Zen Photon Pro- Preorder | 1040Wh UL Certified battery | 500W nominal/900W peak power Torque-sensing motor w/ Throttle | USD 2999 | CAD 3999

[6zfshdb]

I'd reckon a 20ah battery is probably good enough for the average A-Team.

Normally, yes. But I do some extended rides that require a bit more than 20AH. I certainly don't need a second 20AH battery though and usually carry something in the 7 to 10AH range. Carrying a smaller battery is easy in a pannier or backpack but it would require tapping into the Zen Pro wiring harness or finding a compatible connector. This may be difficult to do.

I find that any bike you can't cobble on isn't any fun at all.

 

[PCeBiker]

You mean to tell me that the two EBR MacGyvers can't figure out a custom solution.

Yeah, I did for my e-bike, but it sure ain't pretty,..

MacGyver would be proud of me.

I had it mounted on the rear rack, but that gave me a speed wobble then it broke the rack off my e-bike.

I'd reckon a 20ah battery is probably good enough for the average A-Team.

I guess I ain't average because EVERY Ride I've Ever been on has fully drained my fully charged 19ah 21ah or 25ah battery. (except for 2 rides in my 8500 km of riding)

I was always worried about hitting LVC before I made it home with only a single battery.

It's like running on fumes in your car with the gas needle pinned at "E" and the Low Fuel light is on.

My motorcycles didn't have a fuel gauge, but they had a reserve switch on the fuel line that I used many times, but I Always had enough range riding on reserve fuel to get to a gas station.

Now with two batteries, I can ride full throttle (32 kph) straight into a headwind pulling 21 amps continuously until it's dead, then install the spare and use the tailwind to get me home using the spare battery.

I can also keep both batteries closer to the 60%-80% charged range to extend the life of the batteries, but it's funner to go full blast and kill both batteries.

 

[il Munduato]

The real issue with dual batteries here is isolating the main battery when you plug in any secondary as it's not set up for that. So a swap out as Ms. Kriti suggest seems to be the only answer at the moment

 

[PCeBiker]

The real issue with dual batteries here is isolating the main battery when you plug in any secondary as it's not set up for that. So a swap out as Ms. Kriti suggest seems to be the only answer at the moment

I'm not talking about a dual battery ebike with all the battery blender burning issues that @Ravi Kempaiah posted about.

All I want to do is carry my second battery with me, where you have to remove the first battery to install the second.

I tried carrying my 14 pound battery in a backpack but that wasn't comfortable at all.
I didn't even make it out the door with my backpack and looked for a better way.

 

[PCeBiker]

. So a swap out as Ms. Kriti suggest seems to be the only answer at the moment

Sure, but I don't want to ride back home to swap out the battery.

The batteries are a bit too long and heavy to fit or carry nicely anywhere on me or the ebike.

I tried a rack mounted battery bag but my spring seat, spring seatpost and suspension frame would hit the battery when the springs compressed over bumps, so I had to extend it further out on the rear rack.

The weight extended out past the rear axle gave me a speed wobble, (and it was unsprung weight) then the 20 pound battery bag broke the whole damn rack off my e-bike, so I had to start over.

 

[il Munduato]

I get all that...
Best solution would be to mount it to the down tube but...

 

[PCeBiker]

I get all that...
Best solution would be to mount it to the down tube but...

Yeah, and it looks like it's a bit too long to fit on the down tube without sticking up past the top of the tube towards the stem and handlebars.

 

[6zfshdb]

The simplest solution is to carry a smaller battery with a plug that will mate with the OEM battery socket on the Zen Pro bike. It isn't clear which connector they use and if it's proprietary.

Most of the time, I carry one of my cordless tool batteries as a spare. I use an adapter with an Anderson PP45 connector that mates with those used on the bike.

I carry it in a bag, which can hang in a variety of locations on the bike, or just put it in a pannier.

I can also use an adapter that slides into the downtube battery mount:

It isn't clear whether any of these ideas would work with the Zen.

 

[il Munduato]

The simplest solution is to carry a smaller battery with a plug that will mate with the OEM battery socket on the Zen Pro bike. It isn't clear which connector they use and if it's proprietary.

Most of the time, I carry one of my cordless tool batteries as a spare. I use an adapter with an Anderson PP45 connector that mates with those used on the bike.

View attachment 187426

I carry it in a bag, which can hang in a variety of locations on the bike, or just put it in a pannier.

View attachment 187427 View attachment 187428

I can also use an adapter that slides into the downtube battery mount:

View attachment 187429

It isn't clear whether any of these ideas would work with the Zen.

What do you do with the Zen battery while the smaller one is plugged in to its socket?

 

[6zfshdb]

What do you do with the Zen battery while the smaller one is plugged in to its socket?

One of the issues that would have to be worked out.

 

[il Munduato]

One of the issues that would have to be worked out.

