CCX log after 2 years & 15,000+ miles & melted connectors today.

[youth]

So I had my CCX since December of 2018 & commute 32 miles roundtrip daily year round. This happened to me today on the last commute of the year. There were signals leading up to this, but today the connection finally totally crapped out & after taking the battery off saw this. Trying to think of ways to salvage this with little downtime & expense like maybe swapping with connectors from CC or direct wiring. And also wondering why this happened.



Kind of messy log I tried to keep.

2/1/2019	Gouge in chainstay near rings from chain suck
2/1/2019	Quarter size minor inward bend on rear rim edge
3/1/2019	Chain replaced one model up to KMC x9.93
3/22/2019	Flat tire cleaned wheel put in 3 oz sealant
3/24/2019	Bent back warpage on rim wall
4/3/2019	Battery interface loose resulting in power loss
4/5/2019	Discovered that front wheel axle is M10x1
5/10/2019	Battery returned fixed after over two weeks
6/7/2019	Brake pads worn
6/7/2019	Rear brake need bleed
6/5/2019	Notice signs of cracking near nipple holes rear rim.
6/18/2019	Brake pads front & back replaced
7/10/2019	Potential leak in rear brake lever
8/19/2019	Motor engagement & grinding noise
8/30/2019	Motor engagement & grinding noise during Critical mass ride
8/20/2019	Contacted Juice about above potential problem
10/15/2019	Replaced Chain
10/18/2019	Brake pads front & back replaced
10/18/2019	Have only experience above grinding noise once since reported. Motor does sound a little louder
10/25/2019	On 4th odo reset at 1600 miles each
12/13/2019	Left body separated from spindle Crank Brothers Doubleshot 3
12/11/2019	Display to wire harness threaded connector worked loose & powered went out during commute
12/16/2019	Cracking at nipple holes more evident but not pulling out yet.
12/13/2019	Rear brake bleed not needed but rear lever travel screw needs loctite
12/15/2019	Moving rear wheel turns on light acting like generator while bike off
1/3/2020	Put on new Rock Shox Paragon Gold RL
1/3/2020	Added neoprene fork boots.
1/13/2020	5th ODO reset (8000 miles)
2/4/2020	Replaced clutch/gear assembly
2/10/2020	Shimano BB UN55 68x127 installed in December stripped loose BB & shell threads during commute suspect not enough thread engagement because of 5mm worth of washers
2/10/2020	Reinstalled OEM BB for time being
2/13/2020	Installed YST Threadless Repair Bottom Bracket
2/18/2020	Put CC motor shell & rim on CCX motor internals until new rim can be laced on CCX motor shell.
2/20/2020	Time to replace chain
2/27/2020	New chain installed notice skipping in 11t cog.
2/29/2020	Brake pads front & back replaced
3/9/2020	Replaced stock 11t cog with 11t XT M760 Cog
3/25/2020	6th ODO reset week of 3/29
4/20/2020	Replaced derailleur cable & swapped to Shadow Deore derailleur from CC.
5/5/2020	YST Threadless Repair Bottom Bracket came loose
5/6/2020	Retightened repair bottom bracket
5/22/2020	Rear brake feel detent & occasional motor high frequency vibration noise.
5/26/2020	Rock Shox seal popped off air side commuting home reseated during ride
6/4/2020	Bled rear brake & it no longers sticks
6/10/2020	7th ODO reset (11,200 miles)
6/12/2020	Replaced clutch/gear assembly - clutch was locked up
6/30/2020	Freehub sounding gritty after ride through flooded sections of road. Put in triflow through front of cassette & some behind
6/30/2020	Installed new brake disc pads front & rear
7/8/2020	Applied purple threadlocker to rear brake lever screw.
7/9/2020	Lower leg service on Rock Shox Paragon replaced oil, but kept seals & foam inserts.
7/13/2020	Removed & cleaned cassettte at work due to needing extra leverage with shop tools to get overtightened lockring off. Put light oil in back & front of freehub while cassette was off & no change in gritty sound.
7/10/2020	Replace unreliable CCX OEM rear light with B&M Topflight Senso.
7/16/2020	Purple threadlocker didn't work trying blue material insensitive
7/23/2020	Clutch slippage felt.
7/28/2020	Put 3oz Orange Seal in rear tube.
7/31/2020	Chain jump high speed bump
8/4/2020	Clutch seized
8/5/2020	Clutch seems to have un-seized itself.
8/9/2020	Swapped to OEM Kenda rear tire after sidewall/bead 1" bulge discovered in Marathon Plus likely from riding flat.
8/20/2020	Rear flat & Orange Seal Endurance did not seal on a nail but leaked out of tube into tire. Will try regular Orange Seal next.
8/21/2020	Coming up on 8th ODO reset.
8/21/2020	Rear wheel noise for over two weeks now. Suspect lack of tension spokes.
8/25/2020	Orange Seal Regular put in rear tube .
8/27/2020	Continuing noise from rear is likely from crack in spoke hole.
9/15/2020	Swapped to rebuilt wheel with DM24 rim.
10/5/2020	Swapped front disc pads with old ones with less wear.
10/6/2020	Chain jumped to outside.
10/16/2020	Swapped one rear pad with a use less worn one.
10/21/2020	Replace front & rear pads with Truckerco Sintered Metal
	Changed rear tire to Schwalbe HS 492 47-622 tire
	Changed front tire to Schwalbe HS 492 47-622 tire
11/30/2020	9th ODO reset
12/3/2020	Kickstand came loose
12/9/2020	Applied blue loctite to kickstand screws
12/9/2020	Install Tannus armor on rear wheel with new Schwalbe inner tube.
12/14/2020	Sudden voltage drops to 40's along with battery gauge depletion on display & feel to motor & then few seconds later back to normal. Happens randomly sometimes during a ride & sometime after powering on.
12/16/2020	Broken spoke rear
12/16/2020	Noticing some clutch engagement issues may be time for a new one.
12/30/2020	Power drop issue now permanent took battery off & connectors are melted.

