My battery died of heatstroke 😥😭

[Tars Tarkas]

Spain is a long way to go for a battery! Sounds like there may be other things you can do while you're there though. I know you don't want to wait, but that does sound good!

TT

 

[DaveMatthews]

I've been looking around for a 800wh battery for my Giant and so far they are only available in EU/AUS.
Shipping seems to be a stumbling block.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

Yes. It would be so easy if we could just bring it back in our luggage...

 

[DaveMatthews]

Yes. It would be so easy if we could just bring it back in our luggage...

Yeah, I don't have high hopes, but maybe you can find a relatively inexpensive shipping method for "dangerous goods".

 

[tomjasz]

I don’t get it FTH is the repair station. Why can’t they repair? Or did miss a post?

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Yes. It would be so easy if we could just bring it back in our luggage...

This is likely your one and only shot to deal with this battery situation as nobody in the US wants anything to do with BH after getting stiffed by them. Lenny's bought that discontinued stock of leftovers but as far as future repair parts, that's going to be left up to what Lenny's decides to keep in order to scavenge that leftover stock for repair parts.

If you find you can have BH ship a battery to you at your home address, why not consider getting 2 battery's and rotate those two as you ride the bike? It will stretch the life of the batteries out longer than if you rode with just the one battery. For the record, I have three Yamaha 500wh batteries along with my original 400 watter that came with my Haibike. The additional batteries stretch my mileage potential out to some 150 miles at full power, should I elect to try such a stunt. But it also allows me to rotate the battery usage around.

Yours continues to be the poster child story of what happens when a premium factory ebike manufacturer ups and leaves the US market, leaving the dozens or possibly few hundred BH ebike owners stranded for repair parts and batteries....

 

[ChezCheese:)]

I don’t get it FTH is the repair station. Why can’t they repair? Or did miss a post?

From FTH: "Unfortuatnely, your bike battery is a proprietary battery manufactured for your bike specifically and your battery manufacturer has not made available any information on the BMS (Battery Management System) inside your battery. Since a new part (BMS) is not available either, we would be reluctant to work on your battery. If we were to replace cells in your battery, there would be a very strong possibility that your BMS would not recognize our changes. At the same time if we were to replace your BMS with an aftermarket part, your bike will not recognize the new battery. Unfortunately because of these reasons we will not be able to work on your battery.".

 

[tomjasz]

From FTH: "Unfortuatnely, your bike battery is a proprietary battery manufactured for your bike specifically and your battery manufacturer has not made available any information on the BMS (Battery Management System) inside your battery. Since a new part (BMS) is not available either, we would be reluctant to work on your battery. If we were to replace cells in your battery, there would be a very strong possibility that your BMS would not recognize our changes. At the same time if we were to replace your BMS with an aftermarket part, your bike will not recognize the new battery. Unfortunately because of these reasons we will not be able to work on your battery.".

And the maker still refers owners to FTH. Goofy. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. There's a fellow in Spain, a young guy that is well known among battery builders and really quite the talent. Damien Rene. Found on you tube and elsewhere. I'm thinking he may be a resource for shipping and how to get a battery out of Spain. I do know that in some countries a battery must be shipped with a bike, but there's a workaround if parts are shipped with a battery.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

This is likely your one and only shot to deal with this battery situation as nobody in the US wants anything to do with BH after getting stiffed by them. Lenny's bought that discontinued stock of leftovers but as far as future repair parts, that's going to be left up to what Lenny's decides to keep in order to scavenge that leftover stock for repair parts.

If you find you can have BH ship a battery to you at your home address, why not consider getting 2 battery's and rotate those two as you ride the bike? It will stretch the life of the batteries out longer than if you rode with just the one battery. For the record, I have three Yamaha 500wh batteries along with my original 400 watter that came with my Haibike. The additional batteries stretch my mileage potential out to some 150 miles at full power, should I elect to try such a stunt. But it also allows me to rotate the battery usage around.

Yours continues to be the poster child story of what happens when a premium factory ebike manufacturer ups and leaves the US market, leaving the dozens or possibly few hundred BH ebike owners stranded for repair parts and batteries....

If I can manage to get one battery, that is $950 plus shipping. I would go that, I am not going to invest $2000 in this situation. For that kind of money plus a bit more, I can get a brand new ebike from a different company that hasn't left its customers high and dry.

My knees would not allow me to ride 150 miles at a stretch! I have an electric lawnmower, and just about the time it needs to be recharged is just about the time my back needs a break and a drink of something.

 

[MacCrackin]

@ChezCheese:)... if your husband is an electrician he should be able to open it up and tell what is causing the shutdown. More than likely the cells are still intact.

