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What do you call a 2000-watt Bullfrog? The Rungu Juggernaut

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The Juggernaut from Rungu is not described as being a bike (or trike as the case may be) but instead gets labeled as an ATV. With twin front wheels, a 2000 watt hub motor in the rear wheel, and all of them shod in 5″ tires, it really does crawl out of the bicycle category. Designed to be the ultimate go-anywhere piece of machinery, the Juggernaut is marketed towards hunters, beachgoers, and snowbound explorers looking to decrease their carbon footprint. We covered its human-powered counterpart – the Bullfrog – a while back, which was only just barely still a bike (OK, trike), and they’ve somehow managed to make that thing even wilder. Join us past the break for the rundown on this mental machine…

Obviously lacking an internal combustion engine, the Rungu claims to be more environmentally friendly than its petrol-powered competitors and is thus also less likely to be outlawed from some more ecologically fragile areas that prohibit gas burning engines. Powered by its 2000W hub motor, the Juggernaut is capable of speeds up to 20mph in either full-electric or pedal assist modes. Just like the Bullfrog, the Juggernaut uses a 6061 aluminum frame, a pair of steel forks, and utilizes Surly rolling stock for all three wheels. The e-trike uses a Deore rear derailleur to shift through 7 cogs mounted to the motorized rear hub, and sticks with just a single chainring up front. Mounted under the downtube is a 2.5 Ah 52V LiNMC battery and controller that can also power optional e-bike lights. Twin mechanical discs slow the front wheels care of a double-pull lever, while a SRAM hydraulic brake clamps the rear wheel, somewhat surprisingly with what appear to be 160mm rotors all around. Tipping the scales at 90lbs, the Juggernaut is just that.

Offered in a deep forest green, Rungu also offers a factory-applied camouflage treatment, seen above.  With the ability to very quietly cover many types of terrain, the Juggernaut promises to make a great hunting vehicle. Rungu offers several accessories to kit out your Juggernaut, like the matching camo trailer, a comfort kit with a suspension seatpost, as well as lights that run off the main battery supply.

One of the initial concerns raised was steering a trike at speed, as trikes traditionally do not lean. Rungu seem to address that with this photo. The linkage driven steering assembly uses a modified Ackerman geometry to keep both front wheels tracking correctly through turns, though at speed the entire thing IS apparently designed to be leaned like a normal two wheeled cycle, and to have the outside wheel lift. The steering configuration results in a downhill-esque 830mm effective handlebar width, which is dwarfed by the wheelbase length of over 1300mm. Intended to be equally at home in the woods, the beach, or a snowy winter wonderland, Rungu offers a surfboard towing kit as one of the many accessories for the Juggernaut.

The Juggernaut starts at $3300 and can be shipped worldwide.

RideRungu.com

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32 Comments
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paquo
paquo
7 years ago

speechless

Johnny
7 years ago

Can we get back to talking about actual bicycles already?

Charlie
Charlie
7 years ago

I won’t touch that thing unless they swap those rigid forks out for some blutos.

arp
arp
7 years ago

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

I wonder what their logic was for two front wheels? Do they actually ride in extreme terrain (which the video was void of)? Funny that that behemoth couldn’t keep up with the bike filming the one shot…the camera was probably on a regular bike.

My issue with flotation and traction on a fat bike is usually the rear wheel. I could understand if they put two rear wheels on (like a semi truck), though that would have to be a wide stance trike to get a usable drive train and Q factor.

Dave Barnes
Dave Barnes
7 years ago
Reply to  arp

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
Exactly my first thought.

jj
jj
7 years ago
Reply to  arp

That could be pretty cool :] overlapping rear wheels to get a caterpillar effect.

Not sure it beats this old thing though.

comment image

ol shel
ol shel
7 years ago
Reply to  arp

These will out-sell many reasonable products.

Unique people want unique things.

MICHAEL C WAGNER
MICHAEL C WAGNER
7 years ago

What does that second front wheel do for you exactly? Two rear wheels, would at least give you the potential for more traction. This is just complicated for no good reason. And the terrain they show it riding on is laughable and could be ridden on a cross bike.

toffee
toffee
7 years ago

Think it’s to make it difficult to turn the bike.

fred
fred
7 years ago

But the 2″ slick tires on trailer work great?

