ready for bionx but hesitant

[Skyway6]

hey everyone.

need some advice here and some real world experiences.
i have been reading tons of stuff about electric bikes and even took
a bionx bike for a test drive and loved it.

the 2 things that are scaring me off is.. one ..the battery.. so expensive to replace.
2) how long will the battery last? i have read of people needing a new battery in only a few
months. i was told it was a few years by the dealer. If i have to buy a $1k battery every year
i would not be pleased.

I ride all year(Vancouver BC) so the only thing that stops me is snow\ice ..otherwise i am always riding.
i would be riding about 10km per day and more on weekends 10km-20km per day.
i am afraid i will burn the thing out in a year.

i would mostly be using it as a little boost. i am sure i would be using it almost all the time in setting 1 or 2
I used setting 2 on my test ride and it was perfect.

so if anyone could please post experiences..if you have had the bionx for a few years ..etc.. how long the battery lasts..

[matt87109]

I downloaded the user’s manual and the battery is warranted for one year. I can understand why they don't offer a longer warranty because if you abuse the battery and don't store it and maintain it as they indicate I'm sure it will affect life.

I just ordered my 250pl system, so I don’t have any hands-on experience yet and will defer to posts from people that already have the system.

I bought my system from nycewheels.com. I had several conversations with their sales guy and amazing enough he didn't try to up sell me to Lithium Ion. In fact he told me the NiMH would be just fine. In the end I chose the Lithium Ion, but maybe that wasn't the best choice. To replace the 250 NiMH costs 400 dollars while the Lithium is 800. I chose the Lithium because I am not on a budget and I think the lower weight, less memory effect, slightly more energy storage, and possibly a longer life balance out the extra cost.

During our conversations the sales person indicated that their experience was that the Lithium batteries lasted longer than advertised (close to 800 average charges). By average charges I interpreted what he was saying is that many people don't fully discharge the battery and shallower charges cause the battery to last longer and for more charges. I suspect if you consistently charged your battery and consistently did not fully discharge while ridding, that you would get good life time.

Another item reveled by the user’s manual is that the 250 watt system is 25, 50, 100, and 200% assistance while the 350 system is 35, 75, 150, and 300% assistance. If you are like me and want more options for exercise i.e. more settings that allow you to be a major contributor as opposed to a minor contributor of the total power being applied to the ground, then the 250 system might be a better choice. You don’t appear to need a very long range, and from what I’ve read the estimated distance per charge is accurate.

[Zeuser]

I have a 350PL Bionx and it's great. Damn this thing is fast!
10 km per day isn't much of an issue. Cold weather will reduce battery efficiency but I've riden in sub zero weather to know.

As for the battery, I'm up to 2000km on mine and no reduction so far. It's still running very strong. I'm hesitant to open up the battery pack to find out what's inside. I suspect it's nothing more than 30 C or D cells arranged in series. From the size of the battery pack, I suspect it's standard C cells in there.

I seriously doubt Bionx is using custom made batteries. They're probably using some off-the-shelf battery format that anyone could buy from a wholeseller.

[Skyway6]

great to see these Bionx are reliable - they shud be for the price - i can get a whole brand new
electric scooter for about the same price as the top end bionx
makes me wonder..either bionx is super quality and the scooters are lower and or bionx is over priced. but i think its the former. I considered a scooter but i really do love riding my bike..been riding every day since spring of 1996. ride all year ..being this is Vancouver..it rains alot in winter but it is a rare day it is below zero so no ice or snow..that is only thing that turns me into a pedo(pedestrian)

i also considered a Crystalyte set up - but that is full power..like a scooter..i like the bionx idea of an assist.. like a gentle hand pushing u up hill

last week i took a 350 bike for a ride and loved it - but it was one of those mini folder type of bike
today i took a 250 hybrid bike for a spin (my bike is a Brodie Dynamo hybrid) - i wanted to see how the 250 works on a bike like mine - was a nice ride. tried it on settings 1 and 2 (which i am sure will be most used by me) but if i am riding a short distance like around downtown(i live in downtown vancouver)
some minor hills but nothing too hard..i am sure i will try the 3 and 4 setting

i live close to work - about 5 blocks - so going to work is fast and down a minor hill
but after work i usually head down town for dinner -(lotsa cheap take out spots)
thats about a 5-10 km round trip depending on where i go. Couple of minor hills but mostly flat.

