Yet another CCX owner

[SirJonathan]

I took my CCX out three separate times today. I just love riding it. One thing I learned - it's VERY hard to ride with one hand! My son and I went to play basketball and I held the ball in my left hand. That meant no throttle. It was incredibly difficult to ride the CCX with a basketball! I was too lazy to pop a basket on the rack or look for our rack netting but I sure will next time! It's just a large heavy bike and control was a major issue.

 

[linklemming]

Awesome! That 52 V 19 Ah battery is the nazz!

Yes, totally agree, main reason I went with the CCX vs other s pedelecs with 500wh batteries.

Personally I just like mid-dives more being from a more MTB background, but I must admit, the CCX exceeded all my expectations. The hub drive is good enough for 80% of my rides and the range is AWESOME!

And its just such a rocket, Im happy just using assist level of 1, but crank it up to S and its amazing...I havnt even tried r mode yet

I liked my 52V TSDZ2(with opensource software) rigid hardtail MTB (94 GT zaskar) until I got the CCX. I will be selling that setup soon. Im actually considering the ripcurrent 52V

 

[SirJonathan]

"The hub drive is good enough for 80% of my rides and the range is AWESOME!"

Link - on what type of rides does it disappoint? Just curious. I haven't found any shortcomings in my limited rides. I took it up an extremely steep hill - one that I dread on my road bike because I have to gear all the way down and stand on the pedals - and the CCX took me up leisurely at 8 or 9 mph. It was exhilarating. I'm pretty light, though, and I could see if I weighed another 50-80 pounds it might have struggled a bit on that hill. And I have no idea about off-road capabilities. I'm on smooth bike paths and bike lanes on the road 100% of the time.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

"The hub drive is good enough for 80% of my rides and the range is AWESOME!"

Link - on what type of rides does it disappoint? Just curious. I haven't found any shortcomings in my limited rides. I took it up an extremely steep hill - one that I dread on my road bike because I have to gear all the way down and stand on the pedals - and the CCX took me up leisurely at 8 or 9 mph. It was exhilarating. I'm pretty light, though, and I could see if I weighed another 50-80 pounds it might have struggled a bit on that hill. And I have no idea about off-road capabilities. I'm on smooth bike paths and bike lanes on the road 100% of the time.

I definitely weigh more than you. What I've found is that the CCS does just fine with steeper hills if I get going faster before tackling them. Seems like the motor produces the most torque at or above 18 mph. So I get my speed and cadence up and it works pretty well. I haven't tried this on any really long, steep hills, so this gambit may be of limited value. Also, the CCX has a hotter controller than the CCS, so the sweet spot might start at slower speeds.

 

[linklemming]

"The hub drive is good enough for 80% of my rides and the range is AWESOME!"

Link - on what type of rides does it disappoint? Just curious. I haven't found any shortcomings in my limited rides. I took it up an extremely steep hill - one that I dread on my road bike because I have to gear all the way down and stand on the pedals - and the CCX took me up leisurely at 8 or 9 mph. It was exhilarating. I'm pretty light, though, and I could see if I weighed another 50-80 pounds it might have struggled a bit on that hill. And I have no idea about off-road capabilities. I'm on smooth bike paths and bike lanes on the road 100% of the time.

I never used the word dissapoint

Hard to say the exact grades on some of these rides but they are not doable with the lowest gear on the CCX even with a 42t front chainring.

I could always gear lower on the CCX but the Bulls eMTB with 28/38 chainrings and 11-42 cassette is a better tool for the job.

 

[jom]

I took my CCX out three separate times today. I just love riding it. One thing I learned - it's VERY hard to ride with one hand! My son and I went to play basketball and I held the ball in my left hand. That meant no throttle. It was incredibly difficult to ride the CCX with a basketball! I was too lazy to pop a basket on the rack or look for our rack netting but I sure will next time! It's just a large heavy bike and control was a major issue.

SirJonathan, you are not the only one. I found that riding with one hand, specially at low speed, is more difficult with the CCX than with other bikes. This is probably due to the weight on the front wheel, the stem angle and/or the "trail". It took me some time to "learn" this bike.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

SirJonathan, you are not the only one. I found that riding with one hand, specially at low speed, is more difficult with the CCX than with other bikes. This is probably due to the weight on the front wheel, the stem angle and/or the "trail". It took me some time to "learn" this bike.

