Disillusioned

[Enrico]

Thought electric bike was excellent (although battery range was never anything like as much as manufacturer claimed) until battery lost 30% of its power after 15months and is now virtually useless unless you only want to go about 4 miles with motor assist. New battery 36v and about 14amp is £360 . Just considering cost of battery, I reckon my pedelec has cost me about as much per mile as putting petrol in the car - the bike is now just sitting in the garage as it is too heavy to ride without motor assist. Very disappointing.

 

[RobF]

What bike is it?

Some have a two year warranty on the battery.

In any case, it may be worth contacting the supplier.

Cheap Chinese batteries are not known for longevity, but even if it's one of those you can reasonably expect to get a couple of years out of it.

 

[nemesis]

What is the make and model,there are a number of very good e-bikes out there with fantastic reliability.

 

[Enrico]

What is the make and model,there are a number of very good e-bikes out there with fantastic reliability.

D cycle Delight 8- it had 1 year warranty on battery

 

[Chainring]

Thought electric bike was excellent (although battery range was never anything like as much as manufacturer claimed) until battery lost 30% of its power after 15months and is now virtually useless unless you only want to go about 4 miles with motor assist. New battery 36v and about 14amp is £360 . Just considering cost of battery, I reckon my pedelec has cost me about as much per mile as putting petrol in the car - the bike is now just sitting in the garage as it is too heavy to ride without motor assist. Very disappointing.

Have you tried this firm?
http://www.bga-reworking.co.uk/e-bike-batteries/insat-li-nmc-ebike-battery-10ah-24v-36v-48v.html I bought a 15ah battery from them for just over £200, about 17 months ago. It still seems to have good capacity, and you can get your battery re-celled by BGA, as an option.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You don't have to replace the battery with the same type. You can use any 36v battery that you can fit to your bike, so you can get a bigger one for more range.

I just fitted one of these to a bike similar to yours:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36v10-4ah-electric-bike-lithium-ion-battery-rear-4-battery-375Wh-Charger-/222011853531?hash=item33b0f00adb:g:BOQAAOSwvg9Xa2k4

This one will also fit and improve the balance of your bike. Your motor controller sits in a compartment at the front of your battery. Take it out and put it in one of those under-seat toolbags:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36V-10AH-Bottle-Lithium-Li-ion-E-Bike-Battery-for-Electr-Bicycles-42V2A-Charger-/152202794227?hash=item236ffe54f3:g:SwIAAOSwawpXrW6Y

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36v10-4ah-e-bike-Pedelec-lithium-ion-battery-bottle-battery-new-Charger-/221879437466?hash=item33a90b889a:g:AkwAAOSwOVpXa1wO

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roswheel-1-2L-Bike-Saddle-Bag-Under-Seat-Bag-BT-/282164055222?hash=item41b249ccb6:g:fAwAAOSwknJXzoRr

If range is important, this one will take you twice as far as your original one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lithium-ion-battery-36v17ah-electric-bike-lithium-battery-Charger-612W-/222314423780?hash=item33c2f8e5e4:g:pegAAOSwHoFXq9IZ

Here you can see how that fits with the controller in a toolbag:

 

[Wisper Bikes]

D cycle Delight 8- it had 1 year warranty on battery

Hi Enrico, this unfortunately is typical of the one year warranty merchants. Any decent ebike provider will give a two year warranty against the battery losing 20 or 30% of its capacity in the first two years.

These bikes are often less expensive but as you have discovered can be a lot more expensive long or even medium term.

As Dave says, look on Ebay you may find something cheaper to replace yiur branded battery with.

All the best, David

 

[Woosh]

Hi enrico,
before you replace your old battery, you should get it checked or check it yourself for string imbalance. Your battery consists of aa string of 10 serially linked blocks. As you don't use the bike much, the blocks are not rebalanced often enough. One of them powers the battery management system, is drained much more than the other 9.
To check for imbalance, you will have to open the casing and check the voltage of the balance leads. Search the forum, there are a few detailed threads about how to fix this.

 

[Nealh]

Might help if we knew where abouts Enrico lives, then some one may offer to check the battery.

 

[Enrico]

Might help if we knew where abouts Enrico lives, then some one may offer to check the battery.

