Thoughts on Carrera Crossfire-E

[Artmuzz]

And you swallowed that?

No, I just couldn't be bothered arguing and the manager wasn't that helpful either when I asked to speak to him. I don't know whether to get advise from another Halfords branch but that is 20 miles away.

 

[Trevormonty]

thanks Mcozzy for your response. My commute is a mix of three hills. one of them is very steep but other two are OK. it takes me around 32 mins one way for 6 miles. I am expecting ebike may increase my average speed ?

For hills you can double your climbing speed while not sweating. x2-3 if you want to add sweat. On flat without head wind normal bike will be a few km/hr faster but most riders will be sweating.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I took my Crossfire-E into Halfords and I mentioned the problem with the motor cutting off and their answer was that the reason the bike's motor cuts off is because it has safe mode built in and when the sensor detects a lot of power being used on the battery then it cuts off. It is actually a safety precaution so the battery doesn't get destroyed.

What he says could be right if it only cuts out when going slowly up steep hills on maximum power, but that would be a pain. It's the one time you don't want the motor to cut out.

I only know of one motor system that cuts out due to protection, which is from Keyde. It has a tiny motor, which is very powerful for its size, so it gets hot quickly. They only reduce the power when it gets hot, not cut completely.

I've heard that the Yamaha crank-drive systems also cut out when they get hot, but I have no personal experience.

 

[Mariusz]

I took my Crossfire-E into Halfords and I mentioned the problem with the motor cutting off and their answer was that the reason the bike's motor cuts off is because it has safe mode built in and when the sensor detects a lot of power being used on the battery then it cuts off. It is actually a safety precaution so the battery doesn't get destroyed.

I do not think that's the reason. Mine was cutting out in different situations ,sometimes when I was going down the hill and not pedalling at all.
I inserted 2 small bits of foamy rubber under the battery in its ledge and the problem has disappeared completely.
Battery loses contact at times and assist cuts out.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If possible, Marius, could you show some photos. That would help others solve the problem.

 

[Brynric]

I took my Crossfire-E into Halfords and I mentioned the problem with the motor cutting off and their answer was that the reason the bike's motor cuts off is because it has safe mode built in and when the sensor detects a lot of power being used on the battery then it cuts off. It is actually a safety precaution so the battery doesn't get destroyed.

There may well be a safety point but it's not the answer to the cut-out problem. Yesterday I was cycling on a flat road using no power when the display switched off. I reached down to press the battery button, display came on again .... For about 20 seconds. This happened twice more before I stopped, unlocked the battery, took it off the bike, replaced it, switched on and set off. No more problem. It seems to me to be an issue with battery connections. That's only the second time it's happened for me in 300 miles.
I'm really pleased with my local Halfords but so much depends on the staff, sometimes even down to who is on duty at a particular time.

 

[Convert123]

Do you think repeatedly taking the battery on and off the bike makes any difference? Is it preferable to charge the battery when it is on the bike - or does that make no difference whatsoever?

 

[superhands]

Mine has been fine but I left it in the garage for a couple of days with a charged battery, and then it came up with an E21 error two or three times...but I cured it by removing the battery and reseating it. I understand it's not good for them to sit with a fully charged battery.


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[sunil]

I do not think that's the reason. Mine was cutting out in different situations ,sometimes when I was going down the hill and not pedalling at all.
I inserted 2 small bits of foamy rubber under the battery in its ledge and the problem has disappeared completely.
Battery loses contact at times and assist cuts out.

hi Mariusz

can you please share the picture of the 'fix' you have done for battery cutout.
I hope halfords engineers copy that too !!

Regards
Sunil

 

[Kudoscycles]

Its slowly spins the rear wheel, not sure what the point is. Ive never used it. Maybe useful to help push it home if you get a puncture?

I guess it's another name for a walk assist,we have several bikes with this facility.
It powers the bike at 4 mph so that if you choose to walk alongside you don't have to push the bike.
However,just guessing
KudosDave

 

[anotherkiwi]

I guess it's another name for a walk assist,we have several bikes with this facility.
It powers the bike at 4 mph so that if you choose to walk alongside you don't have to push the bike.
However,just guessing
KudosDave

Very useful on ramps beside stairs when the pannier is full of shopping. The Vélodyssée has stairs at Hendaye, which is a reminder that cycle routes are designed by civil engineers not bike riders...

 

[mcozzy]

The overload explanation is plausible, but a massive design fault if true.
Whenever mine cuts, its ALWAYS up a light incline. In fact I can predict where it will fail if its going to. It did again this morning in exactly the same spot as it has done a few times in the past. In fact I was taking it super easy up this hill after reading about this.
The control panel is dead & wont switch back on. The battery has to be turned back on, then the panel can be switched on, but it only lasts 10 secs or so before turning off again. Reseating the battery will resolve it, as will leaving it whilst I'm in work. It will be ok again once I ride home in the evening.
I have tried packing the space between the battery & the frame and also using a webbing strap to hold the battery firmly to the frame to no avail, so the battery turning itself off sounds the most likely.
Unfortunately I bought mine seconds hand, so have no warranty.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It can be true and false at the same time. Most likely, your battery is faulty. When any cell goes below about 3.0v, the BMS will switch off to protect it from damage; however, a cell shouldn't be reaching 3.0v until you've done about 30 miles.

