Hello from Vancouver, Canada

[Derek B85]

Hi there, I'm Derek, and I live in vancouver, BC, Canada.

Well I'll get right to it. A little while ago I got a Escooter ( taotao 803 if you must know) and I did like it for a while, still do kinda, but yes, I should have held on to my money and did my homework a bit more and went for an electric bike.

Well that mistake has been partially rectified. I did get an electric bike for a *great* deal 2nd hand , however it is missing the battery ( 48 volt/10.4 ah li-ion, they said it was stolen, still, a great deal so far as I can see).
I can and probably will get a replacement battery and charger from the ebike manufacturer, and I'm aware of what sort of voltage I need for the battery and charger, but what I was wondering was how hard it would be to hook up a battery from another maker to it..mainly what I'm wondering about are the connections between the motor and the battery, and the battery and the charger, is it all fairly universal or is there much variance that would require me to be very cautious in my battery and charger purchase? ( It's just your common 500watt 8fun/bafang rear hub motor.

Eventually I do want to get or make something much better, but I needed a good deal for now, hopefully this works out well in the end, any help or info that any of you could provide would be awesome, and if you got any questions feel free to ask away.

Happy holidays!

 

[JRA]

Do you mean the battery was stolen or the bike? Odd that the two would be separated.

Seek out Grin Technologies there in Vancouver, they should be able to help you.

 

[Derek B85]

The Battery was stolen. It's a quick release seat and the battery was right under it, they foolishly left it on at some point I guess. The company should be able to sell me a battery and charger at a good deal, but they said they only take credit card ( even in person it seems), and since I currently don't have one I may have to look elsewhere :/

 

[JRA]

While that is a popular battery architecture for that style of bike the mount makes it somewhat specific to the original one. If anyone can get you going it is the techs at Grin. Not sure why they don't accept cash at their facility, you might want to double check on that? They really are your best bet there in Vancouver to get it going but not saying there are not other places that work on e bikes in the city that couldn't perhaps help. Good luck!

 

[Derek B85]

Thanks.
The customer service guy I exchanged emails with said I could get a new battery and charger for 395$ plus tax, best deal I can find so far. I did figure that if I got another battery I'd most likely have to get a mount or bag for it as well, bumping up the overall price a bit more, but still a good deal if I go that route.

Yes, they seem to be adamant about only taking credit card which does seem strange, could just be that they mostly sell online and not so much in store and prefer not to keep cash on the premises, it's a way to save money supposedly, and helps prevent theft or robbery, those are the only reasons I could think of that make any sense.

 

[Ann M.]

Derek, do you have a bank debit card? Those work the same way as a credit card and should be acceptable at the shop.

 

[Derek B85]

I do. I just sent another email asking about that I Can't think of why they wouldn't take debit if it's in person,.. or even a money order. It's a bit of a turn off when they insist on Visa or Master card.

EDIT: just got a reply. They said it again, without even giving a reason. Hmph. Maybe I will look elsewhere..

 

[Ann M.]

Most band debit cards are a Visa or MC, just look for the related symbol on your debit card. That means it will process the same as a regular credit card. It's usually cheaper on processing for the company with debit and more secure since the $$ is pulled immediately from your bank account. Keep trying!

 

[Derek B85]

Naw, I just got a regular debit card right now, no credit card symbols on it. Yeah , I know, weird. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I got some time before I'll be able to get the battery and charger at any rate,so I'll be able to look at some options, probably be cheapest just to make my own battery, lol.

 

[Derek B85]

Crummy, they said they won't even accept a debit card with a CC symbol on it. I'm definitely going to look elsewhere, not much choice. Too bad for them..
I already got another place lined up, just got to save up a tiny bit. The price is about the same for the battery, 350$ for a 48v 10.4 Ah battery, but I may just get a 13.5 AH one at the same voltage for 380$, the place said they'd actually modify the battery mount to fit it at no extra cost.

They're selling the chargers for 100$ though, sounds a bit steep, but hey, so long as it all works out it's an awesome holiday deal..

 

[Cnugget]

Crummy, they said they won't even accept a debit card with a CC symbol on it. I'm definitely going to look elsewhere, not much choice. Too bad for them..
I already got another place lined up, just got to save up a tiny bit. The price is about the same for the battery, 350$ for a 48v 10.4 Ah battery, but I may just get a 13.5 AH one at the same voltage for 380$, the place said they'd actually modify the battery mount to fit it at no extra cost.

They're selling the chargers for 100$ though, sounds a bit steep, but hey, so long as it all works out it's an awesome holiday deal..

Canadian Debit cards don't work the same as other international cards including USA ones.. even if they have a Visa symbol on them they don't normally work as credit. One day maybe though...