Jongybrogan
New Member
- Region
- USA
This is a repost of a reddit thread I made earlier in the day. I wanted to share my experience with Juiced for those making purchasing decisions in the future. Original thread linked here.
Hi all, I wanted to share my rollercoaster experience buying a Juiced CCX over the past couple weeks. Like many, I chose Juiced because, on paper, they are the most feature complete and powerful bikes dollar for dollar. Looking over my bike, I can tell that the engineering is there and the parts are generally good, but after a week of headaches and 10+ hours troubleshooting, I am getting ready to throw my hands up. This is going to be a long, rambling post, so buckle in.
I purchased the bike on 03/30 as Juiced was having a Spring sale. After numerous delays, the bike was ultimately delivered on 04/06. When FedEx dropped it off, I was aghast at the state of the packaging - pics here.
The box was barely a box. It was held together only by the rigidity of the bike it contained and the few heavy duty plastic ties. There was a gaping hole in the corner, the handlebar was coming out of the front handle, and the kickstand actually fell out of the box when I was maneuvering it. The box was so flimsy and so torn that I had to unbox the bike and bring it piece by piece up the stairs, as the cardboard simply was not able to withstand the weight of the bike any longer. This was when I made my first ticket to Juiced.
My spirits were raised somewhat when I saw the that the bike itself was in fairly good cosmetic condition. Assembly went ok (would have been a lot easier with a kickstand...), and I was excited to take it for a test drive. Rode it around the block, everything seemed OK.
I bought this to make my 24mile round trip commute more enjoyable. The next day I attempted to take it to work and I noticed both that the front disc rotor was completely bent and causing the brakes to rub, and that the bike itself felt noticeably more sluggish than the previous night. Not a biggie, I called a local bike shop near my workplace and installed the new disc brake and that seemed to fix the issue. Pic taken during my ride home. I wrote Juiced updating them on my progress and letting them know I wished to be reimbursed for the disc brake rotor I purchased, still no response.
This was my first eBike, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of pedal assistance. However, I realized the "sluggish" feeling I mentioned earlier was due to the complete *lack* of pedal assist altogether. This became clear to me yesterday when I started my commute. In all modes (1-R) the motor would draw only 4w of power, regardless of how heavy or fast I pedaled. I connected the dots and realized this was exactly what I experienced the day before. After spending the better part of the day working on the bike, trying everything I could find online (disconnecting motor turnoff cables on brakes, reseating sensor & motor cables), I found that the cadence sensor had actually been rubbed against by the smallest sprocket on the cassette, pics here. I've tried different levels of tightness on the bolts which hold the sensor module, but it will basically sit flush against the sprocket unless I leave the bolts hand tight. I tried numerous configurations - some allowed for short bursts of cadence support, but they were inconsistent and ultimately unsafe as this assembly holds the derailleur as well. Today I am going to try and clean the surface of the sensor with isopropyl alcohol and use a washer to give more space between the sprocket and sensor. Hopefully this will allow me to use the bike while awaiting a replacement.
Those pictures are stock configuration, so either it was incorrectly installed in the factory or somehow FedEx caused it to happen. Since the throttle works, the only conclusion I can draw is that either the torque/cadence sensor is busted or the controller is fubar'd. I'm really hoping it is the former, as I've familiarized myself with that installation process and it's not that difficult. The controller will likely prove to be a different beast entirely. I included this in my latest, third follow-up to Juiced but I have yet to receive a response.
Honestly, this whole process has been so disappointing. 2 thousand dollars is a lot of money for me, and I was able to justify the purchase because in my city driving is untenable and public transit, while expansive, is unreliable and uncomfortable. From the inadequate packaging by juiced, terrible handling by fedex, and my to having to deal with problem after problem, I wish I went for a less feature complete bike I could have gotten locally, or even a DIY kit since I've had to do so much DIY anyway. The worst part is that I can tell the bike is really nice! It looks sleek, is made from good materials, and for the few miles I got pedal assist I can tell it flies. Just so frustrating that it's mired in issues. I'm hoping that this post gets someone's attention at Juiced and I can receive some assistance, as I need to get to work next week! If not I really don't know what to do other than initiate a chargeback.
TL;DR - Bike arrived in bad shape, I've discovered problem after problem, and am left with a heavy hybrid bike with a throttle and no pedal assist. Worth 2k? If the bike worked or you like headaches, sure. Here are all of the pics above for the lazy: packaging, nice ride home, broken sensor and close fit between sprocket. Three tickets submitted updating Juiced of my troubleshooting, no response yet.
