We're willing to bet you've never seen anything like this before. In the world of electric bikes, the Rungu Juggernaut, with three 4.8” tyres and a 2,000W motor, truly does live up to its name.
Whenever we see a new and – how shall we say this – esoteric new bike, the first question that pops into our heads is: what's it for? The Rungu is touted as having “All of the benefits of an e-bike, plus the off-road control of an All Terrain Vehicle” with supreme traction in snow, mud and sand and the ability to tow some pretty serious loads. But at around 40kg it's just about light enough to stick on a sturdy bike rack or lift into your pickup truck. It might take two of you. So Rungu are pitching it as a sort of lightweight, off-road utility vehicle. When you might have needed a 4x4 or a quad bike, you can take the Juggernaut instead.
It's powered by a souped-up but fairly traditional e-bike drivetrain. The hub motor runs at 52V, well above the usual 36V, and is capable of delivering 2,000W of rear wheel power. You get a 650Wh battery that Rungu reckon is good for 20-30 miles on tarmac, or 3-5 miles through gloopy mud or soft sand.
The back looks a lot like a normal fat bike, but up front there's a twin fork arrangement, and each of the forks carries a fat bike wheel with a huge 4.8” Surly Bud tyre, the same as at the rear. The handlebars are split, with a linkage in between the left and right sections to steer both wheels. It looks like it'd take a bit of getting used to; we haven't had a go on one (it's right up there on our list) but those that have seem to agree that aggressively leaning the Juggernaut is the way to get it to go where you want.
Of course, with a 2,000W motor the Juggernaut doesn't even come close to being legal to ride in the UK on any roads or public rights of way. If you the gamekeeper of a large estate or you have a good relationship with your friendly local landowner then it might be a fun and fairly eco-friendly way to get around on private land, but if you have to spend any time on the roads then you'll need to be taxed and insured as a motorbike. The Rungu is designed for use in the US; e-bike regulations are different over there but it seems to us that the Juggernaut would still fall foul of them for road use.
The Juggernaut costs around $4,500 (plus postage and packing and import duty).
