Smart Battery Charger

[Zimmerframe]

not a bad idea at all Zim! - will do ?

If you win a specialized top for best suggestion - I want half of it !

 

[Mabman]

This is the charger I use. Configurable to any chemistry and voltage, depending on version, light enough to carry easily and silent operation.

Satiator - Grin Products - Product Info

The Satiator is a fast and powerful universal battery charger that can be configured to charge a multitude of different battery types and voltages. It allows for partial charging to increase battery cycle life and has an OLED display screen to show realtime charging statistics. This is one of...

ebikes.ca

 

[Slapbassmunky]

This is the charger I use. Configurable to any chemistry and voltage, depending on version, light enough to carry easily and silent operation.

View attachment 55146

Satiator - Grin Products - Product Info

The Satiator is a fast and powerful universal battery charger that can be configured to charge a multitude of different battery types and voltages. It allows for partial charging to increase battery cycle life and has an OLED display screen to show realtime charging statistics. This is one of...

ebikes.ca

Well yes, but you can't use that to charge any of the big name brand e-bike packs like the lion one..... while the satiator has some nice features you could just use a bench power supply like I do. It's half the price and charges everything I own that doesn't have Bosch or Shimano written on it.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Arrived today. Pretty compact.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Arrived today. Pretty compact.

Bloody hell, that's a HUGE phone ☎

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Bloody hell, that's a HUGE phone ☎

iPhone FLYON XS MAX 12K edition. Fast as fcuk but poor battery life ?

 

[Zimmerframe]

iPhone FLYON XS MAX 12K edition. Fast as fcuk but poor battery life ?

But with your new smart charger ........

 

[Zimmerframe]

Did you just type FLYON ? Like they made an iPhone to copy a bike which is less than perfect ?

 

[smtkelly]

Bloody hell, that's a HUGE phone ☎

Or a small Bosch display

 

[Zimmerframe]

@Rob Rides EMTB Can you take some more pictures of it ? (the charger) .. from the angle you've taken it, it looks like there's an RS-232 on the bottom ?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

So a few different modes and 2 custom modes. Sends it from phone to charger via NFC.

 

[MrSimmo]

@Rob Rides EMTB While you're reviewing it, would it be possible to cover the following please?
- Charge times with each setting and comparison to OE chargers
- Settings (battery saving vs full charge)
- Compatibility with each bike within reason (Does it work with the Rosenberg connector fully for example or do we miss certain features on certain bikes)
- Weight
- Can it be used as a travel charger (we know they say it can, but can it honestly) and is there an internal battery or is it a simple smaller charger?
- Build quality and water/splash resistance (if there is any) - reason I ask this, is if its in a backpack it may get damp



Cheers mate

 

[Pivot]

Great concept. Do they plan to support Shimano? There is no reference to it on their website.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

Great concept. Do they plan to support Shimano? There is no reference to it on their website.

 

[The Hodge]

Anything to tell yet Rob ..?

 

[ruppia]

Hi Rob, any news for us ?

 

[Hamina]

Just saw this in Bike24. I wonder what's the reason to use totally useless, crap, non-automotive computer style DE-9 connector on the other end. That's a total show stopper for me even if the charger would work without electricity. That's some real low quality.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

Just saw this in Bike24. I wonder what's the reason to use totally useless, crap, non-automotive computer style DE-9 connector on the other end. That's a total show stopper for me even if the charger would work without electricity. That's some real low quality.

View attachment 68862

It's a well proven locking connector with multiple pins for multiple launch leads into different manufacturers interfaces, and it can take the current. You can find other connectors yes, but they get very expensive very quickly.

 

[Akiwi]

I like some of the func

View attachment 55336

Just read an article about various charges in the latest EMTB magazine.
Shimano and Yamaha are not yet supported by the Lion; however, they are working on it.
The lion gets very good points in the features that it offers, and its weight and size. However, in the tests they made it has slightly less capacity than the Bosch 4A charger. And it costs more than the Bosch 6A charger.
Here are some test figures that might help

	Bosch 2A (89€)	Bosch 4A (120€)	Bosch 6A (169€)	Lion smart charger (179€)
Weight	560 Gramm	742 Gramm	788 Gramm	550 Gramm
90 minutes loading capacity	231 Vertical meters (14.8%)	560 Vertical meters (35.9%)	778 Vertical meters (49.9%)	498 Vertical meters (31.9%)

 

[emtbPhil]

Just saw this in Bike24. I wonder what's the reason to use totally useless, crap, non-automotive computer style DE-9 connector on the other end. That's a total show stopper for me even if the charger would work without electricity. That's some real low quality.

Why is that a show stopper? It's a well used connector rated up to 5A per connector so is more than capable of taking a 4A charge.
It also allows the manufacturer to use 9 pins for different comms and then offer the adaptor cables

I mean maybe it would be nice to use some weatherproof sealed tyco connector, but how many people are going to be charging their ebike from a power source in the rain?
I don't see much point in hiking the manufacturing cost when a proven connector exists.

 

[LeonLevo]

I bought the Lion charger and have been using it on our latest holiday (camping). I bought it with cables to charge my wife's Cube (Bosch), my own Specialized Levo, and the extension battery that I sometimes use.

I had several reasons to invest in this:

• Having to pack only 1 compact and light charger instead of 3 bulky/heavy ones when going on holidays (weekend or longer trips). We mostly go camping, so we already have way too much other stuff to take with us.
• Some campsites only provide low amp electricity connections, so with this charger I can choose to charge at a lower rate and not having the risk that turning on the lights or using the water-cooker while charging blows a fuse or blackout the complete campsite. I don't mind the longer charging time (and having to sequentially charge the batteries) as we mostly don't ride every day, so there is plenty time to charge sequentially and at a lower rate.
• Having the possibility to use the storage mode for when the batteries are not in use for longer periods
• Having the possibility to get a notification on your phone when charging is finished (according to the chosen charging option). This is really useful when multiple batteries need to be charged (sequentially).

