Electric suburban commuting on the Super Soco TC Max

Super Soco targeted this clean-looking electric cafe racer at the suburban commuter sweet spot. With ample battery, it aims to be affordable and practical for everyday riding. Spent the afternoon riding the TC Max.

The TC Max is a compact and approachable little bike that weighs just 100 kg (220 lbs) and has a seat height of 770 mm (30.3 in), making it accessible and comfortable for short women. As a result, a heavy-duty person like me who weighs more than a bike might look like he’s sitting on rollerblades in a press photo.

Despite its appearance, it didn’t make me feel like a circus bear on a tricycle. It’s certainly a small, lightweight bike, but the seat position is comfortable enough for the distances it’s designed for. If you’re packing my level of badonka donk, there’s a precious little space behind that nice-looking bench seat.

Instead of using a rear wheel hub motor like the smaller, lighter, and cheaper Super Soco TS Urban Commuter, the TC Max uses a central electric motor that transmits power to the rear wheels via a belt drive. The motor has a peak output of 5.1 kW (just under 7 hp) and seems to handle about 3.9 kW (5.2 hp) continuously without overheating. Torque is an impressive 180 Nm (133 lb-ft), but it’s a single speed bike with a top speed of around 95 km/h (60 mph), so don’t worry about wheelies from behind. that.

In fact, wheelies only seem possible if you engage the back brake and physically lift the bike by the handlebars. This was really tried repeatedly with you by some of the other motojourno clowns gathered at the post-COVID launch event in Australia, with varying degrees of success and hilarity.

Accelerating away from a traffic light, the TC Max has enough growl to keep you out of most four-wheeler traffic. Motorheads like myself are always looking for more power and have little fear of a throttle stop here, but commuter-focused riders will find it gets the job done and some machines’ If your commute to work involves the highway, you can handle anything up to 80 km/h (50 mph) if you’re patient and aerodynamic. , can travel close to 100 km/h (62 mph).

However, those high speeds will definitely drain your battery faster. If you’re looking at a bike like this, it’s worth taking into consideration.Super Soco has a wacky solution: a 3-way mode switch. This doesn’t seem to affect the power curve in the way you’d expect on most motorcycles. Modes 1 and 2 instead set a soft limit on the bike’s top speed, while Mode 3 can be your go-to get-rich-quick. Interesting idea, but in my opinion there are times when you need to accelerate for safety reasons and it felt safest to leave it unrestricted all the time.

The TC Max’s battery pack (removable if you can carry 22 kg (48.5 lbs)) holds 45 Ah at 72 volts for a total capacity of 3.24 kWh. It certainly doesn’t sound like a lot of batteries – I have an e-bike with about 1 kWh of energy – but the bike’s light weight and moderate power output allow the Super Soco to last 5 hours at a time. I think a full charge is good. If you slow down, you can go 92 km (57 miles).

As befits the press, he did not slow down and spared no horses. I’m sure there was a lot of work to do around the photographer with full throttle on every acceleration. Being the heaviest rider in the group, my battery probably took the hardest hit. showed 38%.

So if you’re driving on country roads instead of highways, a low range estimate of around 60-70 km (37-44 miles) seems about right. According to Zippia, the average American’s round-trip commute is about 66 kilometers (41 miles), so numbers in this range are good for most people.

I had the opportunity to toss this car into some corners. Certainly not for heavyweights like me, but I don’t have many complaints about the handling, the slim he steers nimbly on 90 section and he 120 section tires and is generally strutting in long turns I feel no. The brakes are non-ABS, but they’re a compound system, so you can pull one or both levers and pull up smartly on good roads.

More importantly for this kind of machine, the turning circle is small, the handlebars and rounded mirrors are narrow enough, and the ability to filter traffic and make lane splits with confidence.

As for complaints, oddly enough, as an e-bike company, I think Super Soco could definitely improve their electronics. A mostly redundant mode switch is one example, but there are others. The indicator works with a cumbersome 3-position switch with no cancel button. The dashboard is too reflective and can make it difficult to see the silly lights, battery and trip information on a sunny day. is easy to convey information.

We have keyless ignition, but it’s not as easy as walking around with a fob in your pocket and arming your bike and driving off. Instead, you have to press the button on the fob to unlock the bike, then press the button on the tank to turn it on.Pressing this button again locks the bike. This means that if you accidentally flip the switch off at your light, or if your riding companion accidentally hits the off button, there’s a frantic pocket-groping process before you can move again.

This situation is not ameliorated by the built-in alarm system. Attempting to move the bike in this state causes a cheerful squeak, and an electrical resistance is placed in the rear to try and resist any effort to roll the bike. Wheel. It’s the least intimidating bike alarm I’ve heard, and was a bit annoying in its own right at the launch event.

And welcome music is played. When you turn on TC Max, it plays a happy and silly welcome song. When turned off, it makes a sad sound like an error beep. I am by no means the arbiter of cool things.

Appearance is important here. This is a particularly handsome machine in black or yellow. Designed in Euros and made in China, Super Soco hopes to keep riders out of the scooter market, and this bike’s retro-futuristic look offers stowage just big enough for a helmet. You have to overcome the fact that you don’t. Or two. Sure, the storage compartment under the flip-top ‘tank’ lid could hold a wallet, phone, and maybe a few gloves, but that’s about it. prize.

Price matters too. The TC Max retails for around AU$7,990 (US$5,350) in Australia, and he’s AU$8,290 (US$5,550) if you upgrade to spoked wheels instead of alloys. Currently not available in the US, but has distributors throughout Europe.

What the price will be depends on local competition. There aren’t many in my area that look like this and offer similar his 125cc-ish levels of performance. Honda Groms and the like are cheap to ride, but it’s worth factoring in that they require very little maintenance and a full battery costs about $1-2. year of riding.

Overall, the TC Max is a little on the small side for me, but I’m an outlier and it makes for a fun and practical vehicle that works well for many commuters. is considered livable. As a stylish friendly suburban drive, it’s well worth a test drive. .

Source: Super Soko