This Budget Fat Tire e-Bike Surprised Us! (Puckipuppy Labrador Pro Review)
This is the Pucky Puppy Labrador Pro. It’s a full suspension fat tire eBike with a powerful motor and a price that might surprise you. This is a bike that we’ve received lots of requests to test. So, we were just as curious as many of you to find out how this bike would perform. So, did this puppy fall flat or prove itself to be a great balance of price and performance? Let’s take a ride and find out. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Welcome to Electric Bike Report, where we’re known for detailed reviews and demanding realworld eBike performance tests. I’m John and I’m looking forward to running you through this review of the Labrador Pro. But before we jump in, please do us a couple of quick favors. First, we really appreciate your help in growing our channel. So, please make sure you’re subscribed. And second, if we end up helping you in your search for a great bike, please support our time and effort by using the link in the description box below when you make a purchase. But let’s get into the kibble and find out what this bike is all about. Now, I do want to also mention that Pucky Puppy has a couple versions of the Labrador, but we’ll be talking strictly about the Pro model with the more powerful motor and torque sensor. Starting off with some highlights about this bike. The first thing that stood out to me about the Labrador Pro was its price tag. Now, full suspension fat tire ebikes aren’t all that common in our experience, and when we have tested them, they’ve tended to exceed the $2,000 mark. The Labrador Pro is priced between $1,500 and $2,000 at the time of filming. So, it gives you the extra comfort of a dual suspension with a price that we’d typically associate more with a hard tail bike. The next thing which jumped out once I hopped on the bike was just how easy it was to pedal. The bike has a custom 750 W motor paired with a torque sensor that puts out power in response to how much pressure you put on the pedals. But I learned very quickly that the motor gives you a lot of help even when you use light pressure or one of its lower power levels. So the result is a relatively loweffort experience that leans more into casual pedaling than it does a natural analog like feel. Finally, I’ve got to give this bike some serious kudos for how it did in our range test. We’ll get into the details later on, but let me just say that the bike exceeded the distance of many similar bikes we’ve tested. So, if you want the ability to go on extended rides or you don’t want to have to recharge all that often, stick around to find out more about why this bike might be a good choice for you. With those things covered, let’s do a run through of the Labdor Pro’s specs and components. The 750 W rear hub motor I mentioned has a peak of 1,350 W and 120 Nm of torque. And that’s powered by a gigantic 48vt 960Wh battery that’s removable for charging and fully integrated into the down tube. For gearing, the bike has an 8-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain with a 46 to chain ring and a 12 to 32 to cassette. It uses a hydraulic disc brake system from Logan with two piston calipers and 180 mm front and rear rotors. Then the tires are relatively standard 26-in x4in knobby tires that are unbranded. We’re also not sure who manufactures the fork and shock. The fork itself has 100 mm of travel along with lockout and preload adjustment. And the shock, which has 35 mm of stroke, has a custom PyPy label on its plastic housing. The bike saddle is a big cushy cruiser style saddle. And then up in the cockpit, there’s a set of 720 mm handlebars with ergonomic rubber grips. There’s a throttle lever and a four button control pad on the left handlebar. The trigger style shifter is on the right, and there’s a central color display. The bike also includes an LED headlight, a tail light that functions as a brake light, and a starter bike pump, but it can be outfitted with a range of optional accessories like the cargo rack on our test bike, as well as fenders, a front basket, side mirrors, a phone mount, etc. You can check out all of those things on the bike’s web page using the link down below. FYI, the tail light typically mounts to the bike seat post, but it can attach to the back of the cargo rack if you choose to outfit your bike with that accessory. A few last details should wrap things up, though. The Labrador Pro is a class 2 and 3 ebike, so its throttle goes up to 20 mph, while pedal assist can carry you up to 28 mph. We weighed the bike at about 82 lb, which did include the optional fenders and cargo rack that came with ours. At the time of filming, the bike is not UL certified, but our contact at Pypy said the certification was in the works. And finally, the Labrador Pro comes in four color options. This one’s just called orange, but there’s also line camouflage, plating gray, and metallic gray. All right, that covers the basics. So, let’s get