Is a CCX noisy?

[BlueRidgeRoads]

Hi All,

My first post and I am the proud owner of a shiny red Crosscurrent X. It is exhilarating to ride, and is quite a performer.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as noise from the drivetrain. I know it is hard to quantify noise level with words, but do you find the CCX to be noisy?

My bike has definite whine and a whoosh whoosh whoosh sound to it, just trying ascertain if that is just how it is supposed to be. I know it isn’t the brakes/brake pads, noise only when the power is on.

What is your experience?

Thanks very much. Jeff

 

[youth]

I don't find it to be noisy, but you can definitely hear a whirring sound especially in higher assist levels. A lot of the sound is probably the internal gears.

 

[BrianMura]

Welcome to the forum, BlueRidgeRoads!

Red is a cool color. Kinda wish I got the red one. Got a black one.

I get a whine and a whirring. Not sure about a whoosh whoosh though. I love how it sounds! Do mid-drive motors have different sounds?

 

[BlueRidgeRoads]

Thanks for the replies. I kind of enjoy the whirring, but the whoosh whoosh whoosh, which sounds like someone handsanding wood, or shaking Mexican maracas, annoys my wife who rides her mid-drive bike which is essentially silent.

I’m not helpless when working on mechanical things, but I don’t want to do some “exploratory surgery” on my bike since it is new and under warranty. But neither do I want to ask for a warranty claim if it is something normal.

Other than this one thing, the bike is fantastic- a real magic carpet ride.

 

[jom]

At low speed and high torque my bike motor makes also a whirring sound and I feel the vibration coming from it. This noise was present from day one and continues about the same today after 750 miles, so I got used to it. At speeds above 10 mph it is less noticeable.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

They're not designed to be silent. They're designed to go fast. Unless you hear a sound like the gears are trying to transform themselves into tiny little bits, don't sweat it. Planetary gears will make some noise. Whether it's a lot or a little depends on a number of things, none of which matter much.

 

[AZOldTech]

Hi All,

My first post and I am the proud owner of a shiny red Crosscurrent X. It is exhilarating to ride, and is quite a performer.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as noise from the drivetrain. I know it is hard to quantify noise level with words, but do you find the CCX to be noisy?

My bike has definite whine and a whoosh whoosh whoosh sound to it, just trying ascertain if that is just how it is supposed to be. I know it isn’t the brakes/brake pads, noise only when the power is on.

What is your experience?

Thanks very much. Jeff

The "whoosh whoosh whoosh" should not be normal, but the "whine" is normal. Try riding the bike as a regular bike, meaning with everything electrical turned off (going to be hard and feel like a tank but if you are in the highest gears it will be much easier), and see if you still hear the "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound.

 

[BlueRidgeRoads]

AZ, It’s completely silent without the power on. The whoosh whoosh whoosh sound is when the assist is on, either with pedaling or throttle only. I’d say it is in synch once with every rotation of the rear wheel.

 

[AZOldTech]

AZ, It’s completely silent without the power on. The whoosh whoosh whoosh sound is when the assist is on, either with pedaling or throttle only. I’d say it is in synch once with every rotation of the rear wheel.

I've ridden many bafang rear hub motor ebikes and I never heard a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound. The normal sound is a "whine" that increases in pitch as you go faster. Court's videos many times records the sound of the motor and is always a "whine". You can view his videos where he records the sound of the motor. Since it does not happen without power but while still pedaling, I would say the ""whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound must be coming from inside the motor. If you have a gopro camera (or a clone) maybe you can point it to the motor and let it record the sound and post it. That way we can be sure if that sound is abnormal.

 

[BlueRidgeRoads]

Success! It seems I have fixed the strange noise (the whoosh, whoosh, sanding noise).

I decided to remove the back wheel, more for practice than anything, so if I had a roadside repair I’d have done it once before.

It soon became apparent that the rear wheel was mounted in a bind. One end of the axle wasn’t seating fully in the frame causing the wheel to be misaligned. Now all the tweaking I had to do to the fender and the rear rack while unpacking the bike is explained.

I see that the flat retainer that bolts to the frame and encircles the axle on the nondrive side was causing the wheel to be askew in the frame, and not going fully in the slot. So I left it disconnected from the frame when remounting the wheel. I have a photo below. I think you can see how far down the axle would have to move if the hole in the flat retainer had to align with the Allen bolt.

So test ride was perfect, just a nice whine. I don’t know if it is possible, but the boost seems stronger now and more linear.

I hope that flat retainer is not crucial somehow, as it seems to be the culprit that caused misalignment and the resultant noise. I am sure I can drill the hole in the retainer a little bigger to make it mountable if it’s in fact necessary.

Thanks for seeing me through this minor nuisance!

 

[youth]

Glad to hear the issue was simple fix.

I'm gonna say it's not necessary as I've kept it off on my CC & now my CCX to make wheel removal less of a hassle. No issue in several thousand miles. The only purpose it appears to serve to to keep the wheel from falling out and that will not happen if it's properly tightened. So just keep it on but disconnected or replace with a washer.

 

[michael mitchell]

Success! It seems I have fixed the strange noise (the whoosh, whoosh, sanding noise).

I decided to remove the back wheel, more for practice than anything, so if I had a roadside repair I’d have done it once before.

It soon became apparent that the rear wheel was mounted in a bind. One end of the axle wasn’t seating fully in the frame causing the wheel to be misaligned. Now all the tweaking I had to do to the fender and the rear rack while unpacking the bike is explained.

