Trek battery with built in tail light

[flecc]

Yes, very expensive as i thought. Unfortuantely you won't be able to use any other battery as d8veh says, the CANbus system that ties their batteries to their motors rules out any generic replacement.

So best to get everything you can out of the present one and convert as previously discussed. Alternatively you could sell it now and try again with something else less costly to run.
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[Deleted member 4366]

Time to get a new kit. The Chinese ones are much better these days, so you should end up with something that meets your needs better, is cheeper and you won't have this problem in the future.

 

[Noel]

Yes, very expensive as i thought. Unfortuantely you won't be able to use any other battery as d8veh says, the CANbus system that ties their batteries to their motors rules out any generic replacement.

So best to get everything you can out of the present one and convert as previously discussed. Alternatively you could sell it now and try again with something else less costly to run.
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[Noel]

It's too bad that Trek makes the system proprietry. Even using the Bionx platform they change it so that one cant use a Bionx battery for replacement and when Trek quits making the replacement battery for the Transport then the hub itself is unusable.

I'll take your advice and put it up for sale and ride it until I sell it. At least for a potential buyer a new battery is available.

Too bad they quit making it. My local Trek dealer told me that they didn't stock them because of the price. It rides ultra smooth, quiet and stable. The thing I dont like is the semi hunched over riding position but that is due to me riding a semi recumbent for the last 9 years.

 

[Noel]

Time to get a new kit. The Chinese ones are much better these days, so you should end up with something that meets your needs better, is cheeper and you won't have this problem in the future.

Yes, you are correct. If I were to keep it Id convert it over but I dont like the riding position so Im putting it up for sale. The bike is really handy though, like a pick up truck.

 

[Noel]

If your problem is the loss of range, as Michael says, it won't be lights causing your problem. If the battery is two years old it may well be starting to lose some of it's 9.6 Ah capacity since it's total of 355 Wh is not very much for a long wheelbase heavy transport e-bike with a BionX motor. That will be very likely if the motor has had much use in level 4, which rapidly eats current and gives the battery a hard time.

The bad news is that BionX batteries are very expensive, the in-frame version of your 37 volt 9.6 Ah battery being £1050 last time I looked
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I currently am doing a test to find out the range of the battery. I made it to 17.8 miles until i reached zero battery level on the indicator. I continued riding on zero level and ive gone a further 5.6 miles for a total of 23.4 miles mostly on 50% assist. Ive noticed in 50% assist it seems slightly weak but when i jump to 200% assist it pulls ok. Is there a final warning light or beep that will let me know that the battery is getting ready to shut down or will it do so with no warning?

 

[flecc]

There isn't usually, but it's common for assistance to get very weak in the final stages, giving a form of warning. Personally I always ignore battery level meters and go my mileage once I know what a bike is capable of. You'll probably soon get enough experience of yours to do the same.

Anyway, lithium batteries should always be recharged quite frequently, rather than using them to empty every time which results in additional chemical stress.
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[Noel]

Hi flecc,
Again, thanks for the advice. Im thinking that I can live with 23 miles of range. The battery is weak but useable. The island i live on is only 6 miles long. All the grocery stores, etc. are 1.3 miles away. I wont push the battery again to its limits and ill recharge after every use (wait 1 hr. before recharging?)

Yesterday i had a load (chair, table, cooler, fishing gear, etc) and i did 9.6 miles with a strong headwind (15 mph) on the way home and i had 1 bar of battery level left which i dont think is too bad considering the total weight of a heavy bike and a 200# rider. I used 50% assist on the way back and 100% the last 1.5 miles and then sprinted the last .2 miles at 200% assist. Also the battery level indicator isnt showing truly whats left of the battery, it indicates less than what is actually there.

 

[flecc]

No need to wait before charging, doing it either immediately after or before rides is fine Noel. The only restriction on charging lithium is that it shouldn't be done to a very cold battery, near to freezing point.
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