Hi all, I wanted to share my rollercoaster experience buying a Juiced CCX over the past couple weeks. Like many, I chose Juiced because, on paper, they are the most feature complete and powerful bikes dollar for dollar. Looking over my bike, I can tell that the engineering is there and the parts are generally good, but after a week of headaches and 10+ hours troubleshooting, I am getting ready to throw my hands up. This is going to be a long, rambling post, so buckle in.
I purchased the bike on 03/30 as Juiced was having a Spring sale. After numerous delays, the bike was ultimately delivered on 04/06. When FedEx dropped it off, I was aghast at the state of the packaging - pics here.
The box was barely a box. It was held together only by the rigidity of the bike it contained and the few heavy duty plastic ties. There was a gaping hole in the corner, the handlebar was coming out of the front handle, and the kickstand actually fell out of the box when I was maneuvering it. The box was so flimsy and so torn that I had to unbox the bike and bring it piece by piece up the stairs, as the cardboard simply was not able to withstand the weight of the bike any longer. This was when I made my first ticket to Juiced.
My spirits were raised somewhat when I saw the that the bike itself was in fairly good cosmetic condition. Assembly went ok (would have been a lot easier with a kickstand...), and I was excited to take it for a test drive. Rode it around the block, everything seemed OK.
I bought this to make my 24mile round trip commute more enjoyable. The next day I attempted to take it to work and I noticed both that the front disc rotor was completely bent and causing the brakes to rub, and that the bike itself felt noticeably more sluggish than the previous night. Not a biggie, I called a local bike shop near my workplace and installed the new disc brake and that seemed to fix the issue. Pic taken during my ride home. I wrote Juiced updating them on my progress and letting them know I wished to be reimbursed for the disc brake rotor I purchased, still no response.
This was my first eBike, so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of pedal assistance. However, I realized the "sluggish" feeling I mentioned earlier was due to the complete *lack* of pedal assist altogether. This became clear to me yesterday when I started my commute. In all modes (1-R) the motor would draw only 4w of power, regardless of how heavy or fast I pedaled. I connected the dots and realized this was exactly what I experienced the day before. After spending the better part of the day working on the bike, trying everything I could find online (disconnecting motor turnoff cables on brakes, reseating sensor & motor cables), I found that the cadence sensor had actually been rubbed against by the smallest sprocket on the cassette, pics here. I've tried different levels of tightness on the bolts which hold the sensor module, but it will basically sit flush against the sprocket unless I leave the bolts hand tight. I tried numerous configurations - some allowed for short bursts of cadence support, but they were inconsistent and ultimately unsafe as this assembly holds the derailleur as well. Today I am going to try and clean the surface of the sensor with isopropyl alcohol and use a washer to give more space between the sprocket and sensor. Hopefully this will allow me to use the bike while awaiting a replacement.
Those pictures are stock configuration, so either it was incorrectly installed in the factory or somehow FedEx caused it to happen. Since the throttle works, the only conclusion I can draw is that either the torque/cadence sensor is busted or the controller is fubar'd. I'm really hoping it is the former, as I've familiarized myself with that installation process and it's not that difficult. The controller will likely prove to be a different beast entirely. I included this in my latest, third follow-up to Juiced but I have yet to receive a response.
Honestly, this whole process has been so disappointing. 2 thousand dollars is a lot of money for me, and I was able to justify the purchase because in my city driving is untenable and public transit, while expansive, is unreliable and uncomfortable. From the inadequate packaging by juiced, terrible handling by fedex, and my to having to deal with problem after problem, I wish I went for a less feature complete bike I could have gotten locally, or even a DIY kit since I've had to do so much DIY anyway. The worst part is that I can tell the bike is really nice! It looks sleek, is made from good materials, and for the few miles I got pedal assist I can tell it flies. Just so frustrating that it's mired in issues. I'm hoping that this post gets someone's attention at Juiced and I can receive some assistance, as I need to get to work next week! If not I really don't know what to do other than initiate a chargeback.
TL;DR - Bike arrived in bad shape, I've discovered problem after problem, and am left with a heavy hybrid bike with a throttle and no pedal assist. Worth 2k? If the bike worked or you like headaches, sure. Here are all of the pics above for the lazy: packaging, nice ride home, broken sensor and close fit between sprocket. Three tickets submitted updating Juiced of my troubleshooting, no response yet.
