Levo / Kenevo (gen1) Range Extender thread

[R120]

To be fair he hasn't reinvented the wheel, just come up with the neatest solution to date

 

[Doomanic]

That would depend on what circuitry he's using and if he's written any bespoke firmware for the battery management and balancing of the cells in the extender pack.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

There are 2 of these battery extenders. One from an Italian company that I have little information on. That one requires a wire splice to fit.

The better one is the following from a Belgian Company, run by Danny, called 'Levo Range Extenders'. Here is the information I have received:

Product Name:
Levo Range Extender

Details:
CE Approved. 3 options. The latest option is the 'THE BOX'. It’s been a long piece of work to get a perfect product, but it’s almost finished. THE BOX battery is a 504wh 14 Ah extender box, designed by me (Danny). It has been printed by a 3D-printer. It’s a plug and ride system, that means that you don’t need to cut any wires on the cables of the engine, so just only plug the modified cable in your bike.

The reason why I make the system like this is when the bike needs to go for inspection by the Specialized dealer there will be no trace for problems with a guarantee. I have 3 products: a Power Bottle, 252wh with 20 GA 3500 Mah cells, a Big Bottle 378 wh with 30 GA 3500 Mah cells and finally THE BOX 504 with 40 GA 3500 Mah cells. This means that you have 1008 wh on your Levo. THE BOX is still being updated to be a perfect product.

Made with the Sanyo NCR18640 Cells. Best on the market.

Come with additional Rosenberger Battery charger that can also charge standard battery.

100% safe and tested. Original battery has less temperature with the extender. Decharge in parallel, so better for the original battery! System started with original Specialized cable that was being modified for protection. Fits on Alu and Carbon Levos .

Options:

• Standard 504wh battery + Small Bottle 252. 20 cells. Total 756 wh. Or 50% more range! Weight 1.4KG. Price €495
• Standard 504wh battery + Big Bottle 378 30 cells. Total 882 wh 75% more range! Weight 1.8KG. Price €595
• Standard 504wh battery + THE BOX 504. 40 cells. Standard 504 battery then the Box 504 battery, total 1008wh! 100% more range! Weight 2.2KG. Price TBC.

Box isn’t finished yet. The final product is made with steel first (has my logo with laser etching ) Integrated in the box.
For comparison, the Specialized 504 OEM battery weight is 2.8KG. Taking a spare requires you to carry it on a backpack. THE BOX sits securely on your bike.

Small Bottle 252 wh fits on all Levo’s. Big Bottle 31 cm 378 wh will only fit Large and XL Carbon and XL Alu. THE BOX 504 fits on all Levo and Kenevo!

As soon as I have more info on stock / availability I will update this post!

Big Bottle 378

THE BOX 504:

 

[Botts101]

There are 2 of these battery extenders. One in the opening post that I made that I have little info on.

The other is the following. Here is the information I have received:

Name: Levo Range Extender
Price: €575
Details:
It’s a long work to get a perfect product .. but it’s almost finished .. it’s a 504 wh 14 Ah extender box designed by me and that’s been printed by a 3D-printer. It’s a plug and ride system, that means that you don’t need to cut any wires on the cables of the engine, so just only plug the modified cable in your bike. The reason why I make the system like this is when the bike needs to go for inspection by the Specialized dealer there will be no trace for problems with a guarantee. I have 3 systems of power: a Power Bottle 252wh with 20 GA 3500 Mah cells, a Big Bottle 378 wh with 30 GA 3500 Mah cells and THE BOX 504 with 40 GA 3500 Mah cells. This means that you have 1008 wh on your Levo. THE BOX is still being updated to be a perfect product.

100% safe and tested. Original battery has less temperatures with the extender. Decharge in parallel, so better for the original battery! System started for original Specialized cable that was being modified for protection. Fits on All and Carbon Levos .

Options:

• Standard 504wh battery + Small Bottle 252. Total 756 wh. Or 50% more range! Weight 1.4KG
• Standard 504wh battery + Big Bottle 378 30 cells. Total 882 wh 75% more range! Weight 1.8KG
• Standard 504wh battery + Box 504. Standard 504 battery then the Box 504 battery, total 1008wh! 100% more range! Weight 2.2KG

Box isn’t finished yet. The final product is made with steel first (has my logo with laser etching ) Integrated in the box.
Specialized 504 OEM battery weight is 2.8KG

Small Bottle 252 wh fits on all Levo’s. Big Bottle 31 cm 378 wh will only fit Large and XL Carbon and XL Alu. Box 504 fits on all Levo and Kenevo!