Fri-sat-sun - its a bit different - on each of those days i could ride from 5km - 25km.
some of it with minor to major hills. Almost all of my riding is errands - my bike is my car
tho there i times where i just ride just for the joy of riding- those few winters here where i had to go a few days without riding were pure hell

SO - to close this ramble - thanks in part to your replies - i went ahead and ordered the basic bionix
p250 niMH - my "baby" is at the shop as i type being outfitted with the Bionx
already breaking out in cold sweats .. my babys parking spot (in storage close in apt) is so empty
hold me i need a hug

[matt87109]

Great..... let us know how it works out. I won't get my system for a few weeks as the vendor was out of batteries and I went ahead and ordered a black wheel, which takes a little longer.

[matt87109]

Are any pics of your bionx posted Zeuser?

[Zeuser]

Are any pics of your bionx posted Zeuser?

Check the eBike gallery thread for pics of my Bionx mountain bike and my mom's Bionx Miele street bike.

[matt87109]

Get your Bionx yet?

[tartosuc]

Check the eBike gallery thread for pics of my Bionx mountain bike and my mom's Bionx Miele street bike.

I saw your bike in the gallery..

how did you fit disc brake on the bionix...can you get one with a disc brake attachement?

[Zeuser]

I saw your bike in the gallery..

how did you fit disc brake on the bionix...can you get one with a disc brake attachement?

Yes, as of 2007 all Bionx motors can be had with a standard disc brake on one side and up to 9 gears on the other side. Be careful though, the gears are not casette style.

Since you're in Montreal, check with Bicycles Lamothe in Sorel. That's where I got my Bionx in April.

[adamtki]

I have the 250PL. After 10 months of riding, I logged about 3000 miles, 2 broken nippes, 1 broken spoke, and zero malfunctions. I ride all year round so I endure the Seattle rain.

I think the battery is at about 90-95% when fully charged compared to when I first got it. I can still ride about 25 miles at level 3 (with two significant hills).

I'd highly recommend it.

[Zeuser]

My 350PL with 1100km still retains a full charge and maximum range. This will probably drop in the cold months up here in Canada.

Only issues I've had:

1 - Spokes were loose. This is normal since Bionx says you have to get them tightened at about 200km. Sort of like a break-in period.
2 - Got 2 flat tires in the rear. One was my fault for going over a rock too fast. The other was a slow leak which I have no idea how it happened (2 tiny holes leaked high pressure air).
3 - The rear wheel displaced and got unplugged. That's ok, I had a 14mm wrench in my toolbag so I put the wheel back on the right way this time and made sure the nuts were tight enough.
4 - Lost the taillight 2 times already. This is because of crappy taillight design. Don't they realize that us people with bags on our racks aren't going to use the seatpost mount?

That's it! Oh... and I never ran out of juice except for the test where I voluntarily went around the block 20 or so times (after a 45km ride) until it could go no more. Total was 55km on a full charge on mostly assist level 4. Perfectly reasonable.

[Zeuser]

Damn... heard a loud "cling" this afternoon while riding. I stopped over and gave it a quick look over and notice a spoke had broken.
Where the heck do I get a replacement spoke for a Bionx?

[cerewa]

Zeuser, is there a bike shop near you that sells kids bikes with very small wheels?

[cerewa]

I seriously doubt Bionx is using custom made batteries. They're probably using some off-the-shelf battery format that anyone could buy from a wholeseller.

But it looks to me like they stuck those off-the-shelf batteries in a custom-made plastic box.

I would be very surprised if you can't set up your own battery box or battery contacts, etc to fit the bionx system... if that's what you really want.

[Abneycat]

BionX batteries *are* proprietary, i've inquired about this personally a few times, it was one of the reasons that my interest in the system personally died out - I prefer to be able to pick and choose.

Thats not to say that it would be impossible to work around, but they've designed it so you can't just go out and buy someone else's battery. From what i've heard, the BMS and chips in the BionX console are designed to work specifically with the BionX battery, and its not just a simple matter of cannibalizing them off your old pack.

[brebis_egaree00]

great to see these Bionx are reliable -

hello in france bionx is supplied by MATRA Sport, with Nimh P250 and it s very crappy

i d like to know if some people had got some trouble with the control display (lcd)

because i made several phonecalls to Quebec Outlet and a lot of them always say that there s often some small problem

one problem which can be solved easily for the magnet is to tension of the brake with the detector

anyway, so any comments about the reliability are very welcome

[adamtki]

Just past 6000 miles on my bionx pl250. Level 3 assist can still take me just over 20 miles. I'm very satisfied with my bionx. If gas costs 10 cents a mile ($4/gal on a 40mpg car), then I saved $600 on gas alone.