New CCX - Love it

[CCXCommuter]

On Friday, I received my new CCX. At my first chance on saturday, I got to work on it. Out of the box the only issue I had was the rear fender was rubbing, but that didn't take too much to fix. The front wheel has an ever so slight wobble, but it is hardly noticeable at all. Everything seemed tight and well put together. After assembling and charging the battery I took it out for a couple mile spin and as it is the first ebike I have ever ridden was blown away by it. I could easily push the bike into the upper 20s mph in eco mode.

I'm completely hooked on electric power assist. I'm convinced it is how bikes should have been invented. After the first spin, I hooked up my son's bike trailer and took him for a 10 mile ride, mostly in eco or 1. The weather was cold, in the 30's with snow flurries, but the bike did great and he loved it (he's two but is really excited by bikes). Sunday, the temp was hovering about 30 degrees, with more snow flurries and gusty winds, but we braved the 11 mile round trip to church and he had a blast. On the way home, the winds were gusting 20-30 miles an hour in a nasty headwind, and I ended up in level 3 often to maintain speed. I'm sure the bike trailer didn't help at all. In total, we rode about 22.5 miles this weekend, all but about 2.5 miles with the bike trailer and my 30lb son, in cold weather and used about 50% battery, maybe a little less. Except in heavy wind, I typically was doing 15-20mph with the trailer attached.

I am thoroughly happy with my purchase. I am intending to use the bike as a primary means of transport, with a daily round trip commute of 44 miles.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Glad your maiden voyages went so well! How cool that your son is excited about this stuff.

 

[CCXCommuter]

I have made it out for almost 200 miles now, 50/50 split with and without the trailer. Only issue I have had was the little screw holding the adjustable kickstand piece on fell out on a 30 mile ride and I have had to make a temporary fix so the kickstand is usable. I'll try to get a new set screw from Juiced. I have been able to use the bike for commuting to work twice so far, before bad weather and sickness made me forgo it for the car. Its a 46 mile round trip commute and I averaged about 23 mph for all but the last ride home when I had a nasty headwind gusting to 28mph. I really fought it out on that ride even in level 3 assist. Getting ready for a 20 mile ride now with my son so we can get some sun together before rain and snow return tomorrow.

 

[CCXCommuter]

Our ride turned into 37 miles round trip with my odometer at 232 miles traveled since i got the bike two weeks ago. My son and I had a blast - we went to a local park and played on the playground, pizza buffet at a local restaurant, and visited some friends before going home. For being only two, my son does so well in the trailer, I am amazed. He just loves to ride.

One other thing I have found that I need to find a solution for is that the bike seating position makes me lean forward more on my hands than I am used to with my old bike. After about 20 miles, I can feel the extra strain on my wrists and sometimes my fingers would tingle a little. I'll try to do some experimenting to see if I can find a way to reduce the weight on my arms. Today, the sun is gone with lots of rain, forecasted to become snow by tonight. Glad we got our ride in while the weather was sunny.

 

[SirJonathan]

Our ride turned into 37 miles round trip with my odometer at 232 miles traveled since i got the bike two weeks ago. My son and I had a blast - we went to a local park and played on the playground, pizza buffet at a local restaurant, and visited some friends before going home. For being only two, my son does so well in the trailer, I am amazed. He just loves to ride.

One other thing I have found that I need to find a solution for is that the bike seating position makes me lean forward more on my hands than I am used to with my old bike. After about 20 miles, I can feel the extra strain on my wrists and sometimes my fingers would tingle a little. I'll try to do some experimenting to see if I can find a way to reduce the weight on my arms. Today, the sun is gone with lots of rain, forecasted to become snow by tonight. Glad we got our ride in while the weather was sunny.

Jones H-Bar takes care of that. I've been considering one for quite a while now. Still haven't pulled the trigger on it.

 

[CCXCommuter]

Jones H-Bar takes care of that.

I found a post just a bit ago with someone describing the same problem and links to the bar he bought off Amazon to solve it. I ordered a new bar already so will see how it rides in the future. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm glad to know its not just a defect with my wrists....

 

[KLee]

I found a post just a bit ago with someone describing the same problem and links to the bar he bought off Amazon to solve it. I ordered a new bar already so will see how it rides in the future. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm glad to know its not just a defect with my wrists....

Yes, a moustache style handlebar that is slightly swept back solved the same issue I was experiencing. I also installed a 45 degree stem to raise the handlebar height perfectly. The bar grips fit perfectly. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072347G4M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Merc]

Here’s my Jones. It has a 2 1/2 inch rise and is swept back.

 

[CCXCommuter]

Yes, a moustache style handlebar that is slightly swept back solved the same issue I was experiencing. I also installed a 45 degree stem to raise the handlebar height perfectly. The bar grips fit perfectly. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072347G4M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That is the one I purchased. Thanks for the Link! I also got the riser stem. Since I plan to be spending a minimum of 230 miles a week on my bike once the weather evens out, I need it to be a little more comfortable. I also put on a memory foam seat cover that worked wonders for the long distance rides.

 

[LikeThompson]

After the first spin, I hooked up my son's bike trailer and took him for a 10 mile ride

CCXCommuter,
Did you have any trouble attaching your trailer hitch? I'm seriously considering a CrossCurrent as my next commuter bike but I sometimes have a significant load to transport. Since it won't fit on the rear rack, I would like to use a trailer that attaches to the rear axle and I haven't been able to tell from pictures if it will work. Would a hitch like the one below fit on one of these bikes?

 

[CCXCommuter]

No, I didn't have any trouble. I would take a picture of my hitch, which is slightly different than the one you have pictured, but I don't have a camera at the moment that works for closeups.

