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.

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?

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.

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.

On my battery are 2 large female receptacles that I assume are the charge/feed connectors and also several very small female connectors near the larger female terminals. Ill try and attach a pic later, not sure if my tablet can do that. Re. the cost of the battery the straight dope is: $799.99. My local bike shop said that a new battery charger ($89.99) and cord ($9.99) are required in order to purchase the new battery. Thats not including shipping, which is not cheap. So the total cost is around $1,000. Expensive.

I just found out that a replacement battery is possibly $1,016 USD, or 659£, if the conversion i did is corrrect. I guess the price has went down British Sterling poundwise? The Trek dealer said that he's not sure if it's available. He said that he will call Trek headquarters and if it's not available he will find out if Trek can rebuild it. Can an aftermarket battery pack be wired in to the Bionx system?

I went another 5 miles while on empty and it still had power. The battery is fully charged now. Im going to ride it until the battery totally quits to see how many actual miles that I can ride. I'll make a note at what mileage the gauge reads empty and then keep riding until the battery quits and note the total mileage. Yes, probably run it until the end unless i can find someone who can rebuild it at a reasonable price. I hope to go my local Trek dealer tomorrow to find out the cost of a battery just for the heck of it. Ive dealt with them in the past and they dont have much interest in electric bikes. I think that pedal assist is a great invention, esp. for someone like me and other people who have bad knees.

That's what i'll do when I get my next bike, save tons of money! I'll ride this one for a while and then go the better route. Thanks!

Hi flecc, The previous owner said that he used to go around 20 miles on level four @ 20mph. He said that it was always on empty on his way home. Ive noticed that my mid drive Giant Revive gets good mileage and the battery is way older than 2 years so the mid drive must be easier on the battery. Im fortunate that everything is close where I live as the battery for the Transport is weak. I don't know if I want to spend the money on a new battery, I like the way the bike is made re. carrying stuff but I don't like the riding position, im used to a semi recumbent . Im currently looking for a Rans Hammer Truck cargo bike that is crank forward where my feet can touch the ground flatfooted. If I can find one then Id convert it to (as you have suggested) mid drive or BPM/CST. If I cant find a Hammer Truck then I might convert my semi recumbent to an electric cargo bike using the Xtra Cycle cargo conversion.

I need to learn how to rebuild a battery, thats a tremendous savings! I also have a Giant Revive Spirit that will eventually need a battery but the battery is no longer being made. I contacted a battery rebuild service and they wouldn't do it.

I was wondering why my battery discharged so quickly, the heavy weight of the bike and the heavy rider (200 pounds). The previous owner used it a lot at level 4 for his commute (20 mph) so he probably stressed the battery as you said. If I run it at level 2 I only get 12 miles. At 12 miles the battery level read zero but i had to continue on for another 5 miles to get home but it still had juice left. I suppose that wasnt good for the battery. I contacted Trek to see if the battery is still available and it is. I had better be sitting down when i find out the price, ouch! Thanks for the information!

Thats good news, then i'll run my lights! Thanks!

Seems like using the battery to power a tail light and headlight would drain the battery excessively? The bike came from the factory like that (Trek Transport Plus). Im going to mount battery powered lights. The battery is at least one year old, probably two.