second hand electric bike - what to look for?

[RozEvans]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. I am currently looking for a second hand electric bike. I want to pay £200-£250 for one that has a decent battery left.

I'd ideally like a sit up town bike. Does anyone have any tips on what makes to avoid, or what makes really hold their quality and battery life really well?

I almost bought an Urban Mover, but not sure about it. I've seen other makes around too like Giant. Also there's one about by Synergie, is that any good? The seller has said this which I don't understand... "It has a Li-ion battery which has no memory so it can be charged after each run thus every run starts with a full charge." What does that mean? That it won't lose its battery faster as its life goes on?
Thanks in advance for any advice!!
Roz

 

[trex]

sorry to disappoint but you won't find a second hand bike with a decent battery at your budget. Even batteries of expensive bikes have a limited life, typically 3-4 years, 500 - 800 charging cycles. Just ask the owners how old the bike is and how many charging cycles it has.

 

[RozEvans]

Hi trex,

Thanks for the response! I have seen some going for around these prices, depending on condition. Would you not trust them? Most of them say the battery is still holding for around 70% of what it used to hold for!
I need one for quite a short commute, but I'd like to be able to use it for other things to, probably maximum of 10 miles, but I can pedal for a lot of that.

Thanks!
Roz

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Have a word with Pdarnett, He'll check that the battery is OK.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/coming-up-this-week.17492/

http://www.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/Item/Brands/3E_Electric_Bikes/3E_CityLight_Mark_II_Electric_Bike.aspx

 

[Emo Rider]

You can buy a Viking Ego for around £600 if you shop around. Or you can take a chance. Like d8veh said, you should get the battery checked before you buy as this is the downfall of many for sale ebikes. I echo the feeling that you are not going to find what you are looking for at that price unless you know some history of the bike or you get a warranty with it.

I myself have a good working ebike that I would like to sell to upgrade but I do not think I will get a good price because of peoples bad experiences with used ebikes. Even still, I would certainly want more than £250 for it.

 

[pdarnett]

Got loads of batteries to test this week and a garage full of bikes to build! I'll get some pictures up soon. I may even get some time to work on my own Metro!

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

My advice is to get the battery tested. We can discharge test lithium batteries. Ideally you would buy off a dealer with battery testing equipment or buy from someone who has there battery tested and written evidence of its performance. If either of these options are not possible assume you need a new battery.

 

[trex]

second hand Litium batteries that are not in frequent use suffer also from hidden cell damage. Basically, the battery cuts out when the motor runs at maximum power for more than a minute. This is because there are 40-50 cells in a pack, over time, one or two cells get weakened during storage.
When you want to test a second hand bike, find a hill (does not have to be very steep), go up it a couple of times at maximum throttle just to be sure that the battery will hold.

 

[drsolly]

Eight years after I bought my Forza, the battery isn't strong enough to drive it. I tried to sell it on Ebay in that condition - the best offer I had was £100, so no thanks.

New batteries were needed. So I'm using 12s Lipo. Six of the 4s 20c 5ah hardcase batteries from Hobbyking cost me about £100, gives me 44v, 10ah, and now the bike goes like the wind.

The downsides - I had to learn the ins and outs of Lipo (how to handle them safely), I had to buy a charger (£8), I had to solder up some cables. I carry the batteries in a pannier.

So you might consider buying a bike with a really useless battery, and installing like I did.

 

[mountainsport]

sorry to disappoint but you won't find a second hand bike with a decent battery at your budget. Even batteries of expensive bikes have a limited life, typically 3-4 years, 500 - 800 charging cycles. Just ask the owners how old the bike is and how many charging cycles it has.

Hi trex I can answer that question for RozEvans. The seller would say that he has had the bike for over three years and it has been serviced regularly three times a year, recently the frame had a new spray over, new set of tires and new front suspension fork ........and.......plus......
Lastly, the battery can be charged up to 2000 cycles and it has only ever been charged twice plus it is still holding 99.9% of its charge capacity .

Will you still be interested RozEvans? I would want more.

MS.