Received mine (standard battery, Schwalbe tire upgrade). These are my first impressions.
Building the bike
The good
Things Juiced could do in future CrossCurrent S models to make it even better
Nice-to-have’s I’d pay extra for:
I'm no expert, so I don’t have a ton to compare this to, but I’ve tried a bunch of other eBikes. Short rides on a Haibike, Gazelle, Stromer ST1 and a longer ride on a Bulls Lacuba Evo 8. The Bulls is the only bike I would consider a similarly great commuting alternative (though its not a speed pedelec), which feels a bit more smooth and has some higher quality parts, but it is $4000, which makes this Juiced CCS a fantastic deal at well under 2k. It would still be a great deal at $2500+ actually.
This bike is great and I'd for Juiced to do well. Looking at the forum comments here they could probably do a bit more “underpromise and overdeliver”, i.e., tell your customers to expect the bike in October, so September comes as a nice surprise. But even then, some people will never be pleased.
I’ll update this review in a month or so when I get some more miles on it. But in the meanwhile I’ve ordered one for my wife as well.
UPDATE after 100+ miles: definitely love this bike. I'm excited to ride it every day on my commute. I'm surprised how often I go over 20mph. I didn't expect to care this much, but at this point I'd definitely not buy anything that is not a 28mph speed pedelec. I'm also totally happy with the amount of power. It's rare (few super steep hills) that I wish it had more.
The only thing that is bothersome to me at this point is the weight. With the added u-lock I mounted on, I'm guessing we're at 60lbs+. It's no problem at all when biking, but using any ceiling hook style bike racks, or hauling it up stairs, is a hassle. That said, I'm not sure how much less of a hassle it would be at 50lbs or even 40lbs. And with bikes below that weight you're getting into the Faraday style, which is super entry-level on power and battery. So maybe this is just part of eBike life.
TLDR: I love this thing. Would buy again in a heartbeat.
Building the bike
- Putting it together was relatively easy using the videos on the juiced site. It's a heavy bike so having someone help while you put on the front tire is nice. Anyone who is comfortable with some basic tools can do this. Don’t forget to tighten the steering.
- The front fender and headlight will be added later when Juiced ships the missing parts (in a few days). UPDATE: I put these on, was doable. Headlight is super bright, but does not have any "to the side" visibility like some other headlights do.
- I expected this to have a battery operated rear light, but it seems to be a reflector. UPDATE: It has a tiny light in the box. I ordered the Sweethome rec instead which is about 500x more bright.
The good
- First of all: this bike looks AWESOME. It is sooo cool. And it looks like a cool bike, not an eBike. The battery design and not having a mid-drive motor helps with that.
- All parts you touch feel like high quality. Saddle, shifter, handles, rear rack, bike standard, it's super solid.
- Size is perfect for me, so the Juiced size guide seems spot on.
- Tires are super wide compared to my regular hybrid bike. They are comfortable, but not as "precise". Great for dealing with potholes, but it'd make me hesitant to get something like the Hyperfat which must have zero “cornering feel".
- The brakes are INSANE. So powerful. I've never had disc brakes before, so maybe that's why, but it's easy to skid the tire even though the combined weight of me+bike is like 250lbs.
- There is a lot of power. On a straight road I really doubt I’d go above level 2 (levels are ECO,1,2,3,sport). In sport mode I’m flying by everyone at 28mph before I know it. However, I went to find a super steep San Francisco hill (like 25%+) and even in sport mode I’m pedaling hard to help it get up to 10mph, and the throttle does nothing. These are kind of rare hills and on my regular bike I’d have to get off and walk, so I sort of doubt any eBike could do much there. Even electric scooters seem powerless against these hills. UPDATE: I took it up to Twin Peaks (SF tallest point), was doable, though I was still pretty sweaty when I got up there.
- The throttle+pedal combo to get a boost when leaving a stoplight is nice. But generally I end up not using the throttle on its own, it just doesn’t give you enough to get that “wheeeeeeee!” feeling, its more fun to pedal and get the boost from that.
- No regen, which is awesome. Regenerative braking ruins easy coasting, which the most fun part of biking.
- You can easily ride this bike with a dead battery. I rode it for a bit while it was turned off, and even though its heavy it would be fine to ride this home for a few miles.
Things Juiced could do in future CrossCurrent S models to make it even better
- Putting the battery in is kind of hard. You really need to push it hard while holding the key in "open" position and it feels like more of a hassle than it should be, especially since I’ll be having to do this multiple times a week to charge it. I might try to find a way to make this easier (maybe WD40?).
- UPDATE: I think I was doing this wrong. I checked out the EBR review video which has come out since I wrote this review and it actually clicks in without using the key. It needs a bit of muscle but it's no longer a hassle.
- I used “walk mode” to get my bike up the stairs. You have to hold the minus button for a while to enable it, which means you just have to stand there for a few seconds with the brakes on so it doesn’t roll back. You also have to hold that button to keep it active, which means that if you let it go, you need to wait a few seconds again to get going. It would have been better if walk mode just put a 5pmh limit on the throttle (which gives you direct power).
- AFAIK there is no way to have the light (screen backlight+headlight) on by default. I wish it was “always on” when the bike is on, because there is only upside to more visibility, even during the day. Most new cars are this way too.
- There is a short jerky feel in the pedals when you go from peddling to coasting and you move the pedals a bit backwards. It’s like the motor isn’t sure whether to help you or not. Not super bothersome though.
- Bell, chain guard, integrated rear light would be nice.
Nice-to-have’s I’d pay extra for:
- Frame lock (euro style) for quick stops at the store.
- Rear rack strong enough to carry a person.
- An anti-theft security code to turn on the bike (maybe have the motor lock the rear wheel without it).
- For juiced to put on the Schwalbe tires for me (they did for me as I ordered early, but no longer do this, so you'll have to take it to a LBS to get them put on).
I'm no expert, so I don’t have a ton to compare this to, but I’ve tried a bunch of other eBikes. Short rides on a Haibike, Gazelle, Stromer ST1 and a longer ride on a Bulls Lacuba Evo 8. The Bulls is the only bike I would consider a similarly great commuting alternative (though its not a speed pedelec), which feels a bit more smooth and has some higher quality parts, but it is $4000, which makes this Juiced CCS a fantastic deal at well under 2k. It would still be a great deal at $2500+ actually.
This bike is great and I'd for Juiced to do well. Looking at the forum comments here they could probably do a bit more “underpromise and overdeliver”, i.e., tell your customers to expect the bike in October, so September comes as a nice surprise. But even then, some people will never be pleased.
I’ll update this review in a month or so when I get some more miles on it. But in the meanwhile I’ve ordered one for my wife as well.
UPDATE after 100+ miles: definitely love this bike. I'm excited to ride it every day on my commute. I'm surprised how often I go over 20mph. I didn't expect to care this much, but at this point I'd definitely not buy anything that is not a 28mph speed pedelec. I'm also totally happy with the amount of power. It's rare (few super steep hills) that I wish it had more.
The only thing that is bothersome to me at this point is the weight. With the added u-lock I mounted on, I'm guessing we're at 60lbs+. It's no problem at all when biking, but using any ceiling hook style bike racks, or hauling it up stairs, is a hassle. That said, I'm not sure how much less of a hassle it would be at 50lbs or even 40lbs. And with bikes below that weight you're getting into the Faraday style, which is super entry-level on power and battery. So maybe this is just part of eBike life.
TLDR: I love this thing. Would buy again in a heartbeat.
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