To "Juice" or not ?

[JohnJ]

Really like the CCX. Lots of functionality at a reasonable price. A variety of colors and they have been around a bit longer than most on-line e-Bike companies.....

BUT

Straps to hold on the battery; swapping out the controller; saran wrap to keep the battery dry; misaligned/broken battery electrical connections; broken spokes; dropped chain; bad software, and I probably missed a few things. I don't expect to buy a new bike as a 'fixer-upper'.

SO

Is what I'm reading the current state of the CCX (and maybe Juiced bikes in general) or are these really points off the curve for repair issues. I hear good as well as bad customer support as well. Would really want to like (and order a CCX) but these issues scare the heck out of me!

Please give me your input .... the good and the bad on this. Would really appreciate some feedback and thoughts on quality and product support. The bike itself seems solid.

 

[2wheeler]

My spokes are fine, batt is held on tightly, electrical contacts are fine, controller is working properly. At $2500 vs $6000 for an = bike I'm a happy camper. Did you read about the latest recall of brand new cars, there's been a lot lately. Would you say a $50,000 brand new Ford F=150 is a fixer upper?

 

[BrianMura]

Are you willing to pay the 20% restocking fee? Or spend time with customer support?

You could end up in this situation. Plan accordingly.

 

[SirJonathan]

Mine has been great. I had to swap out the controller for the one with the proper CCX firmware. It was a learning experience and my bike performs perfectly. No broken spokes. No battery connection issues. No water problems.

But -

I'm 150 pounds. I don't ride when it rains and I live in Southern California where it very rarely rains. CCX has a chain catcher when delivered and I have never had a chain drop. This is not a fixer upper - for me.

Be certain that if problems crop up I'll post about them here. Juiced support has been great. I ordered the bike and received it a couple of days later. I put in a support ticket for the CCX controller and 6 days later I was done with the swap out. They always send email confirmations and ask about their support after the fact.

I live an hour from them and that factored into my decision. This bike is powerful and the battery range is just incredible. I really enjoy biking again and can't wait for those spring and summer nights when it's 80F and you can just hop on the bike with a t-shirt and shorts. I did that the other day intending to go for a nice evening 5 mile ride. 25 miles later I was home.

It is true the eBiking is still exercise and that it allows you to go farther, faster, and enjoy the hell out of bikes again.

 

[SteveT17]

I bought the CCS last September.

I live in Argentina and had to import the bike. The bike is perfevt for city commuting in Buenos Aires where we have over 200km (124 mi) of dedicated and separated bicycle lanes. I use the bike in all weather. There are thunder storms which roll in and the rain can be pretty heavy.

One of the main reasons I settled on Juiced was the battery pack and milage one can get. I get around 100 km, ( 62 mi), fom a 60% use, keeping the battery levels, roughly, between 25 to 80 percent.

I had a problem where the rear hub motor had a loud clicking noise. Juiced were fantastic with their support and replaced the rear wheel, completely.

The chain seems to jump off the chainwheel quite easily. I have had it at the bike service shop where they have tested the tension and adjusted the rear derailer but this is still occurring, over bumps.

Other than these, I love the bike and I am enjoying the way to commute. Also, another bones is that using the bike saves me around US$ 8 to 9 per day, as this what a cab would cost.

I hope these comments are helpful.

Greetings from Argentina

 

[andyraf]

I'm one of the people who reported issues, but would definitely do it again. Juiced fixed every issue I reported, so the only downside was the hassle of having to replace the controller myself. If I had to grade them, it would probably look something like this:

Product support: A. Their support people were very helpful, always got back to me very quickly, and never gave me any difficulty about getting replacement parts.

Engineering: A-. The overall design seems well put together and looks good, and the combination of a big 52V battery, decent hub motor, and torque-sensor makes it really comfortable and easy to ride. For the most part, the components are reasonably high quality and well spec'd for the price point.

Manufacturing Quality: B. Let's face facts: This bike is built by a contract manufacturer in China using fairly generic components. A lot of the work is done manually (no highly automated robots), quality control is not super great, and there are tight production schedules. You're also buying over the internet without a local bike shop doing the prep/checkout. You should expect that there may be one or two things wrong, although most likely they will be minor adjustment issues (bolts under/over torqued, brakes needing adjustment, wheels not quite true). You might have to do a little work yourself or bring it into a bike shop.

 

[JohnJ]

I have heard that the 'fix' for the battery connection problem (shorting, degradation of the connection that some have fixed with straps) is that Juiced fixed this with a replacement battery since the 'connection' failure was with the battery connection. Is this true? If so kudos to Juiced.

 

[SirJonathan]

I have heard that the 'fix' for the battery connection problem (shorting, degradation of the connection that some have fixed with straps) is that Juiced fixed this with a replacement battery since the 'connection' failure was with the battery connection. Is this true? If so kudos to Juiced.

That might have been one or two bikes. I certainly haven't read or seen any communications from Juiced about this fact. My battery connection is simply solid. It clicks in place and stays in place. I'm removing it from the bike after around 500 miles and will check the contacts for degradation. I've only removed the battery from the bike a couple times total since I charge with the battery on the bike.

 

[JohnJ]

That might have been one or two bikes. I certainly haven't read or seen any communications from Juiced about this fact. My battery connection is simply solid. It clicks in place and stays in place. I'm removing it from the bike after around 500 miles and will check the contacts for degradation. I've only removed the battery from the bike a couple times total since I charge with the battery on the bike.

SirJonathan: Please keep us posted as to what you find when you take the battery off. How long have you had the bike? CCX? How do you like it?

 

[BrianMura]

New review on https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/crosscurrent-x by Christen Thompson on 1/29:

"Only downside I had was the first battery they sent me had connection issues, but once they sent me a replacement everything was golden."

