e-Moto Ridge 2.0 Battery Question

[wsoxfan2005]

Hello,

I have an e-Moto Ridge 2.0 ebike that I have bought over this summer and I am totally hooked on e-biking. I would like to go on extended day trips and I would like to carry an extra batter with me. The dealer that I bought the bike from has been "trying" to get me an extra battery. My hope is that he can get me another one but, if he can't I'm thinking of building my own. However, I'm not sure how to go about it. I have some ideas for mounting it under a Topeak rear bike rack. The current batter plugs into the bike via a plug set up and I figure I can buy some sort of female receptacle(s) to plug into the bike.

Admittedly, I am new to this and I am not sure what it would involve. Is it simply putting batteries in a box and wiring them up?
>
> Anyways, any ideas you have or places you can point me towards would be greatly appreciated. Especially, if you know a dealer that would carry batteries for this bike.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Pete

 

[amberwolf]

Dunno about getting a direct replacement, but there are many topics already posted about building custom batteries, and about what information you would need to know to build one. I'd start with the wiki, and the technical reference section, then the battery technology section.

 

[dogman dan]

If you are willing to run one battery, then switch to the other, then all you really need is a way to plug that new one in. Then you use the second battery, that is at least compatible with your controller. So if you have a 36v battery, then any type of 36v battery that has the right specs to run your controller will work, once you unplug the other battery. Was that clear? Run one battery, unplug it, plug in the second one, and continue.

That leaves you mostly just needing compatible plugs. Find the same plug as your e moto, or change both to something new.

The catch 22 might be that the emoto plug is built into a battery box. You will have to tell us more about what an emoto is, to get any more specific advice. You might need to modify the wiring between the current battery and the controller, to be able to unplug the stock battery.

 

[wsoxfan2005]

Hello Dogman,

Thanks for the reply. Yes all I want to do is change batteries. Once one dies I just want the ability to swap to a fresh one. There is a video of my bike on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmCBNoShgCs The battery pack has a female plug at the bottom of the battery pack and the bike has the male. Unfortunately, they are not spaced as a normal house plug. My thinking on this is that I would wire the new battery to two female blades (If such a thing exists) and just plug one blade on one male and the other on the next male. BTW, The Battery pack is 37v 9Ah. Thanks

 

[gtoal]

I have a rack on the back of my Ridge 2.0 (cheap-assed home-made Coca-Cola carrier with packing foam inserts to protect the batteries against damage from bumps) in which I carry 2 spare emoto battery packs. You can get spare battery packs directly from the e-moto US vendor at emotoev.com (1-800-44e-moto). The boss is Chuck Bourbonnais and a very nice & helpful guy. I've always had remarkable service from him.

That said, I have found that after two years of using the bike every weekend the maximum capacity of the batteries is down a bit, which is probably par for the course for any brand of e-bike. At the moment I'm trying an experiment of building my own battery pack from 18650 battery packs as used in Magicshine style bike lights. (5 of these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EHA3VD2/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and 5 chargers (http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6031839854.html) and a bunch of cables and plugs/sockets to hook them all together. Should come in well under half the cost of a battery pack but I have no idea if it'll work. (Still waiting for parts to arrive from China)

Hey - while I'm here - any of you guys worked out how to bypass the speed limiter on the Ridge 2.0 yet? I don't want to go dangerously fast but 13mph is a bit embarassing when you get left behind regularly by guys on pedal bikes.

 

[Racer_X]

Been there. Those factory built ebikes are equipped with speed limited controllers, no speed limiter wire to unplug. Upgrade your controller i found was the only way. Pick a controller that is a max of 18 amps, anymore and you risk damaging your geared hubmotor.

Hey - while I'm here - any of you guys worked out how to bypass the speed limiter on the Ridge 2.0 yet? I don't want to go dangerously fast but 13mph is a bit embarassing when you get left behind regularly by guys on pedal bikes.

 

[d8veh]

You can use any 36v battery you want and fit it on a rack. If you were considering making a battery, you should have the skills to change a couple of connectors.

