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.
