Review of the Yuccie Junico Active Gent: The perfect city e-bike for €2,399?

What does a city e-bike really need? Robust technology and few frills – that’s the approach taken by Yuccie Bikes. Behind this new Hamburg-based brand is Bergamont founder Stefan Berkes. The Yuccie features a minimalist, stylish design such as Ampler (in liquidation), Vanmoof and the like. However, it is the low price and, above all, the easily removable battery that make the Yuccie particularly appealing. Otherwise, budget urban bikes almost always have a fixed battery. A GPS tracker to help prevent theft is set to be available as an optional extra.

Incidentally, the Yuccie deliberately doesn’t have a suspension fork. This is the right approach for a low-maintenance city bike. After all, forks on budget e-bikes offer hardly any comfort anyway and wear out quickly, especially if the bike is left outside in all weathers. The rigid fork is lighter, cheaper and virtually indestructible.

Bafang hub motor and 360 watt-hours

The Yuccie is powered by a Bafang hub motor with a relatively powerful 55 Nm of torque. The motor is nice and quiet, and for city riding, the five assistance levels – as well as the power itself – are almost a bit too much of a good thing. But it’s better to have it than to need it. And so, with the Yuccie, you can tackle even moderate inclines with ease.

The monochrome display shows the key information. The battery is secured with a key and folds down from the down tube. Depending on the assistance level and the rider’s weight, a range of around 50 kilometres on a single charge is realistic in urban use, without having to ride too conservatively. The biggest criticism of the e-system is the clunky Bafang app. However, anyone who just wants to ride and doesn’t care about technical bells and whistles will get by just fine without it.

A relaxed ride: this is what the Yuccie is like to drive

The bike’s drawbacks: the aluminium frame is more rigid than comfortable. The centre stand isn’t our favourite. However, the drop handlebars and wide tyres do offer some advantages, despite the low-maintenance rigid fork. You sit in an upright position. If you lower the tyre pressure slightly, you’ll cope well with bumps and kerbs.

The Yuccie’s handling is pleasantly responsive. Despite a load capacity of just 15 kilos, the luggage rack carries even heavy bags with ease, and the aluminium panels, polished seams and Litemove light give it a high-quality feel. This is by no means a given in this price range. We were also pleasantly surprised by the Tektro brakes and, in particular, the Tektro electronic gear system, which offer a smooth yet precise performance. The nine widely spaced gears are perfectly suited to city riding.

Belt or chain?

One thing is clear: if you ride a bike with a chain, you’ll need to lubricate and clean it from time to time. If you don’t want to do that, you can get the Yuccie with a belt drive for an extra 100 euros. However, this means you lose the practical gear range offered by the derailleur. For flat cities like Hamburg and Munich, that’s no problem. If you live in hilly terrain, you’d be better off opting for the chain version. Either way, it’s a sturdy city bike at a fair price.

An overview of the Junico Active Gent

Strengths:

• Affordable & low-maintenance
• Handy for city and commuting use
• Removable battery

Weaknesses:

• Due to its design, it has no suspension and is not suitable for off-road use