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The Jackal electric bicycle

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ELECTRIC CYCLERY IN LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Let us give you some examples of how the Wavecrest bike changed our lives. It was a six-mile trip up a steep mountain and I had not been on a bike in years. An hour and a half later I was at the top. My car was at the garage ten miles away and I had no way to get a ride there to pick it up. The bike got me there in under a half hour. Commutes to work, pacing family members as they run or walk, bringing back the enjoyment of mobility to those with bad legs, and the fun of challenging yourself without worrying makes this a must test drive bike. Best of all its truly earth friendly, people friendly, and user friendly.

Okay, forget all you know about battery-powered bikes of the past. They had a short range, were top heavy, and had no ability to climb mountains. This 750, which is named for its adaptive 750 watt motor, has none of there shortcomings. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against cyclists who enjoys the challenge of a long bike ride, but for those of us who have bad legs, don't have the time to get in shape for long hauls, or just enjoy effortless travel, this tough bike is ideal. I especially like the idea that it can be used by a spouse to join the more athletic member of the family on biking excursions. You can even pace a family member as he or she runs. You actually find excuses to use the TidalForce.

The bike can go about 20 miles on one charge and you can add another battery for longer travel. While traveling you have your choice of putting the bike on cruise control or in turbo mode for more thrust, but a shorter range. A small accelerator lever activated by your right thumb controls everything. The learning curse is more like a line as everything is intuitive.

The frame folds in half to fit into a trunk more easily, and the bike comes in two main forms, a mountain version and a beach cruiser. The former rides a bit stiffer and has a more athletic seat, if you get my drift. The real joy of this bike is the fact it also has 21 speeds so you can pedal as much as you want. The gear changes are in the handle bar grips, the turbo boost lever is close-by, and so is the electronic read out that gives you your remaining battery life. A nice tidy package, but here is another plus. If you are going downhill the motor cuts in to recharge itself with a flick of the brakes. This is a well-engineered, user-friendly vehicle that deserves a test drive. And, not just by commuters. The local police could use these and so could beach guards. We were impressed, no doubt, but what sold us was how easy this Wavecrest bike was able to alter out habits. Instead of thinking car first, we thought bike first. Got Milk? If not, hop on and pedal or not to the local store. Parking a problem at the beach? Pack this in the trunk and drive there.

Two negatives, which is probably a bad choice of words when describing an electronic featured bike. First, it weighs nearly 70 pounds so you need to know this when sliding it in and out of the trunk. Secondly, we strongly recommend the second battery as we noticed that when you were climbing and the energy left rating gauge was under half the power would cut in and out.

A second battery would eliminate this worry.

Dewey in Laguna Beach - May 13, 2004
This thing is awesome. I am taking advantage of the pedal assist and getting more than 40 miles on a charge. Unbelievable range and the local cops don't know what to make of it. They only know they want one too. When you get yours, try blasting past regular cyclists for fun, preferably on an uphill grade. If at first they don't notice that you aren't pedaling, try pedaling backwards. Guaranteed to freak out even the most hardcore cyclist and turn heads on the street.
Dewey's photo may not be included because of legal considerations.

Brian in New Zealand - May 2004 - After looking extensively at electric bikes and owning a fairly basic unit already I was really looking forward to taking delivery of my new M 750 WaveCrest folding mountain bike. As I live at the other end of the world in New Zealand it is not so easy to just go down to the local store and browse. That's where the internet comes into play. The bike was ordered, left LA on 15th May 04 and was delivered to my door in Auckland 15 days later by sea freight !

After easy unpacking and even easier instructions to assemble the bike was on the charger for its initial charge. The next day I put it through its paces and it performed all tasks demanded of it. Battery power was great and it had the power to go up all but the most severe hills unassisted. As I have weak legs owing to old polio effects I need the bike to perform unassisted. I would imagine if you added pedal power to the equation it would be fantastic. The Wavecrest motor is very Quiet and the boys at the local Pub have dubbed it "Stealth." If I have any criticism of the bike is that it is sometimes frustrating when you hit the front brake you lose power to the motor and it takes a seconds to power back up. Not really a problem though as you quickly learn to use the back brake.

The M750 is defiantly a Macho bike. My buddies love the military / heavy duty look and feel of the bike. This bike turns heads wherever you go. I love pulling alongside the Tri athlete types going up a hill then just silently pulling away from them. For the girls maybe the very cool IO Cruiser could be the one.

