Extended battery warranty policy
04/30/08 07:18 Filed in: Store
The lithium manganese batteries used in our high-end
electric bikes are one of the most expensive parts on
the bike. They represent great technological
achievement, giving the light weight, high power feel
of our bikes. With proper care, such as keeping them
charged, they should last for many years. But because
they are expensive, we realize that customers wonder
what will happen if or when they need to be replaced.
So, we are going to do something that nobody else in the electric bicycle business does, with a unique warranty policy on the lithium-manganese batteries that come with our bikes. Our original 6 month warranty will remain in effect, where if there is any battery failure in that period due to manufacturing defect, we will replace the battery. But, on top of that, we will offer an additional pro-rated, 2 year warranty on the lithium batteries*. That means the batteries will be covered by an unprecedented 2.5 year warranty. So, for example, in the unlikely event that your battery fails after 1.5 years of use, replacement would go as follows. The first 6 months would count as the free replacement period. The subsequent 1 year of use would count as 1/2 of the two year pro-rated warranty period. We would replace your battery at 1/2 the original retail price (as of 5/1/08, $399 is the full retail price). And, at that time, if you want to upgrade to a different type of battery, such as the long-lasting Li-Fe-Po4, we will apply that credit towards purchase of this type of battery.
We will have a similar policy for the lead-acid powered bikes, but with an addtional 1-year pro-rated warranty period, instead of two (for a total of 1.5 years).
Before you buy an electric bicycle from another manufacturer, be sure to check on their warranty policy. Do they stand behind their product with a warranty that will protect you if the most expensive part of the bike has a problem? We want you to own an electric bike with confidence that it will serve you for years to come.
*The warranty covers manufacturer's defects, and excludes neglect and abuse of the battery, such as: opening or modification of the bike or battery, discharging the battery further after its low-voltage self protection circuit has been activated, failing to keep the battery charged, intentional short-circuit of the battery, using the bike for offroad and/or stunt riding, using the bike for racing, etc. This warranty is only for Cycle 9 brand electric bikes that will be arriving late May/early June. Other hub motor kits and bikes may have different warranty periods depending on the manufacturer.
So, we are going to do something that nobody else in the electric bicycle business does, with a unique warranty policy on the lithium-manganese batteries that come with our bikes. Our original 6 month warranty will remain in effect, where if there is any battery failure in that period due to manufacturing defect, we will replace the battery. But, on top of that, we will offer an additional pro-rated, 2 year warranty on the lithium batteries*. That means the batteries will be covered by an unprecedented 2.5 year warranty. So, for example, in the unlikely event that your battery fails after 1.5 years of use, replacement would go as follows. The first 6 months would count as the free replacement period. The subsequent 1 year of use would count as 1/2 of the two year pro-rated warranty period. We would replace your battery at 1/2 the original retail price (as of 5/1/08, $399 is the full retail price). And, at that time, if you want to upgrade to a different type of battery, such as the long-lasting Li-Fe-Po4, we will apply that credit towards purchase of this type of battery.
We will have a similar policy for the lead-acid powered bikes, but with an addtional 1-year pro-rated warranty period, instead of two (for a total of 1.5 years).
Before you buy an electric bicycle from another manufacturer, be sure to check on their warranty policy. Do they stand behind their product with a warranty that will protect you if the most expensive part of the bike has a problem? We want you to own an electric bike with confidence that it will serve you for years to come.
*The warranty covers manufacturer's defects, and excludes neglect and abuse of the battery, such as: opening or modification of the bike or battery, discharging the battery further after its low-voltage self protection circuit has been activated, failing to keep the battery charged, intentional short-circuit of the battery, using the bike for offroad and/or stunt riding, using the bike for racing, etc. This warranty is only for Cycle 9 brand electric bikes that will be arriving late May/early June. Other hub motor kits and bikes may have different warranty periods depending on the manufacturer.
"Growing" batteries with a virus!
03/07/08 14:16 Filed in: batteries
Can a virus make a better battery for electric bikes
and electric cars?
That's what MIT researcher Angela Belcher is working on.
She is developing means to engineer new materials by "programming" bacteriophage viruses. She programs them genetically, and this causes them to produce proteins in particular configurations to optimize the properties of the anodes and cathodes in the batteries. She is using that programming to increase energy density, and to make thin, flexible battery cells that might be used as materials in clothing, for example.
I saw her talk today at the annual Institute for Biomedical Engineering meeting, and she not only described new battery technologies, but a host of other applications for her work, including higher-density solar arrays.
She first described using the phages to synthesize lithium-cobalt batteries. While that is technically exciting, for electric vehicle use, the cobalt chemistries have had safety concerns in the past, so may not see much use in electric vehicles. But, she is also looking at integrating new chemistries based on Lithium-Iron Phosphates and similar. And she happens to be friends with one of the inventors of the Li-Fe-PO4 chemistry.