Tim
Tim
7 years ago

Two front wheels *might* be helpful in some situations- *if* there were some mechanism to keep them both on the ground, which this lacks. If you are going over uneven terrain on this thing and riding in a straight line, you will have situations where one front wheel has contact and the other doesn’t, possibly causing the bike to tip towards the side where the wheel has not made contact. If you’re turning, one wheel is not going to be on the ground anyway.
And- how the he11 would you ride this on singletrack? It would be too wide to even fit!!

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
7 years ago

It’s for people with an aversion to balance, like what a Can Am Spyder is to motorcycling.

ed
ed
7 years ago

Is this so you can keep riding with 1 front flat?

Pete
Pete
7 years ago

Please move this to RunguRumor.com, for the sake of everyone about to visit here, because what has been seen cannot be unseen!

Stendhal
7 years ago

Does it come in a Bird of Prey-position version?

Beat_the_trail
Beat_the_trail
7 years ago

They had this thing at a USMC trade show a year ago and I was talking to the rep about it. His rational for the dual front wheels was so you could haul additional weight over more varied terrain. They’re thought was that a soldier would be able to travel with all his gear frame mounted. Plus it has a giant battery which adds a ton of weight to the front triangle.
It’s really big, huge. Super long and really wide with the 800mm bars. Plus the left and right bars move independently over two different centers of rotation so they move away from you and the reach becomes difficult.

Sort of dumb.

Jeffie
Jeffie
7 years ago
Reply to  Beat_the_trail

should’ve waited till April 1 and put it in Specialized’s Win Tunnel.

Ron G.
Ron G.
7 years ago

Finally, an almost-bike that can destroy fragile dune vegetation just like the motos.

Noah Behnke
7 years ago

I would certainly enjoy the novelty of riding it if say a someone gave one to me or I found it on craigslist for $40 three years from now. (deleted)

jj
jj
7 years ago

Tracking properly through turns it is not ><
Why not use a parallelogram style design that would allow both wheels to stay on the floor. I cannot fathom any other reason to have two front wheels other than having them traverse rough terrain properly..y'know, like an atv does with its suspension.

Fred
Fred
7 years ago

If it’s an ATV why post it on Bikerumor?

myke2241
myke2241
7 years ago
Reply to  Fred

I don’t get either. Even the author says it’s not a bike….. is it shock factor….

th1npower
th1npower
7 years ago

..for once, it’s not baby poop I see and smell.. Yuck!…

Jason Woods
Jason Woods
7 years ago

“…decrease their carbon footprint.” Yeah, they keep forgetting how ecologically sound making and disposing of batteries is.

Maus Haus
Maus Haus
7 years ago

One giant tire would be better then two maybe. Monster biking instead of fat biking. Ha

Pleasepedal
Pleasepedal
7 years ago

This thing looks really fast. As in, “Wow! It sure didn’t take them long to close that trail to bikes.”

JMH TX
JMH TX
7 years ago

Just love how the opening of the video shows how it can roll right over sensitive beach dune vegetation. Very impressive.

ascarlarkinyar
7 years ago

No more motorcycles please

ChknBreast
ChknBreast
7 years ago

Just imagine putting some studded 45nrth Dillenger 5s on that sucker. Would only cost you $750.

Papi
Papi
7 years ago

(deleted)

Bazz
Bazz
7 years ago

Completely not a bicycle (again).

Joshua
Joshua
7 years ago

They’re actually kind of fun to ride, in deep sand. Not an everyday bike for sure. Oh, and the electronics are optional. And very short duration. About 10 miles , or 5 in sand or snow.

But the build quality is quite poor. We had an order for 6 of these about 2 years ago, and had to get all of the forks replaced, due to incorrect OLD dimensions and dropout spacing. Building them was both tedious and difficult. Frankly, I was unhappy with the quality when the builds were finished.

And to top it off, the turning radius was so poor, because the tires contacted the 2nd fork and the other wheel that it was almost useless in anything but wide open terrain.

They were fun in the desert, in the dunes, but that was about it.

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