Loving my ebike - want to go further!

[Phylly Alexander]

Hello everyone - I live just north of that great cycling city, Bristol and for the last year I've been trying to commute the 20 mile ish round trip to work as often as I can. I got my lovely Raleigh Velo Cite on the Cycle to Work scheme and I love that Dutch style (being of Dutch birth myself may be an influence ;-) )! During the summer I use it for all the local shopping trips (3 days shopping for a family of 4 in pic! ) and there is nothing that gives me greater joy than flying around on that bike. I know exactly what I want - a bike that looks like this and is as comfortable and fun to ride, but goes waay further - namely the Kalkhoff Tasman Classic, but there's no chance whatsoever of me ever affording it. :-( So my question is, is there any way of connecting a longer-lasting battery to the bike I have now, and where can I get one?

 

[electric.mike]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Deleted member 4366]

In the sales blurb they say that they have the SMbus communication between the battery, controller, display, etc. Most bikes with LCDs have data sharing between the display and the controller via two wires. I don't know the data protocol, but it may well be SMbus, in which case the sales blurb might be just overstating the fact that the bike has a normal system.

If the SMbus does indeed have a data link to the battery, you're only chance for a different battery will be to see if Raleigh have one..

My feeling is that the battery is a normal one, which can be exchanged for any other standard one, but the only way to know is to open that compartment at the front of it and see how many wires run from the battery to the controller. If it's two, you're in, and more than two, your'e out.

 

[hoppy]

View attachment 9183

Hello everyone - I live just north of that great cycling city, Bristol and for the last year I've been trying to commute the 20 mile ish round trip to work as often as I can. I got my lovely Raleigh Velo Cite on the Cycle to Work scheme and I love that Dutch style (being of Dutch birth myself may be an influence ;-) )! During the summer I use it for all the local shopping trips (3 days shopping for a family of 4 in pic! ) and there is nothing that gives me greater joy than flying around on that bike. I know exactly what I want - a bike that looks like this and is as comfortable and fun to ride, but goes waay further - namely the Kalkhoff Tasman Classic, but there's no chance whatsoever of me ever affording it. :-( So my question is, is there any way of connecting a longer-lasting battery to the bike I have now, and where can I get one?

Could you not just buy a second standard battery for your bike, take it with you, and swop over when needed?

 

[Phylly Alexander]

Could you not just buy a second standard battery for your bike, take it with you, and swop over when needed?

Not a chance -the battery is unbelievably heavy!

 

[Phylly Alexander]

In the sales blurb they say that they have the SMbus communication between the battery, controller, display, etc. Most bikes with LCDs have data sharing between the display and the controller via two wires. I don't know the data protocol, but it may well be SMbus, in which case the sales blurb might be just overstating the fact that the bike has a normal system.

If the SMbus does indeed have a data link to the battery, you're only chance for a different battery will be to see if Raleigh have one..

My feeling is that the battery is a normal one, which can be exchanged for any other standard one, but the only way to know is to open that compartment at the front of it and see how many wires run from the battery to the controller. If it's two, you're in, and more than two, your'e out.

This sounds interesting! Just imagine for a moment that I'm utterly clueless when it comes to ebike tech... which bit am I opening to see how many wires?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The controller sits in the black bit at the front end of the battery near the seat. There will be some screws somewhere to remove a cover - IIRC, on the under-side.

 

[Michael Sims]

View attachment 9183

Hello everyone - I live just north of that great cycling city, Bristol and for the last year I've been trying to commute the 20 mile ish round trip to work as often as I can. I got my lovely Raleigh Velo Cite on the Cycle to Work scheme and I love that Dutch style (being of Dutch birth myself may be an influence ;-) )! During the summer I use it for all the local shopping trips (3 days shopping for a family of 4 in pic! ) and there is nothing that gives me greater joy than flying around on that bike. I know exactly what I want - a bike that looks like this and is as comfortable and fun to ride, but goes waay further - namely the Kalkhoff Tasman Classic, but there's no chance whatsoever of me ever affording it. :-( So my question is, is there any way of connecting a longer-lasting battery to the bike I have now, and where can I get one?[/quot

Hello, Phylly

I have just joined the Forum asking if anyone has had the considerable problems that I have had with my Velo Cite. Has yours always been reliable? Mine's been back to the agents about a dozen times and is still not right.
I'd be grateful for any feedback. Best wishes Mike

 

[Phylly Alexander]

Hi Mike - Mine has not been perfect, I must say. There was a problem with the motor - so that whenever started to pedal suddenly (eg. going off from traffic lights) the motor would scream and there would be a delay in moving. The dealers gave me a new wheel (the following year's model) with a new motor on it. Since then (about a year ago) no problems at all (apart from too many punctures - now hopefully resolved with Schwalbe tyres) but I've just begun to notice the motor starting to protest slightly again when I begin to pedal sometimes..... What have been the problems with yours?