score. They did put some thinking into it, despite the fact that it is a really pricey bike.

Electric Bicycle Comfort 5/10

The next attribute feature we'll look at is comfort. This e-bike got a five, which is mostly due to the designed that’s very similar to a mountain bike. So you’re kind of hunched when riding this e-bike. It's not really a pedal forward design. Although they do have a front suspension but not a full suspension. Despited this fact, the seat is rather comfy and decent. Again, these bikes aren't built for comfort. That's why we keep them separate out of the specialized score, like a sort of discounts. The comfort and universality doesn't include them. The Biktrix Juggernaut HD, on the other hand, scores a five for comfort.

Universality of this Electric Bike 5/10

When it comes to universality, this ebike also gets a five. Again, the one we got is not the step-through model but a step-over version. It's a pretty high bar to step over. It’s only going to work for people that are pretty tall. Additionally, It doesn’t have a ton of adjustability in the handlebars like coming back or going up. So, it's kind of just going to work for larger people. But it's going to work well; However, it's just not something that's going to work for everybody. For instance, if you have this e-bike and you want to let your girlfriend use it or your son, they might have a hard time getting on this bike and riding them. It does get a score of five for the universality.

So, that is the Tower Score. We add all those up, and then we normalize it. We got a score of 70, which is a respectable score for an e-bike. They did a good job of it. On the specialty score, like I said, we don't factor the comfort and universality. The only two attributes that score were pretty low. Both received five points. So, If you’re going to take those out of the equation, then it gets us a specialty score of 78, which puts them in the outstanding e-bike category. This is really an excellent score. There's not too many e-bikes that really do score in the outstanding range. So, I’ll definitely give them props for that.

Electric Bike Weight - 80lbs

The weight on this bike is 80lbs. It is a fat tire bike, so it is an extremely heavy. They also have a big motor and huge battery capacity on it. Thus, it's going to be hard to lift that up into a truck, up the stairs at your apartment, and wherever you're going.

eBike Looks

This is a pretty good looking bike. Its built is similar to a mountain bike. Especially, if you've got the extra battery. But you can't cruise down the boardwalk with these fat tires. People are going to know this is an e-bike as you're flying by them. Although some people really like the fat tire look on this e-bike. Overall, the looks are decent. We don't give a rating on looks because we really feel like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people might like that or may not like this. You can judge for yourself. But the looks are not factored into our Tower e-Bike Score.

Low Proprietary Risk 6/10

But there's one more attribute that we rate. We also give this a score of one to 10, but it doesn't get factored into the Tower Score. This is what we refer to as low proprietary risk. The Biktrix Juggernaut HD gets a low proprietary risk score of six out of 10. This score is basically how much proprietary stuff they put into their product. We also assessed how easy it would be for you to get this bike fixed or to replace parts yourself if this company goes out of business or stop supporting this model.

The reason we want dont fully include this score is because 95% of the e-bike companies that are in business today are going to not be here in 10 years. This is the nature of these industries. They have 100, 200, 500 brands and models but not all are going to survive. In fact, I would say, 90% are likely going to fail. When they fail and you own one of these bikes, what are your options? That is why you’ll be in a far better position if they rely heavily on off-the-shelf parts. So, a score of six out of 10 isn't bad at all.

One of the big knocks of this company was that they're not really diversified. Though a Canadian brand, it's still a little tougher to compete in Canada due to the country’s limited national market. Even though we were huge fans of the Kenda tires in our quality, this is a standard tire that you can get anywhere. But they did make extensive use of standard controllers and LCD screens. Bafang motors are also integrated inside so you'll be able to get those parts even if they go out of business.

A lot of these companies get really fancy with stuff but when they go under, all of their customers are left stranded. We see this every day at the Tower e-Bike Repair Shop here in San Diego. People came in and spent a thousand dollars on this bike, but haul it to the dump afterward. We can, however, create a completely new electrical system for it as well as certain standard bike parts.

That's all there is to the Biktrix Juggernaut HD, which receives a 70 on our overall Tower e-Bike Score. They did an excellent job. Check out our website for Tower Scores on a growing list of other e-bikes that come through the Tower e-Bike Repair Shop.