Which Style is Best for You?
Fat tire bikes have been around much longer than most people would guess. There are historical indications of fat tire bikes in the early 1900s, and we know that serious experimentation happened no later than about 1988. Simultaneously, in two widely separated US states, genuine interest in fat tires was developing.
To state what may be obvious to some readers, a 4″ wide tire offers a lot more traction on any surface or terrain compared to a 1.5″ tire. That fat tire also provides a more stable and secure ride. And then the fat tire opens up a truly diverse option for terrain choices…sand, gravel, snow, forest pathways, rocky trails…all are much more rideable with fat tires.
A Brief History
In Alaska, the interest was motivated by a need to ride in snowy conditions. In New Mexico, there was a similar need, but soft sand was the motivator. Amazingly, the earliest fat tires were created by welding 2 or 3 tire rims together! By the year 2000, there were two companies manufacturing fat tire bikes.
Bike builders became more interested by 2001, and quickly the term “fat tire bike” came into use. Within a very few years, several companies jumped on the bandwagon. Today there are many brands available. Be cautious, though, as too many brands are “cookie-cutter” e-bikes, and the company is simply buying products from some factory that supplies several brands. MAGiCYCLE is one of the few high-quality brands that owns its factory.
E-bikes continue to grow in popularity. In fact, you might call it a boom. Sales are up more than 145% since 2019, and still climbing! Thanks to that massive demand, a wide variety of e-bike styles are now readily available. Most certainly, there is one for you. MAGiCYCLE offers the best blend of quality, reliability and affordability, so let’s see what’s available.
Traditional Fat Tire Cruiser
MAGiCYCLE exploded into the e-bike market with its beautiful cruiser design. From the beginning, the MAGiCYCLE Design Team was focused on quality, safety, and comfort — all at an affordable price. Indeed, there is no other competitively priced brand that can match this cruiser.
The comfortable all-terrain design was immediately a big hit. It comes fully equipped with a 750 watt (peak 1100) motor and an industry-leading 52 volt battery. Get all the specs here and see how it compares with similar e-bikes. This ride is still the best bang-for-the-buck!
Of course, this spectacular cruiser is also provided in a step-thru style.
Easy-Riding MAGiCYCLE Gold Commuter
MAGiCYCLE fans expressed interest in a very simple-to-ride commuter e-bike. The company has responded with a high-quality and low-maintenance commuter, choosing to step outside the fat tire genre for a moment. This gorgeous commuter maintains all the customer-satisfying qualities of its predecessors.
Not only is it extremely good looking, this beautiful e-bike also offers many advantages for commuters and other pavement riders.
Light-Weight
This racy beauty weighs in at a mere 56 pounds. In an e-bike world populated with a plethora of 70+ pound e-bikes, 56 pounds will be greeted with cheers. Many e-bikers look forward to easier mounting on bike racks for transportation, as well as much less effort in lugging it up a flight of steps. But don’t be fooled by the light weight — it’s still a very sturdy ride and brings a payload of 265 pounds.
Powerful
The Gold Commuter features a 350 watt hub motor driven by a 52 volt battery, a combination that delivers outstanding power. It’s more than enough for this light weight commuter, and lives up to the MAGiCYCLE reputation for superior power.
Simplicity
Commuters and many other e-bike riders are all about ease of use and maintenance. This Gold Commuter is a no-throttle, no-shifter, super simple ride. That makes operation very easy, and also eliminates two potential maintenance items. And the drive chain isn’t a chain…it’s a belt. Again, that’s much easier to maintain, with no lubricant needed. Plus, a belt drive is very, very quiet!
Quality
Owners of the Gold Commuter will enjoy all the customary advantages that come with every MAGiCYCLE e-bike. Perhaps the greatest of these is quality control.
Magicycle is not a typical e-bike company. Magicycle owns the factory, and that factory has been producing quality e-bikes for more than 16 years. Every Magicycle begins with the award-winning Magicycle Design Team, originators of the amazing frame design that makes their e-bikes both visually appealing and reliably strong.
Major Upgrade for New Models
These new rides are not just small tweaks of previous models. They are major upgrades, and one of the prized features is the longer range provided by these new fat tire cruisers.
The hub motor for the new e-bikes is improved, and the amp hours of the redesigned battery is an improvement of 25%! This means more power and a range of up to 80 miles. Yes, 80 miles is a top number for lightweight riders pedaling on level terrain with little to no wind. The range of every rider will vary.
A 300 pound rider will never achieve the same range as a 120 pound rider. But regardless of the total weight carried or the terrain the rider normally experiences, range is significantly improved with this new battery. That’s a major consideration for most e-bike owners. Let’s take a closer look at the new cruisers.
Magicycle Cruiser Pro
The lasting popularity of the original MAGiCYCLE Fat Tire Cruiser is undisputed, and it still provides a powerful, reliable, high-quality ride. MAGiCYCLE has passed along all the best features of the original and included them in the new models, such as the Magicycle Cruiser Pro.
Its 350 lb payload (total weight capacity) allows heavier riders to feel confident and safe while riding this gorgeous new e-bike. The bright and easy to read Color LCD Display remains the same, along with the combination of built-in lighting and an included rear rack/full fender package. These features help make the Magicycle Cruiser Pro not only a top-quality commuter, but also the perfect all-terrain fat tire e-bike for trail riding and scenic cruising.
Magicycle Ocelot Pro Cruiser
Many requests have been received for a Magicycle Cruiser that is more easily ridden by e-bikers as small as 4’10’ and yet also comfortable for riders up to 6’2”. The MAGiCYCLE Design Team has worked long and hard to perfectly meet the demand for such a bike. The introduction of the 20” tire Magicycle Ocelot Pro Cruiser is bringing fresh excitement to e-bike enthusiasts.
If you’ve dreamed of a smaller, stylish, quality fat tire cruiser that retains both power and comfort, this is it. The Ocelot has a laid-back beach cruiser styling…nimble, beautiful, comfortable. For riders uncomfortable with the big 26” tire cruisers, the Ocelot opens up a whole new world of cruising comfort. Although smaller, you can see that the specifications exceed what e-bikers might have expected.
Magicycle Jaguarundi Folding Step-Thru
Another superb addition to Magicyle line is the Jaguarundi Folding Step-Thru. This new e-bike, also scheduled for release this summer, is the ultimate in convenience. With it’s small form factor and folding capability, almost anyone has room for this Magicycle.
Indeed, the new Magicycle Jaguarundi Folding Step-Thru is the model that many riders will think of as the most user-friendly ride produced to date by Magicycle. It is a fun, powerful, and compact electric bike that can take you to work or the local park—and it can get you there on pavement or trail with comfort.
Fat tire e-bikes are great fun to ride on all types of terrain, but their sheer size can make them difficult to transport on a bike rack. Folding fat tire bikes are less common than more traditional frames, but they conveniently open the door to new possibilities. For example, you might need to toss your fat tire e-bike into the trunk or rear seat of your car. Even within your home, you might choose to fold it into a compact rectangle that fits nicely in a corner of the room. Or perhaps just fold down the handlebars to let the Jaguarundi rest neatly against a wall.
For city riders who don’t need to transport their bikes in car, the ability to fold means it takes up less space in the home, perhaps fitting in a corner or under a desk.