into our test sections and see how this bike performed. Our brake test is pretty simple. My fellow reviewer, Griffin, pedal up to 20 mph before hitting the brakes on a marked line. And then he measured how far this bike traveled before coming to a complete stop. He repeated that process two more times. And then I use that data to calculate an average. So the Labrador Pro’s final score was 23 ft and 8 in. The average stopping distance with a pool of similar bikes we’ve tested was 22 ft and 10 in. So the Labrador Pro was a little on the longer side, but still well within the zone that we consider safe and effective. There’s no clear reason why the bike came in a little slower. Its brake system specs and its overall weight are pretty much average when comparing similar bikes we’ve tested. It could be a combination of an effect of relatively little things like tire compound, brake pad type, and a couple of extra pounds in the rear triangle due to the full suspension, but that is just speculation. Going by feel and personal experience, I’d say that I had a range of results depending on my speed and what kind of surface I was riding on. Sometimes the bike stopped fairly fast and a little aggressively, while other times I noticed a little extra time before it came to a stop. I don’t think any changes are needed at this time considering that the Labrador’s test score came in well within the safe zone. But if you tend to cruise at really high speeds, I might recommend giving yourself a little extra space just to be safe, or at least until you get the feel for things. Overall, the bike did fairly well here, so let’s keep things moving. I took the Labrador Pro to our local bike paths for our speed test, where I rode it in each of its five pedal assist settings to find my average speed. I also tested the throttle to see how quickly it could reach 20 mph. So, let’s see how these tests went and then we can find out what the results mean later on. All right, we are here for a speed test on the PyP Labrador Pro. Starting off with no pedal assist here. And we’re going uh kind of between 10 and 12 and 11 mph just with my own leg power and you know working a little bit for that just because uh this style of bike does tend to be on the heavier side. So uh not going super fast and having to put in some leg work. But let’s go ahead and jump up to the lowest pedal assist setting. All right. So, motor engaged, kind of ramped up smoothly in power and is still kind of building, but I mean, quite a lot of power here in this setting. Definitely very practical for a low power level. Um, you can see we’re getting a very big difference in speed and my pedaling right now is like very relaxed, honestly. So, I’m not putting a ton of pressure on the pedals. And we are going kind of around 17 mph, maybe a little above at times. Um, yeah. Okay, let’s go up to PA2. So, doesn’t really feel any any different here, but we are picking up in speed a little bit, so something’s going on. Yeah, we’re clearing 20 mph. maybe up toward like 20 and a half. Trying to keep the same level of effort. All right, let’s go up to PAS3. All right, so now I’m feeling a little bit more from the motor for sure. Um, it is like I can kind of hear it. I can feel it pushing me along. And again, we’re getting a jump in speed here up to uh kind of right between 23 and a half and 24 miles per hour. Maybe settling more closely around 23 and 1/2. Okay, let’s Well, make a liar out of me. Yeah, now we went up a little bit. I think that was just variations in the path, honestly. Uh, all right, let’s go up to PAS4. I’m going to shift up to eighth gear. So, I mean, obviously we’re really cooking here. We are moving at a good clip up to right around 26 miles per hour, 26 and a half. Oh, 27. Okay. And then we’ll finish things off in PAS5. And you know, we are here and exceeding actually the 28 mph limit. All right. Let’s see how fast we can go. All right. at about 30 30 and 12 to 31. Okay, that is our pedal test. Let’s turn around and check out the throttle. All right, so for this test, we’re just going to see how quickly the bike gets up to 20 mph. Let’s go ahead and start in 3 2 1 go. All right, nice gradual start. Not too punchy. Picking up steadily. 16 17 18 19 and 20. All right, and holding pretty steady. Nice. All right, we will uh bounce back to the studio. All right, running through the numbers one more time. I started off the pedal test with no help from the motor and reached an average of about 10.6 mph. My speeds going up through the bike’s five power levels were 17.1 mph in PAS1, 20.4 in PAS2, 23.6 mph in PAS3, 27.1 in PAS4, and then a whopping 30.8 mph in PAS5. And for clarification, I was referencing the bike’s display, which didn’t show up very well in the video just because its angle is fixed. Just keep in mind that there is some natural variation in every speed test we do between my results on the display and those on the speedometer app that was a little bit easier to see. Anyway, looking