 

[Asher]

Don't have any advice but that is awesome info, thanks for posting.

I have long thought the CCS rims are too narrow at 19mm internal diameter, and should be something like 25. Do you think their width was a factor in them cracking/warping?

Given the litany of issues beyond regular drivetrain maintenance... I feel like the CCS was the best option given its price at a certain time, but prices have gone up while they've gone down elsewhere, and quality has stagnated.

Juiced stopped doing continuous improvement on existing models, in favor of new, recreational, less athletic scrambler type models. These models will probably see less mileage, reducing warranty support costs, and revolve more around the electric, propulsion bits, which Juiced always shows more interest in. For today's prospective CCS customer, the better choice is probably the Ride1UP LMTD or the Priority Current ($2.6k via Costco).

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Youth, it looks to me like you've had some arcing in there, probably due to a loose connection, unless it was slightly misaligned from the get-go. I didn't read all the way through your (excellent) log to see if there were signs of a growing connection problem. The only fix I know of is to replace those parts. I can't tell from the photo how badly the battery side of the connector was affected. I know that the parts for the frame side of the connector are available, through Juiced or AliExpress, and if you're reasonably handy, you can do it yourself. I don't know how difficult it would be to swap the battery side. I myself would put in a ticket with Juiced for an answer to that question.

Asher, I agree with you that, three years ago when a bunch of us got our CCS's, it was a great value for the money and perhaps an industry leader, at least I thought so. I also agree that the bloom is off Juiced Bike's rose, as far as commuter bikes go. Tora seems to have moved on and isn't as concerned about that market. Still, the CCX is a damn good commuter for a reasonable price -- a thousand less than the Priority Current, which is not now listed on Costco -- and if you get one of the good ones where all of the tolerances are well within spec, then you'll have many thousands of joyous miles. The alternatives you mention are certainly worth mentioning. The Moscow bike that John Peck likes comes to mind also, although it doesn't seem to have caught on like Ride1Up.

 

[youth]

I have long thought the CCS rims are too narrow at 19mm internal diameter, and should be something like 25. Do you think their width was a factor in them cracking/warping?

