Chicago has some incredible events throughout the year, but few bring the city to life quite like the Chicago Air & Water Show.

Thousands of people head toward the lakefront, traffic gets crazy, parking becomes a challenge, and getting around downtown can quickly turn into an adventure of its own.

So we decided to approach it a little differently.

Instead of dealing with the car, we grabbed the Juiced Scramblers and headed into the city on e-bikes.

And honestly, this is exactly the kind of ride that reminds me why I love e-bikes.

Sometimes an E-Bike Is the Best Way to Experience Chicago

I’ve driven around Chicago plenty of times.

I’ve also ridden e-bikes throughout the city.

For an event like the Chicago Air & Water Show, I’ll take the e-bike experience.

You’re not sitting inside a car watching the city through a windshield. You’re actually experiencing it.

You can see the skyline.

You can hear everything happening around you.

You can stop when you find something interesting.

And when traffic starts backing up, you’re not necessarily stuck in the middle of it.

That’s when an e-bike stops feeling like a recreational toy and starts showing just how useful it can be.

The Mission: Ride the Juiced Scramblers to the Air Show

For this adventure, we took out the new Juiced Scramblers.

These are moped-style e-bikes built around a 52V electrical system and a 750W rear hub motor capable of considerably more peak power.

But for this ride, I wasn’t interested in doing another traditional performance test.

I’ve already spent time testing what these bikes can do.

This time I wanted to use them.

That’s an important distinction.

It’s easy to review an e-bike by measuring acceleration, range, braking and top speed.

But eventually you need to answer another question:

What’s it actually like to live with the bike?

Taking the Scramblers into Chicago for a major event seemed like a pretty good way to find out.

This Is Where Moped-Style E-Bikes Make Sense

Moped-style e-bikes aren’t going to be for everyone.

They’re heavier than traditional bicycles, and the bench-style seating isn’t designed for someone who wants to pedal like they’re riding a road bike.

But rides like this demonstrate why the category has become so popular.

They’re comfortable.

They’re fun.

They have plenty of power.

And they make it incredibly easy to cover a lot of urban miles without arriving completely exhausted.

The Juiced Scrambler uses a 750W Sutto rear hub motor that can peak at 1,764 watts, along with a 52V 19.2Ah battery.

That’s just under 1,000Wh of battery capacity.

For an urban adventure where you’re going to spend several hours riding around, having that much battery available gives you a lot more confidence.

Range Anxiety Isn’t Much Fun

Whenever I’m doing a longer ride, battery range is always somewhere in the back of my mind.

Nobody wants to spend the afternoon exploring Chicago and suddenly realize they don’t have enough battery to get home.

The Scrambler’s large battery helps eliminate some of that concern.

In independent real-world testing, the Scrambler has traveled just over 43 miles while using just throttle—a demanding test for any e-bike.

Obviously, your mileage will vary.

Rider weight, speed, wind, temperature, tire pressure, hills and how much throttle you’re using can all affect your final range.

But having a nearly 1,000Wh battery is a great starting point when you’re planning a long day of riding.

Chicago Streets Are a Suspension Test

If you ride around Chicago long enough, you’re going to find some rough pavement.

Potholes.

Cracks.

Expansion joints.

Railroad crossings.

Uneven pavement.

That’s another reason I like having a bike with substantial suspension underneath me.

Both Juiced Scrambler versions use a KKE inverted front suspension fork with 140mm of travel, while the Scrambler FS adds rear suspension.

That’s a lot more suspension than you’ll find on a typical commuter e-bike.

You might not need it every second you’re riding, but you’ll appreciate it when the pavement suddenly gets ugly.

Getting to the Air Show Is Part of the Experience

One of the things I love about riding an e-bike to an event is that the trip itself becomes part of the day.

If you drive somewhere, the goal is usually to get there as quickly as possible.

When you’re on an e-bike, that changes.

The ride becomes part of the entertainment.