Big Bottle 378

BOX 504:

Thank you for this post. So how do I get the little bottle shipped to the USA?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Thank you for this post. So how do I get the little bottle shipped to the USA?

Honestly, not sure. I’m posting all the info I have. The maker is on holiday for a week or so so will have to find out then ?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Thank you for this post. So how do I get the little bottle shipped to the USA?

I’ll get the info to you next couple of days. Seller has already shipped successfully to Brazil.

 

[Tori]

Rob, many thanks for posting this. I've been lurking on the Range Extender FB page; and am very interested in these products. I was initially going to have a go at building my own extender, but doubt I could do as neat a job as Danny.

To have an extra 504Wh in such a neat solution would be remarkable. I am hoping to do some bike-packing and really long rides on my Levo, and this is just the bit of kit I will be needing.

In the meantime, I have ordered a 2nd 504Wh Levo battery . . . and I will be figuring out a good way to carry it in a backpack. Imagine having a combined 1512Wh!

I probably won't be the first tester of this product, given my remote location from Europe. Rob, I reckon you should get one for testing, and see if it's possible to arrange a group-buy, should the product prove to be as excellent as it sounds.

 

[Donnie797]

Wow, this is neat! But is this really save regarding warranty? The question is if pluggin in a second battery will mess with the original battery or the sensors or whatever. In case of a battery or motor malfunction, Specialized could possibly detect, that there was a second power source in the system. Also i wonder if mission control or blevo will work with it.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

More details of the Levo Range Extender from a few posts up. From what I am hearing this one is the better option (the whole thing is plug and play, no splicing of wires).

Bottle is waterproof, it has a USB charger on the top that is covered, similar to the OEM battery with the removable plug.
Box is 100% waterproof, sealed and tested.

Here is how it is connected:

 

[ccrdave]

Wow, this is neat! But is this really save regarding warranty? The question is if pluggin in a second battery will mess with the original battery or the sensors or whatever. In case of a battery or motor malfunction, Specialized could possibly detect, that there was a second power source in the system. Also i wonder if mission control or blevo will work with it.

i would say that as it runs in parallel and the second battery does not go through the first there would be no record of the extra capacity

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Rob, I reckon you should get one for testing, and see if it's possible to arrange a group-buy, should the product prove to be as excellent as it sounds.

I'm hopefully getting one to test.

With regards to group buys etc... watch this space!

 

[Philip]

There are 2 of these battery extenders. One from an Italian company that I have little information on. That one requires a wire splice to fit.

The better one is the following from the German Company, run by Danny, called 'Levo Range Extenders'. Here is the information I have received:

Product Name:
Levo Range Extender

Details:
CE Approved. 3 options. The latest option is the 'THE BOX'. It’s been a long piece of work to get a perfect product, but it’s almost finished. THE BOX battery is a 504wh 14 Ah extender box, designed by me (Danny). It has been printed by a 3D-printer. It’s a plug and ride system, that means that you don’t need to cut any wires on the cables of the engine, so just only plug the modified cable in your bike.

The reason why I make the system like this is when the bike needs to go for inspection by the Specialized dealer there will be no trace for problems with a guarantee. I have 3 products: a Power Bottle, 252wh with 20 GA 3500 Mah cells, a Big Bottle 378 wh with 30 GA 3500 Mah cells and finally THE BOX 504 with 40 GA 3500 Mah cells. This means that you have 1008 wh on your Levo. THE BOX is still being updated to be a perfect product.

Made with the Sanyo NCR18640 Cells. Best on the market.

Come with additional Rosenberger Battery charger that can also charge standard battery.

100% safe and tested. Original battery has less temperature with the extender. Decharge in parallel, so better for the original battery! System started with original Specialized cable that was being modified for protection. Fits on Alu and Carbon Levos .

Options:

• Standard 504wh battery + Small Bottle 252. 20 cells. Total 756 wh. Or 50% more range! Weight 1.4KG. Price €495
• Standard 504wh battery + Big Bottle 378 30 cells. Total 882 wh 75% more range! Weight 1.8KG. Price €595
• Standard 504wh battery + THE BOX 504. 40 cells. Standard 504 battery then the Box 504 battery, total 1008wh! 100% more range! Weight 2.2KG. Price TBC.

Box isn’t finished yet. The final product is made with steel first (has my logo with laser etching ) Integrated in the box.
For comparison, the Specialized 504 OEM battery weight is 2.8KG. Taking a spare requires you to carry it on a backpack. THE BOX sits securely on your bike.

Small Bottle 252 wh fits on all Levo’s. Big Bottle 31 cm 378 wh will only fit Large and XL Carbon and XL Alu. THE BOX 504 fits on all Levo and Kenevo!

