Frey CC

[JCofMN]

In a break from the 24/7 George Floyd coverage (I live in Minneapolis), I looked at my CC’s brakes in more detail. So far (a hundred miles or so), they work just fine with good power and modulation feel; they’re just annoyingly noisy especially in rolling to a stop, although recently the rear howls a bit when pressed lightly alerting all the dogs along the path.

I also have the modified Tektro caliper adapters with the front as described by Tom above with only its lower stanchion ground down. I think this was done so that the caliper tilt is fine tuned so that both pairs of pistons are equidistant from the edge of the rotors --- from the factory the all 4 front pads overhang the rotor by a mm or so and the front brake functions just fine this way except for the noise. To maybe mitigate this, I’ve installed a MDR-P (203mm) rotor paired with new green “Sport” compound pads so that the front matches Magura’s current ebike specification.

For the rear, I’ve replaced the black pads with “comfort” blues, kept the Storm HC rotor, but shimmed (with shaped M6 fender washers) the caliper to match the front’s pad overhang.

After another 50 miles or so, I’ll report on whether any of these mods helped or not.

Also my second TurnLife battery has performed very similarly to my first, i.e., pretty well.

Stay well and avoid the night time streets for now.

Update

During and after a 10 mile break-in ride, both the front and rear brakes with the changes described above have quieted down quite a bit with no more low frequency 20-100Hz judder. All that’s heard is the expected grinding/scraping brake noise with no odd harmonics. Feel remains good although as expected the power is down slightly but improved as the ride progressed with bedding in. On loose gravel the front and rear wheels can be locked up at will.

Note however I never noticed any front brake judder in the original configuration until about the 70 mile point so only time will tell.

Speaking of time and the Brooks B17 saddle, when I first got it I was surprised how hard it was for something made out of leather. 100 plus miles later it’s still hard as a rock and a bit slippery after treatment with their proprietary tallow stuff. But I do seem to be getting used to it the more I ride.


Stay Well

 

[brake034]

A bit slippery after treatment with their proprietary tallow stuff

it takes ages to soften up a Brooks, I owned one before so I had that pleasure too.
I am not sure if you know, the grease goes on the suede side of the saddle, not on the top....

 

[Praxx62]

Ended up replacing my front fender (more specifics here) and posted a video with random thoughts. OK, I'm no Court Rye, but in my defense I shot this in a single take in my bathrobe and only had to cut a few bloopers, so not too shabby. Maybe I can twist Court's arm to venture down from Vancouver to Seattle to do a proper review.

Thanks for the review of your Frey cc,I have one on order in red like your hopefully it will come around the end of June. And I already have bought lights and finders and seatpost

 

[TomD]

The red queen rides again! After being down for a week due to naively popping out a piston from the front caliper I spent most of last night installing a new caliper, bleeding the front brake, changing the front and rear rotors and installing blue comfort pads in the rear brake. The new caliper came with performance pads so I decided not to swap them out for the blue comfort pads. My front brake is no longer spongy and the rear brake noise is gone! I am pretty sure it's the new MDR-P rotors that solved the noise issue and the bleed of the front brakes that solved the sponginess. Someone on endless sphere reported that the MDR-C rotors solved their noise issues (half the price of the MDR-P). I don't know why Magura sells these garbage Storm HC rotors or why ebike manufacturers put them on heavy ebikes instead of e-bike rated rotors but I would definitely advise against Magura Storm HC rotors! 3 weeks of frustration and $500 of expense ($150 for new rotors, $25 for proper post mount adapters, $75 for the bleed kit, $50 for new brake pads, $100 for new caliper, $100 for failed velofix) but now I know how to bleed brakes and have some extra pads so will save money in the future. Just happy to be riding again, although the weather doesn't look like it will cooperate this week.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[tedacura1]