You’re exploring neighborhoods, riding along the lakefront, seeing other cyclists and PEV riders, and experiencing the city in a completely different way.

Then you start hearing the aircraft overhead.

That’s when you know you’re getting close.

The Chicago Air & Water Show Is Something Else

If you’ve never experienced the Chicago Air & Water Show from the lakefront, it’s difficult to explain the scale of it.

The Chicago skyline is already an incredible backdrop.

Now add military aircraft flying overhead and huge crowds gathering along Lake Michigan.

It’s one of those events that feels uniquely Chicago.

And arriving on an e-bike makes the experience even more interesting because you’re not immediately thinking about where you’re going to park a car or how long it’s going to take to get back out of downtown.

You ride in.

Find a place to stop.

Enjoy the show.

Then get back on the bikes.

That’s pretty hard to beat.

E-Bikes Can Change How You Explore a City

This is one of the things I think gets overlooked when people talk about e-bikes.

The conversation is usually about specifications.

How many watts?

How much torque?

How big is the battery?

How fast does it go?

Those things matter, especially when I’m reviewing a bike.

But they’re only part of the story.

An e-bike can completely change your relationship with a city.

Places that might feel too far away on a traditional bicycle suddenly become easy destinations.

You can explore multiple neighborhoods during the same ride.

You can travel much farther without worrying about exhausting yourself before you need to get home.

And because you’re not isolated inside a vehicle, you experience everything along the way.

That’s something I never get tired of.

The Scramblers Fit This Type of Ride

After spending time with the Juiced Scramblers, I think this kind of urban adventure fits their personality extremely well.

They’re not lightweight commuter bikes.

They’re big, comfortable, powerful moped-style machines designed to make riding fun.

The BMX-style handlebars provide a relaxed riding position, the bench seat gives the bike its motorcycle-inspired feel, and the fat tires provide additional stability.

Then you’ve got hydraulic four-piston brakes when it’s time to slow everything down.

Put all of those pieces together and you’ve got a bike that feels at home cruising around the city.

Sometimes You Need to Stop Testing and Start Riding

When you review as many e-bikes as I do, it’s easy to turn every ride into a test.

You’re constantly paying attention to battery percentage.

Motor performance.

Braking.

Suspension.

Acceleration.

Range.

Eventually you have to stop thinking about the numbers and simply enjoy the bike.

That’s what I liked about this ride.

We had a destination.

We had the Scramblers.

And we had one of Chicago’s biggest events happening along the lakefront.

That’s enough.

These Are the Rides I Remember

I’ve done plenty of controlled e-bike tests.

They’re important because they help determine whether a bike actually delivers what the manufacturer promises.

But years from now, those probably aren’t the rides I’m going to remember most.

I’ll remember the adventures.

I’ll remember riding around Chicago with friends.

I’ll remember the ridiculous things that happen along the way.

I’ll remember pulling up somewhere on an e-bike and thinking:

This was way more fun than driving here.

That’s ultimately what owning an e-bike should be about.

Final Thoughts

Taking the Juiced Scramblers to the Chicago Air & Water Show turned out to be a perfect combination of two things I enjoy—e-bikes and exploring Chicago.

The Scramblers gave us enough power, comfort and battery capacity to make the ride enjoyable without constantly worrying about whether we’d have enough range to finish the day.

But the biggest takeaway wasn’t about the bikes’ specifications.

It was about what e-bikes allow you to do.

Instead of fighting traffic and worrying about parking, we turned getting to the Air Show into part of the adventure.

And that’s one of the biggest reasons I continue riding e-bikes.

Sometimes the destination is great.

But the ride getting there can be even better.

Watch the Full Video

Want to come along for the ride?

In “We Took the Juiced Scramblers to the Chicago Air Show!”, we take the Juiced Scramblers through Chicago and head toward the lakefront for one of the city’s biggest events.

Watch the full video to see the ride, the bikes, the Chicago scenery and what happens when we take the Scramblers into the city for a completely different kind of real-world test.