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

[Dunbar]

My 10sp conversion was around $150-175 (less what I sold the removed parts for.) What you need is:

Shadow Plus Derailleur
Shifter (10s)
Cassette (10s)
Chain (10s + optionally a quick link to make installation easier)

If you plan to install it yourself the tools you need are a chain whip, cassette removal tool and chain breaker. If you plan to have a shop install it you would just need to ask them what they charge (my guess $150-200.) I have not dropped a chain since upgrading my bike to this setup + flipping the chainring guard 180 degrees.

 

[Asher]

Just got my bike . CCS 19.2 aH, brushed aluminum.

Not a big deal, but my front disc brake needed adjustment, it was rubbing against the wheel rotor when I first put on the wheel. I fiddled with it for a few minutes and fixed most of it, but then took it to a local bike shop and they fixed it, put on the reflectors and reduced the brake lever distance at my request, for $10.

 

[Reid]

Just got my bike . CCS 19.2 aH, brushed aluminum.

Not a big deal, but my front disc brake needed adjustment, it was rubbing against the wheel rotor when I first put on the wheel. I fiddled with it for a few minutes and fixed most of it, but then took it to a local bike shop and they fixed it, put on the reflectors and reduced the brake lever distance at my request, for $10.

That's a nice bike shop. Forever may they wrench. You can further refine the brake caliper alignment. Or, if a pad is rubbing the disc only at one point (for example), you can true the disc with a purpose made tool or maybe with a Crescent type wrench. As with everything, a little practice breeds familiarity and then skill. We can expect nothing to be perfectly adjusted in life unless we adjust it ourselves, all because we have to live with it and only we have the time and opportunity to look at it most closely.

 

[SlowRider]

Reid, if you don't mind me asking, what do you think was the total cost of your conversion to the 10S shadow system? I am trying to decide if I will just want to try a chain guide or if I should just jump to your setup. Obviously cost is a big part of the decision. For those who have just gone with a chain guide, are you satisfied with the lack of chain drops and overall function? For those who have done nothing, how often are you experiencing chain drops? Thanks.

Chris - I had two chain drops within my first ten rides. One was when I aggressively shifted gears the other one was when I went rather fast over a bump on the bike trail during my regular commute. I have not dropped any chain since installing the chain catcher and I must have gone at least 20 times over the same bumpy section of the trail since then. I am happy with the results of just using the chain catcher. For me personally, I don't see the need to make any modifications to my transmission.

 

[Chris Hammond]

Slow, thanks for the info. I'd really rather not swap out the drivetrain either. I have been looking for a more reasonably priced chain guide than the K-edge. You were very fortunate to find one on the cheap. $70 just seems a little ridiculous for what the part is. I can get the 10S shadow + derailleur for less than that. I'll keep looking and hoping to find one. Thanks again for the real world results.

 

[SlowRider]

Slow, thanks for the info. I'd really rather not swap out the drivetrain either. I have been looking for a more reasonably priced chain guide than the K-edge. You were very fortunate to find one on the cheap. $70 just seems a little ridiculous for what the part is. I can get the 10S shadow + derailleur for less than that. I'll keep looking and hoping to find one. Thanks again for the real world results.

Agreed - $70 is ridiculous, but it is featherlight and clearly build for the serious cyclist and racers that worry about every ounce of weight. Total overkill and unnecessary on a 60 lbs. e-bike. I was looking around and I couldn't find anything else really. Most available chain catchers seem to be for mountain bikes for much smaller chainrings. There is one from "paul" but that is also over $50. Glad I got mine for $20.

 

[Asher]

Agreed - $70 is ridiculous, but it is featherlight and clearly build for the serious cyclist and racers that worry about every ounce of weight. Total overkill and unnecessary on a 60 lbs. e-bike. I was looking around and I couldn't find anything else really. Most available chain catchers seem to be for mountain bikes for much smaller chainrings. There is one from "paul" but that is also over $50. Glad I got mine for $20.

Which chain catcher do you use?

 

[SlowRider]

Which chain catcher do you use?

Asher - check my earlier posts (#314, #316). I posted a link and some pictures. It's from K-Edge.

 

[Asher]

My rear light seems to have died after an hour of use total and im having difficulty removing it with an adjustable 6 in crescent wrench. Any tips on removing?

Been pretty satisfied with the bike otherwise, but this rear light design is pretty awful, unless I'm missing something obvious. Pretty hard to unscrew just to replace the batteries.

 

[Reid]

My rear light seems to have died after an hour of use total and im having difficulty removing it with an adjustable 6 in crescent wrench. Any tips on removing?

Been pretty satisfied with the bike otherwise, but this rear light design is pretty awful, unless I'm missing something obvious. Pretty hard to unscrew just to replace the batteries.

It unsnaps and leaves a base plate attached to the bike. A difficult unsnap....

 

[Asher]

It unsnaps and leaves a base plate attached to the bike. A difficult unsnap....