The red queen rides again! After being down for a week due to naively popping out a piston from the front caliper I spent most of last night installing a new caliper, bleeding the front brake, changing the front and rear rotors and installing blue comfort pads in the rear brake. The new caliper came with performance pads so I decided not to swap them out for the blue comfort pads. My front brake is no longer spongy and the rear brake noise is gone! I am pretty sure it's the new MDR-P rotors that solved the noise issue and the bleed of the front brakes that solved the sponginess. Someone on endless sphere reported that the MDR-C rotors solved their noise issues (half the price of the MDR-P). I don't know why Magura sells these garbage Storm HC rotors or why ebike manufacturers put them on heavy ebikes instead of e-bike rated rotors but I would definitely advise against Magura Storm HC rotors! 3 weeks of frustration and $500 of expense ($150 for new rotors, $25 for proper post mount adapters, $75 for the bleed kit, $50 for new brake pads, $100 for new caliper, $100 for failed velofix) but now I know how to bleed brakes and have some extra pads so will save money in the future. Just happy to be riding again, although the weather doesn't look like it will cooperate this week.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

really happy for you now that your red queen is ready to roll again....soon I will be getting my Frey CC and was wondering do you think I should get new MDR rotors to replace the Storm HC rotors because it seems I will have the same issues with the Storm HC so in that case I would just replace them right away when I get the bike...(your opinion)

 

[TomD]

I would probably wait and see if you have as serious noise as I did. If not you should be fine with the stock rotors. But if you have the annoying judder you know how to easily fix it without getting yourself into trouble like I did causing a lot of headache and wasted time. I would also probably just get the MDR-C or at least one rotor to test as they will better match the other rotor assuming only one needs to be replaced. You could also try the blue comfort pads but I think rotors are easier to replace. I found removing Magura quad piston pads to be a total pain in the arse and easy to contaminate in the process.

 

[TomD]

really happy for you now that your red queen is ready to roll again....

Thanks for the well wishes! Today she had a rose parade to celebrate...

As far as things to get I would definitely get an Ortlieb pannier from Sierra. Really love this grocery premier that I have on the bike.

 

[tedacura1]

I would probably wait and see if you have as serious noise as I did. If not you should be fine with the stock rotors. But if you have the annoying judder you know how to easily fix it without getting yourself into trouble like I did causing a lot of headache and wasted time. I would also probably just get the MDR-C or at least one rotor to test as they will better match the other rotor assuming only one needs to be replaced. You could also try the blue comfort pads but I think rotors are easier to replace. I found removing Magura quad piston pads to be a total pain in the arse and easy to contaminate in the process.

Thank you for your opinion it's greatly appreciated.

 

[Duck and Cover]

Is it possible to install/buy it with a gates belt system?

 

[TomD]

Might be possible, but tricky due to full suspension as belt requires tensioner. Easier on hard tail. Honestly I don't mind not having belt and would rather have FS and chain vs belt and IGH if I could only have one or the other.

 

[TomD]

BTW, just an update on my brake issues. I now have judder in my front brake and it also has started squealing. I think my front pads may have gotten contaminated during install of the new brakes and rotors, even though I was very careful and made sure everything was cleaned after the bleed. Need to clean the rotors and pads. The front brake started to judder before the squealing. I was hoping it would go away but it's just gotten worse. May try the blue comfort pads if cleaning doesn't solve the issue.

 

[bob armani]

really happy for you now that your red queen is ready to roll again....soon I will be getting my Frey CC and was wondering do you think I should get new MDR rotors to replace the Storm HC rotors because it seems I will have the same issues with the Storm HC so in that case I would just replace them right away when I get the bike...(your opinion)

FYI- I have the Magura MT5 brake system on my 2018 Haibike with Storm HC rotors and they seem to be performing to spec. Not sure if I do the upgrade to the MDRC rotors will give me improved performance or not. I see the MDRs have a different configuration in the rotor cut-out pattern.

 

[byunbee]

it takes ages to soften up a Brooks, I owned one before so I had that pleasure too.
I am not sure if you know, the grease goes on the suede side of the saddle, not on the top....

Not true. It goes on the top side. Of course you can also put it on the bottom side, but that's more an optional step.

 

[byunbee]

BTW, just an update on my brake issues. I now have judder in my front brake and it also has started squealing. I think my front pads may have gotten contaminated during install of the new brakes and rotors, even though I was very careful and made sure everything was cleaned after the bleed. Need to clean the rotors and pads. The front brake started to judder before the squealing. I was hoping it would go away but it's just gotten worse. May try the blue comfort pads if cleaning doesn't solve the issue.

