Frey CC

[Dave Thefonziscool]

Hi there, im getting significantly more milage with my new CC. Ive been riding around East Portland OR, flat ish slightly hilly, and if i use eco 1 only i can break 60 miles. If i do eco 1 and use eco 2 for hills only i can break 50 miles. I did a 30.4 mile trip sunday using eco 1 and 2 and my gauge read 48 % when i got home. I have noticed going above these settings significantly affects battery usage . Of course no throttle for these numbers. Tomdav i wonder if something is up with your battery? I will say this, my percentage drops from 100% to 95 % in like the first mile or two, very fast it seems, then slows down in decrease rate. Its disconcerting and the opposite of what im used to. I wonder if the battery charger included is 100% charging the battery? Tho im happy with the bike so far im curious about this. Also i have a rattling which seems to be coming from the motor when i coast which is worrying me the last two rides, it stops when pedaling and otherwise rides nice. Oh i wanted to add Tomdav try 55 pounds in those Moto-x tires, thats what i use!

 

[Dave Thefonziscool]

Here is m

y CC

 

[TomD]

Nice looking bike you got there, ha, cleaner than mine at the moment. My battery does drop 5% or more initially, more so if it's been resting after a full charge and quite normal I think. If I am pushing the bike hard it can also drop in big chunks, then recover somewhat after I take a break. I'm used to this from riding my Bafang BBS01 so doesn't concern me.

I am not sure why my range seems lower, but I like to ride faster so I think that is a factor. Thing's aren't so flat here either, so maybe there is more up and down than I realize. But lately I'm just not worrying about it as I don't need the range for my 20 mile errands and I still have 50% battery to throttle it up the steep 700' hill and get home with 20% left. I will probably get a spare eventually and that might highlight if my original battery is lacking, but I don't think so.

As far as rattles, I have always had some intermittent noises and couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I think the cranks might rattle a little. I notice it most when I go over bumps. I suppose it could also be the front and/or rear suspension, although my front suspension bikes don't make these noises. The battery doesn't seem to be loose and it doesn't make rattle when I shake it.

 

[opimax]

both my Thudbuster and Bodyfloat make noise, one while sitting one while standing, forget which is which, something you can check if using , more over time and need rebuilds

 

[TomD]

I notice the rattle when the bike is jarred over bigger bumps, like something is loose. I tried locking out the suspension and it didn't eliminate the noise so suspect it is something else. No key in the bike so that's not it. Could be the kickstand.

 

[TomD]

It was raining today and figured I would take a video clip of the noise that my rear brake makes. It's not usually this loud, the wetness amplifies the sound. At speed I don't hear the noise, but it starts to manifest at slower speeds as I come to a stop.

I took a few pictures of the front and rear rotors to compare wear pattern. Rear pads seem to bite a little lower, but I don't think that's the issue. I noticed when degreasing the rotors last week (first attempt to diagnose the noise) that the rear rotors have a weird burn color, as if they might have been subjected to a lot of heat. But I haven't ridden enough to cause this and I've had this noise from day 1. I think I have a bad rear rotor.

 

[brake034]

I am not sure if it is allowed to post a link here but on the Endless Sphere forum (the Frey AM1000 thread) the brake issue of Tomdav is being discussed further......

 

[Dave Thefonziscool]

Hello there, I have the same exact brake noise problem with my CC, the noise is much more present from the rear, but also happens sometimes from the front disc if I'm braking hard. You can hear and feel the variations on the rotors . Thank you to the person who recommended the endless sphere forum, I agree with the one guy talking about the mismatched pads and rotors. I am going to simply get the Magura blue pads for this and try to not worry about it, I will also align my calipers to make sure they're set correctly. Weird slight mismatch issue it seems.

 

[TomD]

Here is my post on ES and the replies:

My Bafang Ultra Mountain Bike! Frey AM1000

I decided to start this thread to document my experience buying this electric mountain bike. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/The-3rd-generation-AM1000-Bafang-G510_60700621160.html?spm=a2700.8443308.0.0.NbBWV0 There seems to be very little information available about bikes using the...

endless-sphere.com

Interesting that you are having similar issues Dave. I looked into the blue pads and it seems they are intended for "comfort" braking with greater modulation and longer wear life than the Performance compound, but less power.

Magura 9.C Disc Brake Pads Comfort Compound | Tree Fort Bikes

www.treefortbikes.com

It doesn't seem reasonable that for these well regarded brakes to perform properly the user should need to downgrade pads. If you continue reading the ES thread it's a bit concerning that FREY seems to be using aftermarket adapters which may be contributing to the problem. I asked in the Watt Wagons forum if anyone has experienced these issues as they also use Magura MT5 but so far no reports.

 

[JCofMN]

Here is my post on ES and the replies:

My Bafang Ultra Mountain Bike! Frey AM1000

I decided to start this thread to document my experience buying this electric mountain bike. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/The-3rd-generation-AM1000-Bafang-G510_60700621160.html?spm=a2700.8443308.0.0.NbBWV0 There seems to be very little information available about bikes using the...

endless-sphere.com

Interesting that you are having similar issues Dave. I looked into the blue pads and it seems they are intended for "comfort" braking with greater modulation and longer wear life than the Performance compound, but less power.