Sometimes it can get a little depressing that all the electric bike related products seem to be made in asia, and very few in North America. But, at least we have some great researchers like Angela, innovating and developing new technologies like this that may help address the significant energy challenges that our country faces.
That's what MIT researcher Angela Belcher is working on.
She is developing means to engineer new materials by "programming" bacteriophage viruses. She programs them genetically, and this causes them to produce proteins in particular configurations to optimize the properties of the anodes and cathodes in the batteries. She is using that programming to increase energy density, and to make thin, flexible battery cells that might be used as materials in clothing, for example.
I saw her talk today at the annual Institute for Biomedical Engineering meeting, and she not only described new battery technologies, but a host of other applications for her work, including higher-density solar arrays.
She first described using the phages to synthesize lithium-cobalt batteries. While that is technically exciting, for electric vehicle use, the cobalt chemistries have had safety concerns in the past, so may not see much use in electric vehicles. But, she is also looking at integrating new chemistries based on Lithium-Iron Phosphates and similar. And she happens to be friends with one of the inventors of the Li-Fe-PO4 chemistry.
Sometimes it can get a little depressing that all the electric bike related products seem to be made in asia, and very few in North America. But, at least we have some great researchers like Angela, innovating and developing new technologies like this that may help address the significant energy challenges that our country faces.
Stuff has arrived
02/06/08 23:06 Filed in: Sales
Lots of stuff has been showing up at our "warehouse"
here! So, we need to do something about it, like sell
it or something.
Time to get our shopping cart whipped into shape!
For those looking for the PHET LiFEPO4 battery packs, we have a bargain in store for you... (in a relative sense, anyway). A few of the packs arrived with cosmetic damage from shipping. Nothing major, and the packs are still fully functional. However, we'll be discounting these, to $545 each (the normal price will be $595). That's a great deal for such a nicely packaged LiFEPO4 setup with PHET's full warranty. Either keep your eye on our website for the store (they'll be listed under Closeouts and Seconds), or if you want to make sure you get one before they're gone, just email us, info@cycle9.com.
Other things soon to appear on the Cycle 9 store: eZee hub motor kit, Crystalyte 406 kit, E-bikes (for pre-order), and lots of neato accessories for making your bike a fun place to be!
Time to get our shopping cart whipped into shape!
For those looking for the PHET LiFEPO4 battery packs, we have a bargain in store for you... (in a relative sense, anyway). A few of the packs arrived with cosmetic damage from shipping. Nothing major, and the packs are still fully functional. However, we'll be discounting these, to $545 each (the normal price will be $595). That's a great deal for such a nicely packaged LiFEPO4 setup with PHET's full warranty. Either keep your eye on our website for the store (they'll be listed under Closeouts and Seconds), or if you want to make sure you get one before they're gone, just email us, info@cycle9.com.
Other things soon to appear on the Cycle 9 store: eZee hub motor kit, Crystalyte 406 kit, E-bikes (for pre-order), and lots of neato accessories for making your bike a fun place to be!
Pre-order sales begin
01/26/08 00:35 Filed in: Sales
We are building up stock on various items. We have
eZee kits on the way, LiFePO4 batteries, Xtracycle
Freeradical kits, folding bikes, and electric assist
bikes.
We are building out our product pages with all the gory details as fast as we can, so keep your eyes out there. Our shopping cart will be coming soon, too.
In the meantime, we are offering a pre-order discount of 15-20% on many items including the folding bikes and the electric assist bikes. So now is the time to save big by pre-ordering. For more information about pre-sales orders, please drop us a line.
We are building out our product pages with all the gory details as fast as we can, so keep your eyes out there. Our shopping cart will be coming soon, too.
In the meantime, we are offering a pre-order discount of 15-20% on many items including the folding bikes and the electric assist bikes. So now is the time to save big by pre-ordering. For more information about pre-sales orders, please drop us a line.
Pre-orders for LiFEPO4 packs
12/20/07 21:53 Filed in: Sales
Please drop us a line if you would like
to get on a waiting list for the new PHET
LiFePO4 battery packs. We will only have a few
packs come in on the first shipment, and we
expect these will sell quickly based on pent up
demand for this great new technology.
We will post pricing information here as soon as possible.
We will post pricing information here as soon as possible.
PHET LiFePO4 E-bike pack update
12/20/07 20:36
Here is a bit of additional information on the
LiFePO4 packs we'll be carrying. These are packs made
specifically for electric bikes by PHET (Phisiang
Industries) that make the highest quality C-coated
lithium iron phosphate (C-LiFePO4) cells available,
based on the Phostech chemistry. For pictures of the
packs, see this blog
post.
