What The Heck Is A Puckipuppy And Do You Need One?

A Review of the Puckipuppy e-Bike

New e-bike Brand Embraces Its Name With Models Like Labrador, Boxer, and Samoyed

When we were first approached to test, write about, and introduce a new e-bike brand named Puckipuppy, I thought perhaps it was a spam message that had gotten through. We soon discovered that not only was this a genuine inquiry by a new e-bike company, the name was intentional and had real meaning behind it.

In the growing electric bike space, it’s getting harder and harder to set yourself apart from other brands. Whether you are a dog lover or just a curious onlooker, it’s tough to ignore a name like Puckipuppy. When you see the company branding its product lines with names like Husky, Corgi, Labrador and more…you get a sense of the whimsicality that its founder was after, marrying the thrill of riding with the joy of canine companionship he first felt when bringing his own dog, Pudding, along for his adventures.

The First Litter

The first e-bike that Puckipuppy released was the Labrador. With that first model, and dogged testing and refinement, the rest of the line was fleshed out. The entire line consists of the Samoyed, Boxer, Corgi, Husky (a three-wheel model) and the…uh … well, the Hummingbirds. The latter name, feeling a bit off-brand, is ascribed to the line of folding e-bikes. They are small like a hummingbird and they fold, like … perhaps it’s best not to read too much into that name.

Bringing Home A New PuckiPuppy

Introducing a new member to the home is always a challenge. With our test e-bike, the Samoyed, it took two people to coax the big box out of the truck. This is pretty common for most e-bikes, which often weigh in excess of 70 pounds. The Puckipuppy Samoyed was well-packaged and everything inside was well-positioned and wrapped with foam so everything was protected.

Assembly was not too difficult. Our reviewer, an experienced cyclist, had enough intuition to fill in any potential gaps in the printed instructions, and felt that a little refinement would help, but in general was usable. Neophytes might have to rely more on pictures or one of Puckipuppy’s support options, but should not have too much difficulty.

The First Night at Home

While the new Puckipuppy didn’t make any noise the first evening, it did need to be charged up completely. The full charge of the 48-volt 15 Ah battery takes about 4–5 hours or so, depending on depletion. Anytime you receive an item with a factory rechargeable battery, it’s always best not to rely on what charge it may or may state is available and to charge it to full capacity. Whether it’s a cell phone, a razor, or an e-bike…always charge first. Our tester offered that you can expect to need a small extension cable to reach your AC outlet.

Training: Taking the Puckipuppy Out of Its Cage

Getting a new Puckipuppy home is always exciting, but at some point you have to take it out for training. In this case, it is the rider that has to do the learning. You’ll want good weather and a familiar area to test out the speed, braking, gear changing, and other nuances of your new Puckipuppy.

Top speed of the Samoyed is 28 mph. If you’ve never gone that fast on a bicycle, you are in for a surprise. Our reviewer commented that he checked every preassembled nut and bolt and found them all to be factory tight and reliable enough to hit that top speed. Gear changes are done through the ever-reliable Shimano derailleur, keeping the 6061 Aluminum Alloy frame and its 350-pound capacity in the right gear at all times.

The large and sturdy tires are kept in line by heavy 12-gauge spokes (a typical bicycle uses smaller 14-gaugers) and slowed by disc brakes on both front and rear wheels. Our tester did feel that perhaps the brakes needed a bit of break-in time, so don’t go barreling down a steep hill with a 90-degree turn until you’ve acclimated yourself to the bike and made those typical post break-in adjustments.

Running Free

Most e-bikes today have three modes: pedal only, motor only, or pedal-assisted locomotion, the latter being by far the most popular. The Puckipuppy Samoyed is no different. Electronically assisted pedaling is quite a marvel, helping you up hills with ease and propelling you at greater speeds than you could achieve with a standard bicycle. All while still offering a bit of exercise. At very low speeds, pedal-assist can be a bit disconcerting, however. So if you don’t have any e-bike experience, take that to heart and adjust accordingly.

Our tester commented that the Samoyed was “SOLID as heck” and offered what seemed like a high-quality paint job. With no effort by the rider, the 750-watt motor on the bike takes both up to 20 mph with ease. You can add a little pedaling (and perhaps a helmet!) to get up to that 28 mph range. Speaking of range, expect yours to be between 35–55 miles on a full charge, depending on the amount of pedaling you do and the terrain. You’ll be thankful for the pedal-assist if your return journey takes you up any hills on your return trip home.

Puckipuppy Samoyed Specs

The Folding Puckipuppy

The folding e-bike Hummingbirds model could be especially useful for RVers. With smaller wheels and a smaller footprint, it remarkably still offers the same capacity (350 pounds), the same motor (750-watt) and an even larger battery at 48 volts and 18Ah. The folding model weighs in at 71 pounds and has a top speed of 25 mph. With that larger battery, range is up to 50 miles. It will be interesting to see how the Puckipuppy line of e-bikes matures over the years. Visit puckipuppy.com now for the full line of Puckipuppy e-bikes, before the dog days of summer arrive.

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