Help! Dawes e bike

[Ali238]

Hi Guys
I bought an ex display Dawes e-bike 2yrs ago and cycle about 6 miles a day. It gets charged every night but the battery seems to be running low very quickly and I can’t chance it on longer journeys. Way too heavy without power. My question is should I replace battery or buy new bike? I think the tech has moved on in 2 yrs. Everyone seems faster than me!
thanks for any help (I’m in London)

 

[soundwave]

they might be able to recell the pack you have and in london.

eBike Batteries

ebikebatteries.co.uk

Ebike Batteries
1a Gateway Mews
London
N11 2UT

 

[Ali238]

they might be able to recell the pack you have and in london.

eBike Batteries

ebikebatteries.co.uk

Ebike Batteries
1a Gateway Mews
London
N11 2UT

Thanks Soundwave

 

[sjpt]

It gets charged every night but the battery seems to be running low very quickly

Do you leave it charging overnight every night? If so, you may have reduced the battery life by overcharging it. I charged overnight for a couple of weeks when I first got an ebike, till I realized from this forum that it wasn't a good idea. That does not help you right now, but may help running into the same issue again in a couple of years time. A decent battery should last at least 4 to 5 years with that use, maybe quite a bit more. (There's lots of different opinion on best battery care. I think most people agree that regularly keeping it on charge for too long is a bad idea, but I'm happy to be corrected by the many people on this forum more expert than me.)

There hasn't been a huge improvement in ebikes over just a couple of years.

Depending on the bike you may be able to replace the battery with a cheapish (don't go too cheap) generic one. Post as much info about the bike model and its battery details as possible, maybe some pictures too.

Recelling rather than replacement is usually only worthwhile if a replacement battery is very difficult to source or absurdly expensive. You are paying UK labour rates for a one-off build rather than Chinese labour rates for mass production.

One reason a lot of ebikes are faster than yours is that there are a huge number of illegal ebikes around (especially in London?). To be legal on road without plates, insurance etc etc an ebike must have a maximum assisted speed of 15.5mph; I'm pretty sure yours is quite capable of that at least on the flat. You may notice that the riders of these fast ebikes aren't pedalling at all, another indication of an illegal bike.

 

[Ali238]

Thanks Sjpt that’s really helpful. I was told the bike needs 4hrs to charge to yes it does often get left over night as I plug in when I get home from work and then forget it until morning. So it does sound like it’s self inflicted. Good to know too that it is probably illegal bikes that are zapping past me.
The bike itself doesn’t have a lot of identifying marks so I’m not sure what battery to replace it with. Attached are some pics that may help.
Thanks again for your help - really appreciate it.
Ali

 

[Nealh]

It is bad practice to leave a battery charging over night , not really worried about the battery life but mainly for your own safety should a fault occur and a fire starts. Though ebike battery fires are rare , they can and do occur.
Only charge battery when awake and able to react quickly, use a timer so that the battery can be disconnected from the mains should you forget to do so but not when you go to sleep.

 

[sjpt]

Looks as if it's a Dawes Central

Buy a Dawes Central Step Through electric Bike from E-Bikes Direct

Dawes Central Step Through Hybrid Electric Bike 6.6Ah - 17" Frame, 7 Speed, 700C Wheel - Grey - eBikes Direct

www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk

• Battery: PROMOVEC 6.6Ah 36v

Yours may not be the same, it can vary with year or model. Remove the battery and see if there are more labels on it.

Probably https://www.promovec.com/download/1872664

It may be worth contacting ebikesdirect to see if they have spare batteries.
Alternatively the system looks similar to some batribike ones; the bike could even be a rebadged batribike.
eg https://batribike.com/product/nebula-bundle
Looks as if they want a hefty £475 even for that low capacity battery.

For batteries see

Replacement Batteries - BATRIBIKE Electric Bicycles

Electric Bikes For Sale | Folding Electric Bikes | Battery Powered Bikes | Lincolnshire, UK

batribike.com

(there's a place to enter a postcode there)


It looks as if Promovec systems come as a matched proprietary set

ProMovec - BATRIBIKE Electric Bicycles

Electric Bikes For Sale | Folding Electric Bikes | Battery Powered Bikes | Lincolnshire, UK

batribike.com

The whole electric system is matched together from the motor and controller to the battery and display.
There are benefits of that, but often rules out a generic battery replacement.

