I have a problem.
I bought my bike new last September and with the onset of wet weather and snow I haven't ridden it more than 100 miles since I bought it, and the battery has been recharged maybe 15 times and not more than 20.
This bike has a hub motor and a 360 watt 10 amp hour Phylion battery that was manufactured in July of 2007. Last time I rode it any distance was in October. I went 15 miles and it wasn't until I'd gone 14 that I noticed any loss of power. As this ride included several large hills and I weigh about 185 lbs I was completely satisfied with the bikes performance.
The bike has sat in a dry unheated outside shed for most of the winter. I live on the West Coast of Canada and there is some humidity in the air but not enough to make things inside the shed damp. Every time the temperature went below freezing I carried the bike in the house as I didn't want to risk exposing the battery to freezing temperatures. I have never ridden the bike in weather that is not completely dry.
In February my son and his partner came for a visit. I charged up the battery and both went for a short 1 mile ride and both reported the motor suddenly cutting out. My son probably weighs the same as I do but his partner can't weigh more than 110 lbs. My son knows a lot about electronics and he thought maybe it was the emergency cut off button malfunctioning, as the motor doesn't cut out when it is pressed.
He suggested I should avoid pushing that button, which I don't really need anyway.
When there was a break in the rain and snow a while later, I went for a two mile ride which included a big hill and the bike worked fine. I thought the problem my son had must have been because he and his partner didn't know what they was doing and had pushed the emergency cut off button or something.
But today I went for a 5 mile ride on a fully charged battery and I had the bike just suddenly cut out about 5 or 6 times.
The first thing I noticed which made me feel something was wrong is after the first 1/2 mile I noticed I didn't seem to have much power.
That only lasted briefly at the top of a hill and the flat stretch afterwards. But I had never noticed a problem on that hill before. It was enough that I stopped and checked my battery light. It was down to two lights from 3, but after a big hill it will do this. After I stopped for a minute, the bike seemed to be working normally again, but about a mile later on a very slight uphill that would not normally strain the battery at all , there was a small jolt and then no motor or power or anything. I stopped and turning the throttle got no response at all. The bike seemed totally dead. I tried repeatedly and nothing worked and I was thinking I would have to turn around and go home, when I tried turning off the key that turns the bike on, and then turning the key to turn it on again. Then everything was back to working as good as new.
I continued on to town, but on route the bike cut out about five more times. Each time it was running entirely normally and suddenly there would what seemed like a little jolt and everything went dead. Each time I stopped got off the bike turned off the key which inserts into the battery, turned it back on, and was able to go again like everything was fine.
Except for the first time it cut out, I never touched the emergency cut off button and I only did that after it died the first time, trying to see if something loose in there could be jiggled back to allowing the bike to work again. So I don't think this is likely to be the problem.
As every time the problem happened it seemed to be solved by turning the bike off through the key in the battery and back on, I am guessing that is something to do with the source of the problem.
The bike has a 1 year warranty.
Any ideas on what my problem is? Is it probably the battery like I think, or the motor, or maybe the emergency cut off like my son thought?
It would be easier to get the problem fixed or the part replaced if I knew where the problem is most likely to be located.
I bought my bike new last September and with the onset of wet weather and snow I haven't ridden it more than 100 miles since I bought it, and the battery has been recharged maybe 15 times and not more than 20.
This bike has a hub motor and a 360 watt 10 amp hour Phylion battery that was manufactured in July of 2007. Last time I rode it any distance was in October. I went 15 miles and it wasn't until I'd gone 14 that I noticed any loss of power. As this ride included several large hills and I weigh about 185 lbs I was completely satisfied with the bikes performance.
The bike has sat in a dry unheated outside shed for most of the winter. I live on the West Coast of Canada and there is some humidity in the air but not enough to make things inside the shed damp. Every time the temperature went below freezing I carried the bike in the house as I didn't want to risk exposing the battery to freezing temperatures. I have never ridden the bike in weather that is not completely dry.
In February my son and his partner came for a visit. I charged up the battery and both went for a short 1 mile ride and both reported the motor suddenly cutting out. My son probably weighs the same as I do but his partner can't weigh more than 110 lbs. My son knows a lot about electronics and he thought maybe it was the emergency cut off button malfunctioning, as the motor doesn't cut out when it is pressed.
He suggested I should avoid pushing that button, which I don't really need anyway.
When there was a break in the rain and snow a while later, I went for a two mile ride which included a big hill and the bike worked fine. I thought the problem my son had must have been because he and his partner didn't know what they was doing and had pushed the emergency cut off button or something.
But today I went for a 5 mile ride on a fully charged battery and I had the bike just suddenly cut out about 5 or 6 times.
The first thing I noticed which made me feel something was wrong is after the first 1/2 mile I noticed I didn't seem to have much power.
That only lasted briefly at the top of a hill and the flat stretch afterwards. But I had never noticed a problem on that hill before. It was enough that I stopped and checked my battery light. It was down to two lights from 3, but after a big hill it will do this. After I stopped for a minute, the bike seemed to be working normally again, but about a mile later on a very slight uphill that would not normally strain the battery at all , there was a small jolt and then no motor or power or anything. I stopped and turning the throttle got no response at all. The bike seemed totally dead. I tried repeatedly and nothing worked and I was thinking I would have to turn around and go home, when I tried turning off the key that turns the bike on, and then turning the key to turn it on again. Then everything was back to working as good as new.
I continued on to town, but on route the bike cut out about five more times. Each time it was running entirely normally and suddenly there would what seemed like a little jolt and everything went dead. Each time I stopped got off the bike turned off the key which inserts into the battery, turned it back on, and was able to go again like everything was fine.
Except for the first time it cut out, I never touched the emergency cut off button and I only did that after it died the first time, trying to see if something loose in there could be jiggled back to allowing the bike to work again. So I don't think this is likely to be the problem.
As every time the problem happened it seemed to be solved by turning the bike off through the key in the battery and back on, I am guessing that is something to do with the source of the problem.
The bike has a 1 year warranty.
Any ideas on what my problem is? Is it probably the battery like I think, or the motor, or maybe the emergency cut off like my son thought?
It would be easier to get the problem fixed or the part replaced if I knew where the problem is most likely to be located.
