Help, I am at the mercy of Optibike and what they will charge me for a replacement battery, I have not heard back but without batteries, the Optibike is so heavy it is useless as a mode of transportation. They now offer a 3 year warranty but in the beginning they only offered one year. So I am concerned that I may end up with a very expensive garage ornament if they come back and they price the replacement out of reason. I am leaning towards the "out of reason" because they are telling me I would have to ship the bike back to Colorado to get the batteries replaced. The cost of shipping alone would be very expensive. Would appreciate any help.
Optibike bicycle battery replacement
- Thread starter cayoweso
- Start date
Since the battery is burried inside the frame somewhere, I don't think any of us have ever seen one.
It should be possible to make a pack from individual cells, assuming you can find ones the same size.
It may also be possible to replace an individual bad cell(s) to repair the pack.
If you can remove the pack and post up some pictures, we would have a better idea.
It should be possible to make a pack from individual cells, assuming you can find ones the same size.
It may also be possible to replace an individual bad cell(s) to repair the pack.
If you can remove the pack and post up some pictures, we would have a better idea.
Jozzer
100 kW
My mechanic (Bob) has some experience with Optibike battery packs having worked for the UK distributor. Try emailing him on thesproat@yahoo.co.uk , he can provide pics of the internals and advice on how to dissasemble.
As Fechter says, it is undoubtably possible to replace cells or rebuild the pack if you are at all experienced with such things..
Steve
As Fechter says, it is undoubtably possible to replace cells or rebuild the pack if you are at all experienced with such things..
Steve
dnmun
1 PW
on the tidalforce googleforum, they mentioned who the battery manufacturer is in boulder, but i forgot the name. optibike tries to keep the battery packs under their control. how hard is it to open the frame to get the pack out? special fasteners? pictures? i thought all repair work was done by LEVT in idaho. there may even be some on ES here who live in boulder and would go by the battery maker for you and pick up a few cells 'under the counter' from the battery pack maker without telling jim turner.
this has got to be the biggest liability that optibike has. the cost of battery replacement. just the shipping is a burden.
edit:here is the company who makes the opti pack i think,
Mod Edit: The boundlesscorporation.com links are now dead and the root link now takes you to a pseudo porn site.
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/
edit: dragging the whole thread from there over here
cut out the trash)
Optibike Battery
When Richard posted his Opti ride report with pics, I noticed the
vendor name printed on the battery.
FYI, the vendor is Boundless Corp from Boulder, CO.
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/
The web site gives you a good feel of the company. They use to have a
pic of an Optibike on one of the pages, but it is now removed.
I had some questions about the battery and contacted them.
Appearantly, Optibike prefers all questions go thru them and not
Boundless. Craig requested I not contact them since they are a small
company, and not prepared to handle gazillion questions from e-bikers
accross the globe. Craig has assured me that Opti is preparing a
detailed and comprehensive user's guide for the Boundless Battery.
There are questions relating to the fault codes and charging
perculiarities that need to be addressed.
Anyway, since the battery is a big deal, it is great to have open
disclosure about it's technology...especially if you are paying $9k
for a bike.
Dan
Speaking of Optibike and batteries, how many of you have seen this
website?
http://www.optibike-battery.com/
Cute. I'm surprised he took the business that direction but it may
pay off in the long run and drive interest to the bike business.
A couple of days ago I noticed my local Costco was selling a set of
Sanyo Eneloop 2000 mAmpHr AA NiMH cells packaged with sets of adapter
sleeves to make them fit in D, and C devices, along with a 4 cell
charger. With such high capacity cells it made sense to put one size
in multiple devices but I felt the packaging was deceptive because a
lot of people probably wouldn't notice the sleeves thinking they were
buying full sets of rechargeable batteries. I think the price was
about $30 for 8 AA + 4 AAA + 4 D sleeves + 4 C sleeves + 4 cell
charger. I may not be remembering the price accurately (maybe it was
$40) but it seemed like a good deal with the charger included. I
don't need a charger so I didn't buy it. The Sanyo eneloops have been
around a few years and well tested in the field. They use a new
thicker internal wrapping that reduces self discharge at room
temperature and also provides good service at low temperatures
compared to standard NiMH cells. The thicker wrapping also reduces
the mAh capacity (compared to some other new cells). Stored at high
temperatures (40 C, 104 F) they self discharge at a rate like normal
NiMH cells. Some places are selling sets of 4 of these cells for
about $10 delivered.
