lapierre overvolt ami627 charging problems

[Cheekychops1111]

New battery put ibto the bike a the weekend, cycled on eco mode ONLY fo rhte duration of the ride

• Distance covered 12.2 miles – approx. 7 miles fire track and 5 miles off road
• Total accent – 2900ft
• Temperature – 8 degrees C
• Weight – 92kg (I had my backpack on)
• Tyre pressure – 20psi front and rear

I checked the expected range in each mode before I set off on the journey, the results are below:

• Eco - 55 miles
• Trail - 38 miles
• Boost - 27 miles

I then set off in eco mode – I had covered 1.3 miles on the road with 300ft of accent and the battery indicator went from 5 bars to 4 bars and was showing a range of 22miles left which is a massive drop seeing as I had only covered 1 and a bit miles, by the time I had covered 5 miles and 1500ft of accent on fire road I was down to 3 bars.

Not quite the expected range of 30-100km. I think marketing has been bending the truth wrt range. I will get the bike checked out over the next few days and let you know how i get on.

 

[mark.ai]

There must be something different/odd going on with your bike @Cheekychops1111 - did you charge the new battery with it out of the bike or while it was in the downtube? You don't have it derestricted do you? (Which lowers range). And what sort of cadence do you cycle at?

Yesterday with the warmer temperatures (10C rather than 5C a week ago) I cycled 50km, 1000m ascent and ended with 25% battery left ...

 

[AK 727i]

There must be something different/odd going on with your bike @Cheekychops1111 - did you charge the new battery with it out of the bike or while it was in the downtube? You don't have it derestricted do you? (Which lowers range). And what sort of cadence do you cycle at?

Yesterday with the warmer temperatures (10C rather than 5C a week ago) I cycled 50km, 1000m ascent and ended with 25% battery left ...

Blimey, I want a battery like that

 

[mark.ai]

Blimey, I want a battery like that

Fingers crossed the one you are testing tomorrow will be!!

 

[AK 727i]

Fingers crossed the one you are testing tomorrow will be!!

I so hope so as I want confidence before I go out on a north wales epic

 

[100 Cols]

100 cols, sounds like you have a bit of experience under your wheels. Can I ask what tyre pressures you recommend for a wet and muddy Epping Forest?

Thanks, but I'm not a mud expert as I don't ride in muddy environment. I can't give any recommendations really. Personally I've got two sets of wheels, one for trails and mountain paths, then another one for commuting and exploring the countryside. 25-32 psi on both sets.

 

[Cheekychops1111]

There must be something different/odd going on with your bike @Cheekychops1111 - did you charge the new battery with it out of the bike or while it was in the downtube? You don't have it derestricted do you? (Which lowers range). And what sort of cadence do you cycle at?

Yesterday with the warmer temperatures (10C rather than 5C a week ago) I cycled 50km, 1000m ascent and ended with 25% battery left ...

Cadence between 80-90, bike is stock std with no mods. I would love to get 50km out of mine.

 

[mark.ai]

Cadence between 80-90, bike is stock std with no mods. I would love to get 50km out of mine.

Cadence sounds good I hope you find what the problem with it is!

 

[AK 727i]

So, it started well, 7.3 miles to first bar drop, 12.2 to next and 17.5 when third bar dropped. Stopped for tea at 19.9 miles and turned the power off. All the signs were good as i'd been in eco all the time, (not turning off for downhills and levels, + no trail or boost). When i went to leave the bike wouldn't start up. The rubber charge port had come open over a log roll over and had a bit of mud in there, despite my best efforts i couldn't restart it. rode 3.5 miles more and called it a day. i have since managed to clean and dry the port and re boot the bike. So if i had been managing the battery, (turning off for say 5 miles of the 19.9) and you add on the remaining just under 2 bars, (say 10 miles), then factor in a slight loss for a couple of minutes of trail and a minute of boost, then in theory i have a bike that can do 34 miles. I will be happy with that, (if it's true). I am going to run the test again at the weekend with the loan battery, charged out of the frame, then pass my bike to my mechanic to run the tests with my battery. My instinct is that Lap will need to acknowledge that a battery that can only max 24 miles is not right!

