Working at Bridge, electric bikes have been on my radar for a while, but I have only ridden them around the car park and didn’t have a real opinion on them one way or another. However, on Sunday the 8th of August, Bridge held a Super Soco demo day, which gave me the perfect chance to try them out.
I took the new Super Soco CPX out for an extended test ride to see how the new electric scooter stacks up against its petrol competitors.
Sitting on the CPX every thing is where it should be. The display is clear, easy to read and gives you enough information without overloading you. The switch gear feels quality and the feedback you get from the buttons is very positive. All in all, you get a sense that the CPX is a well put together machine.
The CPX comes with a keyless ‘ignition’, this is something that you would often associate with top of the range motorcycles but is present across the Super Soco Range. The key fob is easy to use with a lock and unlock function. Once the screen is turned on, just click the ‘ready’ button and you are set for the open road!
Upon moving off you quickly get a sense of how much torque the 4.8 kW motor produces. You quickly get up to speed (CPX has a top speed of 56mph) and it is at this point you realise how much sensory information you lose when riding a motorcycle with an internal combustion engine. The lack of noise helps you take in far more, you can now hear other vehicles, pedestrians and even bird songs far more clearly, making them overall a more enjoyable and safer ride.
Out on the road the CPX felt light, nimble, and stable. The only issue I had out on the road were the indicators, being used to ‘push to cancel’ yet the CPX has a more traditional 3-point switch system, I often found myself leaving the indicators on. This is something I would get used to over time.
The CPX is fitted with a single battery as standard which will give you a 44 mile range but it has the capability to have 2 batteries which brings your total range up to 87 miles. The great thing with the CPX is that both batteries are connected at the same time meaning you get a continuous range of 87 miles. The CPX’s display also show you power levels of both batteries (A and B), meaning you can see the batteries charge levels. A battery normally takes 3 hours to charge from flat thanks in part to Super Soco’s new 15 Amp transformer.
As standard you get a 2 year manufacturer warranty on the on the CPX and a 3 year warranty on the battery and motor.
The Super Soco is competitively priced against its petrol counterparts. However, the CPX has an ace up its sleeve and that is the cost per mile. An average petrol machine cost around 4-6p per mile but the CPX costs as little are 1p per mile and it also benefits from zero road tax.
Overall, I really like the CPX, great amounts of torque, light and quiet, the CPX is the perfect city commuter with the capability of going further afield if needed.