Ah I had no idea! Thanks, unsnapped it after some effort and even the 2nd unsnapping took a few tries.

Juiced badly needs written user manuals for this kind of thing. I bet much of their customer support is for things that a manual would cover. Overall, I think Juiced has a lot of potential, but needs some outside help to grow quickly and smooth it's operations out. With that in place, they could multiply their sales several times.

 

[Asher]

My battery indicator has all the bars but the voltage is 51.7, which is 80% or so supposedly. The bike was turned on but not pedaled or throttled when the photo was taken.

Is something wrong? Guess I'll double check with a multimeter later.

 

[Reid]

Ah I had no idea! Thanks, unsnapped it after some effort and even the 2nd unsnapping took a few tries.

Juiced badly needs written user manuals for this kind of thing. I bet much of their customer support is for things that a manual would cover. Overall, I think Juiced has a lot of potential, but needs some outside help to grow quickly and smooth it's operations out. With that in place, they could multiply their sales several times.

I am a sucker for cheap lights and not so cheap....rechargable or, perhaps I will hardwire this convex lens strobe light if it proves worth the trouble:

It is coming from China for the grand total of $4.85 cents.

I dream on that it will be highly visible in bright daylight and also provide pretty good side visibility at night,

due to the antique style bulls-eye-lens.

 

[JeffMD]

Hey all. So I am on the verge of ordering my CCS and at the same time I am ordering the components to fix up the drive train as well. I am staying with the 9 speed cassette so I am pairing it with the Shimano RD-M772 XT. I am having a problem however understanding and sourcing a 170mm (52t) narrow-wide chainring. Is it so rare that I should just buy a chainring with new crank assembly?

Also I am also a floridian and will probably take advantage of biking in the dark hours for the summer days. The bikes rated 1000 lumen light seems to beat out all the <900 lumen lights the bike shops carry. Is it the bees knees or should I look for an after market from the inerwebs?

 

[Asher]

Try the light first and then decide. I have a small external one on my old road bike, and would not even bother to put it on the CCS.

 

[JeffMD]

Another issue propt up... tire size. The site says the tire size is 700x x 45c (45-622). The problem is this seems to be a Kenda tire thing because no one else is using 45x622, it is either 44 or 47. I am looking into Schwalbe's marathon plus series. As it is..store web sites are horrible at sticking to standards, but even schwalbes own web site says 45 is a no go.

 

[Asher]

Another issue propt up... tire size. The site says the tire size is 700x x 45c (45-622). The problem is this seems to be a Kenda tire thing because no one else is using 45x622, it is either 44 or 47. I am looking into Schwalbe's marathon plus series. As it is..store web sites are horrible at sticking to standards, but even schwalbes own web site says 45 is a no go.

700x 45 is a common size. I just mounted Marathon Pluses this evening in that size.

This is the tire. From Schwalbe's site.

 

[Chris Hammond]

Hey all. So I am on the verge of ordering my CCS and at the same time I am ordering the components to fix up the drive train as well. I am staying with the 9 speed cassette so I am pairing it with the Shimano RD-M772 XT. I am having a problem however understanding and sourcing a 170mm (52t) narrow-wide chainring. Is it so rare that I should just buy a chainring with new crank assembly?

Also I am also a floridian and will probably take advantage of biking in the dark hours for the summer days. The bikes rated 1000 lumen light seems to beat out all the <900 lumen lights the bike shops carry. Is it the bees knees or should I look for an after market from the inerwebs?

Reid has replaced his 52T with a 56T narrow wide, he also converted to a 10 spd shadow clutched rear derailler. My $0.02 is that if you are going to replace the derailleur and chainring anyway, might as well just go to a 10spd clutch derailleur, cassette and shifter. The cassette and shifter are probably the least expensive parts in the conversion anyway.
As far as the light goes, I have always commuted with 2 headlights and plan to just put my Cygolite on the bars of my CCS. This provides a few advnatages: redundancy in case you have a problem, ability to position one light beam to light the road in front of you (avoid potholes) and one to give better distance vision, and more overall light. Not to mention you will have a flashing mode for daytime riding which the stock light doesn't have.

 

[JeffMD]

700x 45 is a common size. I just mounted Marathon Pluses this evening in that size.

This is the tire. From Schwalbe's site.

Except that clearly says the ISO is 47-622. If this works then I can conclude the 45-622 on the web site is in error.

Reid has replaced his 52T with a 56T narrow wide ...

I saw all that, but he is clearly targeting a specific, different set of gear ratios than the bikes default. This will be my first bike in a long time and I would rather stick with the ratio the bike was originally designed with.

 

[Nova Haibike]

Except that clearly says the ISO is 47-622. If this works then I can conclude the 45-622 on the web site is in error.

45 or 47, it does not matter. With the rims specified, you can run anything from 28 to 62mm wide (the wider dependent on frame clearance).