When the battery runs out

[Rod Tibbs]

I have had my Synergie Mistral for three years and it has covered thousands of miles. Then the battery went under, giving no more than five miles before it died.

I rang Synergie. They had no batteries and could not tell me when they would have any more. Rang the purveyors of the Newton, which is the same bike. Critical bloke was always with a customer but eventually rang back. No batteries but trying to source some more.

Then came the Electric Transport Shop in Cambridge from where the bike was originally bought. Yes, they could help. They simply took a new battery of a similar type (one with pins at the base) and transferred the handle assembly of mine (electric kettle type connector) from one to the other. Total time taken about fifteen minutes.

Total cost was £300 which is plenty enough and the only downside is that because the new battery is about five mill longer the locking pin wont go through the hole in the battery housing to lock it in place. However I am modifying this.

I am constantly astonished that importers of bikes don't at least carry a spare battery. After all the bike is not cheap and come to that neither is a replacement battery. But at least the Cambridge lot showed instant initiative and got me back on the road, albeit at a price.

The e/bike industry has got a long way to go before it moves anywhere near adequate customer support, ETS excluded.

Switching the handle assembly in cases like this is a quick and easy answer, one which I thought other Forum members might like to tuck in the back of their memories for future use.

Happy biking to all for 2010.

Rod

 

[Old Timer]

I have had my Synergie Mistral for three years and it has covered thousands of miles. Then the battery went under, giving no more than five miles before it died.

I rang Synergie. They had no batteries and could not tell me when they would have any more. Rang the purveyors of the Newton, which is the same bike. Critical bloke was always with a customer but eventually rang back. No batteries but trying to source some more.

Then came the Electric Transport Shop in Cambridge from where the bike was originally bought. Yes, they could help. They simply took a new battery of a similar type (one with pins at the base) and transferred the handle assembly of mine (electric kettle type connector) from one to the other. Total time taken about fifteen minutes.

Total cost was £300 which is plenty enough and the only downside is that because the new battery is about five mill longer the locking pin wont go through the hole in the battery housing to lock it in place. However I am modifying this.

I am constantly astonished that importers of bikes don't at least carry a spare battery. After all the bike is not cheap and come to that neither is a replacement battery. But at least the Cambridge lot showed instant initiative and got me back on the road, albeit at a price.

The e/bike industry has got a long way to go before it moves anywhere near adequate customer support, ETS excluded.

Switching the handle assembly in cases like this is a quick and easy answer, one which I thought other Forum members might like to tuck in the back of their memories for future use.

Happy biking to all for 2010.

Rod

Rod

Not sure I`m with you. the replacement had the bottom connecting pins? and yours was (like mine) with a kettle type connector at the top?
So just changing the handle assembly (meaning with the kettle type connector) wouldn`t give you power at that socket unless the wires were changed around to connect with the top?

Not flaming just interested because my main bike has the kettle type connector at the top.

and i agree about back up. OK if you buy an expensive bike you get the back up but not everyone can afford over £1k so why shouldn`t they carry important spares like batteries. Suppose it`s just because these things come ready boxed up to sell in a container and the supplier either doesn`t think or just doesn`t care.Glad you got it sorted though.

You can bet your life that someone will get it sorted for the masses one day.

 

[eddieo]

glad you got it sorted...someone else posted recently regarding this (may have been you) and it is odd that the bikes are still for sale via ebay etc... but no spare or replacement batteries available

 

[lemmy]

This was one of the things in my mind when i bought a bike with the Panasonic system. I reasoned that a big company like that wouldn't dump on its customers.

I have to say, this is more in hope than expectation, I have some excellent experience of large companies failing to provide long term backup for their products - Quicken software, anyone?

 

[Rod Tibbs]

Hello Old Timer,

You are quite right and I explained it rather badly. The new battery has the pin connectors at the bottom but when the top was moved over they seemed to do a bit of simple twiddly stuff with some snap connectors and lo and behold it works!

I took it home, plugged in the kettle type lead on my bike and got full power to the motor. I don't understand the innards of batteries but they seemed to know what they were doing.

I have not been out on it yet because the new battery needed a full overnight charge, the weather has been b*****y cold and I have had a touch of flu. Will report back later.

Rod

 

[flecc]

This was one of the things in my mind when i bought a bike with the Panasonic system. I reasoned that a big company like that wouldn't dump on its customers.

You were correct. Panasonic still supply replacement batteries for the old type unit used by the Lafree, though that was discontinued in 2006. In fact they even appointed a new manufacturer for those about a year ago and made an improvement to the meter circuit design. There can't be many manufacturers who produce design upgrades for discontinued items!
.