Yet another CCX owner

[Feliz]

Got the CCX today around noon, not a scratch I can see on it from shipping. Love the flat black. Would have gone with the bare aluminum if it didnt have the big Juiced Sticker on the side(I want to have a stealth look).

Im very impressed with the bike, not quite the same level of quality as my Bulls eMTB but Im not complaining at all as it cost $1k less.

Removing the rear fender was a PITA but I intended to remove the rear wheel for tire change anyways which made it easier. No issues just using a 18mm offset 12 point box end wrench to remove the rear wheel.

Had alot of issues getting the 700cx42 WTB resolute tires to work tubeless, finally after 3 layers of 22mm gorilla tape, I got it to seal. The front tire was fine but the rear tire had all sort of weeping and the stans sealant couldnt seem to get a handle on it as I think there is a defect in that tire, there was a noticable 1 inch section in the sidewall with multiple holes(near the tread) that just wouldnt seal at anything above around 35psi, so after about 6 hours of nursing it, I just gave up and put in a tube with stans in the tube. I have been doing this over 10 years without issue anyways so no biggie, I will just run this setup till I wear out these tires and possibly the surly knards till they are bald as well. Tire wasnt as wide as I was hoping for coming out at 40mm wide, I can fit a pinkie between the tire and chainstay so I will definately go wider at a later date.

Installing a 42t surly stainless front chainring was a piece of cake.

After slamming the stem (flipped stem and moved all spacers from below to above stem), I think the L frame is going to work just fine.

Just need to shorten the chain tomorrow and it will be ready for a ride

Congrats on the bike, nice report. We're the crank arms hard to get off? Did you need a crank puller/tool?

 

[linklemming]

Congrats on the bike, nice report. We're the crank arms hard to get off? Did you need a crank puller/tool?

I do have a crank puller but it was not required to swap out the chainring

 

[Feliz]

I do have a crank puller but it was not required to swap out the chainring

Right, of course not. doh

 

[linklemming]

Thought I would give my CCX first ride thoughts/impressions.

As I stated before, overall Im impressed with the quality vs pricepoint.
Its not as refined as other higher end bikes but I wasnt expecting that
as I see this more as cheap speed.

Kindof like comparing a Subaru WRX to an Audi given the same performance,
the WRX is just a rougher/rawer experience(I have owned a WRX and loved
it for what it was)

One thing I noticed when removing rack/fenders was that the threads in the
mount holes all seemed rough. Nothing keeping them from working fine though
but I will probably run a tap thru them to clean up the threads.

The threads in the seatpost holding the saddle also seem rough, need to
disassemble and grease them.

The rear brake caliber seems like a major pita to setup without rubbing and
came this way out of the box. Using the typical method of loosening the caliber
mounts, holding the lever firm and retightening always results in the inside brake
pad making constant contact with the disc no matter what position the wheel is in.
The disc isnt 100% true but not any worse than any other disc I have. I finally
had to resort to loosening the caliber and just trying different positions. Couldnt
ever get it 100% rub free. Rear brake seem spongier that the front so I will probably
bleed it more at some point although it works fine as is.

I feel all the wiring in the front could be cleaner. I will be cleaning this up in
the next few days.

So on to the ride

Due to watching the movie 'apocalypse now' the other night, the music from 'ride of the valkries'
seemed to be prominent in my head while riding, perfect for a maiden. What great music to be playin
in your head while riding an ebike.

Wow, the bike is definately powerful. Not as powerful in the low end as my Brose Mid drive eMTB
but once up to speed its noticable. Kept in assist level 2 for about 1/2 the ride which seems
more than enough for probably 80% of my riding. At some point I thought there might be a problem as
the bike just seemed to not go any faster than about 23mph(more on that later).

Took it up many milder hills (up to 6%) without issue. I will definately be doing
steeper stuff but probably not more than 10%, I think I just need to gear down more and put in more human
power on the hills vs my Brose eMTB. 42t chainring up front is perfect for me for now.

