Cross Current

[Tora Harris]

Nice looking bike @Dunbar...but then I'm prejudiced.

Yes, the LED battery level indicator is supposed to reflect bank voltage. The conventional choice would be for the measurement to be accurate at resting voltage, which would be at some point after use (an hour or two, not minutes). This is preferred because it would tell you the charge state before using the bike or after the day's end when you decide whether to charge or not. Thus, my surprise to hear Rob mention 19 miles and then see 4/5 on the display. (I suspect this part of the display really isn't there to provide dependable voltage readings but rather to just give a rough (aka: vague) estimate of remaining capacity and nothing more). Even seeing the actual voltage level in tenths or hundreds of a volt while riding isn't going to tell us much unless/until we got pretty persnickety about building a table of X volts vs. power level selected vs. remaining range. And even then, the other variables (wind, gradient, load, road surface) would make that voltage reading only a guesstimate. This is also why ebike displays that show range are often criticized for lack of accuracy. All of this to illustrate why I will be looking for a 'smart charger' and wish Tora success in adapting the Juiced controller for plug-n-play use of a CA.

While I just purchased a different and presumably half as powerful a rear light - a Cyrgolite Micro 30 - I'm astounded at how bright and penetrating several of its modes are. I put it w-a-y down the block from where I stood and almost couldn't look at it. Obviously, there has been some real improvements in LED-based lighting since I last shopped for such a product. Made my wife feel much better about riding in dim conditions.

We use a simple voltage meter to give a rough idea of the battery charge remaining. This dramatically cuts down on the complexity, but can be somewhat confusing if you don't know what is going on. That being said, it there was only one metric you could read, it would be the voltage. The CA would be best, but we found this can be confusing as well. Ideally the CA compatibility and more accurate "%" reporting directly from the BMS would be available. It takes a lot of time and coordination with all the suppliers so to avoid driving up the cost and adding long delays we launched with a simple voltage display so people can have the bike this summer.

 

[Jack Tyler]

Tora's comments reminds me to ask those of you who have received your CC's: Is there an owner's manual that comes with the bike? Does it contain info like resetting the TS which Tora mentions above?

 

[Tora Harris]

Tora's comments reminds me to ask those of you who have received your CC's: Is there an owner's manual that comes with the bike? Does it contain info like resetting the TS which Tora mentions above?

The manual is still being finalized to reflect the updated bike. There is no way to reset the torque sensor other than to turn it off and turn it back on. It calibrates automatically.

 

[Dunbar]

Tora, do you know when more 10.4ah batteries/bikes are supposed to ship? I paid for one at my shop and they're supposed to sway my 7.8ah battery swap out with a 10.4ah battery when they get them in-stock.

My bike started chugging after 15-17 miles of pretty much full-blast riding on 'S' mode with the 7.8ah battery. Once the battery level on the display starts dipping to 3 bars under load it starts to chug soon thereafter. Static battery level still shows only down one bar so that explains my first unsatisfactory test ride where the bike was obviously chugging. Make sure the bike shops know to keep their demo bikes charged up. I started noticing the torque sensor issue when pulling away from a stop. I'm guessing it's the auto-zero circuit being fooled. I know from the power meters on my road bikes that you can beat the auto-zero algorithm if you pedal at just the wrong time.

 

[Tora Harris]

Tora, do you know when more 10.4ah batteries/bikes are supposed to ship? I paid for one at my shop and they're supposed to sway my 7.8ah battery swap out with a 10.4ah battery when they get them in-stock.

My bike started chugging after 15-17 miles of pretty much full-blast riding on 'S' mode with the 7.8ah battery. Once the battery level on the display starts dipping to 3 bars under load it starts to chug soon thereafter. Static battery level still shows only down one bar so that explains my first unsatisfactory test ride where the bike was obviously chugging. Make sure the bike shops know to keep their demo bikes charged up. I started noticing the torque sensor issue when pulling away from a stop. I'm guessing it's the auto-zero circuit being fooled. I know from the power meters on my road bikes that you can beat the auto-zero algorithm if you pedal at just the wrong time.

We have ordered more 10.4's and should be in sometimes in August. We are working at max speed pace on this as well as other projects.

 

[Tora Harris]

We are hard at work on the brackets for mounting the rack, stay tuned...

 

[youth]

I had been thinking about making some sort of adapter to go on the seatstays, but ended up using the existing holes. This is the disc version of the Performancebike $25 house brand rack & has adjustable height legs. The brake side is bolted to the M5 hole used to make sure the axle doesn't fall out (wondering if this is really needed like front fork lawyer tabs). The drive side is bolted to the M6 hole used to secure the torque sensor. Since the holes are not aligned the brake side has it's leg bent forward & the hole slotted. Seems to work, but at the limit of the seat tube supports so the rack is angled forward a bit. Also made the spacers smaller so the supplied M5 screw could still be used & to account for rear triangle being off center.

 

[Epepps14]

Tora, you said that you are going to be finishing up with the bike manual soon. Will you send that to the people who already have one of your bikes? I just want to make sure that I put it all together, including the throttle assist. I am sure that I can easily figure it out, but it would be nice to have. So far I am loving the bike!

