Recommended Seller for 36V Freego vertical type battery pack

Can anyone recommend a trustworthy supplier of a new battery pack for my Freego bike. I'm probably going for a 10AH version. Thanks.

Don't know what type of battery pack you are after, (model of bike?), but Juicy sell battery packs that may be suitable for your bike. They are certainly trustworthy and if you phone them up and tell them you are a forum member they will treat you right.

I am a customer of theirs, but otherwise unconnected.

https://www.juicybike.co.uk/

Phone: 0845 0042 330 | email: uksales@juicybike.com

Contact Freego and ask where your nearest dealer is. In fact, I think there is a post code locator tool on their website.

Thanks for the replies. I do have a local dealer although it's now changed names Powerbyke world I believe? I will check there. There used to be about £250 for 36v 10AH pack. Mine is the silver pack with black slanted top with handle and locating groove and flat bottom (I've seen similar ones referred to as "Fish batteries"...whatever that means?)

There are a couple of posts on here regarding a guy who will re cell the battery for you.Seems to be genuine from previous posts. Think it is Insat

Gray

This guy will sort you out.

 

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Insat-International

This guy will sort you out.

 

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Insat-International

(Good to see you back Dave)

Insat will recell it with top quality cells, you can also end up with more ah using better quality 18650's. The cells are individually analysed and checked for poor performance before being used.

Thanks again guys I will follow all your leads and report back.

OK I had a look at the Insat ebay page, looks good. I just have to work out what on earth I need. My old battery is 36V 10AH. I need to understand what the difference is with NCM, NCM bottom discharge, LiFe PO4 Optimum nano then there's the Sony and Samsung battery options. I'm confused :-o

May be worth giving the guy a ring for advice. Posts on here suggest he is very helpful

Well I finally put some money aside for a re-cell and found out that my ex hire bike was an Axcess rather than a Freego although as far as I know they are the same. I also found out my battery type is referred to as a "whitebait" so this is where the fish description fits in. I contacted Insat, they were friendly and had loads of time for me as we discussed options. I opted for Samsung E29 batteries which have a near linear power drain curve. For an extra £50 I got a 14.5Ah upgrade from the original 10Ah. Apparently you can fit the extra batteries in the smaller whitebait case but maybe that's because batteries have grown smaller in the last few years? I'm told the greater capacity will give me more years usage too as it counters the natural efficiency drop off. I'm not sure what the new range will be 50ish mile I guess although I tend to use it for a 14 mile commute.

Price was £250 but includes courier pick up and drop off. I've just received mine back this morning so am looking forward to getting back on the power!

Edited April 15, 201610 yr by wightrider

Good that you are sorted and thanks for getting back to the forum - it helps us all. I use Google Drive and have pasted your information under my 'Electric Bikes' folder for when I need a new battery, so thanks again.

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping it all works ok. I've never had a case re-celled as I'm fairly new to electric bikes. I'm not sure what is going on with my local dealer? The guy who set it up has gone and there has been an attempt to resurrect the business under another name. I did try there initially but they failed to get back to me whereas Insat where brilliant....as was this forum which is fantastic

I agree with you about the forum - it has helped me loads.

 

Let us know how you get on with the battery and good luck with it.

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping it all works ok. I've never had a case re-celled as I'm fairly new to electric bikes. I'm not sure what is going on with my local dealer? The guy who set it up has gone and there has been an attempt to resurrect the business under another name. I did try there initially but they failed to get back to me whereas Insat where brilliant....as was this forum which is fantastic

Can you give all the details of cost and time, etc? It'll be useful for others.

I discussed a 48 volt battery with Jimmy at some length on a Thursday morning. Lots of good advice and information and endless patience . Real old school type of guy to deal with. The battery and charger arrived on the Friday before noon, exactly as described, £250 inc Courier. Try doing that with Hooflung Dung in Yakidaboo land.