M-750 feedback from Neal in Arizona - May 1, 2004
I rode the bike primarily on the paved and dirt roads in the Mexican village. On one trip when the battery was fully charged I went up a very steep dirt road with power to spare and in fact almost threw me off with it's amazing Turbo setting. Very impressed with that ride. I road it yesterday and in the evening. When two bars down I rode it hard using Turbo and climbing hills including some moderate off road fun. The battery was dead when I came home. Charged over night to the trickle stage and battery indicator shows a nice full battery of five bars. I also let others ride and they just loved it. Some are interested in purchase. Not going to get to optimistic but somehow,over night, it is operating like a dream. I will have it fine tuned this weekend with brake and chain adjustments. I really do like this bike and can't wait to go to work so I can ride it this morning.

More from Neal in Arizona - May 6, 2004
Last night I biked from my house up our paved mountain road for 16.74 miles from an elevation of 5300 ft to 7000 ft. This is long steady climb and never would have thought that I would get to the top. However, I set the cruise control at about 5 MPH and pedaled to try keeping the bike over 5 MPH. The motor would kick in only when it knew I needed help at below 5 MPH. I got to top at 16.74 miles with two bars left. Took 1 hr and 58 min. So proud of myself. Came home and it was downhill so it charged and kept the two bars and finally ran out of power two houses down from where I live. WOW! So I went 33 miles in 2 hours and 56 min. round trip. I now weigh 199 and was 207. Loosing weight and having a blast at the same time. What a great bike.

Jackal Feedback

Andy C. Au 10, 2003
" I have to say, I've had nothing but positive feedback on the Jackal from everyone I've seen. Everyone is impressed by the quietness of the Jackal, the impressive looks and build quality and the ingenious design. I've turned a lot of heads! I also own a Segway, and I have to say, the looks i get on the road and everywhere I go rival those I get from people when I've been on the Segway.

I've had many people say...now THAT's Transportation! I've given out the Electric Cyclery website info to many people. Hopefully some of these will turn into future customers. So far, I've not yet had any encounters with the police. Once I do, I'll let you know how it goes."

More from Andy on Aug 17, 2003
"In St. Louis, Saturday Night / Sunday Morning was the time for the 39th Annual Moonlight Ramble, a 15 mile bike ride through the streets of St. Louis, Missouri. On this event, there are about 12,000 bike riders that participate and it's all for charity.

My sister didn't have a working bicycle so I let her borrow mine and I took the Jackal! I got lots of comments like "hey, that's cheating" but it was all in good fun! All the feedback was positive!

As far as the ride, I easily made it the 15 miles and had to take it easy, as I wanted to be careful not to disturb the other bike riders. All in all, it was loads of fun and a great experience for me. Had lots of questions as no one in St. Louis has seen anything like the Jackal."

Hi Everyone,
I took the Jackal out for a spin today. My route consisted of streets, bike trails and sidewalks. There were several very steep and long hills on my trip. During my trip, I averaged about 25mph, with bursts up into the mid 30's.

The total length of the trip was 17.2 miles. I weigh 250 lbs. At the end of my trip, I could definitely feel the drop off in power that would signify the end of my battery life. I was able to make it home, but would not want to have pushed it more than another mile. Considering my size and the terrain I was covering, I feel that the Jackal's advertised range of 20-25 miles is completely reasonable. Had I been covering more level terrain, I would have easily reached 25 miles, and possibly more. I make good use of the freewheeling functionality, so I probably gained quite a bit of range on the downhill stretches, but there's definitely a price that's paid for climbing very steep hills.

Other notes:I received a kickstand from Thunderstruck Motors. Originally,they had not shipped the Jackal with one. This had been an oversight. It was simple to install and works great. My brakes are working just fine. I'm soon going to adjust the rear suspension, as with my size I think it needs to be just a bit more firm. I've added a battery operated tail light and rechargeable battery operated headlight to the Jackal. I could have used a 48 to 12v converter and tied into the Jackal's battery, but decided I don't ride at night enough to warrant it. I've been riding about 6 miles per day on average, and have had a blast each time!

Moto-Bob Feedback
10/03
Surprised by the courier showing up this afternoon with the various taxes, duties etc. sent C.O.D. Usually, my government (Canada) shakes the funds out of me before the package even crosses the border. Had the unit assembled too close to sunset to rush into a road test. Just managed to discover the rocker switch underneath the battery box and now all is ready for the morning. Spun Motobob's wheel up in the air for a couple of minutes to welcome the unit to British Columbia and then put on the battery charger for a freshing-up. Road test tomorrow morning and like the information recommends I will spend the first week really limiting the draw on the battery to ten to fifteen minutes before recharging.