A comfortable and practical city-oriented electric bike with full length aluminum fenders, integrated lights, minimalist suspension fork with remote lockout and ergonomic grips
Near-silent but powerful 500 watt gearless hub motor, beautifully designed custom downtube battery pack, integrated LCD display unit
Excellent warranty (two years on the battery and motor), only available in one size but you get two color options, key must remain in while riding
Video Review
Introduction
Make:
BESV
Model:
Jaguar JS1
Price:
$2,980
(Optional ~$5,000 Model, Smaller Motor and Limited 20 mph Top Speed)
Integrated Front and Rear LED Lights, Double Leg Scissoring Kickstand, Metal Bash Guard, Sunnywheel Full Length Aluminum Alloy Fenders, Portable 2 Amp Smart Charger (1.1 lb)
Other:
Locking Removable Battery Pack, Quick Release Front Wheel
BESV is part of the Darfon Innovation Corp. which, at the time of this review, was the world leader in producing integrated laptop keyboards. They also make power supplies, human interface devices and other electronics and have over 20k employees worldwide… that’s a solid foundation to build electric bikes from and some of their earliest models from 2015 impressed a lot of people including me. The Jaguar model is brand new for 2016 and builds on some of the strength of the earlier Lion LX1 and Panther PS1. The JS1 looks great and has a lot of purpose built electronics but is quite a bit more affordable than those other two models. Overall, I’m impressed that they were able to offer a 500 watt motor, brand name Lithium-ion battery cells, integrated lights, quality fenders and a mid-level Shimano Alivio drivetrain for under $3k with a two year warranty (on the motor and battery) and also have two separate color choices!
The JS1 is my favorite bike in the BESV lineup so far because I appreciate, and am willing to pay more for, some of the quality touch points like ergonomic grips and upgraded suspension fork. Considering the bike only comes in one frame size, it’s pretty adaptable to short and mid sized riders and offers a comfortable and safe upright seating position. I’ve commuted to work by bicycle for many years and the zippy 20 mph top speed offered here is perfect. Even though this is a Class 1 pedal assist only electric bike, meaning it doesn’t offer throttle mode, I noticed that it was very responsive and not overly tiring to pedal with. With some torque sensing ebikes you really have to pedal and push… which might suite mountain bikers but can be tiring and defeat the purpose for people who just what to get somewhere efficiently. The system uses a dual-sensor torque sensing bottom bracket to respond naturally as you pedal along. This helps to extend range and qualifies the bike to be used legally in the greatest number of environments vs. Class 2 or Class 3.
At the end of the day, the Jaguar ebike is all about city and urban riding and the slick 700c tires are both efficient and tough. They’re made by Schwalbe and include puncture resistant lining meant to reduce the potential for flats. If something does go wrong, you’ve got a quick release skewer on the front which makes servicing easier but the rear wheel is standard bolt-on so you’ll need tools for that. I noticed the seat tube is not quick release but if you’re the only one riding and want to avoid tampering or seat theft at a public bike rack, that’s not such a bad thing. There’s actually a lot in the way of “built in” and security on this electric bike. The battery pack, while removable, clicks in using a keyed lock and the display panel is completely integrated into the custom stem. There’s no way to angle the display or remove it but it also stays out of the way, is better protected in the event of a tip or during transport and it’s more aerodynamic than a bar mounted aftermarket option. This is where BESV / Darfon shine, they make custom electronic solutions for computers and they are leveraging their knowledge to refine electric bikes.
Riding the BESV JS1 is fluid and extremely quiet but it also feels capable. You’ve got a 500 watt gearless direct drive hub motor from TDCM (a longstanding ebike motor maker) at your disposal. And while it’s heavier than a geared alternative, it’s also probably more durable. I would love to have regeneration or regenerative braking here (the levers have motor inhibitors and could activate it, you think Darfon would be able to add this sort of functionality easily given their expertise in power supply manufacturing) but at this price point I don’t miss it too much. The battery pack offers an above-average 36 volt 11.4 amp hour capacity and is fairly small and light weight so the cells are likely the premium energy dense options from LG. The pack slides in and out easily and even has a little carry handle. You can charge it on or off the bike which is handy for those who park their bikes inside and want to avoid extra steps and potential drops of the battery and the charger itself is super light weight ~1.1 lbs as mentioned in the video review above.
