Do I have my Range Extender installed correctly?

[Burning Matches]

I have a new Range Extender battery and cable. Haven't used it yet but testing out how it fits on the bike. Am I doing this correctly? Reason I ask is because the cable seems extremely taut, as if it is almost a few mm too short. Is there another way to have the battery sit in the cage that doesn't put so much strain on the cable and connections? The diagram in the user manual makes it look like there is quite a bit more slack.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Burning Matches:
I was about to say everything was OK with your setup but am not sure now.

You seem to own the water-bottle-cage of the opposite orientation to what I use!

With any Range Extender I bought, I got a dedicated cage. Therefore, my Range Extender cages have the opening towards the drive side of the Vado SL, and the top plug of the cable points towards the drive side, too. It looks like your cage has the opening on the opposite side!

Now, if you use the 220 mm SL Cable, your setup still looks good. There shall be no extensive slack in the cable. (Please secure the top plug with the provided rubber band!)

 

[Burning Matches]

@Burning Matches:
I was about to say everything was OK with your setup but am not sure now.

You seem to own the water-bottle-cage of the opposite orientation to what I use!

With any Range Extender I bought, I got a dedicated cage. Therefore, my Range Extender cages have the opening towards the drive side of the Vado SL, and the top plug of the cable points towards the drive side, too. It looks like your cage has the opening on the opposite side!

Now, if you use the 220 mm SL Cable, your setup still looks good. There shall be no extensive slack in the cable. (Please secure the top plug with the provided rubber band!)

I am using the Zee cage that came with the Range Extender. If it is installed on the down tube, it opens on the drive side. On the seat tube, it opens on the non-drive side. The plug is just really difficult to get into the charge port when the battery is in the cage. Maybe it will stretch out over use?

Yes, I am using the 220 mm cable. I don't think Specialized makes one shorter than that. Also the user manual says the rubber band is intended to hold the battery in the cage, not necessarily to hold the plug in the battery. The diagram shows it positioned around the center of the battery.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I don't think Specialized makes one shorter than that.

They do, for Levo SL and Kenevo SL.
Funny to think any of my Zee cages delivered with my 4 REs opened to the drive side when installed on the seat-tube...

Also the user manual says the rubber band is intended to hold the battery in the cage, not necessarily to hold the plug in the battery. The diagram shows it positioned around the center of the battery.

The user manual may read so. The battery is kept inside the cage by rotating the RE the way its notch is hooked by the cage insert. Personally, I have been fastening the plug for last 5,000+ miles and it worked

The plug is just really difficult to get into the charge port when the battery is in the cage. Maybe it will stretch out over use?

I had never had any issues with plugging the cable into the frame port but there never was any substantial slack in the cable either.

 

[Burning Matches]

They do, for Levo SL and Kenevo SL.
Funny to think any of my Zee cages delivered with my 4 REs opened to the drive side when installed on the seat-tube...


The user manual may read so. The battery is kept inside the cage by rotating the RE the way its notch is hooked by the cage insert. Personally, I have been fastening the plug for last 5,000+ miles and it worked


I had never had any issues with plugging the cable into the frame port but there never was any substantial slack in the cable either.

Thanks... I just checked to make sure I didn't actually have the 160 mm cable! But it has "220 mm" printed on the inside.

The difficulty is getting the plug inserted into the charge port. The cable needs to have enough slack to allow the plug to insert straight into the port. I am finding that with the battery in the cage and the notch lined up with the top of the cage, the plug has to go in on an angle due to the lack of length, which seems to put unnecessary stress on the plug, the cable and the port.

If I rotate the battery in the cage to have the shortest possible distance to the charging port, I then have enough length that I can get the plug lined up to go in straight. Then rotate the battery back to fit the notch with the top of the cage.

It just seems if the cable was only a few mm longer, it wouldn't require so much pulling to get it to plug in smoother.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

The setup on my Creo is the same as yours - just a lot dirtier at the moment! The cable isn’t stretched, bit it is pretty snug. I do sort of have to tip it into the connector. I only bought it a week or so ago, so it’s still quite new.

 

[eddief]

can't you simply turn the battery around in the cage so the cable coming out of the top of the battery is showing on the non-drive side (left) of the bike? That should give you more slack so it is easy for the cable each to reach the charge port on the bike. In the photo above the battery is turned nearly opposite of the position that makes the most sense. For the person who posted originally I am suggesting that you turn the battery so the cable sitting in the crease of the battery is on the same side as the big open space in the bottle cage. You should be able to rotate the battery so you have just the right amount of slack to make it easy to line up the plug of the cable to the charge port on the bike. I think nearly every photo on the web is incorrect as the best way to orient the battery.