We have been testing the pack for about two weeks now, on our Xtracycle/Currie USPD high-power drive setup (600W+).
At an average 1C rate, the pack does appear to have the rated capacity of 7.5AH. This is just enough for a 15 mile trip with the loaded Xtracycle, in our moderately hilly area. When the pack voltage drops to about 25V, the battery management system will turn it off temporarily until voltage recovers.
The voltage curve on these is flat. They stay above 36V until about 7.1~7.2 AH of use. This is really nice in comparison to a lead acid, it allows use of nearly all the battery capacity. There is more information on the PHET batteries here (this is a large PDF file).
The charger is built very solidly. We haven't measured the efficiency yet, but we will do so and post here.
Earlier, we posted that there was a current limit at 20A. Based on conversations with the manufacturer and our own further testing, this isn't true. Instead, the BMS system is set up so that if cell voltage drops below around 2.5V/cell (maybe a bit less) it cuts out power for a few seconds until the voltage recovers. The only time this seems to happen is when we are accelerating uphill on the Xtracycle/Currie/BMC setup, which can easily drain 30A. We've tested at a relatively constant 20A current for 1 minute or more, and it doesn't seem to cut out.
About the only negative so far about this pack is that the plastic handle on the end is a bit flimsy. It is solid enough for carrying the battery, but we cracked ours when we dropped the pack on it from a few inches height. A bit of duct tape fixed that right up!
All in all, this is a solid performing pack! We don't use our NiMH or SLA packs anymore (drop us a line if you want to buy a lightly used SLA or NiMH pack in a nice case).
We have been testing the pack for about two weeks now, on our Xtracycle/Currie USPD high-power drive setup (600W+).
At an average 1C rate, the pack does appear to have the rated capacity of 7.5AH. This is just enough for a 15 mile trip with the loaded Xtracycle, in our moderately hilly area. When the pack voltage drops to about 25V, the battery management system will turn it off temporarily until voltage recovers.
The voltage curve on these is flat. They stay above 36V until about 7.1~7.2 AH of use. This is really nice in comparison to a lead acid, it allows use of nearly all the battery capacity. There is more information on the PHET batteries here (this is a large PDF file).
The charger is built very solidly. We haven't measured the efficiency yet, but we will do so and post here.
Earlier, we posted that there was a current limit at 20A. Based on conversations with the manufacturer and our own further testing, this isn't true. Instead, the BMS system is set up so that if cell voltage drops below around 2.5V/cell (maybe a bit less) it cuts out power for a few seconds until the voltage recovers. The only time this seems to happen is when we are accelerating uphill on the Xtracycle/Currie/BMC setup, which can easily drain 30A. We've tested at a relatively constant 20A current for 1 minute or more, and it doesn't seem to cut out.
About the only negative so far about this pack is that the plastic handle on the end is a bit flimsy. It is solid enough for carrying the battery, but we cracked ours when we dropped the pack on it from a few inches height. A bit of duct tape fixed that right up!
All in all, this is a solid performing pack! We don't use our NiMH or SLA packs anymore (drop us a line if you want to buy a lightly used SLA or NiMH pack in a nice case).
New LiFePO4 batteries!
12/08/07 19:07
Batteries are the lynchpin of an electric assist (or
Pedelec) bike. We're excited to now be testing a new
Lithium Ion Phosphate pack that is the slickest one
we've seen in this new chemistry. For more
information on battery chemistries, have a look at
our FAQ. The short story is that
these batteries are light, safe, they last a
very long time, and they are environmentally
friendly. They have a big upfront cost, but they
will more than pay for themselves in trouble
free operation for many years to come. For those
still using a sealed lead acid pack, these
batteries are so much nicer (I hate putting the
SLA's on my bike now). Our 36V lead acid pack
weighs over 30 lbs. The new 36V Li-Fe-PO4 weighs
9 lbs. For those running 24V systems, we'll have
a 24V pack too.
One thing we've discovered is that these are
limited to about 20A, or about 720 Watts for the 36V
version. [See new
blog entry]. It is a self-resetting circuit
that cuts out power for about 10 seconds. This
is much better than a fuse. For most systems
(Crystalyte 400 series, Goldenmotor, Currie
USPD, Lashout, etc), this shouldn't be a
problem, but for the really high power hubs
(e.g. Crystalyte 5000 series/Phoenix) the limit
might be too low.
Some pictures are below. We may be taking pre-orders at a discount once we do further testing and set the final price. Please contact us if you are interested, and we'll let you know when the batteries will be ready to roll.
Some pictures are below. We may be taking pre-orders at a discount once we do further testing and set the final price. Please contact us if you are interested, and we'll let you know when the batteries will be ready to roll.
Side view showing pack
and rear rack mount
Front view, pack plugged into mount
Front view of pack with charging port and discharge
port