There’s really a lot to say about this e-bike and to me it’s exciting because it feels within reach in terms of price. For something that looks so beautiful, it doesn’t compromise on comfort and is easy to mount. The bike has a great warranty and lots of upgrades included in the price. I would like to see a bottle cage mounting point somewhere and I’d like to be able to remove the key when riding as it could jingle or even snag and get bent if you swing your leg through without looking. The frame felt solid but did suffer from a bit of jiggle as with most single tube step-thru designs and this type of frame may be difficult to mount on busses or certain hanging style car racks without an extra bar adapter like this. Apparently BESV stands for Beautiful, Eco-Friendly, Smarter, Vision and I can appreciate the beauty in their designs compared with some other ebikes that feel more generic. It appears they’ve won several design awards for their products over the years in China’s Taipei Cycle Show and Germany’s Red Dot as well as Eurobike. I loved the matte black color option because it matched the suspension fork, motor and other accessories and hid the cables. I also liked the remote lockout for the fork because there are times (especially on paved roads) where you just don’t need or want the extra bob but also don’t want to bend far forward or stop to change the settings. Good stuff all around with this one, I’m excited to see how BESV continues to innovate with their designs and keep prices reasonable in the years to come.
Pros:
Excellent feature set with high quality fenders, front and rear lights, a bell and a kickstand, the only additional feature might be a rack and bottle cage bosses
The oversized Schwalbe Energizer Plus tires compliment the urban suspension fork nicely to smooth out little bumps and uneven terrain
Available in two beautiful color schemes (his and hers possibly?) the matte black helps the cables to blend in a bit more and matches the motor hub and suspension fork perfectly
Mid-grade component set including large 180 mm mechanical disc brakes, locking ergonomic grips and a nine speed Shimano Alivio drivetrain
Compatible with a smart phone app using Bluetooth connectivity, track your rides and get more detailed information about performance
In my opinion the Jaguar ebike offers some of the best value from BESV at the ~$3k price point and their warranty is longer than most other companies including two years for the battery and motor
The torque sensing pedal assist is some of the most responsive I’ve tested, you really don’t need to push hard in order to activate it and the Smart mode is actually pretty good at saving energy but still feeling enjoyable to use
Cons:
The key must remain in the “ignition” slot in order to use the electrical systems on the bike and it’s positioned on the downtube where it could get kicked or kneed more easily, I would prefer to be able to remove it because I keep my keys on a keychain and they would probably dangle around a lot possibly scraping the paint and making noise, consider a little carabiner like this as a possible solution
The frame (being a deep low-step) is a bit more flexy than a traditional triangle, I noticed that the front of the bike felt less stable at high speeds and may be prone to speed wobble
The gearless direct drive motor is super quiet and smooth but there’s no regenerative braking or energy recapture system in place which is too bad, this type of motor weighs more than geared options so it’s nice to recapture some energy if that option is present
The seat post is sort of custom (with a hole in the back) designed to work with the integrated rear light and corresponding electrical wire, if you decide to swap it out for a Thudbuster or other seat post suspension you may have to run the wire outside or just not use the rear light
Only available in one size and it’s fairly short (creating an upright riding position) this is fine for medium and even smaller sized riders but might not work for taller people, I’m 5’9″ and it felt very comfortable
No quick release on the seat tube which means you’ll need a tool to dial in fit but theft of your seat post and saddle are less likely… but the front wheel does have a quick release making it a target (unless you run a cable through the wheel, I actually like the front quick release)
No bottle cage bosses on the downtube or seat tube, I’d suggest using a saddle rail adapter but the light is already mounted there, consider a disc brake compatible rear rack with a bag that has an integrated bottle holder like this