Agreed. I'd like to have another degree or two of rake. I think it would improve stability, without making it significantly less nimble.

 

[linklemming]

Decided to brave high winds today since I havnt ridden in a few days due to snow on the trails and predicted snow tonight. Its actually fun riding in the snow (not on the CCX, tires are too narrow even with 2.2F and 2.0R) but cleanup afterwards is a pain, last good snow ride I did on the bulls required quite a cleanup afterwards. This ride was on a nice paved bikepath.

Temps were about 40F or so and wind was 20 gusting to 40 about 45 degrees off a head/tailwind.

The tailwind ride out was a breeze (pun intended), just decided to put in in S mode and ride at 28mph. I have it limited to 28mph and my gearing doesnt really allow much more speed anyway.

Coming back with headwind was pretty miserable, gusty winds coming from the rockies is always interesting, especially when you ride by gaps in buildings. Did alot of it in S mode but on some of the 4-6% uphills with headwind had me feeling like it might be too much for the motor so I set assist level at 3, slowing down at times to 12mph and I was putting in alot of effort.

So 22.8 miles, 915ft elevation change with average speed of 18.2mph, 532wh consumed at 23.2wh/mile (I usually average about 16).

On my bulls eMTB, Im using a salsa guide 400mm seatpost (stock was 350mm). On the CCX, I decided to try a ritchey comp link 400mm just to try something different and that was a mistake, while I have faith in ritchey products, I dont feel like this is a good design for a heavier rider like myself. So I will be getting another salsa guide post for the CCX.

Also starting to not like the seat anymore. Not getting numbness like many other seats but it seems to create a weird pressure point on my sitbones (never experienced this before). Probably going to order a WTB Volt Race like on my bulls or an Ergon SMC4 Sport.

I did notice the twitchiness of the front end when riding single handed. Reminds me of riding with a short stem back in the 90s when we ran really narrow bars. Im going to try a 90mm stem and see if it helps (I was going to do it anyways).

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Winds 20 gusting 40! Woo! They close bridges around here when the wind gets just a bit above that range!

 

[linklemming]

While riding today, I noticed that the fork lockout didnt seem to work anymore. I dont use it much but it just bugged me.

Here is a video I used to fix the issue. The 5mm tightening shown didnt seem to ever 'fully tighten' but I got it alot tighter than it was (it was super loose). Hows that for a technical description!

There is a black flush piece of plastic that needs to be raised when you try to remove the lockout cap which is not shown in the video(you basically remove them as a pair). Note the notation on this plastic flush piece when reinstalling the lockout cap (the fork will be locked out when you reinstall this cap)

 

[linklemming]

Well, so far about 500 miles on my CCX.

Lovely POWERFUL ebike, its what I ride when I just want to take it easy and go fast or just want to explore without range anxiety.

Been using continental racekings (2.2F/2.0R) for most of the 500 miles. While this tire excels on gravel, My recent purchase of an iZip Moda E3 with 2.4 supermoto tires has shown me that this type of tire works fine in gravel as long as I pick better (less gravely ) lines. I love the Moda but its more of a workout than the CCX (good or bad depending on your goals).

The stock marathon plus tires would likely work but I really want to run tire pressures around 45psi (as opposed to 60ish on the marathon plus tires) as its just more comfortable.

Just ordered some continental contact cruiser tires (2.2F/2.0R). Will provide riding impressions once I get them in a few days.

 

[BrianMura]

Congrats, @linklemming! I'm right behind you with 475 miles. I am still using the stock tires, since I have avoided taking off the rear title fro now...

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I have run the Marathon Pluses as low as 55 psi without problem.

 

[bikerjohn]

I continue to be very pleased to be a CCX owner! My commutes to work are as quick as I want to make them (Windchill forces moderation).
My 15th 2019 work commute: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3526228951
Since delivery: 374.5 trouble free miles.

 

[linklemming]

Since getting an iZip E3 Moda in March I was considering selling the CCX since I have not been riding it much.

Did a 31 mile ride on the Moda on Friday. I really worked alot on this ride and was totally trashed Saturday Morning. The last thing on my mind was riding. Come sunset, I just had to get out and decided to figure out how to connect many of my shorter rides into a longer ride.