 

[AK 727i]

oh and we did 1500ft climbing and i kept the effort indicator in the level, at 1 bar short of all the way indicated

 

[gfunkmc]

So, it started well, 7.3 miles to first bar drop, 12.2 to next and 17.5 when third bar dropped. Stopped for tea at 19.9 miles and turned the power off. All the signs were good as i'd been in eco all the time, (not turning off for downhills and levels, + no trail or boost). When i went to leave the bike wouldn't start up. The rubber charge port had come open over a log roll over and had a bit of mud in there, despite my best efforts i couldn't restart it. rode 3.5 miles more and called it a day. i have since managed to clean and dry the port and re boot the bike. So if i had been managing the battery, (turning off for say 5 miles of the 19.9) and you add on the remaining just under 2 bars, (say 10 miles), then factor in a slight loss for a couple of minutes of trail and a minute of boost, then in theory i have a bike that can do 34 miles. I will be happy with that, (if it's true). I am going to run the test again at the weekend with the loan battery, charged out of the frame, then pass my bike to my mechanic to run the tests with my battery. My instinct is that Lap will need to acknowledge that a battery that can only max 24 miles is not right!

Do the test with battery charged in bike (and left over night) too... Would be interesting ?

 

[AK 727i]

Do the test with battery charged in bike (and left over night) too... Would be interesting ?

Will do that too

 

[Cheekychops1111]

Folks, I think the bike will be returned as not fit for purpose. I don't think it is acceptable to alter riding styles to try and eek out the miles. I am still at 12 miles max with 2000ft of accent, riding in eco mode. I have charged the battery in and out of the bike and it makes very little practicle difference. I will let you know how lapierre deal with my request.

 

[mark.ai]

Folks, I think the bike will be returned as not fit for purpose. I don't think it is acceptable to alter riding styles to try and eek out the miles. I am still at 12 miles max with 2000ft of accent, riding in eco mode. I have charged the battery in and out of the bike and it makes very little practicle difference. I will let you know how lapierre deal with my request.

Shame it didn't work out! Hope you plan to try some other EMTBs instead

 

[AK 727i]

Mark, what kind of mileage can you achieve and over what mode use and height gain?
+ how many miles turned off (pedalling with no assistance) I am trying to build an understanding of where I accept the numbers or challenge lap

 

[mark.ai]

Mark, what kind of mileage can you achieve and over what mode use and height gain?
+ how many miles turned off (pedalling with no assistance) I am trying to build an understanding of where I accept the numbers or challenge lap

It can vary a lot but I can give some examples. This is my set up:

Lapierre Overvolt AM 927i, size XL, stock tyres still with tubes at 25psi (front High Roller 2, rear Rekon+). I'm 75-78kg + few kg of backpack & water etc. I mostly use clipless pedals & shoes (using flats does seem to decrease range a bit ...). Trail mode is set to medium, and Boost is set to high. I use a Garmin Edge 1030 which displays the battery % (rather than just 5 bars etc).

A typical ride of 50km would go like this:
First 200m (downhill) with motor off just to remind myself what it's like.
Then turn on eco and ride 10km (30mins) on the road to get to the trails (this uses about 10% battery).
When I get to the bottom of the trails then straight into trail mode (and time to have fun!). I stay in trail mode apart from short sections of boost on steep uphills. Tend to ride 20-30kms there (2 hours). The trails are a mix of fire road, single track & bridleways. They tend to be a pretty hard surface with lots of gravel, stones, rock. Battery could be down to 50%-30% after this.
Then stay in trail mode and ride back 10km on the road, switching to turbo for a brief hill (uses 10% battery on its own!). Sometimes battery is almost dead now, sometimes not.
Over the ride tend to have about 1000m of ascent/descent.

The area is pretty hilly, so it's always ups or downs, hardly ever flat. On the downhills the motor will hardly ever engage - either I'm freewheeling, or I'll be pedalling over the cutoff limit. So the motor won't be used for a lot of the time, but I guess the uphills compensate.

I've tried doing a full road ride in eco just to see what sort of range I'd get. Managed to get to 60km at 75% battery used, then got tired & bored so switched battery and boosted the last 20km ... (Over the 80km it was 1200m ascent).

On the other side, there are some hills round here where I know if I'm in boost I can use up 25% battery in 9 minutes (about 250m ascent on the road). But then you get a few km of downhill just freewheeling afterwards ...

 

[AK 727i]

Thanks Mark, all useful data

 

[AK 727i]

Guys, reporting in on the loan/trail battery test this weekend. I managed 30.1 miles on Saturday. 1744 feet of elevation, 3:30 moving time. ECO 95%, Trail 5%, assist turned to off for downhills and some levels, say 5 miles. Some mud, but drying, tyres up to 22 F 24R (I have a DHR F and the High Roller R). Will charge my own battery out of the frame and run the same test tomorrow. Then i will know what my approach to Lapierre will be.