Because the frame on this ebike is more of a step-thru it might not work as well with the hanging style car racks, the front wheel and battery come off to reduce weight so tossing it into a truck could work but if you are using a hitch rack you’ll probably need a platform style rack like this and then the fenders might get in the way of the swing arm that pulls the wheels down into the rack
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Looks like a great commuter. I’m very impressed with BESV’s product design. They manage to make a step-through frame look really modern and even aggressive, whereas a lot of other step-through designs that I see looks like they’re designed to appeal to grandmothers. :D
First of all… my Grandma is awesome XD but yeah, it’s neat to see something like this that’s custom and awesome. I think the weight comes back to the larger motor and battery but they also have to reinforce the frame for strength on a single-tube design like this. I feel like they could keep most of this bike the way it is but swap the gearless motor for geared to save weight and make the key removable and maybe bring the price down a touch but overall I like it :)
Court! I’ve been binging on your site and Youtube reviews and like a lot of others have to say, THANK YOU. Your knowledge and in depth analysis has motivated me to pull the trigger on this particular bike -my first electric bike :)
It was funny since I was chatting with a web sales rep, I decided to call him out that it may be a typo, but sure enough the official BESV site has rated the motor to 250W …b,b-but the EBR guy says it’s 500! :) …I figure regardless should be a great ride.
Keep up the great work as always, looking forward to future reviews and your input :)
Good catch Nic! I do my very best to capture or measure all of the correct specs but sometimes I’m off or unclear (or have an error with the website). I think in this case the motor is a 250 watt nominal with 500 watt peak. Maybe the sales rep told me 500 and there weren’t markings on the motor casing to say otherwise. What I’ve done here is updated the specs in the review to reflect this new information, thanks for your help! I hope you love the bike, it’s a really slick polished design and I feel like BESV is a leader in making custom purpose build electric bikes. Chime back in as you get to know it and if you have any other feedback!
Got the bike yesterday and it was easy enough to build with their guide, which ironically you can get from their website. The bike was for the most part, already built. All I had to do was attach the front wheel, mud guards, front reflector, and rear light. Took a novice like me about an hour. Also I started charging the battery pack as soon as I started assembling.
I have to agree, the bike looks solid and handsome, really digging the black and red stripe and integrated lights. The components look and feel solid.
Now, this is where it all comes crashing down. The bike’s display or electric functions do not turn on as designed with the battery. When I have the charger plugged into the battery as it’s on the bike, the display does light up. I figure well, could be the battery though the status shows full from the display. I let it charge overnight, 9 hours total, still the same result this morning.
So I’ve been testing the little I can do as far as the electric features go as the bike is stationary and plugged and I noticed I can reproduce what looks like a bug / or another production defect / no quality control as well. I’m hoping you can add your opinion on this. I turn on the lights and as soon as I brake, the lights cut off and the display resets -this is not normal either right? If I brake, without the lights on, it doesn’t do the reset. :( ….as you can tell, really disappointed. I should have went with a local bike shop versus online. To compound my issue, there’s no BESV shops in Denver.
One positive thing I’m not sure was covered, the brake light lights up brighter when you break, pretty neat! (that is if I could actually use it, ha!). This feature works in either in light or no light mode.
I’ve contacted my online dealer and BESV support, no response yet. I’ll of course keep you updated and as always, keep doing what you do Court… If things aren’t resolved right, I’m thinking refund, and probably will be digging deep on your site once again haha :)
Hi Ike! Have you been able to reach anyone from BESV? I’m not sure about availability and have not been in touch with anyone from the company for at least a year. here’s their official website. Hope this helps :)
Hi guys, can anyone please help me with a battery for my BESV JS1. I’m looking for a Darfon YTRT04, 403.2W battery pack. Any info is welcome! Thank you!!
