Gazelle Easy Glider

indalo

Banned
Sep 13, 2009
1,380
1
Herts & Spain
Hi.

I'm new to the forum and have just purchased an Easy Glider via eBay after much research online.

My first impression is that the bike is, as most reviewers have recorded, beautifully built and exudes quality both in the components used and in the fit and finish. This particular example looks showroom new and clearly hasn't been ridden much, if at all.

The vendor described the bike as being 14 months old therefore I imagined that it would have the Li-ion 10amp battery fitted as that was brought in for the 2008 range, as I understand. Strangely, I can find no reference to the battery capacity on or around the battery or its compartment but in the accompanying documentation, (Dutch) the battery is described as being 7.2 amp. That in itself may not be a problem for me, dependent upon the amount of cycling I gravitate to, but what I'd like to know is, if anyone can help, can I replace the existing battery in due course with the 10amp version without any risk to the electronics? Indeed, when the time comes, should there be an even more powerful edition available, would that, 11, 12, 14amp be equally suitable or unsuitable? I'm guessing that the bike is probably a 2007 model which was first sold very late, hence the 7.2 battery.

Logic tells me that the amp hours will have no detrimental effect whatsoever and will in fact provide benefit in terms of achievable range but I'd like to hear that from someone who knows about electrickery!

When it eventually stops raining, I may even take the machine for a decent ride but for the meantime, I'll just sit and continue to drool over this lovely piece of engineering.

Very interesting and highly informative forum, I must add.
 

jac

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 1, 2007
315
0
hi i dont think you can change the battery to 10 ah one also the power is different on that bike as it does not have hi power option thats if its the same bike i was watching on ebay

jim
 

indalo

Banned
Sep 13, 2009
1,380
1
Herts & Spain
Hi jac & thank you for the response.

I just wish you had explained why the 10amp battery may not be compatible as I'm aware, for example, that the Sparta Ion series can take the later, stronger batteries. They even make a point of that in their advertising literature.

In terms of traditional lead-acid batteries fitted to cars, there is no compatibility problem with vehicle electronics when replacing original equipment with "heavy-duty" batteries but maybe things are different with pedelecs?

Even laptop batteries can be replaced with later, more powerful editions in some cases so I'm at a loss to understand why there might be any issues as a result of replacing a 7.2 Ah supply with one of 10Ah. Obviously, and hence my original question, I would not want to waste money buying something patently unsuitable. Nor would I want to compromise the delicate circuitry in the control unit.

At the end of the day, I shall enjoy the bike for what it is but when the time comes, I'd like to know definitively whether it's ok or not to replace the battery with a more powerful one, voltage being identical, of course.

Regards,
Indalo
 

jac

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 1, 2007
315
0
hi iam going from memory of the review of this bike in atob magazine which you could probably get a copy of i think it was more to do with size of battery box not to do with volts and amps

jim
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Hi Indalo. This is worth checking with a Gazelle e-bike dealer. Following of the release of the 2007 model with an 8 Ah battery one dealer said that the later 10 Ah battery would not fit into the bike and this incompatibility story arose from that.

As Jac says, it's a matter of battery box size, but it's also the connection plug-in system. Panasonic who make the motor system have improved the battery management over the years and that does sometimes change the contact arrangements, the current 10 Ah battery having a five position contact system with three of them in use when on the bike and different ones when on the charger. These lithium batteries cannot be compared to crude lead acid batteries like those on cars, the lithium ones have to have internal electronic management of their working conditions. Yours may or may not be compatible, but here is a photo of the contacts on the current base that the 10 Ah battery plugs onto. The battery base has five slots in a row, these three used when on the bike. If your battery or battery base on the bike are different, the new 10 Ah battery won't fit:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/flecc/images/panbatplat%202.jpg

To show the internal complexity of lithium batteries compared with car batteries, have a look at this typical one's internals:

li_ion
.
 

indalo

Banned
Sep 13, 2009
1,380
1
Herts & Spain
Hi again & thank you both jac & flecc for your views.

I took your advice flecc & emailed a company in London who advertise themselves as Gazelle dealers and received a reply this afternoon. They simply stated that the 10Ah battery doesn't fit the earlier models so I guess that's the end of that although they didn't specify in which way it is incompatible. It's academic now but they also added that the 7.2Ah battery will be available at the end of November at a cost of £240 although there was no mention of whether that figure is VAT inclusive.

For what it's worth, I compared the onboard battery connector base on my bike with the picture you attached and there is a clear difference so I guess the incompatibility is there rather than in the physical dimensions of the actual battery. I feel it's a shame really as the extra grunt of a few more watts would be welcome although, having said that, I found the pedalling experience was adequately supported when I took the bike for a decent spin this afternoon.

My first impressions of the bike in use after a 6 mile ride, much of it into a strong headwind, are that it is very easy to ride without power and absorbs road irregularities very well. Power applied is a help, even on the lower setting and made things much easier when my legs began to tire.

If I have a criticism, it is that the gearbox is of a rather close-ratio format and a longer 7th & 8th gear would be welcome. I understand the ramifications of that but longer gearing would suit my style of riding better.

Once again, thank you both for your assistance.

Regards,
Indalo
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
I think you'll find that £240 will be inclusive of VAT Indalo, and I hope so for you. I thought it might be the conact system, since these batteries are constantly under development and now enjoy rather more sophisticated management, shared by both charger and motor unit, hence the five contact system.

The basis of the gearing problem is the intrusion of the law on e-bikes, since the maximum assisted speed has to be restricted to 15 mph (25 kph). A simple low cost cure is to get a bike dealer to fit you a smaller rear hub sprocket. Your bike will probably have a sprocket of around 22 teeth, and an 18 tooth one will raise the assisted speed to about 18 mph as well as raising your gears. These sprockets only cost about £5 or less, and a dealer will fit a new one for about £15 all in. Many if not most of our members with Panasonic motored bikes have smaller rear sprockets fitted, technically illegal but a very minor issue in truth. The downside is that the motor runs for more time when switched on, so the range is shortened a bit.

You can have a look at what's in these motor units in my Panasonic support website on this link:

The New Panasonic Unit
.
 

jac

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 1, 2007
315
0
that is a realy top price for the battery i think most of the other panasonic bikes charge nearly double that price for 10ah battery and even the old giant lafree battery cost £250

jim
 

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