Have you checked whether your wheels are true?

 

[TomD]

Approaching 500 miles so figured I might as well chime in with an update. Overall am really enjoying this bike. It definitely doesn't pass for a non e-bike (the integrated battery doesn't fool anyone). Everywhere I go the first question is often "how fast does it go" as opposed to "is that an ebike"? Added a couple upgrades and a couple new issues.

1) Added mirrcycle and Ergon GP5 grips. While I was very happy with the ergonomic grips that Frey provided, they didn't have end caps so I would need to cut a hole to insert the mirrcycle, or buy a different mirror that attaches to the handlebar, or upgrade to grips with end caps compatible with mirrcycle. I decided to try Ergon GP5 grips as they were on sale at REI. I don't find the Ergon grips any better than the knockoff ergonomic grips, but I do appreciate the extra hand positions and leverage the top of the horns provide on hills. I find the side grip provided for by the horns not as useful, feels like my hands are too far out, but might be more useful with shorter handlebars. If you want Ergon grips with horns I would recommend the GP5 over the GP3. I also ordered some mirrors on Amazon that attach to the handlebar. I thought I would like them better than the mirrcycle due to being wider but I actually found the mirrcycle had better visibility, despite being smaller (side benefit of being less obtrusive). Big thumbs up for mirrcycle.

2) My throttle stopped working. Seems to be a short in the harness wiring as if I bend where the arrow is in the picture below my throttle starts working, but eventually stops working. Not looking forward to replacing the internally routed harness wiring.

3) My motor has started making some strange noises. At first I thought I might just need to grease it but not so sure. Will be interesting to hear what FREY says. The noise is coming from the motor, not the cassette or chain.

 

[walkingman57]

Hey Tom I was curious to see if you had ironed out torque sensing on your CC. Is upsizing the chainring and downsizing max cassette sprocket size the best way to minimize clown pedaling at higher cruising speeds?
Did Frey have any recommendations about your motor noise? Hope all is well for you.

 

[TomD]

I never figured out the motor noise. I think it might be the cranks or something other than the motor. I swapped motors (more about that below) and initially the noise went away but it came back.

To iron out the torque sensing is an easy fix. I upgraded to the Archon X1 (Innotrace) controller. Worth every penny. It has transformed my Frey CC into a world class ebike that is not only smooth but the range is also significantly improved (I'd say at least 25%). I cannot recommend it highly enough. More here:

First ride with the Archon X1 upgrade!

I got the upgrade today. Thank you Pushkar. Now I have a new bike. I went for a short, 15 mile ride, and had a blast. The power comes on so much smother. The motor seems more powerful and the UCP seems much quicker. I’m turning 70 shortly and prior to the upgrade I tended to ride at...

electricbikereview.com

 

[stobin723]

Tom, with respect to the X1 controller, can you explain a bit on how the difference between Eco and Sport has changed? In his videos, Pushkar descibes Sport mode to be more similar to a cargo mode with the new controller. What's your experience?

 

[TomD]

I got the 2300W version and use Eco 1 for most of my riding. It's just about perfect. On hills I might bump it up to Eco 2. Last night put it in Eco 3 for grins and flew up my steep hill at close to 20 mph in second to highest gear without much of a workout. I probably won't do that very often as I value my drivetrain. My throttle is still broken so I just bump it up to 4 or 5 if I temporarily need to gun it in traffic. The only time I've used Sport was unintentional but it was noticeably more powerful than Eco, so I'd say similar to Eco vs. Sport on the stock controller. When the programming software is available I will probably dial it back to 750W in Eco just so I can get more exercise and have a mode that is street legal, and use Sport for off road 2300W. I'd say most people will be fine with the 1000W version of the controller. The primary benefits are the smoother power delivery and efficiency gains. The controller upgrade doesn't come cheap but honestly, it was worth every penny. I now look forward to riding my CC every day, and range is no longer an issue, so saved me the cost of a spare. Yesterday I didn't even bother to charge my battery before the ride.

 

[walkingman57]

Wow. That's great news. What kind of distance do you ride on your dailies? My wife has a specialized that nets 50+ on rail trails that I hope to match.