at a graph of my results, you can see that there’s a pretty big jump from my starting average speed moving up to PAS1, which shows that even the lowest setting kicks out some serious power. This setting definitely felt the most natural or like I was contributing more to moving the bike, but the motor took over more of the effort as I stepped up in power. And the line in the graph shows that each jump in power was pretty consistent, which makes figuring out what setting you need pretty simple and easy. I do have one point of critique, which is that the Labrador Pro speeds exceeded class 3 limitations in this test, meaning that the motor accelerated the bike beyond 28 mph. For the sake of safety and legality, we’d prefer stricter limitations on speed. But of course, with the motor’s ability to respond to how much pressure you put on the pedals, you can keep to slower speeds by applying less effort. In the throttle portion of the test, this bike felt really approachable. Acceleration started off gradually and then picked up steadily, so it felt capable, but not overpowered. A well- balanced pedal assist system and a safe feeling throttle are things we definitely like to see. So, I think the Labrador Pro did great here. and I’ll give it two thumbs up. We tested the Labrador Pro’s motor efficiency and battery life in two range tests. The first found the bike’s maximum range using its lowest assist setting, and the second test found its minimum range using the highest power level. In both cases, we started with a full charge and pedled until the battery was drained. Our team covered 48.8 8 mi using PAS5 and a whopping 79.3 mi in PAS1. Now, both of these results are excellent, and they’re some of the longest distances we’ve seen from bikes of this style. A pool of similar models average 35.2 and 60.9 mi. The main difference here comes down to battery capacity. The Labrador Pro’s 960Wh battery is one of the largest batteries we’ve seen, and with higher capacity comes the ability to power the motor longer. Do keep in mind that we did our testing on paved paths. So, if you’re planning to ride this bike off-road, you should expect fewer miles. Additionally, we stuck to the 20 mph speed limit on our bike paths in the PA5 test. So, if you’re taking advantage of the bike’s class 3 speeds, that will use more power and give you fewer miles as a result. That said, I think this bike is super practical in its lower power levels because of its relatively high motor output. I really didn’t find myself using PAS45 for most of my testing. And I think most riders will be able to take advantage of lower power levels to get more distance out of the battery. And when I did our PS5 test, I actually found it fairly tough to maintain a slower speed because of how the motor engaged. So, I don’t think most riders will need the bike’s full power except when carrying a heavy load, climbing hills, or getting from points A to B as fast as possible. Speaking of hills, our next test takes a look at the bike’s climbing power. So, be sure to stick around. But here again, the Labrador Pro did great. Our hill test is done at a pretty intimidating spot here in southwestern Utah that we’re calling the Devil’s Backbone. It’s a half mile climb with an 8% average grade, and it includes a right turn where the motor really has to work to pick up speed. Let’s go see how the Labrador Pro did when our test rider, Justin, throttled and pedled the bike up the hill, and then I’ll talk more about its results once we get back here. [Music] All right, back out here on the Pookie Puppy Labrador now doing the pedal test and right about 2122 actually before we hit that hill. So even in class 2 setting a little faster. Um, so cruising pretty easily up here. Right at 19.8, 19, 18.3. So I’m in eighth gear. Haven’t had to haven’t had to shift at all. Kind of just soft pedaling here. Easily got back up to 20 as we start to turn. Make it up this next steep section. Let’s see if I need a downshift. Actually kind of fine. Right about 17 mph. Staying in ninth. I am going to shift here. We bottomed out about 16 and a half. We just shift to make this turn and see where we get back up to. So, I’m in fifth. Back to sixth and seventh. And at this first lamp post, right at 16.9 miles per hour. As far as motor goes and how it feels, I am really I mean I’m not soft pedaling, but I’m just barely over soft pedaling. I’m not having to push very hard on this at all. I’m in seventh gear. Noise level is still right right about average. Um and responsiveness is very smooth. Smoother than I expected actually. Um, again from how peppy it was kind of out of the gate. So, right now about 18.7 mph. Still in seventh gear. Not going to have to shift. 