Electric Bikes Conversion Kits EMTBS eRoad/Commuting What's New?

So....as a lesson to New People...

I

Ian-p-e-d-e-l-e-c

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 9, 2016
13
9
53
This "appears" to be a bargain. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-26-Lady-Electric-Bike-E-Bike-Genuine-Samsung-lithium-Battery-/191772365505?hash=item2ca68612c1:g:Q0EAAOSwGotWhqzB

It's cheaper than a battery on it's own from one of the known e-bike manufacturers.

So what's the pit falls?

Battery life? Even if it's only 12 months, which would be under any warranty, at 13 months you could buy a whole new bike.

Warranty - so you're going to need to ship it back to nottingham.

Other pitfalls that a newbie wouldn't see?
 
anotherkiwi

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
Cheating on the battery: the photo of the cells is not the same battery pack as the bottle battery shown on the bike...
 
Lancslass

Lancslass

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 3, 2015
438
266
69
Egerton, BL7 North Bolton, Lancashire
No warranty, PayPal not accepted, seller sells all sorts and is not a bike specialist (let alone an ebike specialist). The battery can't be genuine because the claimed range of 20/25km is way too low for a 10ah unit, which would normally do at least 30mls on one charge.

On the plus side, it is very cheap. But personally I would be treating that as a disadvantage in that it's far too cheap for a half decent ebike and it's probably going to fall apart (possibly when being ridden).

I'd save the pennies and spend more for a reputable, make from a known, reliable supplier. I spent under £1000 for my Juicy bike and I know I am in good hands of anything happens to it.
 
flecc

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,260
30,648
Lancslass said:
The battery can't be genuine because the claimed range of 20/25km is way too low for a 10ah unit, which would normally do at least 30mls on one charge.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily true, and 30 miles from a 10 Ah battery can be quite ambitious. I've owned two e-bikes with 10 Ah batteries that wouldn't get near 30 miles. One of those was subject to a thread asking all the members owing one what range they got, and the majority answer was 15 miles. A couple got 18 miles and one got 20 miles.

The other model as delivered was low geared so pedal help at full speed was difficult, so the best it could make was 15 miles.

And that's the key, how much one pedals. The sort of buyer of this kind of cheap bike isn't usually an enthusiast cyclist and often wants the bike to do all the work, meaning a very low range.

The cells shown in the photo of the battery internals are marked Samsung ICR 18650 26F which are 2.6 Ah each, which with a typical 10s 4p array would add up to 37 volts, 10.4 Ah, both fractionally above the published specification. So it could well be genuine if the cells are not forgeries. The batch number seems to indicate they are genuine.

If these have been brought in as a full container load but failed to sell well enough, this sort of clearance price is perfectly possible and I've seen it a few times before. But obviously as you've said, it is a cheap basic bike so may not be very long lasting.
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T

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
Straightforward, simple construction, easy maintenance.
Not easy to step through, single speed, single walled rims, plastic pedals, cheap brakes and tyres, not good enough if you live in a hilly area.
Otherwise, I can't see anything wrong with it.

 
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Fordulike

Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
3,802
1,538
anotherkiwi

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
flecc said:
The cells shown in the photo of the battery internals are marked Samsung ICR 18650 26F which are 2.6 Ah each, which with a typical 10s 4p array would add up to 37 volts, 10.4 Ah, both fractionally above the published specification. So it could well be genuine if the cells are not forgeries. The batch number seems to indicate they are genuine.
.
Click to expand...
Nope not a photo of the battery internals, check again. The photo shows some kind of plastic pack full of Samsung batteries not the guts of a bottle battery.
 
flecc

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,260
30,648
anotherkiwi said:
Nope not a photo of the battery internals, check again. The photo shows some kind of plastic pack full of Samsung batteries not the guts of a bottle battery.
Click to expand...
Agreed, hence my reservations, "if the cells are not forgeries" and "so it could be genuine".

But it's a dirt cheap e-bike so I wouldn't expect more than two years of occasional good weather use, shopping etc.
.
 
B

bigearsbilly

Pedelecer
Feb 5, 2016
48
9
61
We all know the old adage: if it seems too good to be true then it probably is. Nobody gives stuff away.
 
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T

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
2,671
that does not look kosher to me. You pay then wait for a month for delivery. By that time, your paypal protection has lapsed.
Then what if your bike does not turn up?
 
electrickery

electrickery

Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2015
135
124
71
fife scotland
yes I did enquire if he could reassure me how this was working but he didn't respond.. I guess if it looks too good to be true it probably is ;)
 
Chainring

Chainring

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2013
335
164
electrickery said:
yes I did enquire if he could reassure me how this was working but he didn't respond.. I guess if it looks too good to be true it probably is ;)
Click to expand...
Yes, very strange. Portsmouth, West Sussex?!* The listing has now ended....
 
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