Does any battery system have a speed charger?

[AndersM]

Hi,

I did a two week trip last summer on my Neo Cross(lots of problems with the bike, but that's another story) where I did 150-200 km a day. Given the extra weight from my three bags I had to charge during the day. I really loved doing a longer trip on a e-bike except for the involuntary charging breaks throughout the day. I did not have the patience to do a full charge during the day, so I ended up constantly looking for outlets on every stop I made and charge for half an hour here and there.

I'm thinking about doing something similar next summer and are looking for solutions to help me with this. I could get a second battery, but I was wondering if anyone provides a speed charger for any of the battery systems?

Thanks!

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

Some chemistries will take a faster charge and some chargers will run off 220 Volts, but there are compromises in safety, longevity, etc. I'm hoping to have 3 batteries for my current favorite bike when they are available, and a second charger. A 1 or 2 hundred watt solar trailer would be interesting for XC trips. -S

 

[Brambor]

Seems like catch 22 - the faster the charger is the bigger and heavier the housing is to protect from overheating etc... ... and this in turn sort of detracts from bringing it with you on a bicycle because it's too heavy.

... and lightweight travel charger take too long to charge the battery where taking it with you on a day trip makes no sense ;-)


My Turbo battery charges in 2 to 3 hours. I used to have a travel charger but that took double the time to charge the battery so I got rid of it. Now I have 2 batteries and that is usually enough for the weekend. If I stay over at a campground or motel then I bring the regular charger to recharge near electrical outlets.

 

[opimax]

Another thought on the second battery. you are probably pushing your battery pretty hard. A 2nd battery will save you money in the long run, and solve the range anxiety issue both.

 

[PowerMe]

I want to hear about your issues/problems with the Neo Cross. I'm considering purchasing an Easy Motion eBike, though a completely different model, and am looking at reliability and types of issues I might expect.

 

[AndersM]

Yes, a second battery would probably be a better solution. Only thing is I would need a full night to charge both including a swap half way with only one charger. I would either way end up with more weight, but that's how it is.
I am open for switching to a Borch or Yamaha based bike, since it seems easier to handle an extra battery of that type rather than the long Neo battery. Any thoughts on which system is best for long trips?

Regarding my problems with the Neo Cross, I'm pretty sure I got a bad bike. I broke 5 spokes on the rear wheel making me lose almost two full days for three separate repairs. And when it finally started raining the bike just stopped working all together. The display flooded with water and it just shut down forcing me to return the bike and cut the trip short.
I got a new bike that seems to be ok, but I only have a few hundred km on it.
I have read about others having problems with the spokes on Neos, but that was on older bikes and not a 2014 which I have. The dealer and importer in Norway had never heard of the issues I had on a 2014 bike.

 

[PowerMe]

Ok that makes me feel a little better. I'm considering a 2015 Evo Street. Reliability is probably the #1 item on everyone's list, certainly on mine.

 

[Shea N Encinitas]

I am open for switching to a Borch or Yamaha based bike, since it seems easier to handle an extra battery of that type rather than the long Neo battery. Any thoughts on which system is best for long trips?

The Bosch system is really good at extending batteries, especially when limited to 15 or 20 mph. Of course any e-bike will go further at lower speeds as those last few mph/km h above 20 are physically expensive, using much more power to sustain. In PAS 1, or Eco mode to use the Bosch vernacular, power is limited and range of 40 miles is possible. Any time you exceed the max speed power is cut, you may not even notice if heading into a downhill situation. I can't speak to the Yamaha mid drive system but if either one of them go to 48 volts I'm sure this would prove an advantage to riders. The 36 v 11 Ah (aprx 400 watt hour) battery packs are pretty small and not too heavy BTW. Sorry I'm not savvy enough to convert mph to km h in my head. Maybe your cars have mph in small letters like our have km h, giving you some sense of scale. -S

 

[AndersM]

You just mulitply by ~1.6 to get from miles to km
All electric bikes in Norway is limited to 250w and max 25 kph assisted speed, otherwise you have to register it as a small motorbike.
With my Neo Cross with 12Ah battery and very conservative use, I got 100+ km(60+ miles) out of one charge. But this meant only using the lowest eco setting and only using it in uphill or headwind when I couldn't do 25kph with just pedaling.