Once I first appeared on the JackRabbit XG Professional, my intuition was to take it someplace wild. Certain, it’s designed to be a compact, fun-sized trip for city zipping and off-road excursions — however what if I took it even additional? What if I used it to tow a kayak… to the seaside… after which paddled that kayak with the e-bike strapped to it to a abandoned island to go tenting?
Typically unhealthy concepts flip into nice tales. This was a kind of.
Chances are you’ll recall that I lately coated the launch of this wild new micro e-bike (that technically isn’t a bicycle as a result of lack of pedals, as my commentors will certainly level out). The light-weight 35 lb (16.7 kg) trip can hit 20 mph – or 24 mph in off-road mode (32 to 39 km/h), and has 749 watts of energy mixed with 48 miles (77 km) of vary.
So mainly, it’s a variety of efficiency packed into the body of one thing that feels and rides like a small-format throttle-controlled e-bike.
And at half the burden of most off-road e-bikes, that is nearly the one one I may discover that may be capable of tow 100+ lb (45+ kg) of kayak and tenting gear in off-road situations, together with uphill by way of sand, and nonetheless be sufficiently small to then carry it on my kayak in open water. Or a minimum of that was the plan, and I hoped it was going to work.
To see this loopy thought play out earlier than your eyes, try my video of the entire debacle. It’s a little bit of an funding at half-hour, however phrase on the road is it’s price it, and also you’re most likely operating out of choices on Netflix anyway.
Towing a kayak with a 37 lb micro e-bike
The JackRabbit XG Professional is also known as a “micro e-bike”, nevertheless it felt gentle a may micro e-bike pulling all my gear.
I hooked up a DIY trailer to my 10 ft sit-inside (shout-out to my dad, since I stole the trailer he constructed for his bigger kayak to get it from the van to the boat ramp) and loaded up with sufficient gear to maintain me comfy for an in a single day island camp.
Then I hit the highway — a mixture of beachside streets, bike paths, and a few surprisingly tough off-road sections.
The bike by no means flinched. I used to be legitimately shocked as a result of I had anticipated this to be a ‘pushing it to its limits’ state of affairs however the JackRabbit XG Professional didn’t actually care.
The one time I ever felt like I used to be pulling a trailer was throughout sluggish uphill sections when it could are likely to wheelie as a result of sluggish pace, excessive torque, and the 100 lb kayak pulling again on the seat put up.
I stored speeds modest — round 5 to eight mph (8-13 km/h) felt just like the candy spot earlier than issues obtained bouncy within the kayak full of tenting gear — however the e-bike by no means appeared to battle.
Part two: Packing the JackRabbit onto the kayak
As soon as I made it to the launch level after a number of miles of towing my kayak, it was time to check a principle I hadn’t truly examined: Are you able to match the JackRabbit onto the bow of a sit-inside kayak and nonetheless paddle?
Seems: form of.
I broke the bike down as small as I may — batteries out, entrance wheel off, handlebars turned sideways — and lashed it to the bow. I had added a couple of tie down factors to my kayak the evening earlier than to make this lashing course of simpler, and people positively helped.
The trailer, wheel, and free gear stuffed the remainder of the area, and I wedged myself in round all of it. Barely. I needed to offload gear simply to suit my legs in. After transferring my tent, sleeping pad and some different bits of substances to the strict to make extra leg room, I lastly managed to squeeze in. A fast drag down the waterline jogged my memory simply how heavy the kayak had change into, however there wasn’t any turning again now. It was both sink or swim. Or, nicely, hopefully neither.
Paddling into the unknown
Regardless of being comically overloaded, the kayak floated (barely), and I pushed off towards an uninhabited barrier island I’d scouted by way of satellite tv for pc maps.
The paddle was a bit tense at first till I used to be fairly certain the three inches (7.5 cm) of freeboard I had left was sufficient to maintain me from capsizing. The wake thrown off from passing jet skis and pontoon boats made issues thrilling in all of the improper methods.
