Known Issues & Problems with Juiced Bikes Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[Barry S]

In full disclosure, I don't own a JuicedBikes ebike or any ebike at this point in time. While the CCS was on my short list, I'm leaning towards the E-Glide ST but I've had to put my purchase on hold for the time being.

IMO, Tora has found a balance between a feature-rich ebike and a price point that's hard to argue with. Unfortunately, this is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is high consumer demand, while the curse is not being ready for the stress that the demand places on a new company's resources both in maintaining quality control and post-sale customer service. With that in mind, and from what I've read here on these forums, I believe Tora is working to get the situation under control. Mistakes will be made along the way, but I think in the end Tora can pull it off if he remains passionate about JuicedBikes as is apparent in EBR's video reviews. However, if the correction process takes too long, consumers will look elsewhere and other manufacturers will swarm in to fill the need. Personally, I hope Tora can pull it off. I love a good David and Goliath story.

 

[mal robot]

FYI, I've now had 3 spokes break on my OG (from August) CrossCurrent S that has about 1200 miles on it. Juiced hasn't been very responsive to my support inquiries. The couple of shops that I've spoken to that used to carry Juiced products no longer do because they've had hassles with the bikes they've sold and getting support from Juiced. I still like the bike (when it's working) and I think it comes in at a great price / feature trade off point but Juiced has a lot of maturing to do in their support organization. My next step assuming continued spoke breakage will be to get the wheel respoked.

 

[AndrewJB]

now on the unevenly pitched motor sound that happens about 50% of the time that I engage the motor; that is very likely to be coming from the internals of the gear hub motor itself; typically the internal gear hub motor comes packed very lightly with lubricating white lithium grease that is rather easily flung off due to the massive typical speeds of the internal gearing found inside such typical electric hub motors; its quite easy to take apart the electric hub motor and pack it full with the high viscosity red color dyed heavy duty heat and moisture resistant rated molybdenum grease which is highly resistant to be flung off at any speed; now afterwards one should not hear any noise at all coming from the electric hub motor once it has been fully packed out with the red molybdenum grease packing;

I'd be keen to know how to do this myself as the motor of my CC has been getting pretty noisy. At higher speeds especially, the motor makes weird sputtery sounds that aren't particularly pleasant to hear. I had my CC serviced several months back for this same issue and the motor was re-lubricated to good effect, but this seems to have been a short-term fix as the noise has returned.

Rather than having to go back every few months, I think greasing my motor (had to chuckle) might be a useful skill to master for myself . You say 'easy', but since I've never done it before, wouldn't mind seeing it done properly first. If you happen to know of any resources out there showing how its done with the CC motor I'd really appreciate being pointed in the right direction...

Also, regarding the molybdenum grease, do you think this would suit: http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/Product/Penrite-Moly-Grease-Tub-500g/1935

Cheers!

 

[Andy_in_CA]

I would wait until your warranty expires before you do any of this servicing yourself. just my .02

Andy

 

[mal robot]

If your bike's not working (e.g. spokes broken), then I think you have to do the service yourself as otherwise you have no bike for an unknown period of time, given Juiced's customer support response speed . I also have a somewhat noisy CC motor.

 

[Andy_in_CA]

yeah, your right. when its broke.. just fix it.

 

[john peck]

FYI, I've now had 3 spokes break on my OG (from August) CrossCurrent S that has about 1200 miles on it. Juiced hasn't been very responsive to my support inquiries. The couple of shops that I've spoken to that used to carry Juiced products no longer do because they've had hassles with the bikes they've sold and getting support from Juiced. I still like the bike (when it's working) and I think it comes in at a great price / feature trade off point but Juiced has a lot of maturing to do in their support organization. My next step assuming continued spoke breakage will be to get the wheel respoked.

Mal, last time I lost spokes, I paid Juiced $6.99 for 4 & waited 10 days to get 'em. Go online & search: (length mm) 12g bicycle spokes. Sapim silver for #36,
$21.80 + $5.98 shipping. Black are like $27+. I believe the are other spokes of even higher quality for about $40. I just lost 4 spokes at 550 miles when I
hit one of those metal discs set a bit more than 1 inch beneath asphalt level. I'm a bit P.O.ed cuz it had to be metal fatigue. I've found 234mms for the CCS in 11g (2.9mm).
Does anyone know if 11g will fit the eyelets; they should, 12s are 2.6mm. .3mm is a miniscule difference. As it happened today, it's dark & I haven't had
a chance to check the eyelets yet. I'm going to replace every damn spoke! Replacement TIP: CCS wheels are hollow. Nipples will fall inside the rim if
you try it by hand. Instead....thread the nipple onto the spoke backwards using the spoke to insert it thru the eyelet. You can then hold it in place &
unscrew the spoke. Lace spoke & thread into eyelet. This will save you a lot of time trying to shake nipples out of the wheel.

