Prodeco V3 Outlaw SS Speed Electric Bicycle
The controversial ProdecoTech Outlaw SS is appropriately named… It’s an outlaw in the world of ebikes because it can only legally be operated in off-road or private spaces in most states. They do sell two street legal version of the bike in the Outlaw EX and SE (both with 750 watt motors and top speeds of 20mph). And I hate to say it, but those are the version I’d go with. I’ve ridden motorcycles, driven cars and even dropped hills on my traditional bicycle at speeds far in excess of 28 miles per hour so what’s the big deal here? In short, it just doesn’t feel stable… none of them do, but the added speed here doesn’t help.
In my experience, the most comfortable place to ride this bike is on flat, smooth tarmac. It’s misleading… When you look at the enormous double crown downhill suspension and that “off road” designation you want to take it off jumps and bomb hills but that’s a risky proposition. The front offers some give but the rear does not and that’s where the motor and battery are… so they’re going to get beaten up inside and wear out faster and they’re also going to impact your ride. Not only is the weight all in the rear, it’s way up high which is the worst place possible for balance. This is true for most of the ProdecoTech bikes and I’ve called it out before but the higher speed only increases the danger here. I am not dramatizing this, I’ve given it a lot of thought, spoken with others who have tested the bike and spent time riding on different terrains (and nearly crashed on multiple occasions despite knowing the risks and being an adept rider). It’s just not very stable, especially when used on sand or dirt. I can guarantee you that crashing on this 62 pound ebike at 25+ mph is going to be awesome in the worst kind of way :)
Okay, end rant! Let’s be honest, people are buying this electric bike because it looks cool, can climb hills and go fast… and they’re riding it on the street or bike paths (hopefully not recklessly, giving other ebikers a bad reputation). Legal liabilities not withstanding, the motor on this thing can really crank. It offers 750 watts of power which is the upper limit in the USA. It’s durable because there are no gears inside… just large magnets. And it’s quiet, even when you’re climbing or cruising at top speed. I had no problem ascending an enormous hill, even starting from a complete stop (see the video review).
The battery pack that comes standard offers 48 volts of power and 9 amp hours of capacity with Lithium-ion cells. It’s good technology, energy dense and long lasting. It’s also removable meaning you can charge it more conveniently and store it inside when the weather gets hot or cold (extreme temperatures will harm the cells). I suggest charging the pack whenever you’ve gone for a ride and topping it off every month or so if you haven’t. The rack that the battery sits on is pretty rigid and without a rear shock the pack can get jolted around as mentioned earlier. The larger tires help a bit and ProdecoTech has reinforced the mounting point with four struts that connect to the rear axle. I’d be hesitant to add more weight to the rear end of this bike but it’s worth noting that there’s no attachment point for adding a saddle bag or panniers.
This bike only comes in one frame size, standard/medium. It’s actually shorter than the Oasis and some of the other models ProdecoTech offers which felt good to me (I’m 5’9″). The grips are solid and I love that they used a trigger throttle on the right because that makes accidental acceleration less of an issue (this can happen if you instinctively squeeze the handles in a tense moment). On the left side you’ve got a standard grip shifter and this works well enough… just don’t accidentally shift gears bearing down. The LED display unit gives you some idea of the battery capacity remaining using red, yellow or green lights but it doesn’t show your speed or distance traveled. The brake levers are high quality, easy to reach and very responsive but they don’t seem to cut power to the motor! One of the times I nearly fell on this bike was rounding a corner at high speed, squeezing both brakes and continuing to throttle the motor accidentally. The rear wheel spun faster than the front (because the motor was pushing through the brake) and the rear end of the bike started forcing my front wheel to skid and slide out. Not a fun moment at all (this coming from a guy who has knocked himself out on two separate occasions while wearing a helmet snowboarding).
