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

[BlueRidgeBoy]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, @Dunbar and &PeteH! My rear wheel has been making all sorts of unholy sounds and feeling like it wants to seize. After much time and tinkering, I’m convinced it’s something in the hub itself - maybe the clutch/gearing mechanism in that video. Unfortunately I can’t reproduce the sound on a stand (as Juiced requested i do for warranty), only under load while riding. Juiced has made it clear that if I crack open the hub, it voids the warranty. But I’m just about at the point where I’ll try anything. Just so I’m clear, the motor is Bafang SWX02. Do you know what the gear mechanism is? I have a RipCurrent. Thanks friends.

Update on my RipCurrent rear wheel issue:

Juiced had me send in my entire rear wheel/hub assembly plus the controller, for diagnosis and repair. The downsides: I had to learn how to almost completely disassemble the electronics of my bike (which is maybe an upside too?), and my bike was out of commission for over two months. The upsides: Juiced sent me a new wheel/hub and controller, under warranty (thank you @Juiced). I’m back in operation!

No real words of wisdom or moral to the story. I’ll probably never figure out why my hub motor failed, though that’s clearly what happened. I have a theory, which you can take or leave: I had gotten in the somewhat lazy habit of treating my bike like a single speed and keeping it in top (9th) gear, and just cranking on the uphills (low cadence, high torque). I’ve read in some places that much like lugging a car engine at slow speeds in too high a gear, this can cause premature wear and tear on the electric motor. Who knows if this was the case for me, but I think I’ll go back to using the full gear band from now on!

Happy trails and Happy Holidays—

 

[Explorer-1]

Thanks for the update; It's good to hear that Juiced helped out and backed their warranty. Yes I wish one did not need to be a bike mechanic to own an e;ectricd bike. Even if purchasing from a LBS your bike can be in the shop for a long time for the smallest of issues, and quality of repair is still a question. It seems to really depend on your location. If you don't have other transportation it may not be easy to get your bike to a shop, and there may not be mobile service available.