My feedback on a 3rd party Range Extender installed on my Giant

[bemol73]

I own a Full E+1 SX Pro 2018 and Giant have not released any range extender as it did for some of its 2020 models so I had to find a solution.
After months of research on the net I finally found a battery that would fit my beast to open up new possibilities for very long trails with lots of elevation. It adds 540 Wh with the following: Batteria 540 Wh 21700 - Negozio | EXTENDER~BATTERY
Installation is fairly easy, just need to add a Y-deviation from the main wire motor-battery, all extra wires, as well as the specific charger, are included.
Both batteries are used at the same time with same discharge, no error message on the Giant console which was my main concern as the extender is not made by Giant. I have added two extra velcro tapes to the two included tapes of the enclosure to make sure the extra battery doesn't move at all.
The only negative point I noticed is that the battery level indicated by the Giant console is not accurate when both batteries are being used, you need to disconnect both batteries and put back the main Giant battery only to reinitiate the correct value. But it doesn't matter so much as I know 1040 Wh provides me with a range of roughly 60km with 2500m elevation.
Cheers from France!

 

[Bellefield]

Hi bemol73, thanks for the images and the update. That's a serious amount of battery power!

I was thinking of getting a 3rd party range extender battery, but I'm worried about being able to properly evaluate the remaining power / range, and as range anxiety was one of the reasons for getting one then I might give it a miss.

 

[bemol73]

Hi bemol73, thanks for the images and the update. That's a serious amount of battery power!

I was thinking of getting a 3rd party range extender battery, but I'm worried about being able to properly evaluate the remaining power / range, and as range anxiety was one of the reasons for getting one then I might give it a miss.

Pleasure Bellefield, happy to share my own experience. It's quite easy for me to evaluate battery power, I know my bike pretty well and know pretty closely how much battery I consume without looking at the console. I know that today I can do twice as much as before, simple as that.
I did a check during my last session and before removing the batteries and I had 71% left, and when I put back the main battery only it dropped to 61%. Statistically that means when both batteries are connected you should have 15% less battery than indicated. Will monitore during my next sessions if this is a rule that can be applied, but to be honest with 1040 Wh you can ride for hours and hours without having to stress of running out of battery

 

[lharpel1]

thanks you for this information

 

[lharpel1]

I have been reading about this as very intrested in buying a 540. So tell me, does it charge with the original Giant charge ? So plug it in and it charges both batteries at the same time ?

 

[bemol73]

I have been reading about this as very intrested in buying a 540. So tell me, does it charge with the original Giant charge ? So plug it in and it charges both batteries at the same time ?

No, it has its own charger but both batteries discharge at the same time

 

[linxus]

Did you put diodes or just soldered cables? Because on their site they are writing something about diodes.

 

[lightning]

Make sure you carry a fire extinguisher!

Although looking at pictures of ebike battery fires the best thing you can do is drop the bike and stand well back.

 

[Struthbooth]

Hey Bemol73, thanks for sharing your experience. I have a question about the battery level indicator. If it doesnt show both batteries or the correct level, what would happen if the displayed battery level went to zero? Have you experiences that at all?
Or does the battery display not drop as fast?