18. And we’re going to finish this right at 17.7 mph. As we expected, or at least hoped, considering how fat tire ebikes usually do, this bike did a very solid job in this test. Justin finished the throttle portion in 1 minute and 57 seconds with an average speed of 15.5 mph. His pedal time came in a bit faster with a time of 1 minute and 47 seconds and a speed of 16.9 mph. Both results were pretty similar to the category averages. That pool of similar bikes finished in 1 minute and 52 seconds throttling and 1 minute and 51 seconds pedaling. So, the Labrador was a little slower in the throttle portion and a little faster in the pedal test. Now, I wasn’t surprised to note the faster pedal time because of this bike’s peak motor output of 1,350 W and that pretty impressive 120 N me of torque. Both of those figures are definitely on the high end for the category, at least when looking at similar models with 750 W nominal motors. The throttle result also lined up with my expectations based on the somewhat reserved feel that I mentioned back in the speed test section, which just leads me to believe that its results here were more due to programming than anything else. We chose the Devil’s Backbone to be a good representation of hills that you’re likely to encounter out in the wild. So clearly, this bike has what it takes to do the job. All in all, the Labrador Pro gets another two thumbs up for its capable motor and very easy climbing experience. [Music] Ride quality is a broad term that covers all the things influencing how a bike feels to ride. Let’s head back out on the bike to go over some of the basics and then I’ll add a few more thoughts once we get back here. All right, let’s talk about ride quality here on the Labrador Pro. So, uh you know, first things first, this is a full suspension fat tire ebike. So, there are some relatively standard things that play into the ride quality here that we’ll talk about as we go along. But uh starting off with sizing and fit. This bike has a recommended height range of 5’4 to 6′ 6. And I am 5’11, which puts me kind of smack in the middle of that range. So, I’ll tell you a little bit about what I’m feeling. Uh the riding position here is is on the sporty side. So, I I’ve got a I’d say kind of a moderate forward lean. My arms are pretty outstretched in front of me here. I’m putting a little bit of weight on the handlebars. Uh now, part of the reasoning for that is the bike’s geometry. The other part is the saddle here. So, this is, as I’m sure you’ve seen, a pretty big cruiser style, very cushy saddle. Um, and so because of the shape of the saddle, I don’t have the uh saddle height set as high as I I normally would on a different style of saddle. Uh, just to be a little bit more comfortable. So, I don’t have full leg extension here, although there is enough uh range of adjustment in the saddle height to to achieve that if you know I were to swap out the saddle for something else. Uh that is a long-winded way of saying that um you know the riding position here is maybe a little bit different than I typically see on this style of bike, but it is very comfortable. Um I yeah really don’t have any complaints. I actually I think the reach in particular is really dialed in here. Uh it doesn’t feel too stretched out or too cramped. So yeah, I mean I think overall uh good job on on comfort and geometry. Moving on to suspension, which is a component of comfort. Uh, so we’ve got a coil suspension fork up front. We measured about 100 millimeters of travel on that and then we have about 35 mm of stroke on the rear shock. Uh, so yeah, I think that does a really nice job of just smoothing out bumps and, you know, just making the ride a lot more enjoyable. So, uh, real quick, I did want to touch back and talk about the adjustment points here. Uh the saddle is really about the only place that you have adjustment in. There’s about 7 in of adjustment in saddle height. Um and then as far as the sort of cockpit goes here. If you wanted to make any adjustments to the handlebar height or your reach, you would probably need to swap out the stem. This is a standard threadless style stem. So, uh yeah, just something to keep in mind. But anyway, uh, as far as tires go, we have the fairly standard 26×4 in fat tires, which, you know, just make the ride feel super stable and, uh, confidence inspiring if you’re on the newer side to ebikes. Uh, also gives you nice traction on paved and unpaved surfaces. As you’ve seen, we’ve been riding mostly unpaved, but did uh, some off-roading here. And then, you know, if you air down those tires and you don’t have them uh super high PSI, then you you do get a little extra cushion there as well. It does just take a little journey, though. Um, and then last thing to talk about is the motor that we’ve covered a little bit about before, the 750 W motor, which is very powerful, kicks out a lot of juice even at the lowest assist level, and just makes pedaling very easy. Uh, and then I also do really like that this is a class 3 bike out of the box. So, you know, you can hit those really high speeds if you want to. But that covers all the basics. Let’s go ahead and bounce back to the studio. And I’ll add a few additional thoughts before we wrap things up. So, I