I used to think it was because it was cheap no brand rim, but a replacement Velocity rim start failing in a similar way (though this was likely due to bad lace-up by the builder). So not sure if rim width is a factor, but a wider rim does seem more ideal.

 

[youth]

Youth, it looks to me like you've had some arcing in there, probably due to a loose connection, unless it was slightly misaligned from the get-go.

I've had symptom this past month so it wasn't always like this. Have read now that other have had the same issue & it's likely what you described with the arcing. I'm considering trying a repair with leftover parts from my old Cross Current gen 1, but I don't have much experience soldering. The reddit post I saw on this also mentioned that Juice was willing to repair it after warranty, but then never got back to him.

This is my 3rd ebike in 6 years. Maybe it's time to try a premium brand.

 

[Asher]

Youth, it looks to me like you've had some arcing in there, probably due to a loose connection, unless it was slightly misaligned from the get-go. I didn't read all the way through your (excellent) log to see if there were signs of a growing connection problem. The only fix I know of is to replace those parts. I can't tell from the photo how badly the battery side of the connector was affected. I know that the parts for the frame side of the connector are available, through Juiced or AliExpress, and if you're reasonably handy, you can do it yourself. I don't know how difficult it would be to swap the battery side. I myself would put in a ticket with Juiced for an answer to that question.

Asher, I agree with you that, three years ago when a bunch of us got our CCS's, it was a great value for the money and perhaps an industry leader, at least I thought so. I also agree that the bloom is off Juiced Bike's rose, as far as commuter bikes go. Tora seems to have moved on and isn't as concerned about that market. Still, the CCX is a damn good commuter for a reasonable price -- a thousand less than the Priority Current, which is not now listed on Costco -- and if you get one of the good ones where all of the tolerances are well within spec, then you'll have many thousands of joyous miles. The alternatives you mention are certainly worth mentioning. The Moscow bike that John Peck likes comes to mind also, although it doesn't seem to have caught on like Ride1Up.

Costco doesn't show it now, not sure what happened, but it did just recently.

Priority Bikes at Costco

Looks like Costco is selling an ebike from Priority! https://www.costco.com/priority-bicycles---costco-next.product.100662675.html

electricbikereview.com

The LMTD seems like a great choice, and Ravi's upcoming Shakti bike looks like the supreme choice once out.

Actually, the Juiced CCX is now $500 off, down to $2k. Feel like that's lower than I've ever seen it, and definitely competitive with the Ride1Up at $1800. Juiced does charge twice as much per wh for replacement batteries though, and then there are the reliability issues as above. Can't speak to Ride1Up's though.

 

[Asher]

I used to think it was because it was cheap no brand rim, but a replacement Velocity rim start failing in a similar way (though this was likely due to bad lace-up by the builder). So not sure if rim width is a factor, but a wider rim does seem more ideal.

Yeah the bike industry has shifted toward wider rims, to an internal diameter around 50-80% of tire width. That puts Juiced around 25 mm ID on a 45mm tire (and some may use even wider tires).

 

[Asher]

I talked to Tora a couple years back in person, and he said that the fatbike did way more sales than the CCS, and the Scrambler even more than the fatbike. They also didn't scale design/engineering up as the company grew, and stuck to the same pace of creating and renewing bike models. So the CCS... And the Air... And the cargo bike... Got ignored or abandoned. Sort of like the Google graveyard of unsupported apps.

Also, the yoyo of prices up and down seems a little shifty. Usually this happens with old models in the bike industry, but here it's the same model. Probably doesn't sit well with someone who just paid full price seeing it discounted $500.

I'm betting Tora will unveil something in the spring, March-April timeframe. But I expect something more in the moped direction as they've been doing, or possibly a Hyperfat again.

 

[michael mitchell]

Wow, that's a great long term log. I agree that Juiced doesn't seem to be the incredible value that it used to be. Still quite good, especially the battery capacity, but other choices might suit some people better. Competition is a good thing.

@youth do you think you've gotten your money's worth? 2 years is not a long time, but 15K commuter miles is a decent amount of wear and tear

 

[Asher]

If scramblers are selling well, I think Juiced should just stick to scrambler/moped type of bikes.
Obviously his customers are looking for that kind of bikes and from business perspective, they're better off.

