Battery stolen. Time for an upgrade?

[char1ie]

Hi all,

My battery was stolen from my Rad Wagon. I still have the mount, which mounts to the downtube with three allen bolts and has a five pin male connector.

Can I get a new battery to fit this without spending a fortune at Rad Power Bikes? Should I change the mount and upgrade the battery at the same time? From what I understand the original was made up of Samsung cells and is 48v. The connector is a two pin female round push fit.

From what I can see there are batteries available in various locations and prices. I am in the UK.

Is there an obvious choice for a sensible priced replacement?

Thanks all!


Charlie

 

[AHicks]

I think you're going to find there are much better deals available on the aftermarket - and you'll end up changing the mounting bracket.

You darn sure want to make sure you're looking at a battery with good cells that have been properly matched.

Seems like I remember several people looking for an extra OEM factory bracket, so it may have some value. Don't discard it!

 

[legsofbeer]

I still have the mount, which mounts to the downtube with three allen bolts and has a five pin male connector.

The connector is a two pin female round push fit.

Might help to mention the model year of your radwagon. Your first connector sounds like a 2019 or later, the second one (charging connector?) 2018 or earlier. Whatever you get, you will need to stay within your controller's voltage capability.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

The battery has been the same since the 2018 model, at least in the US on the Rad Rover anyway..

I'm curious how the batter was stolen. It locks to the bracket well enough that I would think the battery and or the bike would be damaged by removing it while locked.

TT

 

[Kyogiro]

If you buy an aftermarket battery, you're gonna need either an adapter to plug in the battery (usually XT90 but it can be another plug) or adapt your bicycle's cable (meaning cutting and the putting the right plug).

 

[AHicks]

The 2017's were the first year of the new style....

 

[char1ie]

Thanks all, mine is a 2017 Radwagon. I left the key in the battery and someone pinched it. Here's the mount removed from the downtube:

From my research it looks like I won't be able to find an off the shelf battery to fit the mount so will have to use an aftermarket mount and battery, and hack the cable. Has anybody done this on their radwagon and has any guidance?

Thanks,


Charlie

 

[JRA]

https://hallomotor.com/products/ebi...attery-with-5a-charger?variant=36082983370904 This battery would be a major upgrade for sure and the price is definitely right and you get 21700 cells which are arguably a better choice these days over 18650's.

Re-fit the pos/neg leads coming from the new mount to the stock leads with compatible connectors. Pretty simple to do.

 

[kmccune]

Great idea,I wonder when the " 45###" cells will be available on the market?( less connections the better) and what are the specs on the large cells( some bikes and trikes have plenty of space)

 

[AHicks]

That is the new style mount. You can see how easy it will be to install the new one.

Only the larger 2 of those pins are in use currently (on my bike anyway).

I would scrap (sell) that whole plate (that contains those pins) and install a much better, higher capacity, easier to service connector between the battery and controller (Anderson connectors come to mind, or even XT90's) on new, heavier leads that have been installed as close to the source as possible (inside the battery case). You may be surprised at how small the OEM wiring is. In other words, beef up that area with something able to carry more current, while minimizing any chance of service issues down the line while you have it all apart.

Too, my choice of new battery would likely be a 52v. The OEM battery was 14.5ah which suits my purposes fine. Carrying the extra weight of a higher capacity battery would serve no useful purpose for me. Point being, going bigger than you really need just makes the bike heavier.

 

[char1ie]

OK, thanks all for the advice. So even though my mount is from a newer model RadWagon it is crap quality and I should change the mount, re do the wires, change the connectors and buy a 52v battery.

Thanks for the Hallo Motor link but I am in the UK so looking for a local solution.

Will get it done soon.


Charlie

 

[JRA]

Hallo provides distribution to the UK as taken from their website as linked. They also sell a range of batteries other than the one linked if you want less Ah.

 

[BKing]

Your mount is not crap. Just buy a Rad battery and chalk it up to experience.