Battery Swap.

[Ozbog]

Am heading overseas on a trip and wish to take either a Merida e160 900 or a Trek fs7. I can borrow a battery for either model from a mate. I was just wondering if any one had come across any problems not using the original Bosch or shimano batteries? I’d heard that it can be a problem on the specialized bikes.

 

[Marcelfacd]

Assuming you take the battery for the model of bike you take it is NO PROBLEM at all. I don’t know wher the story of it being a problem with Specialized comes from but that is just not true as well.

 

[Ozbog]

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated. I didn’t think it would be a problem as long as the batteries were the same model. I’d just read in some older threads that it was occasionally a problem with the specialised bikes due to the bikes data being stored in the battery. Not my area of expertise.

 

[Rusty]

Yes the battery does store data - the data pertaining to how many charges it has done and overall health etc. As far as I know this is the same for all manufacturers - I know for certain Bosch, Brose & Shimano are like that. When the battery is fitted to the bike it sends its stored info to the TCU - or the TCU just reads the data from the battery.

 

[Marcelfacd]

Yes the battery does store data - the data pertaining to how many charges it has done and overall health etc. As far as I know this is the same for all manufacturers - I know for certain Bosch, Brose & Shimano are like that. When the battery is fitted to the bike it sends its stored info to the TCU - or the TCU just reads the data from the battery.

Only specialized has a TCU

 

[Rusty]

Only specialized has a TCU

Correct - but Bosch & Shimano both work the same way. Instead of the seperate TCU they have have a chipset on the motor that does the same thing. Means you have to open the motor to replace a faulty controller rather than just unplugging it. My understanding is the Yamaha is also similar to the Shimano & Bosch.
I need to start pulling them apart and doing some investigation as back in the day we used to disassemble Suzuki CDI controller boxes and reconfigure them to change power curves. Pretty sure being able to do quick turnaround out of warranty repairs would be an appreciated service.