Making Choices: MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro or RadRunner Plus
E-bikes become more and more popular every day, and as the popularity grows, so does the number of available e-bike brands and models. Worldwide sales of e-bikes exceeded 26 billion USD in 2021, and sales growth is on a steep upward curve. In just the US market, in excess of 800,000 e-bikes were sold in 2021. That’s about twice the number sold in 2020! You can safely assume the sales figures for 2022 will be truly astounding.
With such a tremendous variety of e-bikes on the market, it becomes very important for consumers to “do their homework.” Due diligence is definitely required if e-bike shoppers want to avoid buyer’s remorse. Do the needed research and create a short list of e-bikes that interest you. Then do a deep dive into the nitty-gritty details of each bike before you reach a decision. Head-to-head comparisons are often very helpful. Let’s take a close look at two popular 20″ fat tire e-bikes, the MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro and the RadRunner Plus.
The smaller e-bike frames designed for 20″ fat tires are a welcome addition for many e-bike fans. If you are on the short side of the height scale, perhaps 4’8″ to 5’8″, you are very well aware of the need. You’re probably interested in an e-bike that allows you to easily touch the ground with both feet. Full-sized e-bikes with larger frames and 26″ fat tires can be challenging and even intimidating for shorter riders.
An interesting observation is that many taller riders are also feel more secure on a smaller frame. Indeed, some 5’10” – 6’2″ riders feel more comfortable with the smaller e-bike frames and 20″ tires. And remember, a 20″ fat tire stands taller than a 20″ standard tire, so a 20″ fat tire bike feels larger than a bike with conventional thin tires.
There are four key aspects of e-bike design that are vital to shoppers. When these four items are appealing to the shopper, then very likely the e-bike is a good “fit” for the rider and will give many years of great riding experiences. These four very important distinctives are power, range, quality, and price. Let’s examine each of these in turn and note how they affect choosing between these two e-bikes, MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro and RadRunner Plus.
POWER
There’s absolutely no doubt about the importance of power for e-bike riders. E-bikes are necessarily heavier than conventional bikes, due to the sturdier construction required to safely support the additional stresses of a motor-powered drive. The weight of the e-bike, plus the weight of the rider and any cargo can be significant. You want to be sure you are choosing an e-bike that has the power to conquer steep hills and move you quickly across high-traffic intersections.
- MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro
MAGiCYCLE has upgraded the much-admired Cruiser hub motor to provide even more power and torque. Riders will enjoy 750 watts (1100 watts peak) power and 96 Nm of torque.
- RadRunner Plus
The Radrunner Plus is also equipped with a 750 watt hub motor. However, it unfortunately produces only 80 Nm of torque, substantially less then the Ocelot Pro.
Neuton meters (Nm) is a measurement of torque. This scientific technique for measurement was invented by Isaac Newton, and is still very much the standard for measuring torque today. Magicycle provides the highest torque of any fat tire e-bike in its price range. Without getting overly technical, why do e-bikers care about torque?
It’s actually fairly simple — torque is important because of its relationship to power. You can think of torque as the power available for turning the rear wheel on your ebike. The torque can be provided by a motor or by the pedaling of a bike rider. The harder the rider pedals, the more torque is applied for turning the rear wheel. In the same manner, the more powerful the battery, the more torque is available for turning the rear wheel and propelling the e-bike forward.
A motor with 96 Nm of torque gives your e-bike quicker starts and more powerful hill-climbing ability than a lesser motor with say…80 Nm . Magicycle is absolutely the leader in available torque, giving you more power than any competitively priced e-bike! Higher torque provides quicker takeoff, easier starts on an uphill incline, and greater ease of climbing hills.
RANGE
Nobody wants to be limited to short rides around the neighborhood, and so most e-bike shoppers are very interested in range. It is definitely a factor to keep in mind when choosing an e-bike.
- MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro
This powerful e-bike can carry a rider up to 80 miles of normal riding, and even up to 60 miles without pedaling (throttle only).
- RadRunner Plus
You can expect a range of up to 45 miles, and perhaps a bit more…Rad claims up to 45+.
You can readily see that MAGiCYCLE is the leader in available range. Of course, with both e-bikes, range is affected by unknown factors such as the terrain where you live, rider weight, cargo weight, wind speed, etc. Thus, you should realize these numbers are estimates, and your mileage will vary — but the numbers do provide an important point of comparison.
The difference in range is largely attributable to the tremendous power of the MAGiCYCLE battery. MAGiCYCLE has always provided a battery that consistently beats the competition, and now it’s even better for the Ocelot Pro. You’ll find a 14 amp hour, 48 volt battery on the RadRunner Plus, but with MAGiCYCLE you get a much more powerful 20 amp hour, 52 volt battery. There’s really no comparison, and this one factor alone might be enough to make you favor the Ocelot Pro. Along with the battery, Radrunner provides a 2 amp smart charger, and MAGiCYCLE equips you with a much faster 3 amp smart charger.
QUALITY
The purchase of an e-bike is a significant investment for many shoppers. Certainly you want to know that your investment will result in many years of great fun and exercise with no worries about reliability. That makes quality control a must!
- MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro
Effective quality control is very difficult, perhaps impossible, if the brand does not own the factory that manufactures the e-bike. MAGiCYCLE is one of very few e-bike brands that actually owns the factory, and has been manufacturing e-bikes for many years. This brand has complete quality control from design to manufacture to shipping. This gives the e-bike shopper a lot of confidence in the product.
- RadRunner Plus
Rad does not own the factory that manufactures their e-bikes. Obviously, this is a problem when it comes to quality control.
PRICE
It makes sense that price, although important, should not be the #1 factor in choosing an e-bike. Certainly, the aspects that affect your safety should have priority. Price is of real importance, though, and we all want to know we are getting the best possible bang-for-the-buck. No matter how great an e-bike might be, if it’s unaffordable then suddenly the shopper is no longer interested.
- MAGiCYCLE Ocelot Pro
The MAGiCYCLE company has long been committed to providing consumers with a high-quality e-bike that is affordably priced. The Ocelot Pro ranks ahead of the competition in power, range, and quality, and you might think it is surely much more expensive. That is not the case! The Ocelot Pro is currently priced at $1989.
- RadRunner Plus
This e-bike is priced $90 lower than the Ocelot Pro. What do you get by paying $90 less? You get much less power, with 16 Nm less torque then the Ocelot Pro. You get less range from a less powerful battery, with just 14 amp hours compared to 20 amp hours from MAGiCYCLE. And what about quality? Well…MAGiCYCLE owns the factory and Rad does not.
All four key factors in an e-bike purchase fall in favor of the Ocelot Pro. Take a closer look and make one yours today.