There will be different reasons for cutting out. You must frst dertermine if it's the battery or controller that's shutting down.

If it's the controller or the connection to the battery causing the cut-out, the power can be started again by pressing the button on the display, otherwise it's a battery problem.

 

[egroover]

Quick question rather than starting a new thread, I've got a crossfire-e, very happy with it.
My daily commute is 11 miles, couple of really big hills, stick it on 100% assistance, get to work cool and relaxed...get home with about 55% battery remaining, so I can easily do 2 days on a full charge, however, I've been reading that it's better to charge up every time, for the life and condition of the battery, so to top up even after short journeys, is this right? Be interested in your views - Thanks !

 

[sunil]

Quick question rather than starting a new thread, I've got a crossfire-e, very happy with it.
My daily commute is 11 miles, couple of really big hills, stick it on 100% assistance, get to work cool and relaxed...get home with about 55% battery remaining, so I can easily do 2 days on a full charge, however, I've been reading that it's better to charge up every time, for the life and condition of the battery, so to top up even after short journeys, is this right? Be interested in your views - Thanks !

is your office commute 11 miles one way ? I am asking this if battery has dropped 45% in 11 miles then how it can give its stated 60 miles !!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I've been reading that it's better to charge up every time, for the life and condition of the battery, so to top up even after short journeys, is this right? Be interested in your views - Thanks !

It's not worth topping up after a short journey, say up to 5 miles, but you should top up every day after your 11 mile commute. It makes very little difference to the battery life, but it does make a difference for you because the more charge in the battery, the more torque, speed and power you'll get from the motor because the voltage will be higher.

 

[egroover]

It's not worth topping up after a short journey, say up to 5 miles, but you should top up every day after your 11 mile commute. It makes very little difference to the battery life, but it does make a difference for you because the more charge in the battery, the more torque, speed and power you'll get from the motor because the voltage will be higher.

Yes, sunil, 11 miles round trip, 5.5 miles each way. There's a very big hill on the way, when I'm full assistance that alone can use 15%.
The most I've got so far on one charge including that big hill is 45 miles total. That's using either 25 or 50% assistance, will the odd 75% assistance for hills.
I'm pretty please with the range, I reckon a reasonably flat route using 25% assistance you could see 60 miles range no problem.

d8veh, thanks for the tip, yes I have noticed the slight drop off of power when sub 15 % of battery left, not noticed it so much before that point.

I guess I was more concerned in the number of charge cycles on the battery, if I charge every day instead of every other day....I'm hoping the battery will be good for 1000 full cycles (does that also mean 2000 half cycles ???), that'll equate to 5 years + (hopefully)

Thanks all

 

[RobF]

Yes, sunil, 11 miles round trip, 5.5 miles each way. There's a very big hill on the way, when I'm full assistance that alone can use 15%.
The most I've got so far on one charge including that big hill is 45 miles total. That's using either 25 or 50% assistance, will the odd 75% assistance for hills.
I'm pretty please with the range, I reckon a reasonably flat route using 25% assistance you could see 60 miles range no problem.

d8veh, thanks for the tip, yes I have noticed the slight drop off of power when sub 15 % of battery left, not noticed it so much before that point.

I guess I was more concerned in the number of charge cycles on the battery, if I charge every day instead of every other day....I'm hoping the battery will be good for 1000 full cycles (does that also mean 2000 half cycles ???), that'll equate to 5 years + (hopefully)

Thanks all

In terms of estimating life, a cycle does mean a full cycle, so charging from half full is only half a cycle.

Charging aside, the passing of time also impacts on battery life.

You may get five years, but many cheaper batteries don't manage half that.

 

[egroover]

In terms of estimating life, a cycle does mean a full cycle, so charging from half full is only half a cycle.

Charging aside, the passing of time also impacts on battery life.

You may get five years, but many cheaper batteries don't manage half that.

Thanks Rob.
I use mine 3 days a week to commute, so that's 3 x half a charge per week, so the equivalent of 78 full charges per year. The Suntour HESC battery on the Crossfire-e has a minimum spec of 500 charges, that equates to 6.4 years life, but as you say the passing of time will have an effect...Be interested on others thoughts - Thanks

 

[RobF]

Can't fault your arithmetic, but I doubt many batteries last anything like six years.

Part of the reason for that is the more recent more powerful - while still legal - motors give the battery a harder time.

My Bosch batteries are still performing well after four years.

The Bosch system was only introduced in 2010, so not many owners will have been able to test life for five and six years.