Juiced CrossCurrent S initial review

[john peck]

I'm also at 100+ miles. My commute is 28.8 mi and I end up using 60% or so of the 17.4 Ah pack, riding probably at an average of 23 MPH with one or two steep hills (the rest flat). Performance is great and the bike is very fast. My motor does make some funny noises that I'm not sure are normal but other than that it's a great bike.

23 mph will eat up your pack pretty quick, but when time is of the essence, I guess you've little choice. I ride in eco mode most of the time & use the
gears, but once in a while I can't resist the urge to hit sport mode & smoke road bike riders on carbons that cost just as much. My DIY inframe obscures
the 21ah pack & my panniers hide the motor. Makes me smile to see the bewildered looks on riders a 1/3 my age. :0)
Also: My motor makes a bit of noise when loaded up; that just tells me I need a lower gear.

 

[mal robot]

Ah good point on the gearing; on my road bike I always sat on the highest gear and just ate the knee punishment at stops. I noticed the bike felt smoother at lower speeds when I was geared down today.

 

[john peck]

At my age knees can be an issue, but I've found pedal extenders help a lot by making pedal strokes
more vertical instead of angled inward, especially the taller you are. I've got 'em on all my regular bikes
as well as the CCS.

Ah,we happy few with a CCS! If you want one expect to wait: it's worth it.

 

[Dunbar]

I was out riding my standard Cross Current and ran into someone commuting on their new Cross Current S. Mentioned that I had been wanting to test ride one and he let me take it for a quick spin. Definitely has a LOT more power than mine. I really like the display. Definitely think I will be upgrading.

 

[mal robot]

I was out riding my standard Cross Current and ran into someone commuting on their new Cross Current S. Mentioned that I had been wanting to test ride one and he let me take it for a quick spin. Definitely has a LOT more power than mine. I really like the display. Definitely think I will be upgrading.

Hi Dunbar, that was me (go LA buddies) . Fancy meeting you on these forums. Nice bike by the way!

 

[Dunbar]

As I was riding home I was wondering if you were on these forums. Good to meet you too and thanks for letting me test ride your CCS.

 

[john peck]

There are some ridiculously steep hills where I live which is why I bought a CCS in the first place. The power is
remarkable. I'd been thinking 1000 watt, but they're not quite street legal. I've had to shift as low as 2nd on the
longer grades, but I can top them without having a heart attack. I hit 39 mph going down one braking all the way.

 

[JamesY]

I have 34 miles roundtrip commute on a flat road. Currently, I am riding a Eflow Nitro bike (pedal assist up to 20 mph). On the way to work, I constantly ride it about 22 mph with good pedaling effort. On the way back, it runs about 20 mph. I am looking for a bike can consistently ride at 27+mph for the trip. Can the CCS support this speed for this kind of commute?

 

[Andy_in_CA]

I have an 11 mile commute and with good effort and wind conditions i can hit 27-28, with medium effort I can average between 19-24mph.

I would recommend a battery upgrade since your commute is longer than mine...and in S mode stop and go traffic for half of my commute I use about half of the standard battery and recharge at work.

 

[john peck]

I have an 11 mile commute and with good effort and wind conditions i can hit 27-28, with medium effort I can average between 19-24mph.

I would recommend a battery upgrade since your commute is longer than mine...and in S mode stop and go traffic for half of my commute I use about half of the standard battery and recharge at work.

I'm happy with my 21ah CCS for what it is. It's been three months since I bought gas, & I still have 3/4 of a tank,( though much of that
time I rode a regular bike.) There are lots of daunting hills here, & I'm no lightweight, but the CCS is great for anything within 20 mi.
I had hoped when I purchased it to adapt it for distant travel, but I'm finding that to be more of a challenge than I anticipated. I was
hoping it would pedal without power at modest speed, but even in the lowest gear, that is just marginally possible even without the battery.
To that end I have obtained a 50/40/28,(with 26 option) crankset which I hope will make it a viable powerless pedaller.
I won't know if this will even install yet. I'll update if it succeeds.

 

[JamesY]

Thank you! Is the off road mode useful to make a ride much faster?

 

[Nicknick]

It's pretty doable to keep the bike at 28mph in S-mode without too much extra pedaling, but the battery will deplete quite a bit faster.

I mostly find it exhausting though. You can't hear anything because of the wind, bumps feel pretty bad and braking distance is quite far coming down from 28. I think 22-24 is just about the perfect speed. A 20mph ebike now feels a bit annoying because of that.

Off road mode might get you up to 32 but it doesn't seem worth it to save a few minutes. Higher speeds start to feel progressively more dangerous which each 1 mph extra once you get in the 25mph+ range.

I have the standard battery (12.8) and do a lot of stop and go, probably need a charge every 20 miles in sport mode, or 30 in eco. For your 30 mile+ commute I'd recommend the larger battery for sure. Unless you can charge easily at work.

 

[john peck]

Thank you! Is the off road mode useful to make a ride much faster?

You 'might' get an extra 4 or 5 mph if the pack is relatively full, but sport mode seems to eat up my charge pretty quickly.