I appreciate your help again LIn.
Hey Lin,
Hey just saw this... PAS runs out faster than the controller as the battery is smaller. A 15 mile ride today dropped my controller 6% and my PAS 4%. Full ride on level 1 assist. As the batteries get down below 50% the drop off rate increases so extrapolate accordingly. As to the burn out question, that is definitely one for Jeff. I really have no idea, lol. The climibing I have done has been limited to some very big hills but they are short distances. I find it's best to get some speed up before the hills, pop the bike into slightly easier gearing, and max it out. While it has slowed down some doing this, it has never crapped out and seemed like it had more to give. Ymmv. Probably the closest ride near me to be similar to what you suggest would be going up Mt. Diablo. Which I've never done, motorized or not. My adult son has ridden it sans motors, but he's 33. Jeff likes to geek out over technical stuff so I'd write Grace, give her the scenario you are suggesting, and have her ask Jeff for his best answer. I trust him to not b.s. you about the capabilities of the device. If it's not designed for that I believe he will tell you that up front. My "guess" is that such a climb would only be possible with a dedicated mid-drive machine. I think you'd kill a hub motor doing that as well; I had a 250w hub motor on a previous bike and if I didn't have a running start on even moderate hills, it wouldn't make it all the way up.
What is your source for replacement batteries for your PAS and Controller? Do you always get replacements from OM?
Yeah Grace and Jeff will send you replacement little batteries for the PAS and controller; they just charge shipping, no charge for the batteries. The thing about those tiny little batteries is they have limited capacity and I also don't know how long they would last just sitting around as they will still degrade like all batteries do. They're easily to install, though =). Just need a Torx driver.
Thanks Lin.
I've been doing a bit of research on lithium (lipo) batteries and it looks like they will discharge over time when stored, and when they've discharged to a point where they are considered fully discharged, then, by design, they cannot be recharged as a safety concern since attempting to charge a fully discharged lipo can result in fire or explosion. Therefore they're produced with protection against this problem. So, I believe the best practice (and one that I'll use in the future) is to recharge after each use and avoid long periods without restoring the charge.
Hi Lin, I've found several sources on ebay (https://www.google.com/search?q=601...AhXkkOAKHcOOCUQQ1TV6BQgBENoB&biw=1384&bih=699), most offering multiple batteries, but not what I'd consider a bulk order (4 or 5 batteries). My existing battery is rated at 200 mAh. The ebay versions have a slightly higher rating, but they should still work, only providing a bit longer discharge capacity. All of the batteries that I found have with bare wires (no connector). While I'm skilled with soldering, it means that I now need to locate a source for the proper connector. I'm still hoping to hear from OM. I prefer to have connectors already installed. I've emailed Grace three times requesting a new battery, but as yet no response. Very frustrating.
I got a response from Grace and Jeff has a new battery on the way. I'm resolved to keep a charge on all my batteries from now on.
Yay! And now that you mention it, my PAS battery died after I hadn't charged for a week. I'm now charging every 2-3 days. Of course, my PAS battery was more than a year old so could have been either reason.
Certainly, the age of the battery plays a role in its capacity. Grace mentioned that they hope to have future batteries equipped with a feature to prevent the dead battery problem. Actually, Jeff is sending two batteries this time. So, I'll have a spare.
My mobile phone is an iPhone and wouldn't support Simblee. When I first started to ride with the OM, I had a hard time reading the tiny display on the controller (still do), so I picked up a used Android phone on ebay. I still use that phone, but only as a display. I don't use it to make changes to the assist level, etc. The joy stick controller is close at hand and easier to use for those adjustments.
Roflmao! I had the same experience with UPS and my refurb Android phone. Apparently it was too cold here when it arrived in the Bay Area so it decided to go inland for a few days to warm up before it came back here for delivery. I, too, use an iPhone and Simblee worked when I first got my OM. But once I replaced the phone I wasn't able to reload it from the App store. So I've been using the controller exclusively and although it's tiny, I don't really use it much for data while riding so it was fine. I just use the joystick for PAS changes and that can be done with the controller without even looking at it. I prefer not to ride with a phone mounted on my bike at all - it's just a "target" for a-holes and clutters my bars. I keep my iPhone in my bag and use voice control and my smart watch for texting/emails/music with my bluetooth earbuds (not fully in-ear, lots of ambient sound). So the Android phone will be a backup once i get a new controller, and I'll just have to remember to charge it every so often so it doesn't die, I guess.