The CCX certainly delivered allowing me to do 40 miles on Saturday and 40 miles today (same route, opposite direction) and still get some recovery in. The last 15 miles leg of todays ride was bucking a 20mph headwind and S mode made it a breeze although I burned alot more WH (525wh on Sat and 754wh today). Im also starting to become a fan of having a throttle. Its really nice in lower power modes to provide assist when needed and for just crusing at times and resting my behind.

Finally replaced the ritchey seatpost mentioned earlier. It had turned into a 'squeak monster', it got so bad people were making comments about there being something wrong with my bike.

Salsa Guide seatpost is so much better. I also put on a Ergon SMC4 Sport saddle and like it alot. No 'male numbness' at all on these last two long rides.

 

[linklemming]

Too cold to ride the CCX today but I installed the continental contact cruiser tires.

The front is a 28x2.2 as listed on continentals site, you also see them listed as 700cx55mm as on the site I ordered them from.

The rear is a 28x2.0/700cx50.

The tires mounted on the CCX rims measure right at 55mm on the front and 50mm in the rear.

I am just able to fit a 5mm screwdriver between the chainstay and rear tire so technically the 55mm would work in the rear but might rub if you encounter any mud or if the wheel is a little out of true. Im going to stick with 50mm in the rear.

The front 55mm tire with a "FIFTY-FIFTY Mountain Bike Fender, bought on amazon" has about 3mm clearance between the fender and the tire.

Tomorrows ride will have sections with the fork locked out to see if thats doable. If so, I will be putting on a rigid front fork(probably a Salsa CRO Moto Grande 29...possibly with a thru-axle which will require a new front wheel.)

 

[KLee]

Too cold to ride the CCX today but I installed the continental contact cruiser tires.

The front is a 28x2.2 as listed on continentals site, you also see them listed as 700cx55mm as on the site I ordered them from.

The rear is a 28x2.0/700cx50.

The tires mounted on the CCX rims measure right at 55mm on the front and 50mm in the rear.

I am just able to fit a 5mm screwdriver between the chainstay and rear tire so technically the 55mm would work in the rear but might rub if you encounter any mud or if the wheel is a little out of true. Im going to stick with 50mm in the rear.

The front 55mm tire with a "FIFTY-FIFTY Mountain Bike Fender, bought on amazon" has about 3mm clearance between the fender and the tire.

Tomorrows ride will have sections with the fork locked out to see if thats doable. If so, I will be putting on a rigid front fork(probably a Salsa CRO Moto Grande 29...possibly with a thru-axle which will require a new front wheel.)

Did you experience any problems with fitting wider tires on the CCX’s already narrow rims and would it be a safety issue? How hard was it to remove and put the rear wheel back on?

 

[linklemming]

Did you experience any problems with fitting wider tires on the CCX’s already narrow rims and would it be a safety issue? How hard was it to remove and put the rear wheel back on?

Removing/installing the rear wheel is a PITA, I can do it pretty quickly but hate every minute of it. No problems installing the tires on the rims.

You can find data all over the place on the safety of fatter tires on thinner rims. It was common place in the early days of MTBing (when I started).

The CCX has an inner rim width of 19mm.

On sheldon browns site(go down to the table with red and green and also look at the note under the table): https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Many people exceed this by quite a bit and dont seem to have problems. Probably not a good idea if you go tubeless but then again, many people do it without issue.

I also found this document from DT Swiss: https://dycteyr72g97f.cloudfront.net/uploads/W0X1900AEIXS012610/MAN_WXD10000000866S_WEB_ZZ_001.pdf

The tire profile definately isnt ideal (being more pointy in the center) but I didnt notice anything drastic.

IMHO, the 50mm tire front and rear would probably be better for most people than what Im using. That being said, the 55mm front is definitely more comfy

Did a 36 mile ride tonight (about 25%gravel/smooth hardpack and 75% asphalt/concrete). Im pretty happy with the setup now. Running 35psi in the front and 40psi in the rear and that feels about perfect. Even did some of the harsher stuff with the forked locked out and it was comfortable enough for me to consider going to a rigid front fork in the future. If I do that I will probably go with a thru axle setup in the front which will require a new wheel so I would go to a wider rim at the same time.

The conti racekings were AWESOME tires, I liked them alot. Supposedly good rolling resistance and excellent gravel traction. I was getting pretty quick wear on the rear im guessing to the power the CCX was putting down (the center knobs had a very noticable feathering wear pattern which is what you would get if your putting alot of power down). Im guessing they would have gone bald at 1k miles.