As it turns out, the bike came set with speed limit at 20mph, it is MUCH smoother than my Brose setup
when limiting speed so I wasnt aware of the limit initially. I upped the speed limit to 28mph and then
decided to start pushing the speed up on the gravel sections I was on. You can definately get into
trouble quickly with this bike but so much fun. The WTB resolute tires at 45psi seem perfect for
my 230# all up riding weight and are plush enough. The last 10 miles of the ride were at the highest
assist level and included throttle usage (just to try). That being said, Im not sure what the big
deal with the throttle is for people. Using it is just uninspiring, I just dont see the point.
I will probably remove it for now.

The fork seems to have a horrendous clunking behavior going into bumpier stuff when the adjustment on
the right is anything other than full soft. I need to figure out what is going on. Awhile back in
another post I stated concerns about having a quick release (as opposed to a thru axle) in the front
but the fork seem to secure the quick release very well(its not just a straight dropout),
I have no concerns over this anymore.

I had planned on replacing the seat with somethng like a WTB saddle but the stock seat seems really good for now.
No discomfort/numbing at all.

So in summary, I LOVE this bike and have no issues recommending it.

The ride I did was 28.48 miles with 1008ft elevation change and an average speed of 17.1. This same ride
on my Bulls eMTB or TSDZ2 conversion bike usually averages about 15mph. My heartrate was also quite a bit
lower. Final resting voltage was 51.5v with 491wh used but I was pushing it very hard at the end.

 

[linklemming]

One additional thing to mention is the engine cutout tied to the brakes. I really hate this safety feature and it doesnt exist on my brose eMTB or my DIY TSDZ2 bike. Im considering removing this as when I brush the brakes lightly in various situations, it just cuts power for what seems like 2 seconds or so.

Im also considering taking off the throttle for now as I can always add it later.

Removing these would really cleanup all the cable clutter as well.

All this stuff is perfect for a commuter, no arguments there. Im running this as a fitness oriented gravel/mountain bike (for now at least).

 

[Dunbar]

I believe the brake cutoffs are a legal requirement for street legal e-bikes. In a panic stop you really don’t want the motor continuing to provide power while you are panic braking. I would consider leaving them plugged in for your safety.

 

[2wheeler]

Yea a kick stand cutoff on m/c's are there for safety too, we all know what folks do to those.

 

[Dunbar]

Yea a kick stand cutoff on m/c's are there for safety too, we all know what folks do to those.

Motorcycles riders can grab the clutch to cut power. The throttle is also spring loaded to go to idle if you release it. On a pedal assist e-bike you’d need to remember to spin the pedals backward to cut the motor. Good luck remembering to do that in a panic stop situation. The Cross Current, in particular, is tuned to keep giving you assist for a couple seconds after you stop pedaling. And if you are rotating the pedals slowly in S mode it keeps giving you full power. If you want to fight potentially 1000W or more worth of motor assist in a panic stop situation than by all means unplug the motor inhibitors.

 

[linklemming]

I believe the brake cutoffs are a legal requirement for street legal e-bikes. In a panic stop you really don’t want the motor continuing to provide power while you are panic braking. I would consider leaving them plugged in for your safety.

My 2 other ebikes (both mid-drive) dont have brake motor cutoffs

Good point on the crosscurrent giving assist for a bit even after pedal you stop pedaling, I will have to test that out.

Maybe just disconnect the rear as thats what I mostly use for minor corrections,

 

[Dunbar]

Yeah, with the brake cutoff the assist is quite slow to re-engage. What I usually do is spin the pedals back 1/4-1/2 rotation to get the motor to cutoff. As soon as the controller sees the “negative” cadence it cuts the assist. The assist seems to re-engage faster if I do that. If you’re humming along at 28mph and a car left-crosses you at an intersection the brake cutoffs will help you get stopped as quickly as possible.

 

[MarkF]

My mid drive bike has no throttle cut off and I don't see that I need it. Stop pedaling and the motor quits.

 

[e-boy]

According to Juiced tech support :

The CCX has Throttle-Assist Boost (TAB).
It instantly adds up to 1,000 Watts (20 Amps) of boost when pedaling and simultaneously holding down the throttle.
TAB available in any assist setting.
This thing is fast!
The power system is easily capable of top-end speed yet retains great hill climbing capability.
Finally electric bikes can have enough performance to be true car replacement vehicles.

