New e-bike owner with range anxiety

[Sanfordcisco]

Hi everyone. I just bought a 2 year old Raleigh Detour IE with Currie Technology display and a Tranz X PST battery pack. It was like new as the previous owner didn't feel comfortable on it and hardly used it. Only one problem: the display doesn't show where the battery life is at. The bike shop replaced the display and it still doesn't communicate with the brains of the battery so you just bike and hope you'll make it. I charged the pack for 4 hours or so and the charge light turned green so I assumed it was full (maybe it had been partially charged at the shop) but this morning when I took the bike out for its inaugural commute, it conked out after 18 km. I had been pedaling with the assist level set to 4 mostly. Some inclines... Nothing too crazy. Maybe I didn't charge it long enough, so if that's the case, my bad. The light had turned green, so I thought it was fully charged. (This is where the battery meter on the display sure would be handy).
Does anyone have any ideas on how I could fix the battery meter (range indicator)?

 

[indianajo]

Welcome to the site.
I suggest you arrange an output from the charger port to an external meter. I use one I bought at the hardware store with a pointer, as I find those use less power than the digital ones and I can read a pointer easier than digits. But digital meters can be bought on e-bay and amazon or from bike supplies. Protect your meter from the rain with a clear plastic box or something. Be careful not to use connectors that can short to each other. I use male & female bullet connectors from the auto supply (dorman) that I crimp on, females for the plus of the battery and males for the minus of the battery. These are insulated and not likely to short. Use a klein or ideal crimp tool. Andrsn connectors are also fool resistant, available from partsexpress.com
You need to check your battery voltage when charged and discharged. Sites like lunacycle.com have tables for the new batteries they sell, you should download one for a battery of the voltage like the one you own. You need to stop using at 10-20% of full charge, and charge most of the time to 85% of full charge. About every 3rd month you need to charge to full charge to allow the BMU in the battery to balance individual stacks of cells.
It may turn out the battery you bought is damaged by lack of use or some charge fault. I just bought a luna battery at a considerable premium over e-bay and amazon batteries, and unlike those, it actually performs as advertised.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Good advice from IndianaJo. I'd like to add one thing, and that is that it's possible the battery was poorly maintained and has lost capacity as a result. You might try riding in a lower pedal assist setting. It will improve your range somewhat. The question is by how much? Valuable data there for deciding whether the battery is healthy. 18 km seems suspect to me, even at level 4, unless you truly hadn't topped it off when you charged it. Still, the light turned green on the charger, which almost certainly means it was done charging. Try it on a lower setting and let us know, please.

 

[AHicks]

I would think the green light would be a pretty safe indicator the battery was fully charged. If you're really interested in how far the bike will go, leave it on 1 whenever possible, and keep your speed to no more than 10mph. That should maximize your range.

It's too bad that shop didn't do a better job trouble shooting prior to installing a new display. Charging you for a part that didn't fix your issue may be a little questionable. With new display in place, it's very likely just a bad connection or broken wire causing your headache. You just need to find somebody that's familiar with electrics and willing to take the time to track the issue down...

What you DON'T want, is somebody else just throwing parts at it hoping that's what's wrong....

 

[DaveMatthews]

Looks like throttle mode defaults to level 4, and the display shows maybe 16 miles estimate in that mode.

 

[rich c]

You could add a cycle analyst http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst.html It a wide range of information available, including;

• Amp-Hours, Watt Hours: The net energy that has been pulled from the pack since the meter was reset. The accumulated amp-hours let you know the remaining energy in the battery pack with far greater accuracy than a voltage or LED indicator.

 

[MarkF]

Lipos from the day there made, start the degradation process. Once you start using them, the process accelerates. The useful range of a lipo is ruffly 4 to 5 years old. It will last longer but the useful rage will be way down. Your battery is already 2 years old and it's used. I don't care what the seller tells you, you can't trust that it was hardly ever used. But maybe it was, that still puts your battery in the range of 40% used in lipo years. Your probably getting the range expected for a battery that is 2 years old and used.
Does your battery have the battery bars on the side? That would be another indicator of range.

 

[Sanfordcisco]

Thanks everyone. MarkF, there are no battery bars on the side, unfortunately. To those who have suggested a battery meter attachment, that is a good idea. After charging the battery overnight I did my 20km commute this morning and I avoided the throttle mode and was only in boost mode 4 briefly and it still conked out right at 20km. Juuuust enough to make it to work. As I was told that the bike had been tested and did up to 40 km, I think at this point I'm going to take the bike back to the shop and ask for a refund. I'll probably stump up for the Trek Verve +. Thanks everyone. Great forum!!