The Promovec page (https://www.promovec.com/en/components#batteries) does say 'Battery communication: no' for the Carrier 4, so maybe a generic could work; you'd probably need fiddling with the battery mount though.

 

[sjpt]

Also

Batribike Carrier 4 battery power pack

Batribike battery power pack suitable for the following models: Nebula Omega Zeta Manufactured by Promovec with 3 year warranty. Supplied with 3 pin charger and UK power lead. Cost includes secure courier delivery.

www.countyebikes.co.uk

for an even pricier £505 for a 240Wh battery. Makes even Bosch batteries look cheap.

It makes Soundwave's suggestion right at the start look very promising.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Wow that is the most minimal ebike display/controller I've ever seen. If the hub motor has a standard connection bafang type I guess you could get a new controller and display and a cheap third party battery. You'd need some basic electrical skills.

Controller + display (probably best to buy them together)
battery 36V maybe £60 from aliexpress with decent cells, £30 with crap cells of around 200Wh capacity.
charger if you can't use your old one.

I personally wouldn't consider buying a expensive genuine replacement battery. I think its beyond the worth of the bike.

I'd probably buy a controller and display about £25-30, charger £5-8 and battery £40-80. All from aliexpress. Most people will warn you off aliexpress batteries but if you are careful who you buy from, from companies who have sold a lot of batteries and have a lot of good reviews and a high average score I feel its safe myself but others will warn you against them.

However this route will require a lot of cable cutting and soldering.

This is the battery I would probably go for, about £60 after delivery and tax and is 245Wh (6800mAh)

Liitokala 36V 4.4Ah 5.2Ah 6Ah 6.8Ah 2 wheel electric scooter self balancing 18650 lithium battery pack for Self-balancing Fits - AliExpress 44

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

and this controller with display which is less than £30 delivered.

Lcd Display 24v 250w Electric Scooter Controller - 24v‑48v Waterproof Lcd Display - Aliexpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Once converted you have a non-proprietary ebike, free to repair and upgrade as you wish.

 

[Ali238]

Looks as if it's a Dawes Central

Buy a Dawes Central Step Through electric Bike from E-Bikes Direct

Dawes Central Step Through Hybrid Electric Bike 6.6Ah - 17" Frame, 7 Speed, 700C Wheel - Grey - eBikes Direct

www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk

• Battery: PROMOVEC 6.6Ah 36v

Yours may not be the same, it can vary with year or model. Remove the battery and see if there are more labels on it.

Probably https://www.promovec.com/download/1872664

It may be worth contacting ebikesdirect to see if they have spare batteries.
Alternatively the system looks similar to some batribike ones; the bike could even be a rebadged batribike.
eg https://batribike.com/product/nebula-bundle
Looks as if they want a hefty £475 even for that low capacity battery.

For batteries see

Replacement Batteries - BATRIBIKE Electric Bicycles

Electric Bikes For Sale | Folding Electric Bikes | Battery Powered Bikes | Lincolnshire, UK

batribike.com

(there's a place to enter a postcode there)


It looks as if Promovec systems come as a matched proprietary set

ProMovec - BATRIBIKE Electric Bicycles

Electric Bikes For Sale | Folding Electric Bikes | Battery Powered Bikes | Lincolnshire, UK

batribike.com

The whole electric system is matched together from the motor and controller to the battery and display.
There are benefits of that, but often rules out a generic battery replacement.

The Promovec page (https://www.promovec.com/en/components#batteries) does say 'Battery communication: no' for the Carrier 4, so maybe a generic could work; you'd probably need fiddling with the battery mount though.

 

[Ali238]

Hi Sjpt
You are absolutely bang on! Bravo! Unfortunately not only do I zero electrical skills, I am embarrassed to say that I can't even remove the battery. I've unlocked it, but it simply wont budge. Promovec say they can sell me a battery if I can give them the article number that is on the underneath. That can't be seen without removing the battery. I can't find a manual online, or anything on youtube. Maybe it is time to change the bike?

 

[sjpt]

There are quite a few community bike hubs around London. It might be worth seeing if there is one near you. They may at least be able to help remove the battery. I think most probably aren't that knowledgeable about ebikes, but you may hit lucky.

It seems a shame if you have to replace the bike; it might sell on ebay to someone who reckons they can fix it, but you probably won't get much for it.