 

[linklemming]

According to Juiced tech support :

The CCX has Throttle-Assist Boost (TAB).
It instantly adds up to 1,000 Watts (20 Amps) of boost when pedaling and simultaneously holding down the throttle.
TAB available in any assist setting.

I did play with this and it indeed is a nice feature, I will be keeping the throttle just for this feature.

Im also going to be keeping both brake motor cutouts, it seem like to the motor sometimes wants to start going when your at a light and slightly put pressure on the pedals and maybe roll the bike a little forward(a few inches), I also noticed that the motor continues just a bit after you stop pedaling.

I seemed to have solved the fork clunking today, there is apparently a preload adjustment on the right side under a plastic cover that fits so well, I wasnt aware it was there. Im 230# with all gear so I set preload to max and get 10mm of sag (suntour recommends 9-13mm). Took forever to find a suntour manual for this fork as all the recent NCX manuals are for the 'air' version. You have to go back to around 2011 at the suntour website to find a manual for the 'coil version'. The only clunking I get now is when the fork 'tops out' lifting the front to go up/down a curb and its very minor. Many lower end forks do this(no/little rebound damping) so no biggie.

Initially I was using 45psi in the WTB 700cx42 resolute tires, and the rear just looked too low while riding. 50psi seems much better. These tires work really well on the gravel and roll well on the street and arent that noisy but I have been riding MTBs on the streets for years so Im used to the noise of knobbies. I will defiantly be trying 29x2.0 tires soon, the continental raceking 29x2.0 and double fighter 2 29x2.0 look promising

Tested the front light tonight in some offroad trails, the light is more spotty than I would like for offroad and has many artifacts like rings but is definately good/bright enough for anything I will be doing with this bike. Im pretty picky on lights. Would be nice if there was more than 1 brightness level as sometimes its nice to lower the brightness for pedestrians/hikers. It is definately brighter than the niterider lumina 850 I had on my helmet.

Went up the steepest hills I will probably ever use this bike for (8-9%) and had no issues but Im geared pretty low at 42x32. Motor was never really any warmer on the outside than ambient but most of these hills were no longer than 1/4 mile. I did these on assist level 1.

The brake levers rattle if your fingers arent resting on them, kindof sounds like a dog(with tags) is running beside you.

20.8 miles today with 830ft elevation change and 16.1mph average speed. Used 411wh but it was windy(20 with gusts to 30) and the last 7 miles was level 3,S into the wind at about 20-24mph

Did I mention this bike is fast

 

[SirJonathan]

"it seem like to the motor sometimes wants to start going when your at a light and slightly put pressure on the pedals and maybe roll the bike a little forward(a few inches)"

This was one of the first things I noticed on my CCX. Since all of my riding has been on road bikes with clipless pedals I always tend to coast to a stop and then position my feet so that I can unclip and put my foot down. This is a no-no on the CCX! I coasted to a gate and position my feet which propelled the CCX slightly forward. This surprised me and I grabbed the brake hard and looked like a big dork. I still do it very occasionally but for the most part I am used to it now.

Thanks for the tip on the fork. I locked mine out since it's all smooth paths here and I don't take it off curbs or offroad. Good to know that it's there.

I find that Level 2 suits my needs most of the time. I slow to Level 1 or ECO if there are people around. It's very simple and intuitive to adjust levels on the fly so I use that often.

And yes, occasionally I'll hop into R mode and just go like a bat out of hell on a long straight on the road in the bike lane!

 

[Bruce Arnold]

According to Juiced tech support :

The CCX has Throttle-Assist Boost (TAB).
It instantly adds up to 1,000 Watts (20 Amps) of boost when pedaling and simultaneously holding down the throttle.
TAB available in any assist setting.
This thing is fast!
The power system is easily capable of top-end speed yet retains great hill climbing capability.
Finally electric bikes can have enough performance to be true car replacement vehicles.

I sometimes just feather the throttle to get a few extra watts. Not necessary to put it all the way down and get the whole 1000 watts. In some situations I just want to get up to speed a little faster without switching PAS levels.

