Puckipuppy Beagle eBike Review: Good for Commuting and Off-Roading
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The Puckipuppy Beagle eBike is advertised as a good bike for commuting and camping. After spending some time with the bike, I think that billing is right on. In fact, during the testing period, I used the Beagle to replace a number of short car trips, that I wouldn’t have done on my traditional bike.
The Puckipuppy brand, which was inspired by its owner’s dog Pudding, had the idea of naming all of its bike models after dog breeds.
If you’re new to eBikes, especially Fat tire eBikes, the first thing you’ll notice about this bike is that it’s beefy. Between the four-inch tires and large battery compartment in the aluminum frame, it’s a big bike.
The Beagle is a Class 2 eBike, which means that it can’t go more than 20 MPH without pedal assist. The name Beagle adopts the brand’s habit of naming all of their bikes after dog breeds.
Shipping/Unpacking the Beagle
Shipping from Puckipuppy’s California warehouse to the Tampa Bay area took exactly a week via FedEx. The shipment was delayed a couple days due to weather along the route, but the package arrived in perfect condition.
The huge box is secured with multiple staples and some adhesive and is actually quite difficult to open, which is a good thing! Once the box is removed, the bike was incredibly well-packaged. I’ve had bikes delivered before where axles have punched holes in the side of the box, but the Beagle was packed tight and protected with loads of foam. All of the foam pieces are secured via zip ties.
There are also three boxes included that contain all the accessories and extra parts. The accessories box, which I wasn’t expecting, included a bike cover, bike lock, bike alarm, pump, phone holder, rear-view mirrors, water-bottle holder and a number of spare parts like bolts and brake pads.
Assembling the Puckipuppy Beagle eBike
Once the bike is unpacked, it didn’t take long to put together. Nearly the entire bike is already assembled, although you will need to mount the handlebar, the fenders and headlight, install the front wheel, secure the head unit and add the pedals.
The included directions tell you exactly what you need to do to assemble, and all the required tools, like an Allen wrench set and two crescent wrenches are included. Anyone who’s ever put furniture or anything else together should be able to assemble the Beagle.
The only issue I ran into during assembly was connecting the headlight. There are three tiny pins on one connector that get inserted Into three holes on the other. When I first pushed the two together on of the pins wasn’t exactly lined up and it bent. Once I realized that the headlight wasn’t working, I was able to align the pin using a tiny screwdriver and get it to insert into the hole.
In total, it took about an hour to unpack and assemble the Puckipuppy Beagle. After the first test ride, I spent some more time adjusting the controls and handlebars to suit me.
Riding the Beagle eBike
The Puckipuppy Beagle offers five pedal assist modes, which mean that the motor will kick in when the rider is pedaling to offer assistance. In PAS mode 1, the top speed is about 10 MPH. In PAS mode 5, the top speed that the motor will assist while pedaling is 28 MPH. Although it is possible to go faster, but the motor will not assist. Without pedaling, but using the throttle, the top speed is 20 MPH. There is also a zero-assist option, where the bike is propelled solely by pedal power.
The 960-watt rear hub motor is responsive and quickly gets you up to speed. At its fastest, it’s quite easy to keep up with city traffic and lends confidence that isn’t there on a traditional pedal bike.
The Beagle comes in one size, and is available with a step-thru or standard frame. The step-thru frame is a good option for smaller riders. I’m 5’9″ with a 30-inch inseam and find that I need to tilt the bike in order to lift my leg over the top tube. I also found that I need to stand on my tiptoes to comfortably (men, you know what I mean) straddle the top tube. My daughter, who is 5’4″ was able to ride the bike without any trouble, although if I was buying this bike for her, I’d definitely go with the step-thru frame.
The fenders and rear rack are nice additions and would be a welcome feature for commuters.