As a comparison, the 27.5x2.8 nobby nics on my bulls evo 3 27.5+ (which by no means are a good onroad tire) at about 2.5k miles still had about 1/2 tread in the rear.

This tire also looks interesting, might try it in a few months in the rear with the 2.2 conti raceking in the front

I love tinkering and trying all sorts of stuff.

 

[KLee]

Removing/installing the rear wheel is a PITA, I can do it pretty quickly but hate every minute of it. No problems installing the tires on the rims.

You can find data all over the place on the safety of fatter tires on thinner rims. It was common place in the early days of MTBing (when I started).

The CCX has an inner rim width of 19mm.

On sheldon browns site(go down to the table with red and green and also look at the note under the table): https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Many people exceed this by quite a bit and dont seem to have problems. Probably not a good idea if you go tubeless but then again, many people do it without issue.

I also found this document from DT Swiss: https://dycteyr72g97f.cloudfront.net/uploads/W0X1900AEIXS012610/MAN_WXD10000000866S_WEB_ZZ_001.pdf

The tire profile definately isnt ideal (being more pointy in the center) but I didnt notice anything drastic.

IMHO, the 50mm tire front and rear would probably be better for most people than what Im using. That being said, the 55mm front is definitely more comfy

Did a 36 mile ride tonight (about 25%gravel/smooth hardpack and 75% asphalt/concrete). Im pretty happy with the setup now. Running 35psi in the front and 40psi in the rear and that feels about perfect. Even did some of the harsher stuff with the forked locked out and it was comfortable enough for me to consider going to a rigid front fork in the future. If I do that I will probably go with a thru axle setup in the front which will require a new wheel so I would go to a wider rim at the same time.

The conti racekings were AWESOME tires, I liked them alot. Supposedly good rolling resistance and excellent gravel traction. I was getting pretty quick wear on the rear im guessing to the power the CCX was putting down (the center knobs had a very noticable feathering wear pattern which is what you would get if your putting alot of power down). Im guessing they would have gone bald at 1k miles.

As a comparison, the 27.5x2.8 nobby nics on my bulls evo 3 27.5+ (which by no means are a good onroad tire) at about 2.5k miles still had about 1/2 tread in the rear.

This tire also looks interesting, might try it in a few months in the rear with the 2.2 conti raceking in the front

I love tinkering and trying all sorts of stuff.

Thank you for the in depth information. ? Perhaps I’ll give it a try after the stock Schwalbes wear out. ?

 

[linklemming]

Im approaching 1k miles on the CCX so thought I would provide an update.

I fractured my pelvis on a ride(handlebar hit a post) at the end of april so I was off the ebikes for 2 months.

The accident was kindof a freak one and I think several things added up at the same time. I have done similar thing a few times in the last few months and just laughed a the crashes.

I originally had shimano spd clipless mountain pedals on the CCX as I have been riding these pedals since the 90s. I think being clipped in made the accident worse this particular time. Looking back, my last 5 falls wouldnt have been so bad if I hadnt been clipped in. Im guessing my reaction times just arnt as good as they used to be so I went back to the stock pedals and 510 freerider shoes. I really like this combo but want a little more attachment(and a bigger platform) to the pedals so I will probably go with are some crankbrother stamp 1 composite pedals in large size. I have also been trying 1up composite pedals and some raceface chesters and the stamp 1 seems to work for me best (1 up is a very close second, chester is too small for my size 13 feet).

After a 100 miles or so on the conti contact cruiser tires, I am going to try something else. These high volume (28x2.2F/2.0R tires) are great. They measure exactly as specced and have alot of volume to allow lower pressures (30F/35R). They also measure exactly 2.2/2.0. The 2.2 is probably a little large for the 19mm CCX rim as the tire was a little pointy in the center. Overall, excellent tires but not as much traction as I would like on gravel. Bought some marathon plus MTB tires(29x2.1) and just love them on gravel. Also using these in a 27.5x2.25 on my Izip Moda and love them. They are a little smaller than advertised being around 1.8"/46mm in the 2.1 size but this actually works well on the CCX. I think running them at 40-45psi will be great.

Im starting to like the throttle these days. It was a great help when I first started riding again. Really nice when starting out when you have limited mobility.

After 2 months off the ebikes, the CCX seemed so powerful. Been riding ALOT in eco these days and it seems more than enough for alot of my riding although at the end of rides, I do crank up the assist level.