GoKawiilThat’s it. There are no multi-color LED screens that animate when you power the bike on, no directional compass, no readout telling you exactly how many watts your bike is making for you.
To be clear, none of those things are bad. In many cases, I love riding ebikes that offer me a range of information and telemetry. At the bare minimum, I do like knowing exactly how fast I’m going! But Retrospec did away with all of that. The company has made a bike that captures the vibe of being a 12-year-old kid and riding your bike more than anything I’ve ridden in some time.
Rather than futzing with buttons and focusing on data, I spent the hours I tested the Judd Rev 2 taking in the world around me and enjoying the wind in my hair. It’s a perfectly capable, easily storable, and fun-to-ride bike that I would happily use daily if I were an everyday commuter.
Photograph: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
As a Class 2 bike, the Judd Rev 2’s 350-watt rear hub-based motor can give you up to 20 mph of assisted speed. You can select one of five settings, including a walk mode, at your left hand along with a thumb throttle at your right hand. The bike’s 160-mm rotors paired to Tektro mechanical brake levers offer plenty of stopping power.
Retrospec’s spec sheet notes that the Judd Rev 2 boasts a 42-mile range, which is pretty great for a relatively light, Class 2 bike. Mine was closer to 30 miles from full battery to flat. Granted, the area where I live is full of sizable rolling hills, and no ebike I’ve ever tested has come close to its stated range. But 30 miles of battery range in my town is more than enough to use the bike consistently for two to three days before needing to recharge.