 

[Cheekychops1111]

Gents,

The saga continues, new battery popped in the bike at the weekend - total distance covered was 14.3 miles - ran in Eco mode for 90% of the time and covered a total of 2400 ft of accent, all accents was covered on fire roads and simple trails,nothing too difficult as far as the terrain was concerned.
Tyre pressure was increased to 25psi on both the front and the rear, the remaining time (10%) was spent in trail mode. On decents the bike was left in Eco mode.
The battery was charged outside the bike and was taken off charge once all LEDS were lit, I didn't want to leave the battery on charge incase it started to discharge - this has been noted in another topic.
The bike shop (RaceCycles.co.uk) have been abismal wrt customer service, I have asked raleigh to step in and they have been great. The bike is going to get hooked up to the software later this week and see what is going on.
It feels as thoguh there is quite alot of resistance withteh motor when pedaling - either with the motor off or when the bike is beyond the 15mph limit.
I will update later on in the week and let you know the finidings. Cheers

 

[AK 727i]

Sorry to hear that cheeky. I wonder if there is a resistance in the motor or bearings that is dragging and using up the power?

 

[AK 727i]

So, with my own battery charged out of the frame and dropped back in I managed 24 miles yesterday with 2 bars left I’m happy

 

[gfunkmc]

So, with my own battery charged out of the frame and dropped back in I managed 24 miles yesterday with 2 bars left I’m happy

Can you please leave charger on (battery in bike) over night and try the same ride ??

 

[AK 727i]

Can you please leave charger on (battery in bike) over night and try the same ride ??

Will do in a couple of week

 

[Cheekychops1111]

Folks, Overvolt is back with Raleigh UK and is being looked at as I type this. I will update on the findings once known.

 

[RRebikes]

I have sold a 727 i and one 927 in 2019, and both bikes experiencing the same issue with range if the battery is charged in the bike. If you leave the charger in the bike overnight 1bar on the battery will indicator will go away pretty soon, but if you 1 hour before the ride, disconnect the charger from the bike, and then put it back in! The range will way better, I also sell Merida bikes, and we have tested the 927 against the eOne sixty M#erida, and if you disconnect and connect charger again 1 hour before the ride on the 927. both bikes have similar battery range (we are both riding in same modes and have approx the same body weight)

 

[Cheekychops1111]

What kind of range are you getting in the lapierre?

 

[gfunkmc]

I have sold a 727 i and one 927 in 2019, and both bikes experiencing the same issue with range if the battery is charged in the bike. If you leave the charger in the bike overnight 1bar on the battery will indicator will go away pretty soon, but if you 1 hour before the ride, disconnect the charger from the bike, and then put it back in! The range will way better, I also sell Merida bikes, and we have tested the 927 against the eOne sixty M#erida, and if you disconnect and connect charger again 1 hour before the ride on the 927. both bikes have similar battery range (we are both riding in same modes and have approx the same body weight)

Hi Budd
This has got to be classed as not fit for purpose then hasn't it ???
There is a guy on here with a Garmin computer linked to his overvolt and when left charging overnight (battery in bike) it reaches 100% but then drains to 89% ?? This sounds like the fault we all get but don't notice because our Shimano screen shows 5 bars (100%) until the bettery is as low as 81%....
Surely this is a massive manufacturers defect and qualifies as NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE?????

 

[Cheekychops1111]

Hi Budd
This has got to be classed as not fit for purpose then hasn't it ???
There is a guy on here with a Garmin computer linked to his overvolt and when left charging overnight (battery in bike) it reaches 100% but then drains to 89% ?? This sounds like the fault we all get but don't notice because our Shimano screen shows 5 bars (100%) until the bettery is as low as 81%....
Surely this is a massive manufacturers defect and qualifies as NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE?????

Agreed, currently speaking with LP on how to resolve

 

[gfunkmc]

What kind of range are you getting in the lapierre?

Not really a question of milage but more of a question of not getting 100% battery in the first place??? (NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE) ... 11% down before you even start is substantial enough to make a big difference in mileage..

 

[gfunkmc]

I have sold a 727 i and one 927 in 2019, and both bikes experiencing the same issue with range if the battery is charged in the bike. If you leave the charger in the bike overnight 1bar on the battery will indicator will go away pretty soon, but if you 1 hour before the ride, disconnect the charger from the bike, and then put it back in! The range will way better, I also sell Merida bikes, and we have tested the 927 against the eOne sixty M#erida, and if you disconnect and connect charger again 1 hour before the ride on the 927. both bikes have similar battery range (we are both riding in same modes and have approx the same body weight)

Hi budd
You say you sold/sell these bikes???
IV had my 927 back with the same problem AGAIN but lappiere say they don't know of the problem even tho there are a few on here.... Just wondering if you have got hold of them stating the issues if the ones you have sold so they are aware it's not only me ???
Thanks
Gareth