Report of my first 4000 miles on a CCS (also my first 5 months of owning it)

Why did the rim and spokes need a rebuild? Figured with disc brakes the rims would last a while.

I weigh around 195 & ride in sport probably 70% & 3 30%. Alot of the time I do ride hard in those modes & the streets here are a mess in some areas.

Rim was developing cracks at the spoke holes. I pretty much rode it to the point that several spots were bulging & one pulled out with a little tug. This was a gen 1 wheel with 12g spokes which required alot of tension. One reason I had the shop rebuild with 13/14 spokes.

I am still on the original front wheel though & that one has misdrilled holes in the inside! The rims aren't the best quailty.
 
I weigh around 195 & ride in sport probably 70% & 3 30%. Alot of the time I do ride hard in those modes & the streets here are a mess in some areas.

Rim was developing cracks at the spoke holes. I pretty much rode it to the point that several spots were bulging & one pulled out with a little tug. This was a gen 1 wheel with 12g spokes which required alot of tension. One reason I had the shop rebuild with 13/14 spokes.

I am still on the original front wheel though & that one has misdrilled holes in the inside! The rims aren't the best quailty.


Ah thanks. Sounds like you were a little hard on the bike but nothing extreme.

I think you have your spoke gauges reversed - smaller means thicker gauge. In any case, hopefully the rims themselves are durable.
 
So I crossed the 3000 mile mark this week. (Between summer vacations and smoky air, my amount of time on the bike is lower than average).
My bike continues to be very solid and trouble free. I am commuting in level 3 or S for the majority of my commute. I do generally drop the assist when stopped and pedal up to speed from Eco and titrate up the assist as my speed increases; usually don't hit level 3 until ~ 25 mph. I do this for 3 reasons; less draw on the battery, less wear/ load on the motor, and better exercise for me. S mode generally gets used when climbing hills or into headwinds. There is essentially zero difference between 3 or S above 30 mph. The bike will not provide more than ~650 W of assistance unless the battery is at higher charge state (at least 80% on my 52V pack).
I have not noticed anything to lead me to think my motor wear is a problem. I would be surprised if it needed anything in the first 10K miles.
I still love the bike.
I did order a tire to have available when I need to replace the rear on my bike. I still think I will probably get another ~2K miles on it before then, but I don't want to be without my bike if it unexpectedly needs urgent replacement. (Tire I went with is the this Continental Contact Plus (Link Removed - No Longer Exists)). Hopefully I won't have any problems making it tubeless.
My power use has trended upwards, (directly associated with my use of higher assist levels and higher speeds). I am averaging ~ 575 Wh on each leg of my 30 mile commute with power use range between 500 to 680 Wh, based primarily on wind direction and wind speed. I am in the habit of checking windfinder.com daily to see what my commute home will be like in that regard. If I am going to experience a big headwind for my ride, I will increase my battery charge up to ~90% or so. I still have only fully charged the battery 3 times since I bought the bike.
 
Thank you for your observations, much appreciated :). Sorry to hear about the smoke.

I wonder if the motor rated at 750W on the CCX isn't really any different, it's just the higher voltage amps up the wattage a bit
 
Thank you for your observations, much appreciated :). Sorry to hear about the smoke.

I wonder if the motor rated at 750W on the CCX isn't really any different, it's just the higher voltage amps up the wattage a bit
That is my guess as well. I will look forward to hearing reports from CCX owners once it is available. If the new controller makes a significant difference in top end performance, I would be willing to upgrade.
 
That is my guess as well. I will look forward to hearing reports from CCX owners once it is available. If the new controller makes a significant difference in top end performance, I would be willing to upgrade.

I'm hoping they make it upgradable. If you look at the specifications for the CCX, under the frame area, it mentioned it has the pass through for the wires feature. I'm not too sure if this makes the bottom area a little bit wider. If so that may mean the controller has more room. This CCX controller may be too big for the CCS. I'm not too sure though. I hope not.
 
I'm over 10k on a replacement wheel received 3/30/17 which was then rebuilt this April with a new rim/spokes. Hoping I can get at least another year out of it because the rebuild cost $250. The freehub is worn a bit evident from the brown crap flowing out after spraying WD40 in it, but it's still works.

The original wheel lasted 10 months/ 6k miles before what sounded like internal gear issues.

Does anyone have an aftermarket source for a new motor?

Did you have to get the rear wheel rebuilt, and did you order a replacement rim from Juiced or find another option? My rear wheel developed a crack about a month ago. I had the rim trued up and it lasted about a month and is out of alignment again. It looks like the crack is bigger now and probably not worth trying to true up again.
 
Did you have to get the rear wheel rebuilt, and did you order a replacement rim from Juiced or find another option?

I let the shop choose & he went with a Cliffhanger rim by Velocity. http://store.velocityusa.com/p/cliffhanger-27-5/rims_tandem?pp=12

I did have 3 spokes break at the nipple on this rebuild (lacing pattern mechanic chose puts them at a hard angle at the rim), but the last one was about 2 months ago. Probably wheel needs to be rechecked for tension after some miles. The spoke breakage on my original wheel was at the spoke bends.
 