 

[Dunbar]

I installed my throttle kit today and took the bike for a quick test ride. Works really well. Once you hit 20mph the bike really takes off on pedal assist. So the throttle will help reduce the sting of repeated accelerations.

 

[wetdog2]

Nice little video overview/semi-review of the Crosscurrent:

I did not know that Tora was an Ivy League Olympic medalist!

 

[Jolly]

Nice little video overview/semi-review of the Crosscurrent:

I did not know that Tora was an Ivy League Olympic medalist!

Great video, I really like the direction Juiced Bikes and especially the CC bike is going. I might have to make that investment and add to my future collections of e-bikes.

 

[Rob02150]

Heres my 130 mile overview.

I love this bike, throttle kit is next.

 

[Rob02150]

Also, here is an overview of the battery, if anyone is curious.

 

[Rob02150]

I installed my throttle kit today and took the bike for a quick test ride. Works really well. Once you hit 20mph the bike really takes off on pedal assist. So the throttle will help reduce the sting of repeated accelerations.

Looks nice. Did you change out your grips?

 

[youth]

Just got the Sr Suntour suspension seatpost & I highly recommend it or any of the other parallelogram seatposts for your CC. The SP12-NCX is the best bang for buck of them though. I got this from bike-discount.de for about $85 shipped from Germany. It's even cheaper now two weeks later (Brexit?). If you do order from them don't buy the neoprene cover separately as it's included.

I was bottoming out the seat angle adjustment with the OEM post & a Thudbuster LT, but the clamp on this let's me tilt my saddle further back. I was also getting stiction after one ride so recommend to lube it right away. The only drawbacks are it's on the heavier side compared to the Thudbuster & the clamp has teeth so angle adjustments can only be done in increments.

If your roads are a bit rough though this will smooth the ride for your backside.

I should note that with both this & the Thudbuster I had on the CC I occasionally get a snapping noise that sounds like it comes from the battery area which didn't happen with the non-suspended seatpost. Still trying to figure this out. Maybe switch to a non quick release collar.

 

[Dunbar]

Looks nice. Did you change out your grips?

I put some Ergon grips on I had in my box-o-bike-parts but I didn't like how wide they were on the stock bar. So I'm back on the stock grips. Not sure if I'll put them back on since I would need to cut down the stock bar width to make them comfortable.

 

[Rob02150]

Some more observations after a few days. The rear tire is a pain to get back on since the dropout slot is sized just wide enough to slip over the double flats on the axle. You will gouge/scratch the chainstay with the disc trying to get it back on. I also worry about damaging the cadence sensor bit on the torque sensor with the small cog hitting it while mounting the wheel. You will also need an 18mm wrench with angled box end to deal with the drive side nut because the torque sensor/dropout design makes the nut recessed a bit. This might be an easy fix with a thicker washer or spacer.

I somehow got a flat on the spoke side & attempts to patch it failed several times with one situation causing the patch to pop in the center over the hole in the tube. The wheels come with a rubber rim liner & I think the tube/patch just expanded too much into the spoke holes so I just replaced the rear one with cloth rim tape. Also gonna replaced the rear tire with a Schwalbe Energizer Plus HS 427 because my 1st ebike came with similar tires which lasted over 9k miles.

The 700c x 45 schrader tubes in the bike doesn't seem to be common in shops around here, but 700c x 43 should work fine. Just replaced my 2nd tube with a presta version inside the schrader rim.

I just blew my tire out, and noticed the lack of the "proper" tube in my area. Does the presta valve tube work just fine?

 

[JoePah]

@Dunbar I had that problem with my Stromer and just sawed the Ergon grip to fit the handlebar on the throttle side. Worked out fine. It does seem a little strange to take a hacksaw to a $30 grip. Lol

 

[youth]

I just blew my tire out, and noticed the lack of the "proper" tube in my area. Does the presta valve tube work just fine?

I'm actually on my 4th inner tube & this time it's a Giant brand schrader 700 x 35-45 from a local LBS. The stock tube blew out a few minutes after being inflated to 80 PSI. The 2nd Kenda schrader 700 x 38-43 tube from a closer LBS kept getting holes in the inner wall & patches would blow out. The 3rd tube I switched to Performance Bike Presta 700 x 38-43 & swapped the rubber rim liner for a cloth one & also made an adapter so the valve would not rest against the sharp corner of the hole & take up the extra space. Also switched to a Schwalbe Energizer Plus tire. Googling suggest that ppl have used presta in schrader drilled rims sans adapters with no problems though. Still this didn't last long that I eventually got a flats again on the inner wall. Now the 4th tube is back to schrader 700 x 35-45. I also swapped the rim strip to a new one and deburred all the spoke holes. This has last a few days now so maybe 4th time's a charm.

So I've just been unlucky with the rear tire & haven't been able to figure the exact root cause for my issues with the tubes flatting the way they did. It's hard to believe that being 2mm smaller would make a difference, but just in case I found one that says up to 45, but I think Presta will work just fine.

Only thing left to do with my CC is to add fenders (have Planet Bike Cascadia's on the way) & maybe upgrade the front suspension to an air fork like the recently released Rock Shox Paragon Gold RL.

 

[JoePah]

@Dunbar what kind of range are you getting at the most efficient assist setting? 15-17 miles at max power is less than expected, no?