Considering how competition is coming from *below*, ie smaller operators with less experience and capacity, it wouldn't be that hard for Juiced to dish up something competitive. Smaller wider tires/wheels, cleaner wiring, nice fenders/rack, integrated lights. Mostly just speccing different parts. It's just that Juiced can't be bothered. I don't at all get the sense that Juiced is looking at support requests like youth's and updating bikes to avoid these pitfalls. They don't want to sell the Honda of ebikes, too much effort for too little margin with customers who ride too much and hang on too long.

I thought the CCX sale might indicate a new model, but no, they just got new shipments in mid and late December.

PS Ride1Up has a promising mid drive model for fall 2021

Ride1UP Mid Drive Teaser

Hey folks, Kevin, the owner of Ride1UP, recently posted a couple of photos teasing the latest mid-drive bike to be introduced later in 2021, initially without any additional details. I thought I'd share the photos here with you as well. Product page: https://ride1up.com/product/prodigy/...

electricbikereview.com

 

[youth]

@youth do you think you've gotten your money's worth? 2 years is not a long time, but 15K commuter miles is a decent amount of wear and tear

Not quite at this point, but probably with another 1-2 years. I do wonder if a premium brand comparable bike would fare better under the same usage.

 

[tlippy]

That's true.

The reason why Juiced is not selling CCX is because it's not the best choice in that segment.
There are tons of competition for Class 3 daily commuter.

It shouldn't be hard for Juiced to update the CCX to make it more competitive with Aventon, Ride1Up, Surface 604, whatever.
The needs for Class 3 commuter is definitely there, but Juiced isn't bothered to improve their products in that segment.

So I had my CCX since December of 2018 & commute 32 miles roundtrip daily year round. This happened to me today on the last commute of the year. There were signals leading up to this, but today the connection finally totally crapped out & after taking the battery off saw this. Trying to think of ways to salvage this with little downtime & expense like maybe swapping with connectors from CC or direct wiring. And also wondering why this happened.

View attachment 75522

Kind of messy log I tried to keep.