 

[Andy_in_CA]

sorry..let us know how the respoke goes.... I might preemptively do that to...

 

[john peck]

Andy, I checked the eyelets & motor eyes, They actually look as if they were made for 11g spokes. Just ordered a full pack o' 36,
$41, About .90 a piece, from Custom Motored Bikes.(. com) 234mm, 11g for the CCS.
The CCS stock ones just won't hack it. I know a little about mechanical metalurgy; quality control
dropped the ball. The breaks are clearly metal fatigue partially due to being a bit small for the eyes.

Correction: That's CustomMotoredBicycles.com *($32+ $8.99 S & H)

 

[Andy_in_CA]

are the spokes the same length on both sides of the hub? or is that just with a standard bike and rear cassette?

 

[Andy_in_CA]

let me know how the respoke goes.. and i'll probably do the same.

 

[john peck]

234mm is the length for both sides of the rear wheel on the CCS. Hopefully, it will take less
than 10 days to get the spokes this time.

 

[john peck]

Got the wheel ready. After disconnecting the power cable be sure to protect the prongs from being bent.
Dropping it out is simpler if first one unscrews the derailleur & let it slide down the chain a ways. Having a
dbl. legged kickstand makes it easy; just rock it forward onto the front wheel & it will drop right out after
unscrewing the retainer clip. ( 18mm box end & hex wrenches )

 

[john peck]

This is something I've done on the gas bike to reinforce spokes & dampen vibration. I run a strip of duct tape between the spokes
where they intersect & then wrap around tying it off with a zip tie

 

[john peck]

234mm 11g spokes arrived today; they will work fine, though i had to make a custom spoke wrench.
I think 10g would fit the motor eyes, but the nipples would be too large for the rim eyelets. I will
bind them off as described in the above post.

 

[Andy_in_CA]

234mm 11g spokes arrived today; they will work fine, though i had to make a custom spoke wrench.
I think 10g would fit the motor eyes, but the nipples would be too large for the rim eyelets. I will
bind them off as described in the above post.

would love to see pics once your done!

 

[john peck]

Andy, for whatever reason, the pics from my obsolete camera did not load into my Jurassic PC, but here's the scoop.
It turned out Great! 11g 234mm CCS spoke upgrade:* (be sure to protect connector prongs)
1) You'll need a star bit & driver to remove the brake disc. (this will simplify things considerable; replace with thread locker when done.)
2)After removing the rim strip, go 'round & give each nipple end of the spoke a little shot of WD40.
3) Loosen all spokes about 4 turns with a slot screwdriver. You can then spin them most of the way off between your fingers. To do this you
may need to shift the wheel left or right to slacken the spoke. ( A power screwdriver is ill advised as they can damage the wheel &
strip the threads or slot. Do not remove any nipples yet!)
4) Start with 3 spokes at 120 degrees,( like the Mercedes logo) on one side. Offset 60 degrees on the other side with 3 spokes. Then add
their crossing spokes being mindful to do so consistent with the lacing pattern. Snug these up leaving about 3/16" of thread visible
below the nipple.(this bit of slack makes it easier to seat the spokes)
5) Now you can remove all the remaining original spokes. Be sure to use a spoke to insert nipples.They sent 36 spoke & 37 nipples.
Somewhere rattling around it my wheel is that 37th nipple, Tighten all spokes flush with the bottom of the slot & you're golden.

*10g will not work! You may need a slender round file to lightly dress a motor eye or two. Also a few spokes had a slight burr on the
end. Don't force them; just give the thread end a few gentle licks with a file. It was very labor intensive but well worth it. Using these
tips will spare you a lot of 'learn as you go'.

PS. The vibration damping probably isn't needed on the 11g, but it can't hurt. It might be a good
idea for the front wheel

 

[Andy_in_CA]

wow!! those things look rock solid! how heavy is it? are you in LA? I'm a bit of a neophyte when it comes to bike repair. nicely done sir!

A

 

[john peck]

Oh, it's very solid! The 11g may have added 4 ounces(?) I done a few spokes before, but this is actually my first complete build. While most of
the 12s were still okay, quite a few of the ones that didn't break had chatter dents, & most had worn paint on the 'J'. The 11s fit tight in the hole.
Because the flair at the end of the 'J' is thicker there is a 1mm space that doesn't go completely flush to the countersink in the motor eye, but
this is nothing to worry about. Probably totally unnecessary, but I went ahead & did the vibration damping thing anyway. No, I'm in western
Washington, I hate big cities.
Found that 37th nipple on the floor, can't ever have too many nipples Damn Rooshuns!

 

[john peck]

The bike is reassembled. Took time for a major cleaning & inspection. Spoke issue aside, it's still a terrific bike!!

*nesting falcon...I have too many bikes