Also, if you're using cruise control, a very short, light touch on the throttle will disengage it without slowing you down as touching the brakes will.

 

[linklemming]

"it seem like to the motor sometimes wants to start going when your at a light and slightly put pressure on the pedals and maybe roll the bike a little forward(a few inches)"

This was one of the first things I noticed on my CCX. Since all of my riding has been on road bikes with clipless pedals I always tend to coast to a stop and then position my feet so that I can unclip and put my foot down. This is a no-no on the CCX! I coasted to a gate and position my feet which propelled the CCX slightly forward. This surprised me and I grabbed the brake hard and looked like a big dork. I still do it very occasionally but for the most part I am used to it now.

Thanks for the tip on the fork. I locked mine out since it's all smooth paths here and I don't take it off curbs or offroad. Good to know that it's there.

I find that Level 2 suits my needs most of the time. I slow to Level 1 or ECO if there are people around. It's very simple and intuitive to adjust levels on the fly so I use that often.

And yes, occasionally I'll hop into R mode and just go like a bat out of hell on a long straight on the road in the bike lane!

Good to know Im not the only one who noticed the whole motor thing, I will experiment more with it. I also ride clipless (Shimano SPD MTB pedals since the mid 90s) but might be changing that in the future but the thought terriifies me as Im so used to being 100% connected to the bike while offroad, Im so used to pulling up on the pedals for things like unweighting, small bunny hops although I dont do it alot these days.

The fork clunking I was getting was only with the fork locked out and was pretty bad but only seemed to happen while riding(compression and rebound). You might as well set the preload to max using a quarter and see how you like it not locked out, it definately is more comfortable and you can still lock it out. If I can get a 2.0 tire to fit in the rear, Im probably going to eventually go with a 2.2 in the front with a rigid steel fork. The stock suntour ncx forks with 32mm stanchions are a little noodly for my tastes. The trails Im riding on with this bike I have been riding on a 2.1 equipped rigid MTB for 10 years.

I also find level 2 spot on but even eco and 1 feel good. Im planning on my next ride being more distance (40+ miles, the major reason I got this bike) so I will need to tame it down a bit.

All that being said, I can say that Tora nailed it for a cost effective torque sensor equipped speed pedalec commuter. Im not sure what I would change other than going for bigger tires although I like to stay under 3.0(i.e. ripcurent is too wide for my tastes, I think something in the range of 2.4-2.8 would be perfect and would allow use of a cheaper rigid fork)

I fixed the rear brake feeling spongy, basically it just needed a travel adjustment. As it was stock, when I really grabbed the rear brake, it was limited when I started crushing my outer fingers which were not on the levers.

 

[bikerjohn]

... Took forever to find a suntour manual for this fork as all the recent NCX manuals are for the 'air' version. You have to go back to around 2011 at the suntour website to find a manual for the 'coil version'. ...
20.8 miles today with 830ft elevation change and 16.1mph average speed. Used 411wh but it was windy(20 with gusts to 30) and the last 7 miles was level 3,S into the wind at about 20-24mph

Did I mention this bike is fast

Great write-up! Would you please put up the link you found for adjusting the front fork?

 

[2wheeler]

So far for me the throttle has 2 positions, off or full blast. There's only about 1/2 of travel on it and it's hard to hold it steady at say 1/2 way, maybe it's the gloves I wear and mostly my rides have been in the 40's temp range.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

So far for me the throttle has 2 positions, off or full blast. There's only about 1/2 of travel on it and it's hard to hold it steady at say 1/2 way, maybe it's the gloves I wear and mostly my rides have been in the 40's temp range.

I'm curious about that. Is it hard to push the throttle? Mine takes very little force, so feathering it is easy to do. And I also wear gloves, leather gloves, when the temperatures are chilly. (Leather gloves with TerraSilk liners when it's colder than that, not that it makes any difference .)

 

[linklemming]

Great write-up! Would you please put up the link you found for adjusting the front fork?

Here is the link to the manual

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

This manual only really talks about the Lockout function to find preload/sag info you have to look at their more generic manual for all forks. That being, setting sag isnt rocket science.