2/1/2019	Gouge in chainstay near rings from chain suck
2/1/2019	Quarter size minor inward bend on rear rim edge
3/1/2019	Chain replaced one model up to KMC x9.93
3/22/2019	Flat tire cleaned wheel put in 3 oz sealant
3/24/2019	Bent back warpage on rim wall
4/3/2019	Battery interface loose resulting in power loss
4/5/2019	Discovered that front wheel axle is M10x1
5/10/2019	Battery returned fixed after over two weeks
6/7/2019	Brake pads worn
6/7/2019	Rear brake need bleed
6/5/2019	Notice signs of cracking near nipple holes rear rim.
6/18/2019	Brake pads front & back replaced
7/10/2019	Potential leak in rear brake lever
8/19/2019	Motor engagement & grinding noise
8/30/2019	Motor engagement & grinding noise during Critical mass ride
8/20/2019	Contacted Juice about above potential problem
10/15/2019	Replaced Chain
10/18/2019	Brake pads front & back replaced
10/18/2019	Have only experience above grinding noise once since reported. Motor does sound a little louder
10/25/2019	On 4th odo reset at 1600 miles each
12/13/2019	Left body separated from spindle Crank Brothers Doubleshot 3
12/11/2019	Display to wire harness threaded connector worked loose & powered went out during commute
12/16/2019	Cracking at nipple holes more evident but not pulling out yet.
12/13/2019	Rear brake bleed not needed but rear lever travel screw needs loctite
12/15/2019	Moving rear wheel turns on light acting like generator while bike off
1/3/2020	Put on new Rock Shox Paragon Gold RL
1/3/2020	Added neoprene fork boots.
1/13/2020	5th ODO reset (8000 miles)
2/4/2020	Replaced clutch/gear assembly
2/10/2020	Shimano BB UN55 68x127 installed in December stripped loose BB & shell threads during commute suspect not enough thread engagement because of 5mm worth of washers
2/10/2020	Reinstalled OEM BB for time being
2/13/2020	Installed YST Threadless Repair Bottom Bracket
2/18/2020	Put CC motor shell & rim on CCX motor internals until new rim can be laced on CCX motor shell.
2/20/2020	Time to replace chain
2/27/2020	New chain installed notice skipping in 11t cog.
2/29/2020	Brake pads front & back replaced
3/9/2020	Replaced stock 11t cog with 11t XT M760 Cog
3/25/2020	6th ODO reset week of 3/29
4/20/2020	Replaced derailleur cable & swapped to Shadow Deore derailleur from CC.
5/5/2020	YST Threadless Repair Bottom Bracket came loose
5/6/2020	Retightened repair bottom bracket
5/22/2020	Rear brake feel detent & occasional motor high frequency vibration noise.
5/26/2020	Rock Shox seal popped off air side commuting home reseated during ride
6/4/2020	Bled rear brake & it no longers sticks
6/10/2020	7th ODO reset (11,200 miles)
6/12/2020	Replaced clutch/gear assembly - clutch was locked up
6/30/2020	Freehub sounding gritty after ride through flooded sections of road. Put in triflow through front of cassette & some behind
6/30/2020	Installed new brake disc pads front & rear
7/8/2020	Applied purple threadlocker to rear brake lever screw.
7/9/2020	Lower leg service on Rock Shox Paragon replaced oil, but kept seals & foam inserts.
7/13/2020	Removed & cleaned cassettte at work due to needing extra leverage with shop tools to get overtightened lockring off. Put light oil in back & front of freehub while cassette was off & no change in gritty sound.
7/10/2020	Replace unreliable CCX OEM rear light with B&M Topflight Senso.
7/16/2020	Purple threadlocker didn't work trying blue material insensitive
7/23/2020	Clutch slippage felt.
7/28/2020	Put 3oz Orange Seal in rear tube.
7/31/2020	Chain jump high speed bump
8/4/2020	Clutch seized
8/5/2020	Clutch seems to have un-seized itself.
8/9/2020	Swapped to OEM Kenda rear tire after sidewall/bead 1" bulge discovered in Marathon Plus likely from riding flat.
8/20/2020	Rear flat & Orange Seal Endurance did not seal on a nail but leaked out of tube into tire. Will try regular Orange Seal next.
8/21/2020	Coming up on 8th ODO reset.
8/21/2020	Rear wheel noise for over two weeks now. Suspect lack of tension spokes.
8/25/2020	Orange Seal Regular put in rear tube .
8/27/2020	Continuing noise from rear is likely from crack in spoke hole.
9/15/2020	Swapped to rebuilt wheel with DM24 rim.
10/5/2020	Swapped front disc pads with old ones with less wear.
10/6/2020	Chain jumped to outside.
10/16/2020	Swapped one rear pad with a use less worn one.
10/21/2020	Replace front & rear pads with Truckerco Sintered Metal
	Changed rear tire to Schwalbe HS 492 47-622 tire
	Changed front tire to Schwalbe HS 492 47-622 tire
11/30/2020	9th ODO reset
12/3/2020	Kickstand came loose
12/9/2020	Applied blue loctite to kickstand screws
12/9/2020	Install Tannus armor on rear wheel with new Schwalbe inner tube.
12/14/2020	Sudden voltage drops to 40's along with battery gauge depletion on display & feel to motor & then few seconds later back to normal. Happens randomly sometimes during a ride & sometime after powering on.
12/16/2020	Broken spoke rear
12/16/2020	Noticing some clutch engagement issues may be time for a new one.
12/30/2020	Power drop issue now permanent took battery off & connectors are melted.

Just got my RC-S and the first thing I did was coat those terminals with silicone dielectric. My opinion is that 52 Volts is sufficient to cause sparking if the battery is jostling. If I were doing much off asphalt riding I would also wrap the battery with an Ace Velcro wrist brace, which I do on my R1U 700. Time will tell if there's any benefit to this precaution. BTW, your record keeping is awesome

 

[john peck]

So I had my CCX since December of 2018 & commute 32 miles roundtrip daily year round. This happened to me today on the last commute of the year. There were signals leading up to this, but today the connection finally totally crapped out & after taking the battery off saw this. Trying to think of ways to salvage this with little downtime & expense like maybe swapping with connectors from CC or direct wiring. And also wondering why this happened.