 

[AlanDB]

Where does the "up to 40 km" range estimate come from? Manfacturer? Previous owner? Bike shop? The manufacturer range estimates are based on ideal conditions ... flat terrain, paved surface, little or no headwind, using lowest assist level, minimal braking and stops, max. tire pressure, light weight rider and gear, etc. Change any of those conditions and the range can be drastically reduced. Use of the throttle and riding in anything other than the lowest assist level will most definitely reduce the range.

 

[Sanfordcisco]

Where does the "up to 40 km" range estimate come from? Manfacturer? Previous owner? Bike shop? The manufacturer range estimates are based on ideal conditions ... flat terrain, paved surface, little or no headwind, using lowest assist level, minimal braking and stops, max. tire pressure, light weight rider and gear, etc. Change any of those conditions and the range can be drastically reduced. Use of the throttle and riding in anything other than the lowest assist level will most definitely reduce the range.

The bike shop manager said that the bike had been taken up Burnaby mountain and did 40km. I'm not sure of the veracity of his claim but will definitely try and find out tonight. The bike feels quite horrible without the assist on, so I'd like to go and enquire about that in any case.

 

[DaveMatthews]

If you're concerned about having to ride without power I'd look at a Yamaha drive just for fun. A normal sized chain ring up front and freewheel mid drive is much easier to pedal if the battery runs out. Check out Giant for an Explore E, or Quick E for similar or less money.

 

[ebikemom]

I think at this point I'm going to take the bike back to the shop and ask for a refund.

I think that's a great idea. Since you are going to use your bike to commute, you will easily get your money's worth out of a new ebike.

IMO, it doesn't really matter how the shop explains what they did or didn't do--the reality is that you are not happy with the bike, and that is what matters.

I hope you find a bike that you LOVE and join the ebike revolution as a happy ebike rider very soon!

 

[Sanfordcisco]

I think that's a great idea. Since you are going to use your bike to commute, you will easily get your money's worth out of a new ebike.

IMO, it doesn't really matter how the shop explains what they did or didn't do--the reality is that you are not happy with the bike, and that is what matters.

I hope you find a bike that you LOVE and join the ebike revolution as a happy ebike rider very soon!

Thanks, Amy. The bike shop was very cool and gave me a refund. I ended up going to our local Trek store and bought the Verve + with a 400 Bosch motor. The bike is a much better fit and I can’t wait to commute to work on it and leave the car at home. Thanks for all your comments, everyone!

 

[ebikemom]

That's wonderful! I've heard great things about the Trek bikes, and it'll be great to have that local shop's support for when you need ebike-related repairs. We'll look forward to an update to hear how you like the Trek Verve+!

 

[DaveMatthews]

Thanks, Amy. The bike shop was very cool and gave me a refund. I ended up going to our local Trek store and bought the Verve + with a 400 Bosch motor. The bike is a much better fit and I can’t wait to commute to work on it and leave the car at home. Thanks for all your comments, everyone!

Nice ride for sure!
I looked at the weather and I'm going to try my first commute tomorrow. It's about 12km from North Delta to Tilbury. Should be about 30 mins methinks along River Road.
What's your route?

 

[Sanfordcisco]

Nice ride for sure!
I looked at the weather and I'm going to try my first commute tomorrow. It's about 12km from North Delta to Tilbury. Should be about 30 mins methinks along River Road.
What's your route?

Hi Dave. For me it’s a 19.5km ride from my place just off the Barnet Highway in Port Moody to Capilano U on the North Shore. I think with the thicker tires on the Verve+ I’ll head north to the trans Canada trail in North Burnaby. I had been using the Frances/Union bike route so I’m looking forward to mixing it up a bit. This rain-free run of weather has made me forget that I’m really going to have to sort out some waterproof gear!

 

[DaveMatthews]

Hi Dave. For me it’s a 19.5km ride from my place just off the Barnet Highway in Port Moody to Capilano U on the North Shore. I think with the thicker tires on the Verve+ I’ll head north to the trans Canada trail in North Burnaby. I had been using the Frances/Union bike route so I’m looking forward to mixing it up a bit. This rain-free run of weather has made me forgot that I’m really going to have to sort out some waterproof gear!

Awesome! I went to Cap U a million years ago. Should be a great ride/commute. Not too rude at all. I think you got a great bike for it.
If I recall there's a bit of a hill to get up to Cap? I just got back from band practice near the 2nd Narrows on the NV side.