If you buy a battery from an ebike shop, they're normally very expensive for what you get. You'll get much better value from BMSBattery, Aliexpress or any of the other Chinese suppliers.

These ones are pretty good and very easy to fit to a standard or DIY rack:
http://www.bmsbattery.com/36v/232-36v-15ah-lithium-ion-electric-bicycle-battery-pack.html

 

[gtoal]

You can use any 36v battery you want and fit it on a rack. If you were considering making a battery, you should have the skills to change a couple of connectors.

Indeed, although I must say it has been a challenge to find a good socket that mates with the prongs on the bike. After a few false starts I finally found this one which fits perfectly (despite being polarized): http://www.lowes.com/pd_423053-43469-5601_0__?productId=4068213 - you can also find them in bulk on ebay.

Graham

 

[DAND214]

Be sure you don't plug in reverse! it won't go backwards, it won't do anything anymore if done so.

make sure you check polarity on the battery and be sure you match that.

Dan

 

[gtoal]

Be sure you don't plug in reverse! it won't go backwards, it won't do anything anymore if done so.
make sure you check polarity on the battery and be sure you match that.

It was the very first thing I did - both bike and connector now have a big blob of red paint on one side to denote the positive terminal.

Graham

 

[gtoal]

Be sure you don't plug in reverse! it won't go backwards, it won't do anything anymore if done so.

make sure you check polarity on the battery and be sure you match that.

Dan

Would adding one of these make it sufficiently idiot-proof?

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=7r0W2zb%2f88y0dG0bciVHOQ%3d%3d

Most of my electronics experience has been down at the 3V - 5V level, I've never had cause to use a high voltage/current diode before.

I got the last of the parts from China in the mail this weekend, I'm ready to build this thing, but I'm not rushing into it. I've been reading up on balanced batteries etc and am taking some care to follow all the advice I've found. Thanks to Harbor Freight's generosity in giving away multimeters in the newspaper every weekend, I'm building a charging rig that uses 5 meters to monitor all 5 battery packs as they charge independently. And I'll have one more on the bike itself to monitor the current when I use them, to see if the battery packs are capable of sourcing the full 9A at 37-42V. I did risk a quick spin of the wheel with the bike on the kickstand so it was relatively unloaded and it did spin nicely, so I'm hopeful. I'll let you know how it handles with a 300lb rider onboard.

Graham

 

[wsoxfan2005]

Hello Graham,

Thanks for the advice and updates. It's good to see that someone else out there is trying to do the same thing as me. I do know Chuck as I don't live to far from his shop and I bought my bike off of him and yes he is good guy and very helpful but, I've been "on the list" for another battery for awhile and I got the feeling that there won't be anymore coming. The plug that you bought off of amazon does that plug straight into the bike without alteration. I noticed that the plug spacing isn't the same as a household plug. Thanks to everyone who has posted here. Thanks Pete.

 

[wsoxfan2005]

After two years of searching I finally found a source for these batteries.

They are brand spanking new in the box ready to go. These are not refurbs.

I paid $395.00.

No charger.

This is the source.

http://www.baycitybike.com/?gclid=CJGfqpPajcYCFQqVfgod_CcAuA

 

[gtoal]

After two years of searching I finally found a source for these batteries.

They are brand spanking new in the box ready to go. These are not refurbs.

I paid $395.00.

No charger.

This is the source.

http://www.baycitybike.com/?gclid=CJGfqpPajcYCFQqVfgod_CcAuA

(Hi - ignore the direct message I sent you, I'd forgotten about this thread)

By the way, my experiment with using battery packs meant for bike lights was not a success. The protection circuits blew as soon as I put any load on it. I later bought a 20Ah custom-built battery from China but the built-in controller cut out repeatedly (discussed in another thread) and although they do have a higher power controller available I haven't yet ordered it as I'm a bit wary of dismantling and rebuilding the pack safely. (It's not that I'm not capable of working out the wiring and doing whatever soldering is needed, but I have a pacemaker and just don't think the consequences of having an accident with 37V is worth the risk)

Graham