View attachment 75522

Kind of messy log I tried to keep.

2/1/2019	Gouge in chainstay near rings from chain suck
2/1/2019	Quarter size minor inward bend on rear rim edge
3/1/2019	Chain replaced one model up to KMC x9.93
3/22/2019	Flat tire cleaned wheel put in 3 oz sealant
3/24/2019	Bent back warpage on rim wall
4/3/2019	Battery interface loose resulting in power loss
4/5/2019	Discovered that front wheel axle is M10x1
5/10/2019	Battery returned fixed after over two weeks
6/7/2019	Brake pads worn
6/7/2019	Rear brake need bleed
6/5/2019	Notice signs of cracking near nipple holes rear rim.
6/18/2019	Brake pads front & back replaced
7/10/2019	Potential leak in rear brake lever
8/19/2019	Motor engagement & grinding noise
8/30/2019	Motor engagement & grinding noise during Critical mass ride
8/20/2019	Contacted Juice about above potential problem
10/15/2019	Replaced Chain
10/18/2019	Brake pads front & back replaced
10/18/2019	Have only experience above grinding noise once since reported. Motor does sound a little louder
10/25/2019	On 4th odo reset at 1600 miles each
12/13/2019	Left body separated from spindle Crank Brothers Doubleshot 3
12/11/2019	Display to wire harness threaded connector worked loose & powered went out during commute
12/16/2019	Cracking at nipple holes more evident but not pulling out yet.
12/13/2019	Rear brake bleed not needed but rear lever travel screw needs loctite
12/15/2019	Moving rear wheel turns on light acting like generator while bike off
1/3/2020	Put on new Rock Shox Paragon Gold RL
1/3/2020	Added neoprene fork boots.
1/13/2020	5th ODO reset (8000 miles)
2/4/2020	Replaced clutch/gear assembly
2/10/2020	Shimano BB UN55 68x127 installed in December stripped loose BB & shell threads during commute suspect not enough thread engagement because of 5mm worth of washers
2/10/2020	Reinstalled OEM BB for time being
2/13/2020	Installed YST Threadless Repair Bottom Bracket
2/18/2020	Put CC motor shell & rim on CCX motor internals until new rim can be laced on CCX motor shell.
2/20/2020	Time to replace chain
2/27/2020	New chain installed notice skipping in 11t cog.
2/29/2020	Brake pads front & back replaced
3/9/2020	Replaced stock 11t cog with 11t XT M760 Cog
3/25/2020	6th ODO reset week of 3/29
4/20/2020	Replaced derailleur cable & swapped to Shadow Deore derailleur from CC.
5/5/2020	YST Threadless Repair Bottom Bracket came loose
5/6/2020	Retightened repair bottom bracket
5/22/2020	Rear brake feel detent & occasional motor high frequency vibration noise.
5/26/2020	Rock Shox seal popped off air side commuting home reseated during ride
6/4/2020	Bled rear brake & it no longers sticks
6/10/2020	7th ODO reset (11,200 miles)
6/12/2020	Replaced clutch/gear assembly - clutch was locked up
6/30/2020	Freehub sounding gritty after ride through flooded sections of road. Put in triflow through front of cassette & some behind
6/30/2020	Installed new brake disc pads front & rear
7/8/2020	Applied purple threadlocker to rear brake lever screw.
7/9/2020	Lower leg service on Rock Shox Paragon replaced oil, but kept seals & foam inserts.
7/13/2020	Removed & cleaned cassettte at work due to needing extra leverage with shop tools to get overtightened lockring off. Put light oil in back & front of freehub while cassette was off & no change in gritty sound.
7/10/2020	Replace unreliable CCX OEM rear light with B&M Topflight Senso.
7/16/2020	Purple threadlocker didn't work trying blue material insensitive
7/23/2020	Clutch slippage felt.
7/28/2020	Put 3oz Orange Seal in rear tube.
7/31/2020	Chain jump high speed bump
8/4/2020	Clutch seized
8/5/2020	Clutch seems to have un-seized itself.
8/9/2020	Swapped to OEM Kenda rear tire after sidewall/bead 1" bulge discovered in Marathon Plus likely from riding flat.
8/20/2020	Rear flat & Orange Seal Endurance did not seal on a nail but leaked out of tube into tire. Will try regular Orange Seal next.
8/21/2020	Coming up on 8th ODO reset.
8/21/2020	Rear wheel noise for over two weeks now. Suspect lack of tension spokes.
8/25/2020	Orange Seal Regular put in rear tube .
8/27/2020	Continuing noise from rear is likely from crack in spoke hole.
9/15/2020	Swapped to rebuilt wheel with DM24 rim.
10/5/2020	Swapped front disc pads with old ones with less wear.
10/6/2020	Chain jumped to outside.
10/16/2020	Swapped one rear pad with a use less worn one.
10/21/2020	Replace front & rear pads with Truckerco Sintered Metal
	Changed rear tire to Schwalbe HS 492 47-622 tire
	Changed front tire to Schwalbe HS 492 47-622 tire
11/30/2020	9th ODO reset
12/3/2020	Kickstand came loose
12/9/2020	Applied blue loctite to kickstand screws
12/9/2020	Install Tannus armor on rear wheel with new Schwalbe inner tube.
12/14/2020	Sudden voltage drops to 40's along with battery gauge depletion on display & feel to motor & then few seconds later back to normal. Happens randomly sometimes during a ride & sometime after powering on.
12/16/2020	Broken spoke rear
12/16/2020	Noticing some clutch engagement issues may be time for a new one.
12/30/2020	Power drop issue now permanent took battery off & connectors are melted.