Yeah.... I'd say so.
But I believe that's why a swap was suggested as currently there is no other solution.
DIY'n it I guess you could implement a switch or just in line fuses that could be removed but I'm not sure how elegant it would look. And with such a large battery I'm thinking there's not much space left to tuck wiring away

 

[Taylor57]

I gotta give you guys credit. These days I ride for an hour or so and my butt is tired and my battery is rearing to go! I cant even threaten my Ride 1 Up Gravelster mini battery range!

 

[6zfshdb]

I gotta give you guys credit. These days I ride for an hour or so and my butt is tired and my battery is rearing to go! I cant even threaten my Ride 1 Up Gravelster mini battery range!

I was in the same condition when I started e-biking. A good suspension seatpost, front suspension, padded shorts & gloves and the right saddle made a HUGE difference in riding comfort for me anyway. My only limiting factors now are battery capacity and time.

Of course everyone is different in their abilities YMMV.

 

[il Munduato]

I was in the same condition when I started e-biking. A good suspension seatpost, front suspension, padded shorts & gloves and the right saddle made a HUGE difference in riding comfort for me anyway. My only limiting factors now are battery capacity and time.

Of course everyone is different in their abilities YMMV.

I'm somewhere in the middle.
I can ride for a few hours but typically 35- 40 miles is my butt and time restraint limit.. so I'm well within the capacity of my 21ah battery.
I think I would easily achieve +80 miles with my battery if I took a few breaks and more so if I every found a full day free.

 

[6zfshdb]

Yeah.... I'd say so.
But I believe that's why a swap was suggested as currently there is no other solution.
DIY'n it I guess you could implement a switch or just in line fuses that could be removed but I'm not sure how elegant it would look. And with such a large battery I'm thinking there's not much space left to tuck wiring away

Ever since I had a battery isolator catch fire, I no longer connect two batteries at once. I use a switch or battery swap instead.

Without seeing the Zen Pro in person, it's tough to tell if the OEM battery could be partially removed enough to access the connector. If so, an aftermarket battery could be connected and the OEM battery held in place with a bungee.

Definitely not elegant but I long ago adopted the philosophy of "function over form".

Wow! I guess we've totally murdered the OP's original post! Sorry Kiriti !

 

[DrewInSK]

I'm somewhere in the middle.
I can ride for a few hours but typically 35- 40 miles is my butt and time restraint limit.. so I'm well within the capacity of my 21ah battery.
I think I would easily achieve +80 miles with my battery if I took a few breaks and more so if I every found a full day free.

Tis actually my plan this coming summer. Ride until battery 1 runs out, then ride home on #2. Uncertain where I'll put the battery yet, though. Part of me wondered about backpack--though I ride free of one these days and love it. Battery trailer complete with solar charger also has some attraction to me ultimately, though might limit where I can ride.

 

[il Munduato]

Ever since I had a battery isolator catch fire, I no longer connect two batteries at once. I use a switch or battery swap instead.

Without seeing the Zen Pro in person, it's tough to tell if the OEM battery could be partially removed enough to access the connector. If so, an aftermarket battery could be connected and the OEM battery held in place with a bungee.

Definitely not elegant but I long ago adopted the philosophy of "function over form".

Wow! I guess we've totally murdered the OP's original post! Sorry Kiriti !

I too prefer function over form and have mostly abandoned the minimalist approach.. especially in the cockpit.
That said over loading a bike or having poor weight distribution while I ride I find stifles ride enjoyment. I much prefer to ride faster and more nimble over the long haul runaway freight train.

 

[Taylor57]

Ever since I had a battery isolator catch fire, I no longer connect two batteries at once. I use a switch or battery swap instead.

Without seeing the Zen Pro in person, it's tough to tell if the OEM battery could be partially removed enough to access the connector. If so, an aftermarket battery could be connected and the OEM battery held in place with a bungee.

Definitely not elegant but I long ago adopted the philosophy of "function over form".

Wow! I guess we've totally murdered the OP's original post! Sorry Kiriti !

Mainstream media really slamming ebikes specifically lithium ion batteries for the fire risk. I'm startin to think I should store my batteries separate from the bikes? But my Gravelster battery is built in to the downtube. One more thing to worry about.

 

[steve mercier]

You mean to tell me that the two EBR MacGyvers can't figure out a custom solution.
I'd reckon a 20ah battery is probably good enough for the average A-Team.

If you want to go fast and far and carry a lot of gear you still need two batteries. The price seems very fair for a bike with those quality bits.

 

[steve mercier]

I'm not talking about a dual battery ebike with all the battery blender burning issues that @Ravi Kempaiah posted about.

All I want to do is carry my second battery with me, where you have to remove the first battery to install the second.

I tried carrying my 14 pound battery in a backpack but that wasn't comfortable at all.
I didn't even make it out the door with my backpack and looked for a better way.

I carry a Powertube spare in an Ortlieb pannier with the commuter insert for extra padding. I have no issues but I do suggest using a few zip ties securing the bottom corners of the panniers to the chainstays to avoid the clip jumping out of position on rough trails, This week I hit a washed out trail at full speed and had to try to jump a large deep washout as it was too late to bail. I pounded the landing but everything stayed put thanks to the zip ties.