Total newbie

[Scott belfast]

Hi folks, after years of playing rugby, my knee has decided to give up. In desperation to stay active I bought a push bike. I quickly discovered that living on a mountain, cycling up a hill is murder on a bad knee.
I invested in an ebike and the difference is incredible. Seven days now with no knee pain ( fist time in ten years).
My only question is can I upgrade the battery. My bike is a carrera subway and the battery is a STL EBP30A093C1 36V 8.7Ah/313.2 Wh.

 

[Scott belfast]

The short answer is yes, but what kind of battery are you looking for?

Do you need 48V to get more power? Or do you want to keep it 36V and perhaps just get more range?

Just get more range.
Quite happy with the power

 

[Sierratim]

The few specs I find online indicate that the battery is removable. This makes carrying a spare battery a viable option. Other riders on various threads here have adopted the strategy of carrying a 2nd battery to double their range. Looks like you'd need to add a rack for this to work, or use a backpack.

I didn't find any online links re the specific battery. Your dealer should be able to help with this.

 

[Sierratim]

I did find this thread re these batteries; https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/battery-for-carrera-subway-e.35867/ .

Several posts raise the issue of a communication link between the battery and the display and controller. This would make it a 'closed' system requiring any battery to have Suntour's communication protocol effectively limiting you to their branded battery packs.

 

[Scott belfast]

The few specs I find online indicate that the battery is removable. This makes carrying a spare battery a viable option. Other riders on various threads here have adopted the strategy of carrying a 2nd battery to double their range. Looks like you'd need to add a rack for this to work, or use a backpack.

I didn't find any online links re the specific battery. Your dealer should be able to help with this.

Thanks the dealer was Halfords.
Quite happy to carry a spare battery.
Appreciate the help.

 

[Sierratim]

Posts to the uk pedelecs forum I noted in #5 above suggest that the battery may establish a proprietary comm link in the Suntour system, or at least include the motor controller. Either way makes generic battery replacements suspect. Not saying they won't work, I can't really say for sure. I am saying it's good to be sure before sending off a few hundred $ off to a seller on Aliexpress. Your dealer might be open enough to share this with you. Good luck.

 

[Sierratim]

My Specialized battery pack establishes a comm link to the display controller. Plugging in a generic battery that matches the connector in the bike frame won't be enough to get my bike to recognize the generic battery. It needs matching firmware. Just sayin'...

 

[Sierratim]

Yes, that's correct. Specialized bikes have firmware in the battery, the display controller, and the motor. When having one of these bikes serviced the dealers always update all 3 firmware sets to the most current rev. Owners can check their firmware status for all 3 sets on the Specialized Mission Control app.

From the pedelecs uk forum it sounds like the Suntour system used on the Carrera Subway ebike could be similar. Hate to see the OP drop a few hundred $ on a generic battery that won't 'talk' to his bike...