You can get replacement connectors at - ElectricScooterParts.com, very reasonable, but You might want to find out why they
fried in the first place

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Lots of great discussion from a bunch of JB commuter bike veterans. Thank you all for commenting! I think we've all pretty much arrived at the same viewpoint on the CCS/CCX.

I've got to say, I totally love my HyperScorpion. It is perfect for what I need at this point: light commuting, errands, and recreation. If I were commuting 32 miles a day, like Youth, I would not want to use the HS. The power is certainly there, and the ergos would be okay, but the seat is not comfortable for the long haul. Great for the short haul, up to 10 miles or so. At least for my sorry ass.

For a delivery rider, you might do 30+ miles in a day, but you'd be on and off the bike, so it would be a series of short hops, not one long one, and it would be darn good in that application.

 

[youth]

Just got my RC-S and the first thing I did was coat those terminals with silicone dielectric. My opinion is that 52 Volts is sufficient to cause sparking if the battery is jostling. If I were doing much off asphalt riding I would also wrap the battery with an Ace Velcro wrist brace, which I do on my R1U 700. Time will tell if there's any benefit to this precaution. BTW, your record keeping is awesome

Defintely using dielectric grease this time if I can get it fixed. Just never bother using it because it's been working all this time & the battery seemed secured.

 

[highpockets]

Youth. Same thing happened to my CCS. I bought the parts from reention. The one on the frame is plug and play. You have to open the battery and solder the other connector though. Take pictures. Watch a few YouTube videos on soldering. Be careful not to arc flash, as I did! After I soldered mine I had a friend at radio shack check it out. It worked, but I ultimately bought a replacement battery on eBay and converted the ends to Anderson connectors. I use the juiced battery on a DIY recumbent. Has the juiced battery lost some of its umph yet?

 

[youth]

Youth. Same thing happened to my CCS. I bought the parts from reention. The one on the frame is plug and play. You have to open the battery and solder the other connector though. Take pictures. Watch a few YouTube videos on soldering. Be careful not to arc flash, as I did! After I soldered mine I had a friend at radio shack check it out. It worked, but I ultimately bought a replacement battery on eBay and converted the ends to Anderson connectors. I use the juiced battery on a DIY recumbent. Has the juiced battery lost some of its umph yet?

