First Ride on CCX

[KLee]

I went for a quick 20 minute ride this evening. I could not wait any longer. It was not too cold outside, about 40 degrees but dry. It was about 5:30pm and pitch black outside so I put the headlight to the test. I fired up the LCD display turned on the headlight and set the power assist to Eco. This was my first time riding an electric bike and when the power assist came on my reaction was like a kid on an amusement park ride: WEEEEE! It felt like somebody was pushing me from behind. The headlight was plenty bright enough although it does not have the nice cut off beam that those expensive german headlights have (I know I'm nit picking) The hills that I struggled to climb on a conventional bike was no problem as I was climbing at 15mph on assist level 2. My legs felt like they were bionic. I played with the on-demand throttle and it quickly helped with accelerating the bike from a dead stop while I was pedaling. I played with the throttle while at slow speed and it quickly accelerated to 20mph. I did not attempt to exceed 20mph because I did not have any wind protection for my head. I replaced the CCX saddle with a Cloud 9 saddle because it gave me more comfort. I also removed the fenders and rear rack because I will not be using the bike for commuting, mostly leisure. I know it is overkill for leisure use but the CCX had the best bang for the buck features compared to other bikes. I'm thinking about adding a Topeak rear rack because I like their MTX Quicktrack system. I'm also thinking about adding an integrated tail light that would turn on when the headlights are activated. Does anybody know if a tail lamp can be wired in parallel with the headlight and would it cause any electronic issues? What connectors would I need? So far I absolutely love this bike and I hope I don't run into any problems in terms of reliability. My head was hurting because of the windchill blasting on my unprotected head but it hurts so good

 

[Feliz]

I won't ride mine after dark until I change the light, too many cars flash their high beam at me. It's the worst light, but bright, of my five eBikes but easy to change.

 

[DDBB]

Sounds like the first ride experience on an e-bike for many of us.. One short test ride and I was hooked. I WISH we could see 40 degrees here and roads w/o snow/ice.

 

[youth]

Have not noticed any difference with driver behavior with the stock light vs the Light & Motion Urban 800. I just don't care for the uneven beam pattern. But I've been thinking about how easy/difficult it would be to swap the stock light for the German beam cutoff ones. Anyone try?

 

[Spaganator]

Hey KLee, how do you like the tires on the CCX (Marathon plus right?). Do you feel they are suitable for gravel\rails to trails type riding? They look like they might be too slick in the pictures for any kind of non-paved riding, but hard to tell.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Great report, @KLee!

I pointed the headlight down some. No complaints from drivers.

 

[KLee]

Hey KLee, how do you like the tires on the CCX (Marathon plus right?). Do you feel they are suitable for gravel\rails to trails type riding? They look like they might be too slick in the pictures for any kind of non-paved riding, but hard to tell.

The Marathon Plus ride great on my local paved roads. The ride smooth without too much rolling resistance even with zero motor assist. The CCX rides very much like a conventional bicycle and is well balanced. I will let you know how they perform when I take it on light trails.

 

[Feliz]

I ride on gravel rail trails with my Marathon + without any issues, seems to be no undue wear or flats so far.

 

[Spaganator]

Thanks guys, I think I'll pick one up in the spring.

 

[Justin Fischer]

So the CCX has a zero mode, how much wattage does the motor put out in that mode? 250w for eco on the CCS seems like too much.

 

[KLee]

So the CCX has a zero mode, how much wattage does the motor put out in that mode? 250w for eco on the CCS seems like too much.

Zero mode means no motor assist and it rides like a conventional bicycle albeit a heavy one. If you watch the CCX ride on YouTube by Tora Harris he explained that on the CCX the Eco mode has been retuned to give less assist in response to customer feedback. However, even in zero assist mode the throttle is still active.

 

[Dunbar]

Have not noticed any difference with driver behavior with the stock light vs the Light & Motion Urban 800. I just don't care for the uneven beam pattern. But I've been thinking about how easy/difficult it would be to swap the stock light for the German beam cutoff ones. Anyone try?

I imagine the hardest part is going to be adapting the Juiced connector to whatever the German ones use. I run a Specialized Flux Expert on my Cross Current from my road bike days which makes it much harder for me to justify spending money on something like a M99 Pro. The Flux Expert has a switchable high beam like in a car and a momentary strobe triggered from the remote which really gets the attention of oncoming traffic. IME it’s better to mount the light up on the bars. You can angle it such that you still get a good beam pattern without blinding oncoming people/traffic. When I had the same light mounted lower on my road bike I had to angle it down more to get an acceptable beam pattern that wasn’t blinding.

