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

[youth]

Tora Harris said:
We notice some users have some difficulty with the battery install and some intermittent power over bumps. We have had a little bit of time to understand the issue. Here is why there are some tight fitting battery packs.

The down tube of the frames are extruded like pasta then cut to the length required. The tubes are then CNC cut out. Basically its a precise drill that cuts out that battery cavity section.

The big packs (17.4 and 21.0 Ah) we make our selves and have more control.

The standard packs 8.8 Ah and 12.8 Ah packs we buy from Reention (http://www.reention.com/product/2) the battery case, the upper and lower interface bits. The interface bits get screwed into upper and lower slots of the cavity that is cut out of the frame.

When you insert the battery, it should snap in and lock. Everything has to be millimeter precise or the pack will:

1. Rattle around and disconnect over bumps.
2. Be too tight and does not set all the way in and disconnect over bumps.

The tricky part from the manufacturing standpoint is that the parts are changing at different rates but they all have to come together with millimeter precision.

So the cavity of the downtube can be adjusted by adjusting the numbers in the CAD file which is used to CNC cut the tube, easy. The plastic parts are basically not changeable by us. they are injection moulded and sent to us, so we just buy it. Hard.

The thing is the company making the case and the battery parts sometimes make tiny changes to the design. We have to each adjust the CNC to the plastic parts. All this creates massive confusion, on a few of the Air bikes the section is a little too tight.

We have checked all the bikes as they come off the line and the battery can go in and lock solidly in place, yes but it is quite tight. Tight is better as the interface parts are plastic and can compress over time. There has been some reports from other assemblers of the pack being so loose they fall out. We have the opposite problem.

Most all of the packs that lost power is because the pack is not all the way seated and locked in place. One way to test this is to insert the battery, then try to pull the pack out without turning the key.

1. If the pack comes out without turning the key. It WILL disconnect over bumps.
2. If the pack stays locked in and can’t be pulled out, it is very unlikely the pack will disconnect over bumps.

The tricky thing on some of the bikes is the pack is so tight that tricks some users from thinking the pack is locked in when actually it is not. It is something like when you slightly close a car door. It seems closed, but its not really all the way closed. You have to use a bit of force to get it to shut completely. We found if you install and remove it a few times it gets much easier to do as the plastic beds in a little.

In the future productions we will have this issue solved, by firstly more carefully understanding the battery and interface bits more carefully before doing the CNC work.

So what if the battery still cannot sit in totally and lock in place even after pushing with more force? Contact our Tech support again and we have several ways to improve it and can get 100% of them to work normally.

Well, after using my 17.4 Ah battery for just under 3000 miles the ill-fitting case has started melting the plastic around the output terminal (-) due to the arcing I suppose. The plastic has melted so much now that it almost entirely covers the negative terminal connector thus making it unusable..

My 12.8 battery on an original CC suffers from melting around the terminal, but it's still functional. It's definitely arcing likely from vibrations that cause it to momentarily lose connection, but not long enough to trigger an error. A few weeks ago I was experiencing brief power losses & the connector lock ring on the battery had worked itself loose. One thing I've done to combat this is to wrap a zip tie just tight enough near the connectors to pull the battery down, but with enough slack I can slide it off when I need to remove the battery.

It the plastic is preventing a connection maybe you could carefully use a drill bit to scraped it off?

 

[Justin Fischer]

Have you guys with the arcing error tried loosening the socket a little bit, so it can travel with small bumps of the battery pack?

 

[youth]

My battery was already exhibitng this melting wear before I heard about doing that to fix power cuts.

 

[Macc]

My 12.8 battery on an original CC suffers from melting around the terminal, but it's still functional. It's definitely arcing likely from vibrations that cause it to momentarily lose connection, but not long enough to trigger an error. A few weeks ago I was experiencing brief power losses & the connector lock ring on the battery had worked itself loose. One thing I've done to combat this is to wrap a zip tie just tight enough near the connectors to pull the battery down, but with enough slack I can slide it off when I need to remove the battery.

It the plastic is preventing a connection maybe you could carefully use a drill bit to scraped it off?

Thanks for the zip tie suggestion. I should have thought of that. I found that if I zip tie as tightly as possible and then give the battery a sharp rap on the right side of the battery it seems to make good contact. As a short term solution its fine but I'd hate to need to do it on a continuing basis. Perhaps large velcro straps would work as well but allow me to remove the battery easier.

As for the use of a drill bit I have my doubts. I tried using a Dremel brass brush and it had no effect on the melted and resolidified plastic. A micro flame might work, but the chance of doing even more damage is too great. Replacing the female connector seems the best choice, but it seems Juiced doesn't replace that part or provide it to its customers.

 

[Macc]

Have you guys with the arcing error tried loosening the socket a little bit, so it can travel with small bumps of the battery pack?

I haven't tried that yet, but it could help. The connector on the bike is already in a housing that floats to some degree. Also, I haven't been able to find a tool that fits. There isn't enough clearance to use a regular socket in a socket wrench (the socket wall is too thick). Any suggestions as to where to find an appropriate tool?

 

[Justin Fischer]

I haven't tried that yet, but it could help. The connector on the bike is already in a housing that floats to some degree. Also, I haven't been able to find a tool that fits. There isn't enough clearance to use a regular socket in a socket wrench (the socket wall is too thick). Any suggestions as to where to find an appropriate tool?

I used a 15/16th socket and hand loosened it yesterday. They are not on tightly.

 

[Macc]

I used a 15/16th socket and hand loosened it yesterday. They are not on tightly.