Certainly, that was my thought as well, going inside and see who's blocking
the path with an all out open circuit, to where maybe it's just one cell causing it.
Hopefully it's not a glued up assembly where the case is bonded to battery pack.
Cheers

 

[ChezCheese:)]

Meant to report on what happened in Spain. BH has just four retailers in the US they will ship a battery to. Closest one is in southern California. So in addition to about $1,200 there would be the cost of either having it shipped up here or having to take a road trip to California to fetch it. Too much BS.

I took the plunge and bought a Ride1up Prodigy, on sale for $2045 + tax. A bit more than trying to order a replacement battery from BH, and half of what a Specialized Vado/Como or a Gazelle would cost. It has the high torque, quiet Brose motor that I am used to and love. It will arrive soon and then I will see if I made a good choice or not.

As for my BH, we have decided to move to the French Pyrenees in about a year and a half, and so I will take it with me as baggage (sans battery), and then get a replacement battery there.

Some might say, you should be buying from a well-established, longtime bike manufacturer so you will have warranty support. Well, BH was touted as having the best warranty in the industry, and has been a bike manufacturer for more than a century, and what good did it do? Nada!

 

[Gionnirocket]

Meant to report on what happened in Spain. BH has just four retailers in the US they will ship a battery to. Closest one is in southern California. So in addition to about $1,200 there would be the cost of either having it shipped up here or having to take a road trip to California to fetch it. Too much BS.

I took the plunge and bought a Ride1up Prodigy, on sale for $2045 + tax. A bit more than trying to order a replacement battery from BH, and half of what a Specialized Vado/Como or a Gazelle would cost. It has the high torque, quiet Brose motor that I am used to and love. It will arrive soon and then I will see if I made a good choice or not.

As for my BH, we have decided to move to the French Pyrenees in about a year and a half, and so I will take it with me as baggage (sans battery), and then get a replacement battery there.

Some might say, you should be buying from a well-established, longtime bike manufacturer so you will have warranty support. Well, BH was touted as having the best warranty in the industry, and has been a bike manufacturer for more than a century, and what good did it do? Nada!

At that price you can Ride2up.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Meant to report on what happened in Spain. BH has just four retailers in the US they will ship a battery to. Closest one is in southern California. So in addition to about $1,200 there would be the cost of either having it shipped up here or having to take a road trip to California to fetch it. Too much BS.

I took the plunge and bought a Ride1up Prodigy, on sale for $2045 + tax. A bit more than trying to order a replacement battery from BH, and half of what a Specialized Vado/Como or a Gazelle would cost. It has the high torque, quiet Brose motor that I am used to and love. It will arrive soon and then I will see if I made a good choice or not.

As for my BH, we have decided to move to the French Pyrenees in about a year and a half, and so I will take it with me as baggage (sans battery), and then get a replacement battery there.

Some might say, you should be buying from a well-established, longtime bike manufacturer so you will have warranty support. Well, BH was touted as having the best warranty in the industry, and has been a bike manufacturer for more than a century, and what good did it do? Nada!

Here's hoping your new ride treats you well!

 

[Handlebars]

This is why I'd never buy a bike with parts that can't be replaced by generics, including frame parts. My next bike will be a nicer a-bike with decent quality steel frame, and an e-kit, with 2 big batteries. Don't need fancy.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

Well, folks, here is an update, finally, on the saga of the fried BH battery. As I mentioned, I took over my BH bike (sans dead battery) to the French Pyrénées in March. Took it to the closest BH dealer, in Laroque-d'Olmes. We had a quandary, because the battery had to be ordered, and if there was more fried than just the battery, such as the motor or the controller, then I would have to pony up for that as well as the battery, and then it would make more sense to scrap it and buy a new ebike. It was a gamble. And I would not be able to return the battery, because it was a special order. So Pascal suggested we send the bike to Spain to be diagnosed first. That was mid March.

I kept nagging poor Pascal every so often, and weeks passed, but the diagnosis finally came in, that the battery was the only problem (hooray!). I got it back just 5 days before we were returning to the US, and it rides nicely again. And it is a 720wh battery instead of the original 650, so that is a nice thing. Altogether, including shipping back and forth, it cost about $800. Less than I thought it was going to be. It now lives in France, and when we return in Sept, I will happily ride it.

However, it took months to get it diagnosed and fixed, and while Pascal at Cylcl'olmes is great, I think BHs customer support has been really crap. I would never recommend them. Which is a shame, because when the bike works, it works fine and dandy. But when it doesn't, you are SOL, even if you are paying for everything.