Electric bikes

I don't have the equipment / knowledge unfortunately.

The battery was 3 years old when I stopped using it so would have done circa 500 charging cycles.
The battery does take the charge and shows the 5 LED out 5 on its display.
Then once placed on the bike, the battery shows one single flashing LED as if it has ran out of battery.
A jolt of e-assist comes up when you turn on/off the display.
I can reset the battery itself by continuously pressing the button on the battery (the "E" on the image above),
Then sometime it all works fine, sometimes it keeps happening.

I bought a new battery and that resolved the problem.

Now we're 3 years on and my "new" battery is doing the same thing so I want to get the first one refreshed.

I received a quote from the first Google hit but they were after £375 to re-cell it when I paid 380€ for the replacement battery in mid 2019 so it doesn't even seem worth re-celling it...

Partner is moving in & going from a 4 miles each way to 16 mile each way commute and could do with a boost.

I guess there are two broad options, a dedicated ebike or a kit. Other challenges include no access to mains power, the battery needs to come off for charging. They'd prefer to keep their Arkose as a gravel/weekend/touring non-ebike.

Skarper
The not yet released Skarper (https://www.skarper.com) looks perfect on paper but no idea if it'll actually release in 2023, let alone soon. Looks like it'll do 20mph if you are in the USA, wink wink and have a 37 miles range. Is user Chris Hoy on here, hear he quite likes fixie bikes or something.

Swytch
How much aggro is taking off a swytch kit?! would need the MAX but it doesn't even do a there and back (18 mile range), would need charging in the office.

Dedicated bikes
Budget depends on whether we can share it/I can get excited about using it. I'm a bit dissapointed that Omnium stopped making the Mini electric. Otherwise something with the geometry of a 'fast' hybrid or road bike with pannier rack. Open to buying a non-ebike and fitting a 'low' power bafang. Don't need push button, ideally pedal assist.

26” disc steel mtb and rear rack mounted battery bafang

26” disc steel mtb and rear rack mounted battery bafang

basically gave one of these away during the pandemic, ffs :(
either way, a dedicated bafang build looks like a good option.

In the case of your partner, I'd go with a Swytch kit. If they can charge it at work then it's a good solution. It really works well and I arrive at work without having broken a sweat, great as then no need for showers/clothes change etc.

You only need to take off the battery pack to charge that, the rest stays on the bike. Quick release battery removal.

First time fitting mine (retro steel bike and fork) took a couple of hours, as I was being careful, but I think if I wanted to return it to it's former guise without the kit I could comfortably do that in about 20 minutes. Price was around £450 about a year ago.

How much aggro is taking off a swytch kit?!

Looks really easy from the videos I've seen. I think it's designed to be taken off when you get off the bike.

You can buy spare batteries but they weren't cheap. A few hundred I think (although their pricing isn't the clearest).

This is the latest manual for Swytch if anyone is interested
https://www.swytchbike.com/manual.pdf

Thanks all, much to discuss with them.

I'm sure there are spec I'm missing (but see more reading needed on the best display, battery size or the brake lever type) but as a quick example:

Triban RC 120 disc £450 or Pinnacle Lithium 3 £400
Bafang M215 250w mid drive with rear rack battery £827
https://edrivenet.com/bafang-bbs01-review/
Total £1200-£1300

Seems reasonable for a dedicated bike. Pays for itself in <10 months.
Think I'm handy enough with a spanner to fit.

if its drop bar bike and you want limited range in order to keep it light, look into the bottle cage batteries like these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003509221325.html

unrelated, this bafang motor works fine but display doesent show range .. wonder why

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This is my bike.

Set it up. Bit confused. Also a bit out of my depth.

Bafang bbs02 48v with I think 20ah batt. Seems to work but getting no range.

I bought what @amey told me to. This is what happens.

Range might not be supported by the bafang controller

ok, am trying to learn this and work it all out. As far as I can see perhaps a diff display might help? not fussed whether its range or battery jsut want an idea of how much battery I have on display

The standard C965 display shows battery level, but to be honest it can be misleading, bars can drop quickly.

There is often a button on the battery itself that lights up LEDs to show battery level, which is often more accurate.

Or you can install a wattmeter, but that's a bit more complex of a job.

Thank you, that does make sense.

At present way battery is I cant see that. I think also coming at it from riding two shimano equipped bullits all day has given me slightly different expectations.

Anyone have experience with TONGSHENG mid drives? Tried searching but couldn’t find anything here

Other than range not displaying. Had first proper ride other than not being able to keep an eye on batt levels. V happy. Perhaps a bit too punchy but I think changing my gearing slightly which I plan to do will help.

Bafang on an omnium cargo

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16711185/

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16694328/

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/16663520/

Thanks for some reason nothing came up in search, even if i copy the name from those posts…

Just confirmed my swytch order. Air, 26 (559) with led display / power switch to go on this.

The inbred will soon be an eenbred instead.

If I wanted to fit a mid motor to a bike to use to get places faster is bafang the one?

Just got my swytch order to confirm. 700c to hopefully make this feel a bit nippier

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Yes, go back a couple of pages, there’s a good video to watch

Bafang on an omnium cargo

Pics?

Thanks. 250 is enough I think. Don't need a rocket ship, just want to get up the hill faster.

Is there a recommended retailer?