Would you buy a bike that has no replacement battery on sale?

[coalmarx]

I've been making enquiries about this bike https://www.ebikes.co.uk/ebikes-ranger-electric-mountain-bike-orange.html but apparently the manufacturer doesn't make replacement batteries. I'm told this is not a problem as the battery should last ages.

Is this true? The bike has a range of 25 miles. I need it to do 5 miles, some flat, some up a steep hill. Would be interested to know if experienced users would avoid as a result? Presumably a list ditch effort in the event of a failed battery would be to buy any old compatible battery off ebay and strap it on?

Thanks

 

[fooferdoggie]

no you would be stuck if the battery went bad. who knows how much work it would take to make another battery work no way to know?

 

[J.R.]

It has a 36v, 5.2 amp hour battery. That's 187 watt hour. Most people seem to think 15 watt hour per mile is a good average to consider when shopping for a bike. That's a little over 12 mile range. That will depend on hills, speed, wind, your weight and of course how much effort you pedal. You probably won't get 25 mile range on 187 watt hours. In today's market that's a very small battery.

 

[Jeepster]

I am brand new to e-bikes, having just ordered one that I don't have yet.

But from my research, if I like the bike and the price, I know I could get a replacement interior battery (new cells) to work inside the case (or if you aren't that handy, pay some company to refurbish or replace the cells).

 

[coalmarx]

ok that's really hard to tell by the pictures.

Are the batteries in some kind of tube-like case?

or are the cells directly built into the frame? If that's the case, that would be a hassle to replace them..

Difficult to say. Thanks to all those who have commented on the post. It seems like a high risk option - it might do me for a couple of years then be a problem. I'm going to do the cycle scheme and get a carrera vengeance, much safer. It definitely is a good looking bike though, and light.

 

[harryS]

To make another battery work, you remove the old battery from the bottom of the frame, finding the two wires that connect it. Then you wire those lines to your new battery, which could be a larger one that attached to the downtube, or a smaller one in a bag. Not hard at all.

All but one of our ebikes are home conversions, so my batteries are always semi-permanent attached using battery cradles or bags.

From my experience, I can get 20 miles of low assist riding on a nice summer day out of 36V5AH and a 500W motor, but the last 5 miles is pretty low key. So call it 15 miles. Call it 10 miles on a cold windy day.

I'd suggest something with a bigger battery, or find a owner who wants to sell his for a pittance.