If anyone is interested you can contact Insat on 02083611790. I called them for a chat initially to suss them out and they were friendly and obviously knew their stuff. It's £200 for 11.6Ah or £250 for 14.5 Ah Samsung E29 batteries. They said they could get 14.5 Ah into my 'Whitebait' 10Ah case (and they did). You don't even have to pay up front. If you want to go ahead let them know and agree a pick up day. They email a courier sticker for you to put on your boxed battery (you will need to do the packaging bit). By the way you will need to send the battery charger you are using too, minus the power lead. Mine was picked up on a Tuesday and I was contacted within 7 days regarding payment and a to arrange a suitable drop off day by the courier. Once received I charged mine up which took ages, in the end my basic maths worked out that a charger putting out 2 Amps would take just over 7 hours to fill mine up if the correct batteries had been fitted. Hey presto in about 7.5 hours my charger switched to the green LED....all done. My old battery had gone down to an hour in it's death throws so must have been holding only 2Ah. Next test was on the bike...all lights to the max on battery indicator and on handlebar indicator...CHECK!

Next test on the road outside my house..yes all good nice bit of power through each of the settings. Today I did the 7 mile commute to work (14 miles total) after clearing out the puncture slime from my valves and sorting out tyre pressures. Got in with all indicator lights on full. I even indulged in a few lazy sessions on the flat with my beloved accelerator! I tried some speed tests with said beloved accelerator on the flat. From a rolling start on a sunny wind less day from 11mph the motor acheived 17.9 on the flat in the open, in town I managed to get it up to 18.1 mph. Not scientific I know, but a clear difference from my old batteries which maxxed out at about 15.3mph. All I need to find out now is what the range will be. So all seems well so far and I'm very happy with what Insat have done. The only little thing I noticed was that the battery pack inside the case can slide if you invert the whole unit so best to keep it upright or be gentle when laying it on it's side. It's not a big deal but if you can get 14.5 Ah in a 10Ah case with room to spare something must have changed in the last few years with battery size and power output. The weight seems about the same as the original 10Ah unit. It seems you don't really need the larger 'Whitebait' cases any longer. I hope this expansion on my experience helps

Edited April 18, 201610 yr by wightrider

10/10 for detail!

Thanks for giving us the full low-down, it will be really useful to know what to expect for those of us going down that route.

We've been waiting for years to find someone that can do a good reliable re-cell service. It looks like we finally have it. let's hope that it keeps going.

I wish they could deliver to France... There are French companies that will do all that for... twice the price

There must be other companies doing this stuff surely? Insat do other kinds of electrical work too. Interestingly they said that the demand for Lithium Ion batteries has rocketed now that car manufacturers are buying loads for new electric/hybrid cars and there are currently a limited number of factories producing good ones (not Chinese copies). This has lead to them becoming more expensive and harder to find/purchase. I would hope that normal market factors would dictate that more quality manufacturing factories are born otherwise this new car technology won't take off. Lithium is rather common on Planet Earth after all.

WelI have just sent my Wisper battery to be re-celled so am hoping it lives up to everyones comments.

 

They are charging £250 for 36V 14ah, by comparison a new Wisper battery is £500.

There's billions being invested in battery technology. We keep seeing break-throughs being announced, but during the 6 years I've been involved, no break-throughs have been realised; however, we do get a 10% to 20% improvement every year, so batteries are becoming smaller, lighter and more powerful for roughly the same cost. In the meantime, there'll be plenty of work for Insatinternational.

 

There's many difficult obstacles to overcome to be a commercial battery repairer, which is why there's not many around. Jimmy at Insat is very passionate about what he's doing and the associated technology, which might have something to do with his success. Maybe he'll get harvested by Apple or hoovered up by Dyson because People that know about this stuff are very much in demand, so get his services while you can.

Totally agree d8veh. It was Jimmy's extensive knowledge and his willingness to talk at length to me that made me realise I was talking to the right guy. I hate it when you speak to a repairer of things and it dawns on you that you actually know more than them.

I just got the harvested and hoovered references....very good, I will have to read your posts more carefully from now on lol!