March 26, 201610 yr My bikes battery is 7000 miles old and either it, or I, am getting weaker! Hills which I recorded as 10 mph plus are now 7 mph just! I've had my bike for 3 years todate and cannot believe that I've got so much out of condition in that time. So, is it the battery or me? (Be kind please!)
March 26, 201610 yr Only a few of the very best batteries on e-bikes with kind battery care systems last longer than three years. The great majority of e-bike batteries either fail between two and three years or are well down on performance by then. .
March 26, 201610 yr you can check the battery's voltage after charging it to full, it should show 42V. Put in as many miles as you can until it starts to cut out, let the battery rest a bit then check the battery voltage again. If it's much higher than 32V then your battery may be faulty. Post your measurements here if you like.
April 2, 201610 yr Author you can check the battery's voltage after charging it to full, it should show 42V. Put in as many miles as you can until it starts to cut out, let the battery rest a bit then check the battery voltage again. If it's much higher than 32V then your battery may be faulty. Post your measurements here if you like. Thanks for that. The readings are - 41.4v fully charged; 33.1v discharged. Added to this the distance taken to discharge was 73 miles at Power setting (Kalkhoff Ergo) and the assistance pathetic, effectively the bike was using its lowest level instead of its highest - as displayed!
April 3, 201610 yr the usual fix is to increase the assist ratio via reprogramming. If that option is not available, then shifting down a gear may increase your cadence and input, therefore increase the motor output.
April 3, 201610 yr Author the usual fix is to increase the assist ratio via reprogramming. If that option is not available, then shifting down a gear may increase your cadence and input, therefore increase the motor output. Better. I use a Nuvinci, set to cadence, usually 74 (old timetrial habit) so there's no down to shift to. I notice this morning, after recharging and resetting the controller to 'factory default', that my usual 54 mile 'range' is today 34 miles! Also a recent battery check indicated a 20% drop in Ah from new spec. What I'm really asking is whether I can justify a new larger battery, or rather the outlay, and a Badassbikes delimiter?
April 3, 201610 yr 20% capacity loss in 3 years, my guess you can continue for another year like it is, by the end of year 4, the capacity reduction would be about 30%, then decide between a new bike or a new battery next year. If you buy a new battery this year, you'd lose an extra amount (£500/3) for 20% extra range.
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