Magura 9.C Disc Brake Pads Comfort Compound | Tree Fort Bikes

www.treefortbikes.com

It doesn't seem reasonable that for these well regarded brakes to perform properly the user should need to downgrade pads. If you continue reading the ES thread it's a bit concerning that FREY seems to be using aftermarket adapters which may be contributing to the problem. I asked in the Watt Wagons forum if anyone has experienced these issues as they also use Magura MT5 but so far no reports.

Here is an interesting video by a Canadian ebike dealer who went to a big bike show last Fall (before COVID) and previewed and test rode some R & M bikes. See:

At about 12:00 you can hear the juddering "drum roll" noise as he brakes to a stop just as described above which I would never noticed on my own CC were it not for this Forum discussion (not necessarily a good thing since from now on that's all I'm going to hear). This is on a designed and built in Germany R&M which presumably includes only genuine German Magura parts on a bike that is priced at least 2x's the CC.

So this is not likely a Frey implementation issue, but more a Magura idiosyncrasy.

Does anyone feel this a safety issue??

Stay Well

 

[Dave Thefonziscool]

Interesting information thank you. So far my CC brakes seem very strong and have impressive stopping power, even with the noticeable drumming or thumping (mostly from rear). I guess its not a safety issue for me so far, but im still a bit concerned.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

It's not usually this loud, the wetness amplifies the sound. At speed I don't hear the noise, but it starts to manifest at slower speeds as I come to a stop.

Somehow the pads are not biting into the rotor metal (or the other way round) and slipping. If the rotors had some oil on them during assembly or packing, you could expect this.
If you have brake cleaner, you could clean the rotor and polish the pads with 3M sand paper. I hope this helps.

 

[TomD]

Dave, have you tried easing off the tightness of the thru axle? That was another suggestion. I wish I had tried this first but now I'll need to wait for new pads.

I cleaned the rotors and sanded down the pads. Unfortunately I'm an idiot and decided to follow advice on the internet to also apply alcohol to the rotor and pads to burn off any lingering residue. Must have applied too much alcohol as it seems to have ruined the pads. The attachment points seem to have compromised by the process and I can see what appears to be the glue sucked thru the pads. To add insult to injury I ended up just oxidizing the rotor. Cleaned it immediately to remove what appeared to be soot but the rotor has "character" now. Oh well, cheap $25 lesson learned to replace pads. Hopefully the rotor is fine, but that's not too expensive to replace either.

 

[Dave Thefonziscool]

No i have not tried re-adjusting the thru axel but i will give it a shot! Also it occurred to me that possibly the caliper mounting point alignment might play a role? Park sells a tool that "machines down" the mounting points so they are perfectly in plane + correct angle. Just spittballin really but ill def give my axel a re-set & see what happens.

 

[TomD]

OK, I figured if my pads and rotor were toast I might as well test. I sanded down my pads a little more and noticed what appeared to be the glue residue sanded away, so maybe they are fine. I took the bike for a spin around the block and still have the same roll drum phenomenon. It seems that tightening the thru axle makes a slight difference but sadly, not a solution.

Frey replied over on ES that they used a different brand adapter because they had an issue sourcing magura adapters and wanted to get the group buy orders out. I don't know if a slightly mismatched adapter is contributing to this but it doesn't seem to be dirty pads or rotor.

 

[Dave Thefonziscool]

I see the Magura adapters are under $10. I think ill get a couple just to be sure. I didn't even realize that the adapter was a separate part until your last post

 

[Dave Thefonziscool]

Actually does anybody know which Magura adapter fits the Frey CC? Maybe the QM42 ?
Cant quite figure it out. Thanks!

 

[TomD]

Not sure, but Frey indicated they would send replacements on request. I may take them up on it. My front brake doesn't seem to have much bite. Hopefully fixing both of my issues is as simple as replacing with proper PM adapters. According to this post it seems like QM42 is the correct part.

My Bafang Ultra Mountain Bike! Frey AM1000

I decided to start this thread to document my experience buying this electric mountain bike. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/The-3rd-generation-AM1000-Bafang-G510_60700621160.html?spm=a2700.8443308.0.0.NbBWV0 There seems to be very little information available about bikes using the...

endless-sphere.com

Edit: my head is spinning a little like you. Not sure why Jenson's drop down indicates front (I don't see an option for rear). I think it's best to wait for FREY to confirm. My braking isn't horrible and I can wait it out.

Magura Disc Brake Adaptors | Jenson USA

www.jensonusa.com

 

[TomD]

Sierra.com has the previous version of the Ortlieb Velo Shopper at a fantastic price. It uses Ortlieb's QL 2.1 attachment, which would eliminate the movement issues you have with the Banjo bag. Currently they have the bag in black, red, and blue.

Thanks for the heads up on these. I ended up ordering 2 and I really like them. Sooo much easier to detatch / attach than my Banjo bag and waterproof to boot. I also had an incident with my Banjo bag falling off over a big bump and since then I just haven't been able to trust the attachment system.

 

[TomD]

I also picked up a Huffy brand color matched red bell for under $2. I think it's made to attach to the left handlebar so had so open it up and flip the mechanism to use it on the right. Sounds just like the intro to the EBR videos.

Huffy Small Bicycle Bell - 54mm, Red 836JM - Save 50%

Huffy Small Bicycle Bell - 54mm, Red 836JM at Sierra. Celebrating 30 Years Of Exploring.

www.sierra.com