One thing I wish more cyclists would do is lean their bike against a fence or garage and go stand 20-30ft away at night. If more people did this they’d realize how blinding their bike lights are and maybe some of them would fix it.

 

[Commuter]

Swap out for this light, it's awesome: https://www.starbike.com/en/busch-und-mueller-lumotec-iq-x-e-led-e-bike-front-light-150-lux-black/

 

[youth]

Swap out for this light, it's awesome: https://www.starbike.com/en/busch-und-mueller-lumotec-iq-x-e-led-e-bike-front-light-150-lux-black/

This will play well with the CCX?

• Requires at least 7.5 W nominal output of the drive system's light connection

Then it's just a matter of connecting the leads?

I googled that m99 and nope at $500+.

 

[KLee]

How did you make the connection to the stock CCX connector?

 

[treal512]

This will play well with the CCX?

• Requires at least 7.5 W nominal output of the drive system's light connection

Then it's just a matter of connecting the leads?

I googled that m99 and nope at $500+.

Hmm, that Lumotec IQ-X looks interesting.

 

[youth]

How did you make the connection to the stock CCX connector?

Bought online from one of the German bike shops. This is made in Germany & feels like half the weight of the stock light. Waiting on Higo connector from Ebay & then Harbor Freight for some cheap tools & waterproof connectors to make the connection.

 

[KLee]

Bought online from one of the German bike shops. This is made in Germany & feels like half the weight of the stock light. Waiting on Higo connector from Ebay & then Harbor Freight for some cheap tools & waterproof connectors to make the connection.

View attachment 28455

I ordered the same headlight from a German bike shop. It is still in transit. I also orders some Higo connectors to wire in an integrated tail light.

 

[youth]

I ordered the same headlight from a German bike shop. It is still in transit. I also orders some Higo connectors to wire in an integrated tail light.

Got connectors in but the wire gauge was really small & they were advertise as for brake cutoffs. Reordered from the guy who advertised here & hope those are bigger. Made a makeshift connection with some needles just so I could use it in the meantime. May do a taillight too some time down the line. I actually have B&M one from my first ebike & tried it, but I think I blew it out from too much volts. There is an extra cable in the IQ-X package which seems to be for a taillight, but the light doesn't have an output for one.

Pros:
Light weight around 100gram vs 260 of the stock light.

Made in Germany

Looks nice & feels like quality.

Beam cutoff so drivers don't get the full blast of light.

I swapped to a Rock Shox fork & B&M offers a special mount for it.

Cons:
The stock mount didn't hold it's spot very well to bumps. Removed the extra pivot points & attached directly to mount on my Rock Shox fork.

The light has no rotational adjustment & with it rectangular beam it can be annoying if it's not square to the road. Can possibly be modded to fix. Also helped a bit by tightening the front ring lens holder more.

The beam is narrow. I would prefer more spread up close. Would be good to complement with a 2nd light.

 

[KLee]

Got connectors in but the wire gauge was really small & they were advertise as for brake cutoffs. Reordered from the guy who advertised here & hope those are bigger. Made a makeshift connection with some needles just so I could use it in the meantime. May do a taillight too some time down the line. I actually have B&M one from my first ebike & tried it, but I think I blew it out from too much volts. There is an extra cable in the IQ-X package which seems to be for a taillight, but the light doesn't have an output for one.

Pros:
Light weight around 100gram vs 260 of the stock light.

Made in Germany

Looks nice & feels like quality.

Beam cutoff so drivers don't get the full blast of light.

I swapped to a Rock Shox fork & B&M offers a special mount for it.

Cons:
The stock mount didn't hold it's spot very well to bumps. Removed the extra pivot points & attached directly to mount on my Rock Shox fork.

The light has no rotational adjustment & with it rectangular beam it can be annoying if it's not square to the road. Can possibly be modded to fix. Also helped a bit by tightening the front ring lens holder more.

The beam is narrow. I would prefer more spread up close. Would be good to complement with a 2nd light.

I ordered Higo connectors from member David E. that advertised on this forum. I just received them today and they fit just like the OEM connectors. I just have to wait until the B&M IQX arrives.