2017 vs 2018

[VirgilCaine]

Having a hard time quantifying the closeout discount for 2017 vs holding out for the improvements of 2018.
Given the depreciation for ebkies, I want to hang onto whatever I buy for awhile...

 

[Nova Haibike]

Kinda impossible to answer your question without know what specific brand and model you are considering. Usually, between model years there is only incremental changes...and not always for the better. Myself, I just bought a new but old stock 2016 Haibike, and the comparable 2018 is definitely not worth paying an extra $1100 for a thru-axle front hub and cheaper shifters.

 

[Chris Nolte]

At this point there aren’t too many of the 2017 Haibike’s left, but there are definitely still some good values. There aren’t too many major changes for 2018 aside from some bikes introducing Powertube on Bosch bikes and more Yamaha Bikes with the PWX motor. At this point I would be careful about 2016 bikes as the battery could have degraded a bit from sitting for years without use.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Well, if i need to be specific; 2017 EM Atom Lynx6 vs 2018 Atom X 5Lynx...lot's of upgrades. Would you get battery degradation with buying a 2017 as well ?

 

[Deleted member 803]

Take a look at the BESV TRB1 AM. Can be had for $4K. 80 mile range battery.

 

[Nova Haibike]

I would be careful about 2016 bikes as the battery could have degraded a bit from sitting for years without use.

A fair point that I had not considered. I don't have any test equipment, but according to the meter on the bike I purchased, I should get over 60 miles out of a charge with the supplied battery (using the standard power setting), hauling around my well-over 200 lb. body. Even if in my particlar case the battery has indeed suffered from some degradation, I am comforted in the fact that I could buy a second battery and still not have paid the MSRP.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

A fair point that I had not considered. I don't have any test equipment, but according to the meter on the bike I purchased, I should get over 60 miles out of a charge with the supplied battery (using the standard power setting), hauling around my well-over 200 lb. body. Even if in my particlar case the battery has indeed suffered from some degradation, I am comforted in the fact that I could buy a second battery and still not have paid the MSRP.

The warranty starts from the date of purchase.
If you did not notice, Yamaha battery ships in deep sleep mode. Under this mode, you can keep the battery with extremely negligible degradation for couple of years. Once you receive the bike, you plug it in, it comes out of deep sleep mode.
The BMS is designed to prevent deep discharge which is not good for the bike.

If this was another cheap chinese bike, then this may be a real issue.

@JayVee owns a Yamaha Haibike and he posted a thread about self-diagnosing the battery capacity. Shoot him a message.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I'm going to highlight the differences on the easy motion atom lynx;
2017 atom lynx 6 2018 Atom X 5
Brose center drive 90 NM Brose S 105 NM
600 wh battery 700 wh
standard seat post dropper seat post
Additionally, the 2018 has a major frame re-design with a top loading battery compartment

 

[Nova Haibike]

Thank you, Ravi I definitely did not know about the deep sleep mode. I suppose that the batery could still experience some degradation depending on how the (boxed) bike was stored though, yes? Anyway, thanks again...I am learning a lot here!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Thank you, Ravi I definitely did not know about the deep sleep mode. I suppose that the batery could still experience some degradation depending on how the (boxed) bike was stored though, yes? Anyway, thanks again...I am learning a lot here!

Except plastic, nothing is permanent ! haha
Every battery degrades but this is preventable. The real culprit of battery degradation is temperature. If the battery was kept in Arizona-like temperature then for sure it would have degraded.

Not just you, all EV owners are very concerned about the battery health. People have forked out $100 grand for Tesla Model X and they have the same question. Here, one of the Model X owners asked this question to one of the pioneering scientist in the field. Here is his answer.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Yikes, 70/20 is the new 80/20...might as well just buy an extra battery from the get go for 100%

 

[Nova Haibike]

I'm going to highlight the differences on the easy motion atom lynx;
2017 atom lynx 6 2018 Atom X 5
Brose center drive 90 NM Brose S 105 NM
600 wh battery 700 wh
standard seat post dropper seat post
Additionally, the 2018 has a major frame re-design with a top loading battery compartment

JMHO, it is almost like comparing apples to oranges. The Atom X is significantly more money to begin with, and BH touts it as their top-of-line, "we spent more money on R&D with this bike than any other in our history." So do you want to save some scratch, or have a bleeding edge design (that will be old news in a couple of years)?

 

[Kurt in CT]

Except plastic, nothing is permanent ! haha
Every battery degrades but this is preventable. The real culprit of battery degradation is temperature. If the battery was kept in Arizona-like temperature then for sure it would have degraded.

Not just you, all EV owners are very concerned about the battery health. People have forked out $100 grand for Tesla Model X and they have the same question. Here, one of the Model X owners asked this question to one of the pioneering scientist in the field. Here is his answer.

Ravi, appreciated! Great video, and unfortunately, my ebike is as close as I'm going to get to a $100k Tesla at the moment.

 

[Nova Haibike]

JayVee, you did a far better job explaining it than the manual. I did see that information, but I could not grasp what the heck it was saying, and the illustrations were confusing. I tested my battery, and I get one and four LEDS.