Focus Bold 2 charger query

[Col]

Hi all. I'm buying a neglected bold 2 from a friend and he doesn't have the charger.
Does anyone have any suggestions for obtaining one? Looks to be a proprietary connector, and about only one I found was ebay Germany for OEM one for 180 shipped. I have several chargers (for my other ebikes, also 4a chargers ) which use 3-pin xlr connection, not sure if something could be adapted to fit?
Any help/info much appreciated, as trying to do it on a budget, as bike needs fair bit of work as is, new pads, good service, chain etc.
Thanks in advance,
Col

 

[bilgamesch]

It's some sort of Rosenberger C connector - so as proprietary as it gets. There are adapter cables around for ~30-50€
The OEM charger is made by BMZ so that might help, it has a 42V/4A power output.

BMZ ebike Battery Charger Li-Ion 42V 5Amp High Power Charger | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BMZ ebike Battery Charger Li-Ion 42V 5Amp High Power Charger at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

This connector:

https://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Rosenberger/C003-03-2000-C?qs=GedFDFLaBXHplABYC0v7LA%3D%3D

Should be adaptable to your XLR-plug charger, given it has the same power output and you can find diagrams for the pinout.

 

[Tooks]

Unfortunately, you can’t just change the connector from a standard charger for a Rosenberger one, been there done that!

My Derby Cycle charger for my 2019 Focus Jam2 suddenly stopped working when the bike wasn’t very old, so a warranty job. Unfortunately it was the start of Covid so getting a replacement shipped from Germany was going to take a while.

I purchased a 42v/4A charger from Amazon, and also a Rosenberger connector, and proceeded to solder the connector onto it. The charger powered up just fine, but would not charge the bike. There are also 4 signal wires along with the main +/- ones, and I never worked out what did what.

I managed to find a Focus charger on eBay but that took several weeks to arrive, but still before the bike shop managed to get the warranty replacement.

I did use my now redundant connector to make up a range extender battery though, using 2 x 5s 5000 mAh RC batteries fitted into a soft bottle battery. The signal wires aren’t required for powering the bike through the range extender port, and I could charge the batteries from my RC chargers, which kept me riding whilst I waited for the replacement chargers.

Anyway, besides the point for the original question, but I’d recommend obtaining a genuine Derby Cycle/Focus charger from a bike shop, last time I checked they were around £150. Those signal wires do something, and there are electronics in the charger and the bike which make adapting a charger difficult.

Perhaps try JE James, they’re very helpful and still seem to be able to get things like replacement batteries etc for Focus bikes.

My Levo charger has a Rosenberger connector, I’ll see if that charges my Focus. Specialized chargers seem to be more plentiful on the secondary market.

 

[Col]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful. When I looked at the diagram for the rose c connector, it showed 4 signal and 2 power connections, which as you say makes me question whether it will actually work if I adapted one of my xlr chargers.
I'm guessing signal wires maybe something to do with communication with controller maybe(maybe for battery management system, record charging cycles etc) , guess it depends whether power connections go straight to battery or not. If the adapter cable was a tenner I'd probably give it a go, but it's quite dear, so suspect ultimately will have to bite the bullet and buy proper charger for it, so at least it just works.
Not the end of the world as getting bike for decent price, though it's not been used at all since start of covid, flat tyres etc.
Cheers

 

[Col]

Will look into it properly before buying, but looks this this will maybe do the job:

Amazon

36v and 4a

Cheers

 

[bilgamesch]

For Bulls Green MOVER LACUBA EVO CRO, E-Bike Charger 36V 4A 4053846440291 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for For Bulls Green MOVER LACUBA EVO CRO, E-Bike Charger 36V 4A at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

This should work too and is available - shipped from germany. Guess customs + tax is already included within those 91,08 gbp, but even if not it should be quite affordable.

 

[Col]

That's great, thanks for the help. At least looks like about 100 as opposed to the 150 I'd originally thought it might be.
Both my previous bikes were conversions I did, so both batteries had xlr 3-pin connections, with battery management built into the battery bracket, so much simpler but obviously not as neat as integrated, but spare charger for them was only about 20 quid!

 

[Tooks]

Will look into it properly before buying, but looks this this will maybe do the job:

Amazon

36v and 4a

Cheers

That looks physically the same as both my chargers, I’ve got a 4A and a 4.5A one, and they both work fine.

 

[bilgamesch]

It is the same - I too own a Bold² and just went out to check

 

[Col]

That's great folks, thanks so much for your help, truly appreciate it

 

[Tooks]

Looks like the eBay and Amazon linked chargers are from the same seller, mts, so I’d just go with the platform that offers the best return option.

 

[Col]

That's what I've done, thank you, both seem to come from Germany (presumably made there)

 

[steve_sordy]

Hi all. I'm buying a neglected bold 2 from a friend and he doesn't have the charger.
..............

No matter how neglected the bike has been, how does he not have the charger? Are you sure that your mate came upon the bike honestly? The last thing you want is to spend money on the bike and then have someone identify it as theirs and demand it back!

 

[Col]

Hi yep deffo his, he bought it brand new a few years back, then had various injuries so it's sat about not being used for approx 3 yrs, literally with flat tyres etc, so all legit