As soon as I have more info on stock / availability I will update this post!

Big Bottle 378

THE BOX 504:

The Box 504 looks interesting, cycling long distances over the South Downs this would be ideal, saves having to carry a spare battery on your back. Not sure how secure it is for doing trails, so would probably opt for the smaller of the 3.

 

[Stumpy]

I'm hopefully getting one to test.

With regards to group buys etc... watch this space!

I'm in!

 

[Philip]

I'm hopefully getting one to test.

With regards to group buys etc... watch this space!

No more range aniexty! Surprised Specialized don’t sell them. They’re missing a trick there I think

 

[Topov]

The only issue I see here is Price, he needs to be well under the price of a second battery, the reason I say this is.... Second battery 2 year warranty and does not affect bike warranty. bad side bit more trouble to carry.
"The box" neat design and lighter. bad side … may well be just as expensive as a second battery or nearly, does not come with 2 years warranty, could affect your oem battery and motor, could void warranty on battery and motor.... if he is willing to guarantee the product and our own motors and batteries I may be interested, for now, I will work with what I have and wait for the larger specialized battery somewhere near September

 

[R120]

The big advantage is you don't have to lug a second battery around in a backpack (if you can find a backpack that fits it!), and don't have to swap out the battery on your ride

I think these are a different kind of product to a second OEM battery, as in one might have both a second battery and one of these in your quiver as they serve slightly different purposes IMO.

Warranty etc is a valid concern though

 

[Donnie797]

"i would not recommend it .... it'll void your warranty"
said Georgia Leslie from Specialized in this EMBN show at 8:52 :

 

[Botts101]

I'm hopefully getting one to test.

With regards to group buys etc... watch this space!

Let me know - this set up looks GREAT. No I need to have it shipped to the USA

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

"i would not recommend it .... it'll void your warranty"
said Georgia Leslie from Specialized in this EMBN show at 8:52 :

So why didn't these guys ask Georgia the following question?

Hey Georgia, If these void your warranty when are the Specialized 'spares division' team going to release a higher capacity battery as there is obviously a very high need in the Levo/Kenevo ebike market for this item.....

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hey Georgia, If these void your warranty when are the Specialized 'spares division' team going to release a higher capacity battery as there is obviously a very high need in the Levo/Kenevo ebike market for this item.....

I'm sure they are all over it and well aware of supply and demand issues and the consumer desires for larger batteries

 

[Stumpy]

I'm sure they are all over it and well aware of supply and demand issues and the consumer desires for larger batteries

and there speaks a man who has spent the day with specialized....

 

[Donnie797]

They already did and they will do it again. Check out the Turbo S specs from 2012 and the ones from 2018 - doubled motor power and doubled battery size by still having the same battery size and downward compatiblity.

 

[Doomanic]

Motor and battery technology has come on in leaps and bounds in that time, I doubt we'll see the same level of advancement in the next 6 years unfortunately. Sure, there will be advances, but incremental rather than those we have seen before.

 

[R120]

I reckon that emtbs in 6 years will be unrecognisable from today’s, lighter, longer range, who knows lmaybe induction charging! Park your bike up for a coffee and it gets charged by the rack

 

[SteveVentoux]

Regenerative braking, which would work great for me being a cautious rider!

 

[Donnie797]

Motor and battery technology has come on in leaps and bounds in that time, I doubt we'll see the same level of advancement in the next 6 years unfortunately. Sure, there will be advances, but incremental rather than those we have seen before.

we'll see in 6 years
Battery technology is on the edge of another big leap into the future. They experiment with other battery-ingredients like "lithium-magnesium" or "lithium-sulfur", but there are also some radical and "world-changing" approaches like "solid state" and "flow" batteries.

 

[Carlos Muralhas]

we'll see in 6 years
Battery technology is on the edge of another big leap into the future. They experiment with other battery-ingredients like "lithium-magnesium" or "lithium-sulfur", but there are also some radical and "world-changing" approaches like "solid state" and "flow" batteries.

Yes, the same team that invented current Lithium battery technology has a new kind of battery in tests (dry cells) and it promises to be a very good leap in capacity, durability and charging speed. I reckon between a few years and a decade to be a common battery tech.

 

[Daniel]

Great job, how can I order a big bottle?

 

[Botts101]

I reckon that emtbs in 6 years will be unrecognisable from today’s, lighter, longer range, who knows lmaybe induction charging! Park your bike up for a coffee and it gets charged by the rack

100% - i agree. It can only go this way.

 

[Uppy]

Is there a website to look at the Levo extender battery, as I like the idea of the bottle pack.