 

[SirJonathan]

Kudos for them putting that up there on their site. Makes me think they aren't cherry-picking reviews. I'd love to know more about the connection issue from that post. Was it intermittent or did it flat out not connect?

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I've had my CCS for over a year. No problems with battery, spokes, motor, etc.

Part of the value of this forum is that we can talk about and learn from problems that come up.

But it doesn't provide a representative sample from which you could come to more general conclusions.

If you're risk averse (that's not a slam BTW, it's one way of interacting with an uncertain world), don't buy online from anyone, not just Juiced.

My wife has a Pedego. She loves it, and the after sales support has been fantastic. We stop by their shop sometimes just to hang out with those guys.

 

[bikerjohn]

CCX is a fantastic E-bike. Juiced Bikes is a great company. They have a quick response customer service department. Tora Harris' is hitting it out of the park!

 

[Chris Hammond]

I own a CCS. I have put 5000 miles on it since May. Only problem I have had was a failed rear tail light. Juiced replace under warranty. Love the bike, rides as solid now as the first day. I would happily buy again.

 

[JohnJ]

So the CCX (and CCS I believe) does not have a USB port. Tora's corporate philosophy is not to have them due to adverse electrical issues which he has explained.

Does going without a USB port an issue for you and does it affect your use of the bike, for example, navigation apps on a cell, Garmin devices, etc. etc. Do you take other sources of power for devices, or are other devices even necessary?

So is a USB port really necessary, I guess is my question?

 

[SirJonathan]

Never would even consider it for my type of riding. My iPhone 8 is always with me but in a pocket. My Garmin Edge 130 has GPS and all the stats I would ever need and uses like 10% of its battery during a 40 mile ride. I have no need for a USB port on the bike. If I did I'd just buy a $15 Anker portable charger from Amazon and mount it somewhere. It can charge my iPhone 8 almost three times from 0-100% on a single charge.

 

[linklemming]

Never would even consider it for my type of riding.

Same here, when I ride I want to be disconnected from the electronic world. I do use a garmin edge 25 to log ride/HR statistics which lasts a LONG time.

My Bulls eMTB has a USB port but I have never used it.

I keep my Android phone in my camelback and use it to stream podcasts to bluetooth headphones. If the phone battery is too low, I just enjoy the experience without it.

Getting back to the original questions:

As bruce has mentioned, nothing wrong with going with a bike that has good local/LBS support. Nothing wrong with Trek, Specialized, Pedego or any other brand supported by a LBS. I originally bought a Buils ebike from a LBS specifically for the support as I wasnt sure what to expect. Im more of a DIY type but went this way for my first ebike. Shop around

IMHO, For the price, juiced cant be beat for a low cost torque sensor equipped speed pedelec. For the best price, go with the CCS, if you want range, the CCX has the biggest battery I could find.

I bought a CCX for christmas

Spoke issues: the rear wheel after 3 rides was more out of true than I would have expected. Simply tightening 3-4 spokes about 1/4-1/2 turn trued it right up.
Chain dropping: Can be an issue with any setup where the chain isnt captured at the front (as in a front derailler). My CCX has a chain catcher which appears to be fine.
Firmware: Shame on Juiced for this but they are supporting easy replacement. Im using a 42t front chainring so I max out about 28mph anyways so I see no need to update my setup and R mode just doesnt apply to me.
Battery Connection Issues: Good to see Brians issues possibly fixed. I try to keep the battery connected as much as possible to limit mate/demate cycles( same as on my Bulls)

 

[JohnJ]

Interesting perspective on the USB port since most bike companies tout that they have one.

In any event, I am down to considering the Juiced CCX and the iZip Moda (Raleigh Redeux) step thru. My big reservation about the CCX is the step over height of 29 inches for the smallest (medium) CCX version. I am 5'7" active senior. No LBS for either bike so will have to go native for support, which is a small consideration with a high-tech CCX.

I have come a long way in even considering Juiced because of past tech and customer support issues. This forum has helped a lot in turning around my views. Great input from Y'all. Thanks!

 

[BrianMura]

I have come a long way in even considering Juiced because of past tech and customer support issues. This forum has helped a lot in turning around my views. Great input from Y'all. Thanks!

::facepalm:: Hahaha, nobody can withstand the allure of Juiced Bikes! Welcome aboard, @JohnJ !

Also, I don't need the USB at all. I try to disconnect like @linklemming. I feel already nervous looking down at the display when I am going 20+ mph, so having more gadgetry would be dangerous... Luckily, the CCX is fast, so I can turn around quickly and zoom back after going down the wrong path.

 

[bikerjohn]

::facepalm:: Hahaha, nobody can withstand the allure of Juiced Bikes! Welcome aboard, @JohnJ !

Also, I don't need the USB at all. I try to disconnect like @linklemming. I feel already nervous looking down at the display when I am going 20+ mph, so having more gadgetry would be dangerous... Luckily, the CCX is fast, so I can turn around quickly and zoom back after going down the wrong path.

OR, an inexpensive Garmin unit, transferable from bike to bike, that can show you which way to go, where you went, with enough stats to justify any adventure.

Interesting perspective on the USB port since most bike companies tout that they have one.
In any event, I am down to considering the Juiced CCX and the iZip Moda (Raleigh Redeux) step thru. My big reservation about the CCX is the step over height of 29 inches for the smallest (medium) CCX version. I am 5'7" active senior..!

My 65 year old physique has lost an inch and a half of height over the years. Weighing in at 230-240 lb and 68.5 inches tall the Medium frame CCX fits just fine. Having had a previous e-bike with a step thru frame I found the rigidity of a traditional step-over/diamond frame to be a more appropriate durable design for an e-bike.