Like this is what makes sense to me (even though this photo is for a mt. bike):

 

[Howie7]

I have a new Range Extender battery and cable. Haven't used it yet but testing out how it fits on the bike. Am I doing this correctly? Reason I ask is because the cable seems extremely taut, as if it is almost a few mm too short. Is there another way to have the battery sit in the cage that doesn't put so much strain on the cable and connections? The diagram in the user manual makes it look like there is quite a bit more slack.
View attachment 153044View attachment 153046View attachment 153047

I think that looks correct. Here’s a picture of mine, there is very little, if any, slack.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

I agree with eddief. Couldn’t you simply rotate the battery so the wire exiting the battery is closer to the port the cable connects too? Maybe I’m missing something.

 

[Burning Matches]

can't you simply turn the battery around in the cage so the cable coming out of the top of the battery is showing on the non-drive side (left) of the bike? That should give you more slack so it is easy for the cable each to reach the charge port on the bike. In the photo above the battery is turned nearly opposite of the position that makes the most sense. For the person who posted originally I am suggesting that you turn the battery so the cable sitting in the crease of the battery is on the same side as the big open space in the bottle cage. You should be able to rotate the battery so you have just the right amount of slack to make it easy to line up the plug of the cable to the charge port on the bike. I think nearly every photo on the web is incorrect as the best way to orient the battery.

Like this is what makes sense to me (even though this photo is for a mt. bike):

Good thought, but the battery has a notch on only one side. That notch lines up with the top section of the bottle cage, which holds the battery in place.

As designed:

Rotated 180. This doesn't really work:

 

[Burning Matches]

The setup on my Creo is the same as yours - just a lot dirtier at the moment! The cable isn’t stretched, bit it is pretty snug. I do sort of have to tip it into the connector. I only bought it a week or so ago, so it’s still quite new.

View attachment 153059

One thing I noticed in your picture is that, on the aluminum frame, the charging port looks like it is positioned slightly differently than on the carbon frame. Mine looks to be just slightly lower and more on a lower angle, which might be the difference in the amount of slack needed to easily insert the plug...

 

[eddief]

ahhhh. good point on that Specialized bottle cage that makes it a big hassle to plug in the battery. That's why I could not understand the issue. I use a regular, fancy, normal bike, bottle cage and being able to rotate the battery makes it all work really easily. I do use the big rubber band to ensure the battery does not fly out under challenging conditions. Try a normal, quality, non-proprietary cage...and enjoy the ride and...the battery.

You will notice that the photo of the bottle cage above that I posted showing the mountain bike has the cage on the down tube which I think rotates the cage in the direction that makes sense but if you mount on the seat tube that turns it 180 degrees and causes issues with slack.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

With all the slack, you might be able to twist the wire, clockwise, towards the seat tube. By rolling/twisting the wire, you’ll start to create a coil. The wire might be less prove to flopping around.

 

[Creo rider]

Burning Matches, just to add to the other replies, on my Creo Expert (so carbon frame) the RE battery and holder is exactly seated the same as yours. I too always find the cable and plug fairly snug, but I presume it has been designed that way. And I agree with you that rotating the battery is not possible in the zee cage. I note in your photos that the rubber band is not there, as others have said it is a good idea to always use that.

 

[Brew]

I usually have it unplugged from the battery and pull a little more slack in the cable and plug it into the bike 1st. Then pull the slack out and plug it into the battery, more of a straight shot on that plug, works for me.

 

[kevinmccune]

What I would try if I was concerned about the strain on the cable would be to find a water bottle cage that was made slightly different or just to gain a MM or two just slot the cage fastening holes a tiny amount to get the required slack.I have to agree something at its limits will fail quicker.

 

[Burning Matches]

Burning Matches, just to add to the other replies, on my Creo Expert (so carbon frame) the RE battery and holder is exactly seated the same as yours. I too always find the cable and plug fairly snug, but I presume it has been designed that way. And I agree with you that rotating the battery is not possible in the zee cage. I note in your photos that the rubber band is not there, as others have said it is a good idea to always use that.

Thanks for confirming. Yeah, I have the rubber band and will use it when I take the bike out. Just didn't have it on when I was monkeying around with the battery trying to figure out how it should be installed.

 

[Creo rider]

Thanks for confirming. Yeah, I have the rubber band and will use it when I take the bike out. Just didn't have it on when I was monkeying around with the battery trying to figure out how it should be installed.

Oh and btw, I've used the RE on around 100 rides and so far (touch wood), the cable is fine ...

 

[kahn]

Just to add that mine is as you show it. Too much slack and you might possibly snag the cable on your bike shoe. I do occasionally have a bit of an issue turning the "locking" mechanism and re-seat the plug to secure it.

 

[gpburdell]

To dispel the suggestion of carbon/aluminum frame differences, my RE cable is just fine on my E5. Sure it's not wallowing in slack, but it fits just fine.

I'd suggest OP look to whether a slight rotation provides a little more leeway, and also make sure the cable is fully seated in the channel in the RE. If it continues to be an issue, try a replacement cable - perhaps the one in use was mismanufactured.