Life span of an eBike

[Yukon 500]

I have put on more than 7,500 km on my Volt E-bike (bought for $1,900 in November 2016 and used for commuting 50km each day, April to November only thanks to Canadian winter). Only replaced rear tire at about 3,000 km and it's about time to replace both the front and rear tires now. Other than that, things are working fine - brakes need to be adjusted and chains are cleaned monthly. The drive side of crank arm came loose a couple of times, but fastened and no issues any more.

I did not notice any noticeable drop in the battery and I hope it will last one more year and by then it will be around 18,000 km. But I have not figured out where to find a replacement battery. Have emailed Volt a couple of times, but no reply.

 

[JoePah]

I have put on more than 7,500 km on my Volt E-bike (bought for $1,900 in November 2016 and used for commuting 50km each day, April to November only thanks to Canadian winter). Only replaced rear tire at about 3,000 km and it's about time to replace both the front and rear tires now. Other than that, things are working fine - brakes need to be adjusted and chains are cleaned monthly. The drive side of crank arm came loose a couple of times, but fastened and no issues any more.

I did not notice any noticeable drop in the battery and I hope it will last one more year and by then it will be around 18,000 km. But I have not figured out where to find a replacement battery. Have emailed Volt a couple of times, but no reply.

Don't they build your battery any more?

http://www.voltbike.ca/replacement-parts/electric-bike-parts.html

 

[Yukon 500]

volt does not have the battery on their website anymore and I have asked the owner (George) a couple of times with no reply. Maybe he is taking a summer vacation or short of staff. I will try later.

The battery is with 18650 Panasonic cells inside but it is bulky than current Volt bike models. it would be a shame if I cannot find a battery while the e-bike itself is still working perfectly.

 

[JoePah]

Well that just sucks. And they aren't getting back to you

 

[jazz]

I have a 2013 Polaris ebike that still runs with no issues. Just rebuilt the battery after 5 years and now it is good as new. Other than regular maintenance, there is no reason why this could not last another 5 years easily

 

[Ann M.]

@Yukon 500, consider getting the battery rebuilt instead of purchasing a replacement. The cost is generally less than new and there are several companies & individuals who could install a quality set of Sony, Panasonic, LG or Samsung cells, probably with a higher capacity which would improve range. If the BMS needed replacing, those are not expensive either.

 

[harryS]

Voltbike's suppliers probably dropped the older bulkier battery. When it goes, and if they cannot find a replacement. you should be able to find a battery rebuilder or mount a newer battery/cradle on your bike if it is a downtube mount.

I expect my ebikes willl last many years. We have one purchased model. an LG beach cruiser model, but it uses the same parts I have bought for my kits, so everything could be replaced with generic parts, motor, electronics, controls, and batteries.

 

[JoePah]

This comment will probably get deleted..

The genius in Sondors bike is the open architecture.. There are many many vendors waiting to sell you a sondors upgraded battery pack, motors controllers you name it.

 

[jazz]

If you need an ebike battery rebuilt, I recommend Nethers. They do good, work, reasonably priced and use quality cells. https://netherswholesale.com/. John will rebuild just about any pack

 

[rich c]

This comment will probably get deleted..

The genius in Sondors bike is the open architecture.. There are many many vendors waiting to sell you a sondors upgraded battery pack, motors controllers you name it.

The original Indiegogo fat bikes were open architecture. Then they changed protocol language in the controller for the second generation fat. You had to buy a Sondors display after that. You can still buy aftermarket displays, but now you have to buy a new controller as well. No idea about the availability of aftermarket batteries since the very latest battery models went to the triangular shape. Also some controller changes when they introduced the Fold. I don't think you can throw a blanket statement over the entire Sondors model line anymore.

 

[jazz]

Pretty much everything on any Sondors ebike is still upgradable and available. The Sondors parts section alone has 64 parts listed. There are 3 other online stores which carry components for Sondors. When you sell 30,000+ ebikes, you have options for sure.

 

[rich c]

Pretty much everything on any Sondors ebike is still upgradable and available. The Sondors parts section alone has 64 parts listed. There are 3 other online stores which carry components for Sondors. When you sell 30,000+ ebikes, you have options for sure.

You can upgrade most bikes, but you just can't randomly interchange controllers and LCDs. The Facebook owners page is awash with folks that upgrade the controller and then ask why their LCD doesn't work properly. The only Sondors that will accept the generic Chinese controller upgrade is the first Indiegogo campaign bikes. That's what I own. Their may be a Fold controller upgrade. I know some owners were working on that. Not sure it's available yet.

 

[Yukon 500]

If you need an ebike battery rebuilt, I recommend Nethers. They do good, work, reasonably priced and use quality cells. https://netherswholesale.com/. John will rebuild just about any pack

Thanks, I will check it out. I am in Toronto so it might be quite expensive to send the battery back and forth. But it seems to be the only option if I cannot buy the OEM one from the manufacturer.

 

[Nabrxx]

the structure of a pedelec made by a manufacturer should hold about 20,000km.
batteries, brakes, chain, disk, cassette ..... tires,a lot less

I like this reply and hope my Raleigh Lore with 4300 miles lives up to it. I hope th manufactures of these transportation changers have done their homework—shortblives will impact the technology being embraced?

 

[raceto100]

Thanks, I will check it out. I am in Toronto so it might be quite expensive to send the battery back and forth. But it seems to be the only option if I cannot buy the OEM one from the manufacturer.

I've never used this service but intend to whenever my battery goes, which hopefully is years from now. This company is in London, Ontario

http://www.chansbattery.ca/

Cheers

 

[bob armani]

I've never used this service but intend to whenever my battery goes, which hopefully is years from now. This company is in London, Ontario

http://www.chansbattery.ca/

Cheers

Any idea if this company does battery service outside of Canada?

 

[NoDTMF]

Haven't posted in a while, my 2 KTMs/bosch mid-drive bought used in 2015 are still going. changed things like brakes, chains etc. Still original batteries.
only 2,000 miles. Had to clean the head unit contacts as there were some intermittent issues.

 

[AZOldTech]

Yamaha warrants their ebikes for a full 3 years no matter the miles, including the battery, the motor assembly, housing cover, internal gears, motor control unit assembly, drive axle assembly, and torque sensor assembly, rigid frame, and rigid front fork . What that means, at least to me, is that they expect battery and motor to last longer than 3 years.
https://www.yamahabicycles.com/warranty-overview/