Nowadays electric bicycles come in all shapes and sizes. What started out as a commuter-focused machine has quickly evolved to cover all facets of the cycling world. From e-road bikes to cutting edge electric mountain bikes, the e-bike world is now rife with options for folks of all cycling backgrounds, yes, including BMX.
This is exactly what we have here today. Dubbed the Jet Fuel, this electric bike is made by Hyper Bicycle Co, a brand which we’ve talked about quite a bit here on InsideEVs. Known for its affordable electric bike offerings, Hyper has been making a name for itself in the for-sport e-bike category, with a number of entry-level electric mountain bikes that significantly lower the barriers to entry. The brand’s e-bike offerings, some of which can even be found in Walmart, are indeed built to a budget, but nonetheless offer the enhanced mobility you’d come to expect from an e-bike.
Digging in further into the Jet Fuel, you’ll see that, despite Hyper claiming it to be a BMX bike, it’s outfitted with 26-inch wheels. Given the fact that BMX bikes are most commonly found with 20-inch wheels, is it appropriate to really call the Hyper a BMX bike? Given its overall stance and geometry, it certainly resembles a dirt jumper more than it does a BMX, or at least it does in my opinion. Regardless of what it’s called, it is focused towards the urban environment, rather than landing jumps and tricks—something you’ll find out upon closer examination of the bike’s features.
First of all, let’s talk about the overall build. As expected from an e-bike that retails for nothing more than $998 USD, the Jet Fuel comes with a rudimentary aluminum frame. It gets a rigid front end, tall handlebars, and a low saddle, in typical BMX/ dirt-jumper fashion. Performance-wise, the bike gets a 250-watt hub motor; and this is why I say it’s designed for an urban setting, rather than a rough and tough environment. Having owned a few hub-motor electric mountain bikes in the past, I can say that hub motors don’t exactly appreciate heavy jumps and prolonged exposure to rough terrain. Chances are the same is true for the Jet Fuel.
All things considered, for under a grand, you get an urban-looking electric bike with a nifty 250 watts of pedal assistance, and a claimed range of 20 miles on a single charge. Technically speaking, its battery pack consists of a basic 36-volt, 10-ampere-hour unit. However, for an additional $200, you can bump up the bike’s range to 40 miles by carrying around a second battery pack in your rucksack.