I see that the flat retainer that bolts to the frame and encircles the axle on the nondrive side was causing the wheel to be askew in the frame, and not going fully in the slot. So I left it disconnected from the frame when remounting the wheel. I have a photo below. I think you can see how far down the axle would have to move if the hole in the flat retainer had to align with the Allen bolt.

So test ride was perfect, just a nice whine. I don’t know if it is possible, but the boost seems stronger now and more linear.

I hope that flat retainer is not crucial somehow, as it seems to be the culprit that caused misalignment and the resultant noise. I am sure I can drill the hole in the retainer a little bigger to make it mountable if it’s in fact necessary.

Thanks for seeing me through this minor nuisance!

That plate is the torque arm. It helps keep the motor from spinning inside the dropouts, and ruining your frame. You definitely need to reattach that.

 

[AZOldTech]

Success! It seems I have fixed the strange noise (the whoosh, whoosh, sanding noise).

I decided to remove the back wheel, more for practice than anything, so if I had a roadside repair I’d have done it once before.

It soon became apparent that the rear wheel was mounted in a bind. One end of the axle wasn’t seating fully in the frame causing the wheel to be misaligned. Now all the tweaking I had to do to the fender and the rear rack while unpacking the bike is explained.

I see that the flat retainer that bolts to the frame and encircles the axle on the nondrive side was causing the wheel to be askew in the frame, and not going fully in the slot. So I left it disconnected from the frame when remounting the wheel. I have a photo below. I think you can see how far down the axle would have to move if the hole in the flat retainer had to align with the Allen bolt.

So test ride was perfect, just a nice whine. I don’t know if it is possible, but the boost seems stronger now and more linear.

I hope that flat retainer is not crucial somehow, as it seems to be the culprit that caused misalignment and the resultant noise. I am sure I can drill the hole in the retainer a little bigger to make it mountable if it’s in fact necessary.

Thanks for seeing me through this minor nuisance!

Glad you found what's causing the "whoosh, whoosh" sound. However that just shows that quality assurance by Juiced Bikes manufacturing is lacking and should have caught that and not allowed the bike out the door like that. And BTW, >>IF<< that is the torque arm, it is meant to be attached.

 

[youth]

That plate is the torque arm. It helps keep the motor from spinning inside the dropouts, and ruining your frame. You definitely need to reattach that.

I don't think it's a torque arm because it's not keyed to the axle.

 

[BlueRidgeRoads]

Yes, it is definitely not keyed to the axle. As youth noted above, it’s purpose appears to be a retainer to keep the wheel from dropping out if the axle nuts aren’t tightened.

It is difficult to imagine a scenario where axle nuts were left completely loose, the rider too clueless to sense the rear wheel flopping around, and then performing some kind of stunt to raise the rear of the bike to the point that the wheel drops out. I guess with the creative stupidity of the consumer, anything is possible!

To AZ’s point about quality control, I’ve been impressed overall with my bike’s quality and the little tweaks that I’ve had to do I rather expected given the price, and that there is no dealer to do final assembly and adjustment. I could have paid over $4,000 to have bought a Trek Crossrip+ I was considering, but I’m glad I bought the CCX, not only for the savings, but also for the red hot performance.

 

[AZOldTech]

Yes, it is definitely not keyed to the axle. As youth noted above, it’s purpose appears to be a retainer to keep the wheel from dropping out if the axle nuts aren’t tightened.

It is difficult to imagine a scenario where axle nuts were left completely loose, the rider too clueless to sense the rear wheel flopping around, and then performing some kind of stunt to raise the rear of the bike to the point that the wheel drops out. I guess with the creative stupidity of the consumer, anything is possible!

To AZ’s point about quality control, I’ve been impressed overall with my bike’s quality and the little tweaks that I’ve had to do I rather expected given the price, and that there is no dealer to do final assembly and adjustment. I could have paid over $4,000 to have bought a Trek Crossrip+ I was considering, but I’m glad I bought the CCX, not only for the savings, but also for the red hot performance.

Make no mistake. This is quality control issue. If the retainer wasn't meant to be attached to the frame with that bolt, then it wouldn't have been there in the first place. Letting a bike go out with a not seated properly axle/rear wheel, is a quality control issue no matter how you look at it.

 

[BlueRidgeRoads]

So I can confirm it’s a certainty that the extra noise is gone. My wife noticed that my bike was much quieter during a several mile ride Sunday afternoon.

I would recommend if you haven’t removed and reinstalled your rear wheel, that you do, and check that alignment, and ensure axles are fully seating in the frame.

AZ, you’re right. But a suggestion for the builder: That flat retainer should have a slotted hole in it to accommodate for slight variances in the frames. Otherwise, it becomes the sole thing to determine where the non-drive axle is located, and can put the rear wheel in a bind or askew from the particular frame.

 

[ctbaz]

Is this the sound you had? I just got my CCX and have this sound after peddling at 8 seconds in the video below?

 

[BlueRidgeRoads]

At eight seconds and after in your video, I just hear the normal coasting sound from the rear cluster. The noise I had was only under power.

 

[AZOldTech]

The noise I had was only under power.

Which it is truly weird in itself... cause I would expect a not seated properly rear wheel to cause issues (and noises) no matter what (under battery power and/or under human power)... unless maybe if you didn't really push it hard enough under human power???