I have pulled my trailer probably around 200 miles now, no trouble (besides a flat on the trailer, but that wasn't hitch related. I upgraded to slime brand self sealing inner tubes for the trailer to avoid on the go flats). Max I have put in it though is probably 40 lbs. It is rated for 100-112lbs I think.

I have ridden in total about 450 miles on the bike since the end of march, and still love it. This last week has had a run of lousy weather which has kept me in my car but forecasts show this week turning nice so I will get back out and ride again. On nice weekends, my son and I usually ride between 30 and 35 miles.

 

[LikeThompson]

How does the bike handle going up hills with your son in the trailer behind? Is there enough torque for pulling a load up hill? I have a couple short but steep hills on my commute.

I haven't found a spec for the torque rating anywhere and I understand hub motors are not as good at pulling as mid-drives are.

 

[CCXCommuter]

I haven't had any trouble, even on fairly steep hills around me. It will slow down, but I will often still do 15-18 mph up hills pulling the trailer. The trailer use does reduce the range, especially if there is a headwind. For extra boost, you can always switch into sport mode. I did that only one time when I was in a hurry and the wattage went up to almost 1000w. I guess though that that is technically not what you are supposed to do on public roads.

 

[CCXCommuter]

At 469 miles, I got my first flat (ran over a stiff wire, about 1 and a half inches long). It was a bit of trouble finding the right tube for the bike. I finally settled on a Bontrager 700c 35-44 that I found at the local bike shop. The tube in the bike was a Kendal 45, the wheel specs 47. Most 700c tubes are for thinner road tires it seemed. It was the rear wheel that went flat, so it was fun changing it but everything worked ok after I got it back together. More bad weather rolling through so I don't know when I will get to do much riding. Forecast for today is winds gusting to 40 mph, severe storms with large hail, damaging winds and heavy rain.... I did some additional work to the bike. I changed out the riser and handlebars with the ones mentioned above. Not perfect, but definitely more comfortable. I moved the tail light on to the rear basket I installed so it is now easily accessible. I redid the kickstand since the plastic extension fell off on a long ride. Bike is in great shape now.

 

[DDBB]

I feel your pain regarding the weather.. We bought our e-bikes last October and the weather quickly turned bitter cold and wet. Even dressed for it, we froze and then the roads were icy so the bikes didn't get ridden until April.. We've had the coldest spring in many years here in N. Michigan so we haven't ridden as much as we've wanted to after looking forward to it all winter. I'm quite sure the neighbors are sick of seeing my ride around the block a dozen times a day LOL

 

[CCXCommuter]

I'm quite sure the neighbors are sick of seeing my ride around the block a dozen times a day LOL

Haha, I am sure. At least for me, getting an ebike just made riding so fun and relaxing that the bad weather makes me feel too cooped up... Thankfully, the rain held off for today so far and I was able to ride a few miles. Sitting at 490 on odometer - 10 more to my first 500.

I took my son on a spin through a subdivision and he knocked out for a much needed nap - still contentedly sleeping while I am writing this.

Would a hitch like the one below fit on one of these bikes?

I was able to get a picture of my hitch today, not sure if that is helpful or not.

 

[CCXCommuter]

Well, I finally had an issue with something important on the bike. My throttle quit working the other day on a roughly 30 mile ride. I only use it for acceleration from intersections or when passing something slower than me - otherwise, peddle assist only. So it only gets used rarely. It cut out for about a second when passing a horse and buggy (Amish) and then reengaged. At the next intersection it wouldn't work at all. Since Saturday, I have ridden about 125 miles and I found that it would randomly work - but when it did work I had a new problem. It wouldn't fully disengage when it was not being used. So if I stopped the bike, and released the brakes, it would act like it was in walk mode and try to roll forward. I am currently at 713 miles on the odometer. As of right now, it is not working at all.

I checked all my connections, made sure there were no pinched wires, restarted the bike, removed the battery and reinstalled it, but nothing worked to fix this. So I have contacted juiced to see what they have to say.

Otherwise, still love this bike. I am seriously considering a suspension seat post though to ease the bumps as the roads here are nearly as bad as the roads I used to ride in Africa....

 

[youth]

Otherwise, still love this bike. I am seriously considering a suspension seat post though to ease the bumps as the roads here are nearly as bad as the roads I used to ride in Africa....

No brainer a suspension seatpost make a significant difference in comfort. Satori & Suntour make the best bang for buck models at under $100.

I'm at 6 months & around 3400 miles on my CCX & recently notice possible cracks at the spokes holes on the rim on the rear wheel. I kind of expect this with my usage, but not so soon especially with the news wheels using a higher gauge spoke thus less tension.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Well, I finally had an issue with something important on the bike. My throttle quit working the other day on a roughly 30 mile ride. I only use it for acceleration from intersections or when passing something slower than me - otherwise, peddle assist only. So it only gets used rarely. It cut out for about a second when passing a horse and buggy (Amish) and then reengaged. At the next intersection it wouldn't work at all. Since Saturday, I have ridden about 125 miles and I found that it would randomly work - but when it did work I had a new problem. It wouldn't fully disengage when it was not being used. So if I stopped the bike, and released the brakes, it would act like it was in walk mode and try to roll forward. I am currently at 713 miles on the odometer. As of right now, it is not working at all.

I checked all my connections, made sure there were no pinched wires, restarted the bike, removed the battery and reinstalled it, but nothing worked to fix this. So I have contacted juiced to see what they have to say.

Let us know what Juiced says. I'm guessing they send you a new throttle.

 

[ctbaz]

Here’s my Jones. It has a 2 1/2 inch rise and is swept back.

Which bar is that? I am looking at getting one but don't know which on on their site to get.