milton banana

I'll be 63 in a month. I'm trying to slug it back up to where I was before, but its just really taking awhile. Considering a road configured E-Bike, but its going to have to be used. What is the nominal lifespan of an E-Bike?

MarcusT

With hi-tech there are a few things to look at. First is the battery. Age can have an effect, but more so the number of cycles (how many times charged) and how many times discharged to zero The high end batteries like Bosch's life cycle goes into the thousands, maybe notice degradation at 500. Older motors are not necessarily bad, but newer more powerful, more efficient, lighter motors are coming out every year
The motor, again depending if you're looking at high end (Bosch, Yamaha, etc) can go for thousands of miles with minor maintenance (bearings, cleaning).
There are meters that tell the condition of the battery, but only an OEM computer and an inside look can tell the condition of the motor.
Usually sellers will drop the price if the battery has lost at least 50% of capacity. There you may find a bargain, but be sure to replace it with an original.
Whatever you're looking at, do a thorough googling of that motor (and bike). See if there are common problems

George Mann

Mine is a 2017 Raleigh Retroglide iE that I bought with a dead battery for 1/10th of its retail price. There is no compatible replacement battery.

Since it works fine as a conventional bike, I have stripped the battery components from it.

2old

Above underscores a big potential problem with a used e-bike, the battery. Unless you know the person you're buying the bike from or know how to test the battery, it's the wild west (IMO). My Haibike battery, used sparingly over the years, is six years old and functions well (I've maintained the SOC (state of charge) between 30% - 70%), but that's an anomaly.

BobG

My 2016 BionX D500 retrofit is now seven years old with 13,667 miles and still runs silently like it's brand new. I have four batteries and had the original re-built last year. The other three batteries are still running strong with only slightly reduced range. I've never obeyed the 80/20% charging rule. I charge when the console says 0-1 bars left, I then charge until battery says full.

JGaerlan

I too have a 24v Bionx kit purchased sometime in 2010. The torque sensing hub still feels very natural. I've hacked the original battery keeping the original controller and adding a 7s battery made from pouch cells. There was no BMS yet at that time. I instead Installed a wire block so I can check each battery cell after rides. I charge the battery so each cell does not exceed 4.1 v and discharge to about 3.5v. Too bad Bionx went belly up.

veganbikes

My bike is a little over two years old and almost 5k miles and most of it commuting. However I will say be careful with used, you will lose out on any warranty and support from the manufacturers. I know what I have done with my bike but my bike is also Bosch so I can go to a proper Bosch dealer and use the battery tool and know the health of the battery. With some other stuff I may not be able to do that and someone could have absolutely trashed their battery or motor and you may not know and they may not want to meet at an e-bike dealer who can go through it and give you an accurate assessment. Or quite possibly they would be willing but that system doesn't have a good way to check or an easy way to check.

It is not to say you cannot get one used just be very careful because you could get an expensive bike rather quickly and not even have any support from anyone. At least with Bosch I know that I can get parts for it long term and I do mean long term. 11 years down the road when I still have this bike I can get all the replacement parts I need from Bosch and am not stuck.

Look at your options and weigh them.

However a good quality e-bike can last quite a while I have seen some pretty old Bosch bikes even some Gen 1 stuff that really didn't make it to the U.S. that is probably a over a decade old and still was working. Unfortunately Bosch U.S. couldn't really help us too much but it was never a product they supported as it was only in Europe so it was fair but they tried to help as best as possible. I know some bikes I sold in 2015 are still going just fine and some that aren't so much but Specialized realized there error and helped a lot of these customers upgrade to something with way way way way way fewer issues.

tesla_exp

three years old, clocked 3000km on it. :-)

Rick_D

Seven months.

Stick around, I'll check in again from time to time.

Beyond the standard bicycle wear and tear items, all of which can be repaired/replaced assuming a decent build from an established maker, just the battery presents a long-term replacement challenge in, say, ten years. If the maker is around, or the drivetrain maker, that can likely be accomplished.

They're not so different and if tempted, shop and buy one that brings you happiness. Life is short.

2old

I wouldn't want to send you down a rabbit hole, but it seems as though you could locate the controller, find the power and ground wires to the battery and connect them to one with the appropriate voltage/current. I did that with a DIY system just for kicks and it functioned adequately.

George Mann

I though about that. My main issue is how to rewrap the battery pack.

late

Lifespan? Depends on what you get. A lot of small companies go under, and there's no way to get parts. That can be a problem.

I haven't had to replace anything, but the battery was a little weaker last year. As long as you can get replacement parts, it should keep going.

2old

Probably your battery is toast and you would need to connect your controller to a new one (I use XT-90 connectors and purchase a battery with the same --- "male" on the controller and "female" on the battery.). Of course you need to figure out where to mount the battery (this hasn't been a problem with all the different systems available.

George Mann

The system on this bike has more connections from the battery pack than usual.

2old

Maybe five; an on/off switch (2); potentiometer (1); power and ground (2). I had a similar system once and just connected the power and ground to the new battery (AIR). If you're really interested in converting it to an "e", ask at endless sphere (try to include photos); there are some unusually gifted individuals there to help you.

Dockhead

I don't know what your budget is, but I'd surely buy a new one if I were you. The technology has developed rapidly the last few years. You can get a pretty nice e-bike with a hub motor for about grand. I bought a Zundapp hub motor e-bike for my GF for Christmas for about that. It was a 400 watt/hr battery and 27 speeds and is very satisfactory. You'll pay more for one with a mid-motor. To save money when I bought my R&M recently, I bought a year old display model.

I looked at used ones but nothing I saw seemed like a bargain considering the difference in technology.

Dockhead

Very few parts which need replacement are proprietary. Virtually all drivetrain parts are made by only a few large manufacturers, and should be available if the brand goes under. I wouldn't worry too much about this. The bike brand rarely makes anything but the frame.

2old

I agree, and probably would consider only a major OEM if I were looking for a new bike. There are at least eight different types of charger connectors for different companies, sometimes the motor mounting points within a company's products change from year to year, and there are a myriad of other considerations. The on/off, PAS switch died on my Haibike and the company had stopped distributing in the US a few years ago (my nearest dealer was in Iceland per their web site) and I would have been hosed except Giant was using a similar Yamaha system.

speedy25

Why?? These batteries have been available. Right now they arent, but since they were used in a BUNCH of trikes by Raleigh and IZip they will eventually be back in stock.

I DID find a battery pack that just fits in an older IZip rack battery. That made the owner very happy.

speedy25

Now my experience on the topic.

--My Haro E-MTB works great. Its 6 years old with a Shimano powertrain. None of the dreaded Error 010.
--Next bike of the same vintage is a Raleigh Retroglide with a Bosch system. Easy to ride bike, and survives all kinds of weather on the back of the car while on trips.
---The best one is the first version Specialized Turbo. Despite me being an XL kind of guy and this bike is a medium I still consider it the best bike made. About 3 years ago the battery quite about 3 miles from the car. I thought that was odd since there was still a fair amount of batter power left. Turns out it was the BMS that died. You dont get that fixed with that company, and if you are not a dealer you cant get their diagnostic software.I ended up buying a fresh battery for it. It hurt my wallet, but its still a great bike.

Longevity is great when you have a quality bike.

-SP

George Mann

Not at the $700 to 800 they want for it, no thanks!

2old

I agree, but if you're getting them wholesale, that's a different animal. Fortunately the battery on my Haibike-Yamaha is still robust after seven years. If/when it fails, that's going to be a big problem which may result in recycling of the bike.