Bionx battery/controller swap
 

I have an older Bionx LiMn battery system that sat a long time and won't take a charge now. Could i buy a different controller and battery setup to run the hub motor? Seems like i could get both, and upgrade battery capacity for way less $$ than what Bionx wants.

I'm not familiar with Bionx but I've read that you actually can't change the controller and battery out for other types. Maybe if you buy the bionx controller but get a battery from somewhere else, it might work but I don't know. Maybe they put some kind of micro-chip in their batteries that make them propietary and the controller won't work without it?

Why not just get a kit from e-bikekit.com or hightekbikes.com or ampedbikes.com and build your own? It'd be probably the same amount as you'd pay Bionx for a new controller and battery.

My backup plan would be to go with a Crystalyte 48v setup, prolly from electric rider. But........... i really like the light Bionx hub. The controller is in the battery pack and must be swapped as a unit. My thought was to get say a crystalyte controller and ping batt. The hub motor is just a motor right, i mean it just needs dc current from somewhere?

Yeah, it's probably a bafang or heinzmann hub motor or something.

Make sure you find out a lot about the bionx hub motor before you go and buy a controller and battery pack for it. If the hub motor is not a 120 degree -type of hub motor then a crystalyte controller won't work. Also, you need to find out whether the hub motor is brushed or brushless. It's probably brushless. Crystalyte controllers and most other controllers only work on 120 degree -type brushless hub motors.

Also, make sure the max amp of the controller is within the specifications of the ping battery that you buy. If you get a 40 amp controller, make sure the battery can handle it.

BTW, you said you are thinking about a 48v 40 amp controller. I chose to buy a 24 - 72v crystalyte controller because I could put any voltage that I want on it. Might be something to think about. What if later on down the road, you decide that you don't really need 48v and that 36v would be enough? You'd have to buy a new controller or find a way to disable the LVC cutoff on it. I started out with 60v and now sometimes I use 36v on my bike because I don't really need all that speed and 36v is a lot lighter.

If I remember correctly portions of the BionX controller hardware are housed in both the battery and the wheel hub. Somewhere in here is a thread explaining how Itselectric.ca swapped out the Bionx battery pack for some after market cells.