I paddled round for some time till I lastly discovered the minimize within the mangrove bushes I had noticed by way of blurry satellite tv for pc map, although it took me a number of false alarms as I found others so small they didn’t present up on the pixelated photos.
Once I lastly discovered the suitable minimize within the mangroves and slid into a rough, pure sand ramp, the sensation was someplace between “I can’t imagine that labored” and “Oh no, now I’ve to unpack all of it.”
Island life, e-bike fashion
I didn’t find yourself unpacking the bike at camp. It had taken a variety of effort to get it loaded and I may see the clearing I had noticed on the satellite tv for pc photos was solely a brief stroll by way of the bushes, so I stashed the boat and bike within the mangroves to maintain them out of sight from the water and humped my gear the remainder of the way in which.
I discovered the clearing, arrange my tent, and cooked dinner over a twig-burning range below the creeping suspicion that the Florida Skunk Ape was going to hitch me at any second.
The moon was only a sliver that evening, however I had a extremely cool 44-foot (13 meter) solar-powered string gentle that Biolite despatched me and so I set that up for just a little further gentle because the solar went down. This space of Florida is below a burn ban proper now, which means open fires on account of current drought situations resulting in further dry brush. I checked with the Division of Fish and Wildlife and confirmed I may use a tenting range, so between that small fireplace and the string gentle, I may see my manner round my small camp at evening. The 2 had been simply sufficient to light up all of the rats that got here out at nightfall, who apparently had taken over the island.
I assumed I had cleaned my mess equipment nicely after dinner, however all through the evening I used to be listening to and watching by way of my tent mesh all the rats rummaging by way of it and my bag.
Whereas I had been wanting ahead to my morning espresso and oatmeal, that just about made the choice proper there that I’d must skip it and go for the granola bar I had safely tucked away with me in my tent.
The rats aren’t harmful by themselves however they do carry ailments and so I wasn’t going to be utilizing that cooking gear till I had an opportunity to scrub it totally.
The trip again: Simply as wild
Packing every little thing again up was simply as tight the second time. I loaded every little thing again into kayak and after one final have a look at the gorgeous dawn, I pushed off into the open water of the Gulf of Mexico.
I had thought-about an extended paddle that may minimize down the highway section of my trip, however as soon as I obtained out within the deeper water and the waves picked up, I rapidly known as an audible and realized I shouldn’t thoughts the additional miles on the highway since drowning in asphalt is quite a bit much less probably.
I beelined it for the coast and have by no means been happier to listen to the crunch of sand below my bow as I beached the kayak for the final time of the journey.
Again on the sand, I hopped out and strapped the kayak to the trailer, reloaded the bike, and cruised again down the freeway and into the closest seaside city — drained, sore, just a little sunburned, however extremely happy.
The JackRabbit XG Professional isn’t meant for towing a kayak to a seaside after which crusing away with it. However that’s what makes this microbike such a enjoyable instrument. It’s small, however mighty. Weirdly succesful. Surprisingly rugged.
It’s true that JackRabbit’s tiny e-bikes are a favourite amongst boaters for taking on such little room on a ship, although I feel this may be the smallest vessel anybody has ever introduced one on. They’re additionally widespread within the gentle airplane and RV group for a similar cause – e-bike-sized wheels for using round once you get to your vacation spot.
Would I like to recommend repeating this journey? Provided that you get pleasure from problem-solving on the fly, questionable decision-making, and the occasional kayak-side existential disaster. However sure — it was completely price it.
And contemplating that is concerning the worst case situation for portability and energy in a small e-bike, most individuals ought to discover the JackRabbit XG Professional greater than able to a day by day commute or a enjoyable off-road journey.
What do you suppose? Would you ever wish to strive a visit like this? Let’s hear your ideas within the remark part under. And earlier than you go, try my video overview of the JackRabbit XG Professional under, which stayed (largely) on dry land. Or try my full kayak towing/paddling journey video right here.
