Oxygen E mate MTB13AH

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
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Warwick
And the bike has performed perfectly this week, thankfully. Mind you, I regretted the mitts and open-vent helmet this morning!
 

Cadhorrorfight

Just Joined
Sep 5, 2017
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Sheffield
Just out of interest has any of you oxygen MTB 13AH owners ever tried to source a spare battery which is compatible with the battery holder/controller. If so what sort of price are we talking. Is Oxygen the only suppliers of this particular fitting dolphin battery. Thanks
 

Cadhorrorfight

Just Joined
Sep 5, 2017
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Sheffield
My original is still ok , lost a bit of capacity maybe, but no where near needing a brand new battery yet or need recelling yet. i just thought if it ever did get to where the capacity drops off to not be able to do long rides it would be nice to have a spare to be able to swap over which fits the same fitting. I got a quote from bikesdirect at £439 inc delivery which is nearly a 1/3 of the cost of the bike. I thought if I left it a few more years this type of battery fitting would be completly obsolete.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
Well, my fix/bodge is still holding up. I've commuted the last couple of weeks without issue and been over some bumpy bridlepaths that would have rattled the battery/controller quite markedly. It survived.

Sooner than I'd like it'll be Ice Spiker time and my times and effort will both climb, but I'll make the most of the autumn and take bridleways while I can.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
I had cause to take off the battery yesterday. I realised that it's a job that requires three hands! One to hold the battery & two to separate the connector! Anyway, my two hands just about coped. After charging the battery up at work (thanks guys!), I reconnected it and asked a colleague to reconnect the connector. She had a bit of a fright, as I forgot to turn off the battery! There was quite a spark & I was worried I'd done some damage (to the bike, not my colleague), but all seemed well once I switched the bike on.

The fix is holding out well. I went cross-country on the way home yesterday, but that's probably the last time this year, as the mud was deep in parts and the Schwalbe Land Cruisers are good, but not up to heavy stuff like that. I'm going to hold out until the clocks change before ditching the shorts though.
 
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Deleted member 4366

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The spark is the inrush current into the capacitor/s. That happens on all ebikes.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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The spark is the inrush current into the capacitor/s. That happens on all ebikes.
Owners of Bosch, and probably Yamaha, Steps and Impulse, bikes would give you an argument about that.

I've done about 10,000 miles on three Bosch bkes and have never seen a spark.
 
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Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
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Warwick
If I try to connect the charger to the battery in-situ with it switched off, I get a spark. If the battery is switched on, I don't.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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If I try to connect the charger to the battery in-situ with it switched off, I get a spark. If the battery is switched on, I don't.
I've tried various ways with Bosch and never seen a spark, but nor do I know what is best for the system, or even if it makes any difference.

In your case, I'd be inclined to go the spark-free route.

The days when batteries gave off lots of flammable gases are probably gone, but I've seen a car battery explode from a charger spark.

Quite spectacular, the lid of the casing smacked the ceiling of the room, and battery acid was sprayed all over.
 
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Deleted member 4366

Guest
Owners of Bosch, and probably Yamaha, Steps and Impulse, bikes would give you an argument about that.

I've done about 10,000 miles on three Bosch bkes and have never seen a spark.
They can argue as much as they like, the controller has capacitors in it. The moment you connect a live battery, the capacitors instantly charge. Any nitwit should be able to understand that he can't see any spark if the connection is shrouded at the time of connection.

Though I haven't studied it, I would imagine that the dual battery system could be worse fro that point of view because it would need sizeable capacitors to do the rapid switching from one battery to another without you feeling a momentary loss of power.

In case you don't know, you only get the spark when the capacitors are empty, like the first time you connect or after the bike hasn't been used for a while, because the charge stays in the capacitors for some time inless you use it or short them to discharge it.
 

chris_n

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 29, 2016
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Niedeau, Austria
The Yamaha battery doesn't appear to be "switched on" until you power the bike up. Yes there is a voltage reading at the terminals but it is a couple of volts lower than the actual battery voltage. If I fit the standard battery and then measure the voltage on the connector for my extender it will read 38-39V. When I switch the power on at the handlebars the volage jumps up to 41-42V. I guess there is some current controlled "leakage" that is going to be used to charge the caps. If I connect the extender first there is a visible and audible spark (only done this once), when I connect correctly there is no sparking sound.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
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Warwick
All I can say about the bike, other than it is performing spot on, is that there is a slow puncture on the front wheel. I have to pump it up every couple of days after it loses about 20PSI. I do have a spare tube and I could change it, but the tyre is a devil to get on & off and I'm waiting until I swap the tyres to the Ice Spikers in a couple of months. It takes about 30 seconds to pump up the tyre.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
The Ice Spikers have been on since Christmas. Although they do the job asked of them, I hate riding on them. The profile is very unfriendly for road riding and I long for the day when I can put the Land Cruisers back on.