want to revisit the fact that comfort is a big element to the ride here, both in terms of suspension and the seating posture and ergonomics. I do want to point out that this bike is only available in a high-step frame. So, if you fall below the recommended height range or just want something that doesn’t require swinging a leg over the saddle, you may need to consider one of Puppy Puppy’s other options that has a step through frame. But, at least at the time of filming, we haven’t tested any of those other models. Touching back on the saddle I mentioned in the video clip, I personally found this cruiser style saddle to be somewhat mismatched with the bike’s overall style and riding position. So, I’d likely swap that out, but that is a very easy and affordable thing to do if you find yourself in my shoes. One thing I really liked about this bike was just that it wasn’t over complicated with too many features or buttons. That’s something that often goes along with ebikes on the budget end of the spectrum. And I think it can be really good for folks who are learning how to ride and who don’t want to have to juggle too many things while riding. Overall, I think the Labrador Pro’s ride quality is really solid, especially considering its affordable price. Sure, there were a couple of rough edges with little things like the display that’s essentially fixed in place, but otherwise, the bike felt comfortable, approachable, and well put together. [Music] Considering that this is one of the most affordable full suspension fat bikes we’ve tested, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Labodor Pro. After testing the bike, both as a part of our standardized performance tests and separately from them, I’m walking away pretty impressed with it. Looking back at our test results, the range test was where the Labrador shown the most, giving us some of the longest distances we’ve recorded for this style of bike. We were also impressed with the balanced nature of its programming, and we appreciated the relaxed and easy feel of its pedal assist system. On top of that, the bike did a great job in our hill test, and its brakes proved effective in our brake test. To be clear, there were a few trade-offs with the low price, namely the fact that it’s outfitted with some unbranded components. These generally did well in our testing, but by their very nature, we can’t speak to their longevity. And as I touched on in the speed test, you may want to keep an eye on your speed when using the high assist levels just to make sure you’re adhering to local limits. So, who do we think the Labrador Pro is best for? There are ultimately numerous applications for this bike, ranging from leisure riding to off-road adventuring and commuting, especially if you decide to add in some of those optional accessories like the cargo rack. We’d recommend this bike to anyone looking for an affordable, comfortable, and stable ride, as long as you’re okay with a higher weight that is inherent with this type of bike. We also think it’s approachable enough for newer riders, but still powerful enough for those who need to deal with lots of hills. And it might also be a good choice for hunters and other adventurous types who want the flexibility to ride in rougher terrain as well as on paved paths and roads. Ultimately, this puppy proved to be a good boy. And if you want to take a closer look, you can check out the links to our written review or the bike’s web page using the links in the description below. As I mentioned in the intro, this is a bike we’ve had lots of requests to test. So, please let us know if there are any other bikes you want to see down in the comments section, and be sure to tell us what you think about this one. Please also consider giving this video a like if you found it helpful, and maybe consider sharing it with some friends who might be interested. But thanks for taking a ride with me today. Again, I’m John with Electric Bike Report, and this is the Pucky Puppy Labrador Pro. Hey, hey, hey. [Music]
Pricing: https://ebrdeals.com/PuckipuppyLabradorPro
Written Review: https://electricbikereport.com/puckipuppy-labrador-pro-review/
Looking for a budget-friendly fat tire e-bike with full suspension and serious range? The Puckipuppy Labrador Pro delivers all that and more for under $2,000 – making it one of the lowest-priced bikes of its kind we’ve ever tested!
Why we like the Puckipuppy Labrador Pro:
– 750W rear hub motor with torque sensor for smooth, powerful pedaling.
– 80-mile range that matched our real-world test results.
– Full-suspension comfort for commuting or long-range adventures.
– Affordable price point without sacrificing performance.
Watch the full review to see how the Labrador Pro compares with other fat tire e-bikes in its price class!
#ebike #fattirebike #ebikereview #puckipuppy #ebikereview
00:00 – Intro
00:59 – Overview
05:16 – Brake Test
06:43 – Speed Test
12:06 – Range Test
13:54 – Hill Test
17:42 – Ride Quality
22:45 – Conclusion