Best,
Joe
Could this be the internal, LiCo, 20 Ahr, Optibike battery?
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/Stand-Alone_Battery_Line.html
DR
It's not the internal. Wrong shape. Look on Optibike's website for the
"production story" and you'll see the internal battery being inserted.
--John
LOL, innocent widdow typo, fur sure.
"more bag for the buck"!
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/Lithium-Ion_Chemistry_Facts.html
Sound great, so how much?
or is it a case if you have to ask...
On Nov 18, 8:18 pm, Bike_on <therowe...@verizon.net> wrote:
> Optibike prefers all questions go thru them and not
> Boundless.
I'd like to hear from Boundless, if they feel the same way.
They'd rather not hear from new potential clients?
They outta have a separate eBIKE division.
Call it Boundless-Sphere.
Ca$h in on name recognition, garner instant web traffic.
this has got to be the biggest liability that optibike has. the cost of battery replacement. just the shipping is a burden.
edit:here is the company who makes the opti pack i think,
Mod Edit: The boundlesscorporation.com links are now dead and the root link now takes you to a pseudo porn site.
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/
edit: dragging the whole thread from there over here
cut out the trash)Optibike Battery
When Richard posted his Opti ride report with pics, I noticed the
vendor name printed on the battery.
FYI, the vendor is Boundless Corp from Boulder, CO.
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/
The web site gives you a good feel of the company. They use to have a
pic of an Optibike on one of the pages, but it is now removed.
I had some questions about the battery and contacted them.
Appearantly, Optibike prefers all questions go thru them and not
Boundless. Craig requested I not contact them since they are a small
company, and not prepared to handle gazillion questions from e-bikers
accross the globe. Craig has assured me that Opti is preparing a
detailed and comprehensive user's guide for the Boundless Battery.
There are questions relating to the fault codes and charging
perculiarities that need to be addressed.
Anyway, since the battery is a big deal, it is great to have open
disclosure about it's technology...especially if you are paying $9k
for a bike.
Dan
Speaking of Optibike and batteries, how many of you have seen this
website?
http://www.optibike-battery.com/
Cute. I'm surprised he took the business that direction but it may
pay off in the long run and drive interest to the bike business.
A couple of days ago I noticed my local Costco was selling a set of
Sanyo Eneloop 2000 mAmpHr AA NiMH cells packaged with sets of adapter
sleeves to make them fit in D, and C devices, along with a 4 cell
charger. With such high capacity cells it made sense to put one size
in multiple devices but I felt the packaging was deceptive because a
lot of people probably wouldn't notice the sleeves thinking they were
buying full sets of rechargeable batteries. I think the price was
about $30 for 8 AA + 4 AAA + 4 D sleeves + 4 C sleeves + 4 cell
charger. I may not be remembering the price accurately (maybe it was
$40) but it seemed like a good deal with the charger included. I
don't need a charger so I didn't buy it. The Sanyo eneloops have been
around a few years and well tested in the field. They use a new
thicker internal wrapping that reduces self discharge at room
temperature and also provides good service at low temperatures
compared to standard NiMH cells. The thicker wrapping also reduces
the mAh capacity (compared to some other new cells). Stored at high
temperatures (40 C, 104 F) they self discharge at a rate like normal
NiMH cells. Some places are selling sets of 4 of these cells for
about $10 delivered.
Best,
Joe
Could this be the internal, LiCo, 20 Ahr, Optibike battery?
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/Stand-Alone_Battery_Line.html
DR
It's not the internal. Wrong shape. Look on Optibike's website for the
"production story" and you'll see the internal battery being inserted.
--John
LOL, innocent widdow typo, fur sure.
"more bag for the buck"!
http://www.boundlesscorporation.com/Lithium-Ion_Chemistry_Facts.html
Sound great, so how much?
or is it a case if you have to ask...
On Nov 18, 8:18 pm, Bike_on <therowe...@verizon.net> wrote:
> Optibike prefers all questions go thru them and not
> Boundless.
I'd like to hear from Boundless, if they feel the same way.
They'd rather not hear from new potential clients?
They outta have a separate eBIKE division.
Call it Boundless-Sphere.