I had battery checked by shop in York ( I am not saying exactly where) where I bought the bike new which is how I know it had lost 30% of its power. I realise there are now better ( and more expensive) and more powerful electric bikes available but I do not want to fork out for another new bike.
ps I appreciate the replies to my original comments.

 

[Enrico]

You don't have to replace the battery with the same type. You can use any 36v battery that you can fit to your bike, so you can get a bigger one for more range.

I just fitted one of these to a bike similar to yours:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36v10-4ah-electric-bike-lithium-ion-battery-rear-4-battery-375Wh-Charger-/222011853531?hash=item33b0f00adb:g:BOQAAOSwvg9Xa2k4

This one will also fit and improve the balance of your bike. Your motor controller sits in a compartment at the front of your battery. Take it out and put it in one of those under-seat toolbags:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36V-10AH-Bottle-Lithium-Li-ion-E-Bike-Battery-for-Electr-Bicycles-42V2A-Charger-/152202794227?hash=item236ffe54f3:g:SwIAAOSwawpXrW6Y

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36v10-4ah-e-bike-Pedelec-lithium-ion-battery-bottle-battery-new-Charger-/221879437466?hash=item33a90b889a:g:AkwAAOSwOVpXa1wO

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roswheel-1-2L-Bike-Saddle-Bag-Under-Seat-Bag-BT-/282164055222?hash=item41b249ccb6:g:fAwAAOSwknJXzoRr

If range is important, this one will take you twice as far as your original one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lithium-ion-battery-36v17ah-electric-bike-lithium-battery-Charger-612W-/222314423780?hash=item33c2f8e5e4:g:pegAAOSwHoFXq9IZ

Here you can see how that fits with the controller in a toolbag:

how is the battery fitted to the new position on the frame? mine has a cage on the rear carrier.
regards

 

[derf]

Thought electric bike was excellent (although battery range was never anything like as much as manufacturer claimed) until battery lost 30% of its power after 15months and is now virtually useless unless you only want to go about 4 miles with motor assist. New battery 36v and about 14amp is £360 . Just considering cost of battery, I reckon my pedelec has cost me about as much per mile as putting petrol in the car - the bike is now just sitting in the garage as it is too heavy to ride without motor assist. Very disappointing.

this kind of rings true for my experience as well with one massive but - which is that I realised somewhere along the line an ebike doesn't really make financial sense, one has to think of it as a lifestyle accessory, a cheap underpowered somewhat (highly debatable) kind of Harley - something that gets you out and back into cycling, at a price, but with major benefits of silence and open air and lack of regulation (relatively), and it gets one places ordinary transport wouldn't go and when it all comes down to it it is still very affordable compared to anything else.

 

[Danidl]

I had battery checked by shop in York ( I am not saying exactly where) where I bought the bike new which is how I know it had lost 30% of its power. I realise there are now better ( and more expensive) and more powerful electric bikes available but I do not want to fork out for another new bike.
ps I appreciate the replies to my original comments.

Hi an electric bike consists of three elements each costing about the same . A bike a battery and a motor so if the overall device costs 900 you might factor in each item costing 300. The bike and the motor are long lasting , albeit with some maintenance and repairs and the battery is the Achilles heel. Nevertheless a lifetime of 15 months is very short. Perhaps the charging regime you used was ill-advised or inappropriate. I have typically got 3 times that lifetime on the battery I have used to date.
There is no reason for you to abandon a feasible bikeand purchase another because one element has failed and other posters have advised how you you can get the battery sorted either by rebuilding it or getting a replacement.
Coming to whether ebike are a good idea financial ly speaking depends very much on your circumstances. If the alternative is buying and using a car or going from a two car to one car family it is a no brainier. If it is as a commuter vehicle then it needs to be calculated whether the time or money saved is worthwhile. If you are only commuting 2 miles then it is a luxury and a push-bike would suffice.
For some of us ebikes are a gateway drug , allowing us to access paths we might would otherwise have given up on.