Thanks. I'll give it a try the next time I remove the battery from the bike.

 

[Asher]

Has the rear axle nut remover tool EVER been in stock in 2018? Every time I've checked it hasn't been.

I believe someone had a working alternative, if you know please suggest.

Also, any ideas of how to reduce rack rattle when going over bumps? I don't think there's anything wrong but I wonder if I could slip a pad somewhere to reduce it.

 

[Rob02150]

Has the rear axle nut remover tool EVER been in stock in 2018? Every time I've checked it hasn't been.

I believe someone had a working alternative, if you know please suggest.

Also, any ideas of how to reduce rack rattle when going over bumps? I don't think there's anything wrong but I wonder if I could slip a pad somewhere to reduce it.

I've been using a regular 18 mm offset wrench for a couple years now. It works just fine. You don't need a special tool from Juiced.

 

[ADKer]

I also get a "rattle", even when I take one hand off the handlebar when riding on smooth pavement; but It's coming from the front end / related to the fender? Everything seems "tightened" when i check at a stop-yet the rattle persists over small bumps and one-handed.......

 

[KAM1952]

Has the rear axle nut remover tool EVER been in stock in 2018? Every time I've checked it hasn't been.

I believe someone had a working alternative, if you know please suggest.

Also, any ideas of how to reduce rack rattle when going over bumps? I don't think there's anything wrong but I wonder if I could slip a pad somewhere to reduce it.

If you want the nut remover try calling customer service, I did. it was listed as out of stock but they had it, I didn't have any off set wrench so I bought the Juiced Tool for what a wrench would have cost me. My son has a Juiced also used it to change worn out rear tire,which is not that bad of a job, not a quick release but do-able it you can take off nuts and put them back on.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I also get a "rattle", even when I take one hand off the handlebar when riding on smooth pavement; but It's coming from the front end / related to the fender? Everything seems "tightened" when i check at a stop-yet the rattle persists over small bumps and one-handed.......

More than likely, it's the fender. Do a search in this subforum, there have been some great posts on how to fix it.

 

[Jeffrios]

I've been using a regular 18 mm offset wrench for a couple years now. It works just fine. You don't need a special tool from Juiced.

I had a rear flat and this tool was very difficult for me to find. I eventually found one at Harbor Freight (It was a socket set) Mills Fleet Farm had them but was out of stock of the 18 mm when I went there. Figures.

 

[Jimo096]

Hello, I'm not sure about going tubeless. I would keep the same rim and spend the money on a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire.

I disagree. These wheels are junk. I have two Cross Current S bikes. Upon arrival the rear wheels were so out of true that they rubbed on the fenders. I trued the wheels myself. Some spokes were overly tight while others were loose. I have ridden about 200 miles with no broken spokes. If I were to upgrade I would go with much better tubeless rims and DT spokes.

 

[Asher]

I disagree. These wheels are junk. I have two Cross Current S bikes. Upon arrival the rear wheels were so out of true that they rubbed on the fenders. I trued the wheels myself. Some spokes were overly tight while others were loose. I have ridden about 200 miles with no broken spokes. If I were to upgrade I would go with much better tubeless rims and DT spokes.

Now that Juiced has split it's CCS into basic and premium editions, it would make sense to upgrade some of the mechanical bits on the premium, but no such luck. Juiced seems pretty intent on using bottom of the barrel mechanical parts besides the hydraulic brakes (which are really required anyway for a class 3 ebike). Would be nice to see a 10 speed and stock tubeless set up with tubeless easy Schwalbes. (Ie not the Marathon Plus).

 

[Bruce Arnold]

You have two bikes with wheels that were poorly trued and you say "these wheels are junk." This means "all wheels on all CCS bikes." You have no basis for saying this.

First off, two is not a useful sample size.

Second, given the information you've given us, it seems as likely if not more so that the problem is quality control on the assembly end, not whether the wheels themselves are poorly manufactured.

There are many of us who have received bikes from Juiced with properly trued wheels. I've got nearly 2,000 miles on mine with no problems. I'm just glad the original spokes were replaced with the Sapim spokes, so that I'm not having the problems with breakage that many early adopters had.

This is not a defense of Juiced Bikes. This is a defense of accuracy. You've got to have better data to support your claim.

 

[Armchair]

Does the motor require any maintenance? I'm about to hit 1000 miles and couldn't find any recommended maintenance docs on the Juiced website.

 

[Asher]

Does the motor require any maintenance? I'm about to hit 1000 miles and couldn't find any recommended maintenance docs on the Juiced website.

I haven't heard of any. For the electrical stuff, it seems like there's no conventional maintenance. Just keep it shielded from sun, rain, snow and extreme temps.

 

[Justin Fischer]

My wheels were very untrue when I unboxed my CCS, but my LBS fixed that cheaply and quickly. It's a problem I would expect of any prebuilt bike. Since then they've been fine. My brake pads rubbed the rotors a little on arrival as well, easily fixed in a few minutes by myself. Other than that, I've had no problems the first 350 miles

 

[Asher]

I spoke to a local ebike shop owner who has serviced many Juiced bikes, and known Tora, especially when Juiced had a retail presence where he formerly worked.

He said older bikes would have electrical problems because the controller and motor were too powerful for the battery, but now that the battery is bigger and more powerful, there's no issue.

He said he also hasn't seen any issues on my model, the CCS with upgraded spokes (received April '18).

I've put down some 1300 miles with no issues besides occasional brake rub.