There is very little else to report about the eMate, except that it is performing very well. The battery is now 2.5 years old, but I still reckon 40 miles would be possible at legal speeds - more on the Land Cruisers.

Once the winter is over, I will replace the derailleur, chain & cassette, as they have done the best part of 3000 miles by my reckoning without much protection from the elements. I was contemplating fitting an 11-speed set up, but then I saw the cost! I'll stick with 3x9-speed for now.

Earlier in the thread, some 48v batteries were recommended. I might go for that once the battery starts fading significantly.

Why can't I ever leave well alone?!
 
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emtbrob1234

Just Joined
Feb 12, 2018
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Rotherham
Hi my 2 year old oxygen MTB 16AH is going to be coming back out from its winter hibernation soon. I've not had it serviced yet by a bike shop and probably done 600-800 miles. I was wondering if any one had theirs back to Oxygen/Syebc for a service and what they thought of the cost and the work they did. Has any one used any one else for a service in the shef/rotherham area or do you all do your own. If you do it yourself what would you suggest needs doing. Towards the back end last year I wasn't really happy with how the gears were working and could never get the rear mech adjusted to index through the full range in both directions properly every time.
 
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Deleted member 4366

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Hi my 2 year old oxygen MTB 16AH is going to be coming back out from its winter hibernation soon. I've not had it serviced yet by a bike shop and probably done 600-800 miles. I was wondering if any one had theirs back to Oxygen/Syebc for a service and what they thought of the cost and the work they did. Has any one used any one else for a service in the shef/rotherham area or do you all do your own. If you do it yourself what would you suggest needs doing. Towards the back end last year I wasn't really happy with how the gears were working and could never get the rear mech adjusted to index through the full range in both directions properly every time.
There's nothing to service. If yours is the old Emate with the battery behind the seat and cable brakes, then the brakes probably need adjusting and maybe check for loose spokes. That's not necessary on the later models with hydraulic brakes, which should go several thousand miles before the pads need changing. Any bike shop should be able to do that, though it's not exactly difficult to do it yourself.

Any owner, should oil the chain occasionally, and while at it put a drop on each of the gear mechanism pivots and on the cable inners adjacent to the outers. That's all the servicing any bike needs apart from what was mentioned above.
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
Given the hard frost we had, I took the bike cross-country today. The bridleways were hard due to the frost. That was fine on the first stretch, where I was on relatively flat farm tracks, but once I got to the fields near Kenilworth, I hit rutted animal tracks. When I got to a bridge, I got off because of the very deep ruts.

The bike coped well enough, but it was out of its depth (as was I!) on such technical bits. The battery, however, really doesn't like sub-zero temperatures. I may have to nurse it on the way home tonight. I shall think hard about that 48V replacement...
 

Andy Bluenoes

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 31, 2016
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uk
Given the hard frost we had, I took the bike cross-country today. The bridleways were hard due to the frost. That was fine on the first stretch, where I was on relatively flat farm tracks, but once I got to the fields near Kenilworth, I hit rutted animal tracks. When I got to a bridge, I got off because of the very deep ruts.

The bike coped well enough, but it was out of its depth (as was I!) on such technical bits. The battery, however, really doesn't like sub-zero temperatures. I may have to nurse it on the way home tonight. I shall think hard about that 48V replacement...
You're braver than me...
I've decided to ditch the bike this week, just don't want to risk the icy patches now I have no spikes on.
Going to be a long slog using the car all week :'(

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk
 

Warwick

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2015
731
225
Warwick
It was quite fun, in a masochistic sort of way :)

I will do the same the rest of the week, although I shall skip the rutted fields. On the way home the path had thawed and it was a bit muddy, but not off-puttingly. Hopefully it will be freezing all day the rest of the week and frosty on the tracks.

It is a very dry cold, but I wouldn't risk the Marathon + shod Orbit.
 
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