X-TREME XB-300Li MODS/HACKS/UPGRADES

[Logos]

Bought a used X-TREME XB-300Li for $325.

http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_bicycles/xb300li/xb300li.html

Its hooked up to 2 EverStart 12v 275 cranked amps 230 cold cranked amps
Lawn & Tractor Battery #U1R-7 in a series

does any one know of any modifications I can perform?

 

[icecube57]

Umm ditch and upgrade the batteries for starters.

 

[AussieJester]

Only thing 'extreme' about that e-bike is the weight of it.... +1 ditch the Lead for Lithium
quick as you can, likely a higher amp/volt controller and a bigger frock (hub) motor will
make you alot happier....

KiM

 

[Logos]

Umm ditch and upgrade the batteries for starters.

Thats a given no-brainer.and also the entire reason I posted.So the question is upgrade to what battery?all the posts are about the 310li folding version which has a different design

http://www.x-tremescooters.com/electric_bicycles/xb310li/xb310li.html

 

[Logos]

Only thing 'extreme' about that e-bike is the weight of it.... +1 ditch the Lead for Lithium
quick as you can, likely a higher amp/volt controller and a bigger frock (hub) motor will
make you alot happier....KiM

I paid $325 for a bike that is $1300 new.I could care less about the weight.

I understand I need to upgrade the battery, and controller.can you link me to some good ideas?

I found these so far

This attaches to the frame
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/413680684/Lithium_Battery_E_Bike_Battery_24V.html

This would require a custom case
http://www.batteryspace.com/Customized-Polymer-Li-ion-Battery-29.6V-1050mAh-31-Wh-10A-rate.aspx

These look like the original chinese replacements, so can anyone link me to a store that sells these batteries for cheap. I know someone out there sells them for less than $200

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/362225288/battery_pack_for_E_bike_with.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/24V-10AH-LiFePO...300?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item35b230ad94

 

[beercheck]

What did you end up going with?

 

[JBurdman7]

I just did the same thing and was about to post this exact same question. I picked up a very lightly used XB-300Li for rea$onable. It was manufactured in December 2008 and still has the hair on the tires.

Hub Motor
Does anyone know who the manufacturer of the hub motor is for these? I'm guessing it is "Cute."

The idea of reducing the reliability of the hub motor by over-volting it does not appeal to me. I live in a very mountainous region. I am pretty sure that I am the reason the motors are de-rated. I'm fairly certain that I risk melting my motor in use as a 250W without the help of added Watts. Perhaps a few more cells in series would still be the right thing to do, I just wouldn't go crazy.

Dead pack
As soon as there is any load the motor shuts off. I tried manually equalizing the cell charge as they were off by a few tenths of a volt. It changed nothing. I'm pretty sure the Internal Resistance is too high. So ATM I am battery shopping. I note that my battery case locks at the bottom whereas all of the new ones seem to lock at the top.

Battery Box
I am struck by the lack of standardization in the size of the battery packs. I can fit the pack I have with replacement cells but I'd ultimately like to have a spare that plugs in to the same carrier. This carrier https://www.aliexpress.com/item/24v...at-the-bottom-With-free-18650/1561007999.html might plug right in and be compatible with the current battery, except for the lock, or it might not fit at all. If the power contacts at the bottom do not line up I'd be SOL.

Convert to LiFePO4
If I care to replace the charge controller I should be able to switch to 8S LiFePO4 cells (as opposed to 7S Li-On) for added cycle life. This is what I am leaning towards doing. It is very difficult to get specifications you can trust from the various battery cell sellers. I am not inclined to wait a month for cells from China only to find they are 10mm too large, or very heavy, because their specifications were incorrect.

I could probably fit 8-12 Headway 38120 cells or these blocks https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4pc...li-po-cell-for-Electric-bike/32816027637.html in to the can, but maybe I need to start with two new empty cans so they can both be compatible.

I think you all can see what I am getting at here. I need to replace the battery and while I'm at it I want to make an attempt at future-proofing the project. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[JBurdman7]

I'm back! I guess I can answer some of my own questions here so others can benefit from my research. Endless-sphere seems to have the most posts about the XB-300 / Xtreme Trailmaker so it makes sense that the aficionados will ultimately gather here.

Hub motor
Others say that the hubmotor is a geared Bafang .

Dead pack
I decided to keep the battery close to factory rather than risk frying anything. The controller is not labeled to operate on more than 24V. I rebuilt the pack with a 6S6P Chinese drop-in Li-on similar to the eBay item linked above, only I went with one which claimed to hold 15Ah. I measured 12.7Ah when it was first delivered. I will re-test it this year at some point. The range is far more than I need. As for the improved cycle life of the LiFePO4, I will try to keep the pack cool and at half charge, as Li-on prefer, and see how long it lasts.

Mods
I converted the headlamp to LED and added some other lighting.

I would like to add fenders. I assume these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008OPUCA6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?tag=parts099-20 would fit.

Someone rewired part of this before I got it. The PAS switch runs the headlight, not toggle the PAS. If anyone knows which wires on the controller handle the PAS switching I'll consider changing it. As it is I'm OK with the PAS being on all of the time and the switch running the lighting.

Maintenance
The nipples on the spokes are crap. I need to change them out. I am in the midst of researching what I need for that. If anyone knows, please clue me in. I do not know if the spokes are 2mm, or 2.2mm such as these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32823416573.html

That's all I have to say. I am very impressed with the bike. The bike has not needed more than a battery and a spoke tuning- which was a lot of trouble as the back tire was way way off, and I have some seized nipples which I had to work around. The spoke adjustments are well enough, but the nipples will probably ruin the spokes if I leave them on.

 

[robby p]

I bought one of those bikes on Craigslist a few months ago with a dead battery for $125.
A friend of mine had gifted me a 12S pack that came with a kranked bike he purchased used and wanted to run the bike on Lipo. The stock controller had absolutely no problem running at 12S and the bike is a real scream. The guy I bought it from had actually dismantled the battery and tossed everything but the case so I didn’t really have any reason to stick with 24v.

I am very pleased with the bike overall but it does have its shortcomings. The fact that I paid next to nothing for it helps in that regard.

I mainly just wanted to have a back up bike so I’d have something to ride while I go through the process of carrying over the components from my main bike onto a frame that fits me better.

The Li-300 is currently on loan to a co-worker and he is in love with it so I don’t know when I’ll ever get it back. Once I do I’ll tidy it up a little so my wife can use it. Battery is just ratchet strapped to the luggage rack and the controller is zip tied to the seat tube.

I am on mobile and I tried to attach a photo but I don’t know how that works. This is only my 2nd ever post on ES I think. Built my first bike in 2012 and I spend a whole lot of time here learning. Love this place!!!