Ca$h in on name recognition, garner instant web traffic.
Optibike battery pack pictures and info, courtesy of Mr. Sproat
Hello there Ed,
Yes, I've spent a lot of time fitting and replacing these packs! It's quite an involved process to refit one, but obviously if you're upgrading to Lithium cells it's well worth the struggle!
Ok, in order to take out the pack there are a few steps you need to go through to get access to the points needed to work with. Firstly, you need to separate the rear triangle from the rest of the main frame as this stops the pack from being able to be removed. Typically the chain ring will need to be taken off to get to the swing arm bolt.
After the bottom swing-arm bolt has been taken out, you need to move the whole rear end out the way so you can undo the battery retention bolts (8 off). If you still have the original NimH pack installed, it will pretty much just fall out the main frame without any struggling (STH70254.JPG Pic of the pack).
When the pack is taken out there will be two blocks of wires coming off the back of it, disconnect both of those, but leave the motor wires as they are. (STH70258 pic. of frame without pack fitted. retaining bolts in their studding. This is without the motor attached!)
After the old pack is out, just reverse these steps to re-build the bike. (STH70307.JPG is the lithium pack installed.) With the lithium pack, the studs that space out the plastic cover over the end of the pack/frame (STH70309.JPG pic. of studs and pack cover), are used to secure the pack into the frame so that if you undo the new cover the pack doesn't drop out. Getting the lithium pack into the frame can sometimes be a bit of a pain, as the rubber frame/battery protectors can get caught and make fitting tricky. The original wiring is used with the lithium pack too, but it connects to the opposite end compared to the NimH cells.
Well that's the bare essentials, if you want more detail or have any questions, more than happy to help! Hope this is helpfull!
Cheers,
Bob
Pics too big here is the link to the pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73071294@N00/3100584983/
Hello there Ed,
Yes, I've spent a lot of time fitting and replacing these packs! It's quite an involved process to refit one, but obviously if you're upgrading to Lithium cells it's well worth the struggle!
Ok, in order to take out the pack there are a few steps you need to go through to get access to the points needed to work with. Firstly, you need to separate the rear triangle from the rest of the main frame as this stops the pack from being able to be removed. Typically the chain ring will need to be taken off to get to the swing arm bolt.
After the bottom swing-arm bolt has been taken out, you need to move the whole rear end out the way so you can undo the battery retention bolts (8 off). If you still have the original NimH pack installed, it will pretty much just fall out the main frame without any struggling (STH70254.JPG Pic of the pack).
When the pack is taken out there will be two blocks of wires coming off the back of it, disconnect both of those, but leave the motor wires as they are. (STH70258 pic. of frame without pack fitted. retaining bolts in their studding. This is without the motor attached!)
After the old pack is out, just reverse these steps to re-build the bike. (STH70307.JPG is the lithium pack installed.) With the lithium pack, the studs that space out the plastic cover over the end of the pack/frame (STH70309.JPG pic. of studs and pack cover), are used to secure the pack into the frame so that if you undo the new cover the pack doesn't drop out. Getting the lithium pack into the frame can sometimes be a bit of a pain, as the rubber frame/battery protectors can get caught and make fitting tricky. The original wiring is used with the lithium pack too, but it connects to the opposite end compared to the NimH cells.
Well that's the bare essentials, if you want more detail or have any questions, more than happy to help! Hope this is helpfull!
Cheers,
Bob
Pics too big here is the link to the pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73071294@N00/3100584983/
BiGH
100 kW
i only see one battery pic in the link you supplied :S
Green Machine
100 kW
I know this is an old thread...but perhaps there is someone who has the same problem.
Recently a guy from the Optibike forums rebuilt his pack, replacing 2 18650 cells that went bad in the 100 cell pack.
Here are pics and description of what he did:
http://www.electricbike.com/optibike-battery-pack/
Recently a guy from the Optibike forums rebuilt his pack, replacing 2 18650 cells that went bad in the 100 cell pack.
Here are pics and description of what he did:
http://www.electricbike.com/optibike-battery-pack/
USAEBIKECO
10 kW
We use the exact same battery packs as Optibike. If you need a replacement pack for your bike you can order one from us.
http://www.chicagoelectricbicycles.com/Batteries.html
http://www.chicagoelectricbicycles.com/Batteries.html
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