 

[Enrico]

Hi an electric bike consists of three elements each costing about the same . A bike a battery and a motor so if the overall device costs 900 you might factor in each item costing 300. The bike and the motor are long lasting , albeit with some maintenance and repairs and the battery is the Achilles heel. Nevertheless a lifetime of 15 months is very short. Perhaps the charging regime you used was ill-advised or inappropriate. I have typically got 3 times that lifetime on the battery I have used to date.
There is no reason for you to abandon a feasible bikeand purchase another because one element has failed and other posters have advised how you you can get the battery sorted either by rebuilding it or getting a replacement.
Coming to whether ebike are a good idea financial ly speaking depends very much on your circumstances. If the alternative is buying and using a car or going from a two car to one car family it is a no brainier. If it is as a commuter vehicle then it needs to be calculated whether the time or money saved is worthwhile. If you are only commuting 2 miles then it is a luxury and a push-bike would suffice.
For some of us ebikes are a gateway drug , allowing us to access paths we might would otherwise have given up on.

The battery was charged according to the instructions - typically after a ride of about 16miles (usually about 3 times a week ) the battery would be flat and would then be charged for about 4 hours until the green light came on on the charger. regards

 

[Danidl]

The battery was charged according to the instructions - typically after a ride of about 16miles (usually about 3 times a week ) the battery would be flat and would then be charged for about 4 hours until the green light came on on the charger. regards

Thanks Enrico,
Are you saying that you only got 16 miles from a 15 ampere hr 36 v battery full to empty and that after a total of 2880 miles (15 months x 4 weeks x 3 goes x 16 miles) the battery is only good for 6 miles or is it 10 miles. ( Battery down 30%).this implies 180 fills only.
What technology is the battery? I am assuming that as per your first post you wanted to replace the battery with like for like.
Even poorer quality batterys should goto 400 fills before this level of decline.

I had a look online for that D cycle bike, looks a nice machine. and it appeared to have a 2 year warranty on the battery.

I am puzzled as to why your milage full to empty is so low. When I used my hub motored 26v 8 amp hr bike it would do approx 18 miles full to empty. And it was an earlier technology than yours. Were you using your bike only on power and not using peddle assist?

 

[Enrico]

Thanks Enrico,
Are you saying that you only got 16 miles from a 15 ampere hr 36 v battery full to empty and that after a total of 2880 miles (15 months x 4 weeks x 3 goes x 16 miles) the battery is only good for 6 miles or is it 10 miles. ( Battery down 30%).this implies 180 fills only.
What technology is the battery? I am assuming that as per your first post you wanted to replace the battery with like for like.
Even poorer quality batterys should goto 400 fills before this level of decline.

I had a look online for that D cycle bike, looks a nice machine. and it appeared to have a 2 year warranty on the battery.

I am puzzled as to why your milage full to empty is so low. When I used my hub motored 26v 8 amp hr bike it would do approx 18 miles full to empty. And it was an earlier technology than yours. Were you using your bike only on power and not using peddle assist?

It is 36v,8amp, just says battery of European manufacture, less use than full 15 months as not used as much in winter, only good now for about 5miles if that, bike itself was ok - got it set up right for me, replaced seat and pedals, rear wheel collapsed but replaced with twin wall rimmed wheel under warranty, bike was good to ride when range was reasonable , D Cycle brochure claims 'up to 500 full charging cycles or 3-4 years life expectancy under optimum use conditions'!, bike is pedal assist operation only- motor cuts out automatically after a split second if you stop pedalling i.e. there is no throttle operation, also used mostly on fairly level ground - on mode 2 on control panel. regards

 

[Danidl]

Thanks for the info.
If you still within the 2 year window , you should complain to the shop and or the manufacturer. . You have it in writing that the battery should last more cycles.

Otherwise I would suggest getting the battery rebuilt by one of the experts as listed by other posters and you should have a satisfactory experience.

It is possible that the fault is only with one cell or with the BMS electronics, and a reputable rebuilder will correct it economically.

In my case I used up the battery on my original urban mover over 3 years of commuting and getting about 18 miles( 7 commutes) per fill initially in urban stop start travel . After the 2.5 years range started to drop dramatically . I replaced it with a 10a 26v Li ion pack , and appropriate charger and it is now back to the 10 mile max range after another 3 years . I only say this because the 400 + charge cycles is not a mythical target.

With Li ion battery it is best to charge them up preferably after each trip and not to let them fully discharge.