Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

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Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

So this morning I did something strange, I went to a bike dealer by my work to take a test ride. Whats so strange about that I hear you say, well for one thing the bike I was testing didn't have an engine, the second being its only limited to 28mph (you can get 32 out of it though at a push :P ) How did I end up in this predicament, well.....

Yesterday I was browsing the world wide webs for mopeds (thats a different story involving a week off in the future) and I came across this website for electric bikes/moped

http://supersoco.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Had a look and initial thoughts were that it looks quite interesting, its not a bad looking bike, I quite like it to be fair, had a look at dealers mainly coz I wanted to see the price and saw that the bike dealer 30 seconds from work is a stockist, quick call later and Ive booked a testride. Now I know its only a moped but I figured what the hell, be interesting to try an electric bike see what the future may bring.

So first impressions are its a really really smart little bike, it looks good, the front has an almost KTM duke vibe to it. The brake reservoirs almost look, dare I say it, rizoma-ish. Its tiny, this thing is gunna disappear between my fat ass cheeks, its exceptionally narrow not having any cylinders in it, no exhaust sticking out, and no shaft or belt or chain drive, its a hub motor, Rear sets are 3 position adjustable and look smart even if they are missing pedals, very very neat I think.

So the guys wheels it out side and plugs in the battery, Now this thing has a range of about 30-40 miles per charge (7-8 hours full charge) but you can fit a double battery for twice the range, but lets be honest this thing was designed to be used around towns so that's probably not too bad, but range is a big issue with electric bikes, and he switches it on. Its all keyless and has a fancy push start and.....nothing, not even a whisper to let you know its started, it has a safety isolator switch on the handlebars where the killswitch would normally be that you have to push to engage the motor and like a normal bike it wont switch to live mode with the side stand down. but the lack of noise is a bit odd.

The dash is pretty neat actually, a few big bikes could learn from that, its clear and has all the information I need, all digital and shiney, Speed in the middle, an energy consumption meter runs round similar to a rev range showing you how much power you are using as you ride, it shows me current battery charge, current range, very nice. Strangely it has 3 power modes, not sure why.....its a ped, it doesn't need a rain mode but still, nice touches make it feel like a proper bike.

So onto the ride itself, so I pull away after kicking the Sidestand up and engaging the motor, twist the throttle and off I go, words cannot explain how strange it is moving along on a bike with no engine noise, it takes a good amount of time to sorta get used to it, and I'm not entirely sure I fully would, but so far so good, throttle response is immaculate, pulls away nicely up to top speed no problem. funnily enough I don't find myself trying to feed it gears, that is very natural, what I do realise very quickly is that the lack of rear foot brake has thrown me going for a tight U turn, obviously its there on the handlebar but instinct makes you go for a foot lever, takes some getting used to but its ok. Brakes are surprisingly good, its perky enough, its not bad, just a little odd really. So had it back and discuss electric bikes a bit, Theres bigger ones due next year, but money starts to get a little steep he says.

So why did I bother test riding a moped, well to be honest I wanted to see what an electric bike was like really, even just a small capacity one, see what this mysterious future may bring. I'm not convinced yet, but I see the potential, IF I can get over the lack of noise. Interesting fact this little moped has more Nm of torque than my MT09, Enjoyable for something different to do.

Oh btw price....£2,500 ish...... :|
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Last edited by Cavetroll87 on 11 Aug 2017, 11:02, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by C00kiemonster »

Thats really interesting. It is the future.

It's the lack of noise i'd struggle with most of all.

Could you commute on it?
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

C00kiemonster wrote:Thats really interesting. It is the future.

It's the lack of noise i'd struggle with most of all.

Could you commute on it?
around town you could easily commute on it, its nippy enough, Its extremely light and around a town would be ideal, only thing that would put me off is lack of noise again, personally I always find it easier to commute on louder bikes as people seem to notice you more. Id be very aware of people turning on you not aware your there, even more so than on a normal bike
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

Can you pedal it like a bicycle if the battery gets too knackered??
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

D41 wrote:Can you pedal it like a bicycle if the battery gets too knackered??
No but its so light you could pick it up and carry it, well, not quite but not far off
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

Does it have any kind of power generator technology??
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

no mate, purely rechargeable battery. I should say the battery can either be removed to be charged or it does have a small socket on the right hand side of the bike so can be charged while still inside but you have to switch off an isolator under the seat to ensure there is no chance of it being left on accidently while charging as this can apparently screw it up pretty big style.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

Isolator makes perfect sense...otherwise you'd end up with XXX amount of volts/amps running through curcuits designed for much less.

Or sommit else really REALLY bad like that.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Frankie »

As cookie says very interesting,,,,,as for noise, just do what I used to do with my on push bike as a kid, clothes peg, bit of plastic again the wheel spokes and there you have it instant noise ha ha

Saying that I did see something on line, most likely ebay, a fit on noisy exhaust.

Here you go lol
https://www.wickeduncle.co.uk/presents/ ... gLDW_D_BwE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by duke63 »

Best part is when those scum scooter thieves steal one you know it will be within a 30 mile radius :)
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

duke63 wrote:Best part is when those scum scooter thieves steal one you know it will be within a 30 mile radius :)
Unless they got the double battery in! Actually should probably mention it did have a steering lock and more interstingly an alarm/immobiliser which he showed me, literally the lightest touch once armed and the rear wheel completley locks prevent you from being able to wheel the bike away, its not perfect coz as said the bike is so light 2 grown blokes coz easily lift it into a van or something but its noce they they have put a bit of thought into security as standard,
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

:D
duke63 wrote:Best part is when those scum scooter thieves steal one you know it will be within a 30 mile radius :)
(lol)
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

Or...you just drive it up into the back of a Transit and voila!.... no more bike!!

I think they have potential....they'd work reasonably well on Catalina Island, where it's virtually all electric vehicles already.

Or San-Fran...??

Asia will be where the real market is (as usual).
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Kwacky »

Nice little bike and well priced, just a shame about the range. When they get to 70mph and 250 miles I'll think about it.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Cavetroll87 »

I agree kwacky, i will be interested to see what the next bigger capacity one is like, he said the next one would be more like a 125cc bike, and then the one after that he was getting was more like a2 bike compatible, but that was gunna be about 9.5k.....

Personally i think thats quite a lot of money for quite a restricted bike, ok, cheaper running costs but still a big outlay intially
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Kwacky »

I'm more concerned about the depreciation. You know the technology will be improved pretty quickly so it'll be old tech by the time you come to sell it.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

I could see 70mph as feasible...but they're never going have much of a range....matching the 120-mile or so range of a gas-powered bike would be a major hurdle alone....but doubling it??

Not in this lifetime.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Kwacky »

The internet speed I'm using, the laptop I'm using, the mobile phone I'm all using were unthinkable 15 years ago.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by D41 »

Yes...but none of those examples produce energy, they merely use it.
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Re: Super Soco Electric Bike/Moped review

Post by Kwacky »

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