Schwinn Izip battery replacement

[iameatingjam]

I would like to say first of all that I have no idea what I'm talking about, forgive me

I just purchased a second hand schwinn Izip electric bike for only $200! I works, looks and feels great except that the range is extremely low. Less than 10km, with pedalling. I guess this bike only retaliled for $500 so it came with a shitty acid battery.

I would definitely like to upgrade to lithium battery ( yeah- does that makes sense so far?) I've been looking at replacement options but I'm kind of confused. I've found 12AH lithium batteries, just the batteries on ebay for $200. but the 'battery packs' made specifically for the currie bikes for $350 with only 6.4AH... and I can't even find anyone that will ship to canada either. Would it be advised that I purchase the 3rd party battery? Is it compatible, would it be easy to install? Would I want to install it myself? What would be an easy, moderately priced option for me? Thanks for the help.

Also, I called the only electric bike place I could find in town and the line was disconnected, so I guess I'm on my own.

 

[docnjoj]

Welcome! That is a nice looking bike and the battery box is in a great location. Start by reading the Battery Basics section and read all you can about the various flavors of Lithium batts. Good luck on your quest!
otherDoc

 

[BikeFanatic]

Hi,

You are not alone people will help you here, and if you look around some you can learn alot on your own.
I am no expert but I used to own that bike years ago. In that battery case, if you open it up, contains two 12 volt, 12 amp hour lead acid batteries connected in series.
If you measure them you can get replacements probably for $100 -150 total. Then you can use the same charger and set up will be easier, same case and whatnot. Be sure to get the right Lead acid batteries intended for deep discharge, I dont know much about lead acid chemistry but I do know some are for light duty and others designed for electrics are heavy duty but I forget the terms.

On a fresh battery I got about 8-10 -12 miles on that bike. It was very torquey but only assisted up to about 16 MPH.

If you don't mind a bit of a project you could upgrade to lithium. Many people here buy little packs made for R/C cars and combine them
for ebike use. Does require some learning. Basically to start you are looking for a 24 volt nominal battery So for Lithium they might call the battery 24 volt or six series. you will need a new charger and if you cant fit them into the box, need a new way of mounting the batteries.
Good luck on your upgrade and if you do not get the help you need look around and re post with a new question.
search user darkangels posts for more Izip info he has one and has upgraded it too

 

[dogman dan]

At your level of expertise at the moment, two new 12 ah sla's would be a good investment for you. Replacing the stock battery with identical size new ones should be a pretty simple job. Take apart the case, photograph how it's wired as you dissasemble it, and pop in some new sla's.

Look for sla's rated for EV's, such as they use in electric wheelchairs or kids toy electric cars. Later on, you can upgrade to lithium for more range, more speed, etc. I'm not knocking that type of bike motor, but if you do get the bug, you will want more voltage than 24v. So at that point you'd be getting a different motor, and your expensive 24v lithium battery could become a white elephant.

But if you keep that bike stock for now, and just replace the battery with the same thing, it will still be an option for you to sell it if you want more speed, more power, more range, later.

 

[ecowheelz]

I'm with Dogman... just pick up some new SLAs and call it a day...

Trying to find (or build) a custom Li-Ion pack that will fit inside the current battery housing won't be easy -- especially if you have no experience with e-bikes. And even if you mount it somewhere else, it will still take a bit of effort. Not sure if it's worth it on a 24V / $500 Currie bike.

After you burn up your first set of SLAs, you'll have a better idea if it's worth dropping more money into the bike for a Li-Ion battery. But I suspect (as Dogman mentioned), that you'll be craving more power and additional features if you really enjoy the bike. And that will require a completely different setup...

 

[iameatingjam]

thanks for the help!
looks like two new slas would be the easiest option

 

[shuckswon1]

Shop around alittle too. Some SLA batterys have the same outer dementions but offer more reserve power. for example 9ah compared to 8ah. I was able to find some on line at a price of about 25$ apiece

 

[shuckswon1]

Try a company called REMY Batteries to Start, good prices.

 

[dogman dan]

With SLAS, it will help a lot if you live close to where they are wholesaled. You can find great prices online, but then the shipping might bust your chops.

Worst case, look at walmart. The toy section next to the bikes were they sell electric cars for kids may have an EV type 12 ah sla for about $60 apiece.

Other options are places that sell other ebikes and sla packs, or scooters.

The bike will run on lesser quality sla's intended for emergency lights or computer back up power, but not as far, and not as many cycles. Basicly, if it's $30 shipped, it's not real likely to be top quality EV type.

 

[iameatingjam]

I've been looking at canadiantire.ca for batteries because there's one close my house.

I found this

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...2039P/12-Volt+7.5AH+SLA+Battery.jsp?locale=en

it fits the dimensions I THINK (as far as info I found online, still haven't opened the enclosure)

for cheap, but if its gonna be high quality I would definitely rather pay a little more. More AH would be nice but it seems they dimensions increase whenever it does...

Is there like a battery replacement for beginners thread around here? I'm kinda scared to go working around batteries when the one in my last scooter exploded battery acid all over my garage.

EDIT: got the enclosure open. The batteries are 12V 12AH 20H and have the approx dimensions 6 x 3-13/16 x 3-11/16. Which is bigger and better than what I assumed! good!

so would two of these be a good idea? http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...02040P/12-Volt+12AH+SLA+Battery.jsp?locale=en

 

[iameatingjam]

does this look like a good battery?

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...02040P/12-Volt+12AH+SLA+Battery.jsp?locale=en