Cyclamatic Battery Range

Deano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Mar 3, 2012
13
0
I bought a second hand Cyclamatic and was immediatly disappointed with the battery's range. It was as dead as a dodo after 12 miles.

I've now bought a second hand replacement and that is as dead as a dodo after 10 miles.

Is it me? Should I not get at least 20 miles from a battery. What are your experiences?
 

Willin'

Pedelecer
Apr 2, 2011
211
0
I bought a second hand Cyclamatic and was immediatly disappointed with the battery's range. It was as dead as a dodo after 12 miles.

I've now bought a second hand replacement and that is as dead as a dodo after 10 miles.

Is it me? Should I not get at least 20 miles from a battery. What are your experiences?
I've never got more than 17 miles out of mine when it was brand new - I even returned it as I was sure the battery was duff. All I got was advice to keep the tyre pressures at 65psi. I expect to get 16 miles if I ride quite gently.

The performance of your battery will also be affected by many variables - cold weather doesn't help, windy weather and a hilly ride using lots of power will all drain a small battery like the Cyclamatic's quite quickly. That being said there are a couple of DIY threads on here about upgrading the Cyclamatic for better performance.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
I bought a second hand Cyclamatic and was immediatly disappointed with the battery's range. It was as dead as a dodo after 12 miles.

I've now bought a second hand replacement and that is as dead as a dodo after 10 miles.

Is it me? Should I not get at least 20 miles from a battery. What are your experiences?
I would expect closer to 20 miles from a new battery, but it depends on how hard you push it. Are you going up a lot of steep hills? Do you pedal very hard? Has your bike been modified for more power? Sometimes, if batteries haven't been used for a while, they go out of balance. You should judge it after four of five charge cycles when it's had a chance to re-balance

S
 

Deano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Mar 3, 2012
13
0
Battery hasn't been used for several months although has been kept topped up.

Its been a hard day for the battery. Back tyres got a slow puncture so had to stop and pump back up 5 times. When the wind blew it blew hard and the wrong direction.
 

Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
5,566
5,048
www.kudoscycles.com
Battery is LiMno4,8Ah x24v,so 192 Wh....12Wh per mile gives about 16 mile range...14% capacity loss per annum,gives a range of say 14 mile after first year 12.3 after second year,cold weather could be a bit less.
Dave
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
A new battery may be in order....
 

Deano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Mar 3, 2012
13
0
Its defo Li Ion Battery. I think its an issue whereby it hasn't been cycled for a while and the cell balance is way out. The in built BMS might sort it out in a few days. Let you know.
 

wendy zhu

Just Joined
Feb 28, 2012
1
0
33
China
www.gebattery.com.cn
well, the battery can be affected by many factors. As for the battery LiMno4, it is now mostly insteaded by LiNiCoMn and LiFePO4 battery. Their life is longer and more safe. Since the LiFePO4 is more expensive so LiNiCoMn is more popular.

Wendy
 

morphix

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 24, 2010
2,163
119
Worcestershire
www.cyclecharge.org.uk
I bought a second hand Cyclamatic and was immediatly disappointed with the battery's range. It was as dead as a dodo after 12 miles.

I've now bought a second hand replacement and that is as dead as a dodo after 10 miles.

Is it me? Should I not get at least 20 miles from a battery. What are your experiences?
I guess it depends how old the battery is and how well its been treated..also what size battery is, you don't give any info.

My first venture into electric bikes was on a self-build using a tiny 36V 5Ah battery.. using that battery on full power pedal assist (my bike has 6 levels) I was able to travel 18 miles. I've since upgraded my battery to 10Ah and haven't yet tested the full range of this battery, but I reckon it would easily do 36 miles on pedal assist.
 

Deano

Finding my (electric) wheels
Mar 3, 2012
13
0
Its done a lot better today. I'm gonna keep it. Its outdone the other battery by a margin. Its done13 miles but some heavy uphill work was in the extra. It won't be needing to do that again. I also had extra weight on board.

The issue with these battery's is the Management System. A more intelligent system could give serious extra performance. I'm an electronics engineer and will be looking more closely at this.
 

NRG

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 6, 2009
2,592
10
The issue with these batteries is the chemistry and C rating, no amount of clever electronics will change it ;)