I let the shop choose & he went with a Cliffhanger rim by Velocity. http://store.velocityusa.com/p/cliffhanger-27-5/rims_tandem?pp=12

I did have 3 spokes break at the nipple on this rebuild (lacing pattern mechanic chose puts them at a hard angle at the rim), but the last one was about 2 months ago. Probably wheel needs to be rechecked for tension after some miles. The spoke breakage on my original wheel was at the spoke bends.
Thanks, I just took my bike to the local bike shop, and they actually referred me to a different one. I'm going to wait to see if there's anything Juiced CS will do or recommend.
 
Thanks so much Chris for the regular updates! Super helpful.

I'm still waffling a bit, mostly as I continue to figure out how often I'll be able to commute given the odd and demanding hours of residency training.

With the CCX being announced also have my eye on that. Appears the major differences are the 52V battery, marathon tires, 750W motor (although from my reading unclear this will make a significant difference in performance), and slightly heavier duty spokes. Any other major differences that you anticipate? The upgraded battery seems to be the most powerful argument for choosing the CCX over CCS.
 
I think the biggest difference between the 2 is the standard 52v battery, at least from a usability perspective. The extra voltage adds a nice performance advantage. From what I can tell the top speed is not going to be any different, I could be wrong. The extra amperage the controller can deliver will be noticed most in assist between 20-30 mph. You will be able to maintain higher cruising speeds with less effort, the tradeoff being more power used from the pack. The CCX is more capable overall, so it is the go to option now imho.
 
@Bruce Arnold, I believe another difference is that the the wiring is contained inside the frame rather than outside along the frame.

I’m new here and have been strongly considering the Cafe from Vintage Electric over a Stromer until I came across Juiced. I have several months to go before I make my purchase and at the moment the singular problem I keep hearing with Juiced has to do with customer service. That’s problematic, but then again I live in Los Angeles which has plenty of places that can service an ebike along with Velofix that will come to my home or work, as well as Juiced being merely a couple of hours away. I’m very excited to see the reviews of the CCX once it’s out.
 
@Bruce Arnold, I believe another difference is that the the wiring is contained inside the frame rather than outside along the frame
There are other differences between the CCS and the CCX. I was just mentioning the ones that matter to me.
 
I have several months to go before I make my purchase and at the moment the singular problem I keep hearing with Juiced has to do with customer service
The owner, Tora Harris, says they now have a fully staffed customer service department. If so, we can expect to see fewer complaints about that. It will never hit zero, of course. Some people would complain if you hung them with a new rope.
 
Ok. Thought it was time for an update. I hit 5 months of ownership today and I am at 3955 miles on the bike.
I am still love the bike. It continues to ride and perform like new. I am still charging to 80% nearly all the time. I have noticed the cold affecting range but it hasn't caused me to need to increase my charge threshold yet; I have had my voltage drop to ~47V by the end of a few of my commutes (headwinds plus cold temp), this is about 30% charge on my 52V pack. This mornings commute had low temp around 30 degrees. The bikes performance does begin to lag more noticeably at the 47V threshold, (display will read in the 45V range under load at this point.)
I am wondering if anyone has found a good fitting neoprene sleeve for the large format case on a CCS???? I am planning to continue commuting through the winter as long as there is not snow/ ice on the roads. I am guessing I will find a low temperature threshold that will keep me off the bike, but so far 30 degrees was fine and I am hoping I can tolerate down to the mid teens.
Another cold weather/ big feet related issue. I bought winter cycling shoes and have big feet. The new shoes were hitting my panniers on today's ride. I decided to adjust the rear rack back to create space. This turned into a PITA as the rear fender is attached to the rack and tilting it back caused the fender to hit the tire. The solution had me also raise the rack up 1cm. I also ended up flipping the rear light upside down as reaching the power button is very difficult with gloves and my panniers covering top of rack. Worked out well in the end.

As far as maintenance and repair goes: No repairs other than the original failed tail light that happened shortly after getting the bike and Juiced replaced under warranty.
Maintenance
I replaced my rear tire at ~3500 miles, used a Continental Contact Plus 700x47. I am very happy with it so far, rides great, wet traction seems good so far. I honestly don't see the difference between this tire and the Schwalbe Marathon Plus and the Conti is about 40% cheaper. The front tire looks good for at least 4000 more miles, we shall see.
Replaced both front and rear brake pads over the weekend at ~3875 miles. Front pad was nearly gone and rear was getting close. Brake performance has been great overall. The pad replacement did firm up the levers alot, which actually forced me to change my riding a bit. I had gotten into the habit of using the motor inhibitors to cut motor power when I didn't want it (the routine of my commute allows me to time traffic lights pretty well and there are a few where using motor power is just a waste as it would just force me to stop and wait at the light. At any rate, the new pads don't allow clearance to inhibit the motor without engaging the brake. (oh to have the CCX zero mode).
Everything else on the bike is original equipment other than my add ons.
Chain, cassette, chainring, are all in excellent shape. I do clean and lube regularly.
Derailleur, shifter, shock, etc, are all great as well.
My cheap chain catcher must work well, I almost never drop my chain, only time it has been an issue is when I am pushing the bike backwards in 1st gear, chain has come off a couple of times.

I still continue to ride in level 3 most of the time and am cruising at ~30 mph. Both me and the bike seem very happy at that speed. :D
 
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