The 7-speed Shimano Tourney rear derailleur shifts reliably and was properly tuned out of the box. With the electric motor, shifting gears isn’t nearly as important as it is when riding a conventional bike. I noticed that when I was at the upper limit of the third pedal assist, that I could still feel some muscle burn when in the hardest gear, but if I shifted into a lower gear, I maintained the same speed, but didn’t feel it in my muscles.
I tested the Beagle on roads, bike paths and even some off-road trails. The 26×4 inch tires float over sugar sand with no loss of traction and don’t lose grip at all in rough terrain. The front suspension fork, and 4-inch tires definitely help smooth out bumps. I was a little hesitant to use the motor assist off road, but found it not to be a problem at all.
The mechanical brakes may be the biggest downside of the Beagle. Sure, they work fine, but I’d like them to be a bit more grippy. I’m sure with some new pads and adjustment, I can get them dialed in, but for the weight of this bike, I think hydraulic brakes would have been a better choice.
I know that saddle choice is very personal, but I had difficulty getting comfortable on the stock saddle. The large saddle works great when I wasn’t pedaling, but once I started pedaling, it wasn’t as comfortable.
The Beagle Display and Controls
The LCD display is bright and easy to read even in sunshine and with polarized sunglasses on. It shows the current speed, the PAS mode, battery power level, trip distance and trip time. Icons for the light and the cruise control settings also appear on the display. Another Interface displays average and maximum speed, trip distance and total distance.
Power, PAS level, light and horn are all activated by buttons located on the left side of the handlebar. These are all easy to activate without having to remove your hand from the bar. The only gripe I have about the buttons is that they are all the same color, which makes them hard to distinguish from each other. Although, after a few rides and getting accustomed to the button layout, this wasn’t as issue.
I like that you can switch between safe mode (having to pedal before the motor kicks in) and free mode that lets you start from a standstill with just the throttle. Free mode is definitely helpful when you forget to shit to an easier gear before stopping and have to get going again.
See more Puckipuppy Electric Bikes here.
You can also set the bike to use cruise control. There’s two modes: Standard Ride, which sets the speed to about 3 mph and Custom Ride, which allows you to set the speed to the current speed you’re going. Both of these took me a while to figure out, For the Custom Ride feature, you have to use the throttle and then hold down the down PAS button until the icon appears on the display. For the Standard Ride feature you have to be at a standstill and then hold the down PAS button to maintain 3 mph. I’m not sure what practical use this mode has. Just like in a car, when you brake, the Custom Ride cruise control disengages.
Speaking of braking, when you slow down, the rear light illuminates brighter so riders behind you know you’re braking.
The angle of the headlight can be adjusted up or down. It’s plenty bright enough to provide light while riding at night and provide visibility during the day. Although, I would like for it and the rear light to have a flashing mode for increased daytime visibility.
Charging, Battery life and range
The Puckipuppy Beagle eBike came pre-charged, which was a nice touch.After messing around for a bit, I charged it fully and it went from a charge level of 6 (full) to 4 during a 15-mile ride using a combination of level 5 PAS and level 3 PAS, with a bit of throttle mode. Assuming the draining level is consistent, this works out to about 45 miles on a full charge, which matches the advertised 40-60 mile range.
The battery, which is locked into the frame, can be charged while in the bike via a charging port in the frame, or can be removed and charged off the bike. When extracted from the frame, the battery has a helpful charge indicator.
Overall Impressions
Yes, at more than 60 pounds, the bike is heavy, but not any heavier than other similarly priced fat tire eBikes. It’s a fun bike to ride and with a few minor tweaks (saddle and brake pads) I would recommend the Puckipuppy Beagle eBike to anyone who needs a solid bike for commuting, but also wants to take it on off-road adventures such as camping, hunting and fishing and doesn’t want to spent much more than $1,000. If you’re a smaller person, the step thru version would be a better fit.
The Beagle retails for about $1,000 and includes free shipping from Puckipuppy.com. It is available in navy blue + gray, orange, bionic camouflage and blue gray color schemes.