I'll probably buy them from Hilleater since I got my clutch from them before if the ones from my old CC battery don't work. I've been trying to keep the charge around 80% through these 2 years, but have been doing 95% this past fall/winter because it does feel like I've lost 15 to 20% capacity.

 

[Asher]

I know what you meant by "Honda of ebikes" was, you were probably referring to reliability (which Juiced lacks), but funny thing is, Juiced is selling more of Honda SuperCub type of ebikes, which indicated that Honda got it right well over half century ago.

Yeah, especially the feeling that you could have one vehicle and rely on it 100% without a second thought.

I have no way of proving this, but I can't help thinking that a commuter ebike is what you get if you want to do your life by bike, and a mini moped (scrambler/scorpion) when you want to have fun tooling around on the weekend. One replaces a car (trip). One doesnt. Tool vs toy. A step over bike is not for everyone, particularly people with injuries making pedaling or a saddle painful. But for healthy people, why else give up ~half your range, increase your weight and make locking up harder.

Youth. Same thing happened to my CCS. I bought the parts from reention. The one on the frame is plug and play. You have to open the battery and solder the other connector though. Take pictures. Watch a few YouTube videos on soldering. Be careful not to arc flash, as I did! After I soldered mine I had a friend at radio shack check it out. It worked, but I ultimately bought a replacement battery on eBay and converted the ends to Anderson connectors. I use the juiced battery on a DIY recumbent. Has the juiced battery lost some of its umph yet?

If there are two people chiming in already, it's plausible that this is a systemic issue, for a part that's at only half it's rated lifespan, if not less (15 wh/mi, 1 kwh, 500 cycles = 33k mi). Unethical and unacceptable, to not proactively and publicly address it.

BTW, if you're in California, you may be covered by lemon laws which require manufacturers selling any appliance for $100+ to sell you replacement parts within 7 years of purchase.

California's Lemon Law helps protect pricey consumer electronics

California's Lemon Law is intended first and foremost to keep new-car buyers from being stuck with a hunk of junk.

www.latimes.com

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I have no way of proving this, but I can't help thinking that a commuter ebike is what you get if you want to do your life by bike, and a mini moped (scrambler/scorpion) when you want to have fun tooling around on the weekend. One replaces a car (trip). One doesnt. Tool vs toy. A step over bike is not for everyone, particularly people with injuries making pedaling or a saddle painful. But for healthy people, why else give up ~half your range, increase your weight and make locking up harder.

Can't agree with this, Asher. While the "mopeds" are great fun for tooling around on, they also make an awesome bike for commuting and errands. Just not long commutes like @Chris Hammond.

Thinking about @youth's commute, 32 miles round trip -- you could definitely do the 16 miles on the HyperScorpion in the morning, and then 16 again at night. The seat is not so uncomfortable after 10 miles as to make it unrideable. Really, I should stop saying "10 miles." It's more like time in the saddle. If you put it in top gear and level 3, a 16-mile each-way trip would be very doable, coming in at about the same time in the saddle as I'm getting with 10 miles in 6th gear and PAS 1. With the 19 Ah battery, you wouldn't have to charge at work, either.

Locking up is not hard with the HS. Just different.

The step-over is exactly why I switched to the moped style over diamond frame. The arthritis in my knees made getting on and off the CCS harder with every year. It still had years of service left on it. The limiting factor was my mobility. Just another reason I love my HS -- I can get on and off without any of the trouble I had on the CCS.

The HS is definitely not a toy unless you want it to be. You should get a couple hundred miles on one before coming to such sweeping generalizations.

 

[Achterbahn]

Actually, the Juiced CCX is now $500 off, down to $2k. Feel like that's lower than I've ever seen it, and definitely competitive with the Ride1Up at $1800. Juiced does charge twice as much per wh for replacement batteries though, and then there are the reliability issues as above. Can't speak to Ride1Up's though.

Up until recently, LIZ100 got you $100 off on top of that. Before purchasing my Current, I strongly considered the CCX. At $1900, it's the lowest I've ever seen and good value on my book.