Cameron Newland
9 years agoLooks like a great commuter. I’m very impressed with BESV’s product design. They manage to make a step-through frame look really modern and even aggressive, whereas a lot of other step-through designs that I see looks like they’re designed to appeal to grandmothers. :D
60lbs is quite very heavy, though.
ReplyCourt Rye
9 years agoFirst of all… my Grandma is awesome XD but yeah, it’s neat to see something like this that’s custom and awesome. I think the weight comes back to the larger motor and battery but they also have to reinforce the frame for strength on a single-tube design like this. I feel like they could keep most of this bike the way it is but swap the gearless motor for geared to save weight and make the key removable and maybe bring the price down a touch but overall I like it :)
ReplyE
8 years agoYou might want to change that from China’s Taipei cycle show to Taiwan…
ReplyCourt Rye
8 years agoAh yes… Thanks! I have never been and just got a little confused :)
ReplyNic
8 years agoCourt! I’ve been binging on your site and Youtube reviews and like a lot of others have to say, THANK YOU. Your knowledge and in depth analysis has motivated me to pull the trigger on this particular bike -my first electric bike :)
It was funny since I was chatting with a web sales rep, I decided to call him out that it may be a typo, but sure enough the official BESV site has rated the motor to 250W …b,b-but the EBR guy says it’s 500! :) …I figure regardless should be a great ride.
Keep up the great work as always, looking forward to future reviews and your input :)
ReplyCourt Rye
8 years agoGood catch Nic! I do my very best to capture or measure all of the correct specs but sometimes I’m off or unclear (or have an error with the website). I think in this case the motor is a 250 watt nominal with 500 watt peak. Maybe the sales rep told me 500 and there weren’t markings on the motor casing to say otherwise. What I’ve done here is updated the specs in the review to reflect this new information, thanks for your help! I hope you love the bike, it’s a really slick polished design and I feel like BESV is a leader in making custom purpose build electric bikes. Chime back in as you get to know it and if you have any other feedback!
ReplyNIC
8 years agoGot the bike yesterday and it was easy enough to build with their guide, which ironically you can get from their website. The bike was for the most part, already built. All I had to do was attach the front wheel, mud guards, front reflector, and rear light. Took a novice like me about an hour. Also I started charging the battery pack as soon as I started assembling.
I have to agree, the bike looks solid and handsome, really digging the black and red stripe and integrated lights. The components look and feel solid.
Now, this is where it all comes crashing down. The bike’s display or electric functions do not turn on as designed with the battery. When I have the charger plugged into the battery as it’s on the bike, the display does light up. I figure well, could be the battery though the status shows full from the display. I let it charge overnight, 9 hours total, still the same result this morning.
So I’ve been testing the little I can do as far as the electric features go as the bike is stationary and plugged and I noticed I can reproduce what looks like a bug / or another production defect / no quality control as well. I’m hoping you can add your opinion on this. I turn on the lights and as soon as I brake, the lights cut off and the display resets -this is not normal either right? If I brake, without the lights on, it doesn’t do the reset. :( ….as you can tell, really disappointed. I should have went with a local bike shop versus online. To compound my issue, there’s no BESV shops in Denver.
One positive thing I’m not sure was covered, the brake light lights up brighter when you break, pretty neat! (that is if I could actually use it, ha!). This feature works in either in light or no light mode.
I’ve contacted my online dealer and BESV support, no response yet. I’ll of course keep you updated and as always, keep doing what you do Court… If things aren’t resolved right, I’m thinking refund, and probably will be digging deep on your site once again haha :)
Ike Stewart
4 years agoNeed a battery for my besv js1 2016
ReplyCourt
4 years agoHi Ike! Have you been able to reach anyone from BESV? I’m not sure about availability and have not been in touch with anyone from the company for at least a year. here’s their official website. Hope this helps :)
ReplyJeep Stoker
2 years agoHi guys, can anyone please help me with a battery for my BESV JS1. I’m looking for a Darfon YTRT04, 403.2W battery pack. Any info is welcome! Thank you!!
Reply