I will still use the original chargers at home, but the Lion is ready and packed for any trips we will make. It is even small enough to carry in a backpack for longer daily rides to charge during lunchbreak.

I do have some critical remarks about it:

• Like mentioned by others I don't like the RS232 (?) connector. It has not failed on me yet, but It just does not feel right on a device like this. You will need to use the 2 screws to keep the connector from disconnecting, but this is always very fiddly and brings back memories from there past where you could not get the screws out anymore or the threads inside the device would come loose. Using it with gloves is just not possible.
• Also I did have to use the charger outside (bikes are outside at the campsite) and had to keep an eye on the weather to cover it up or disconnect it when it would start too rain. But I guess you would have to do the same for any charger.
• The NFC communication needs some practice and does not always work on the first attempt. This can sometimes be a bit annoying.
• The notification functionality is not (yet) very accurate: I had situations where I would get the notification on my phone that the battery is charged to 100%, but when checking it was actually lower (like 90 or 95%). Not really a big problem, but could be better.
• I think I would have preferred a bluetooth connection from charger to phone as that would overcome some of the above issues. Not sure why they chose for this NFC (offline) solution.

All in all I still think it was a good investment and I hope the manufacturer will continue to improve the software to overcome some of the issues.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

I bought the Lion charger and have been using it on our latest holiday (camping). I bought it with cables to charge my wife's Cube (Bosch), my own Specialized Levo, and the extension battery that I sometimes use.

I had several reasons to invest in this:

• Having to pack only 1 compact and light charger instead of 3 bulky/heavy ones when going on holidays (weekend or longer trips). We mostly go camping, so we already have way too much other stuff to take with us.
• Some campsites only provide low amp electricity connections, so with this charger I can choose to charge at a lower rate and not having the risk that turning on the lights or using the water-cooker while charging blows a fuse or blackout the complete campsite. I don't mind the longer charging time (and having to sequentially charge the batteries) as we mostly don't ride every day, so there is plenty time to charge sequentially and at a lower rate.
• Having the possibility to use the storage mode for when the batteries are not in use for longer periods
• Having the possibility to get a notification on your phone when charging is finished (according to the chosen charging option). This is really useful when multiple batteries need to be charged (sequentially).

I will still use the original chargers at home, but the Lion is ready and packed for any trips we will make. It is even small enough to carry in a backpack for longer daily rides to charge during lunchbreak.

I do have some critical remarks about it:

• Like mentioned by others I don't like the RS232 (?) connector. It has not failed on me yet, but It just does not feel right on a device like this. You will need to use the 2 screws to keep the connector from disconnecting, but this is always very fiddly and brings back memories from there past where you could not get the screws out anymore or the threads inside the device would come loose. Using it with gloves is just not possible.
• Also I did have to use the charger outside (bikes are outside at the campsite) and had to keep an eye on the weather to cover it up or disconnect it when it would start too rain. But I guess you would have to do the same for any charger.
• The NFC communication needs some practice and does not always work on the first attempt. This can sometimes be a bit annoying.
• The notification functionality is not (yet) very accurate: I had situations where I would get the notification on my phone that the battery is charged to 100%, but when checking it was actually lower (like 90 or 95%). Not really a big problem, but could be better.
• I think I would have preferred a bluetooth connection from charger to phone as that would overcome some of the above issues. Not sure why they chose for this NFC (offline) solution.

View attachment 71607

All in all I still think it was a good investment and I hope the manufacturer will continue to improve the software to overcome some of the issues.

Thanks for the update, if nothing else it's very compact.

 

[galaga187]

@Rob Rides EMTB would these be useful for bike trips where you just need a quick top up from a pub or cafe on route?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

@Rob Rides EMTB would these be useful for bike trips where you just need a quick top up from a pub or cafe on route?

I found it so much hassle with all the various connectors that its just easier to take the official supplied charger that the bike comes with!

 

[DavidG]

I found it so much hassle with all the various connectors that its just easier to take the official supplied charger that the bike comes with!

Hi Rob, I actually just joined the forum to be able to make this reply. I'm interested in this charger as a lightweight option to be able to take on very long rides. Yesterday I rode 50km each way to a friends for lunch and then ran out of juice on the way back. Didn't really want to lug the big original charger such a long distance. There doesn't seem to be any other light chargers around at all from what I've seen. Also how did you manage to order it? I've only seen it on site where there is no shipping to the U.K. if you're not using yours would you sell it?

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

For a small, light charger for travelling, I would suggest using the Bosch 2A charger. It's OEM manufacturer-approved and safe to use. I use one often.

I wouldn't trust some third-party chargers for my Bosch lithium-ion batteries.

Do's and Don'ts for e-bike battery care. What do you do to keep your battery performing at its best?

To squeeze more useful cycles out of my battery, I've been fine tuning my charging routine based on all your helpful tips and inputs 🍻 thanks! So here goes, 🆕 SUGGESTED E-BIKE BATTERY CHARGING BEST PRACTICES ✅ Charge to 80% before most rides, or charge to 100% just before a long ride. After...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[DavidG]

For a small, light charger for travelling, I would suggest using the Bosch 2A charger. It's OEM manufacturer-approved and safe to use. I use one often.

I wouldn't trust some third-party chargers for my Bosch lithium-ion batteries.

Do's and Don'ts for e-bike battery care. What do you do to keep your battery performing at its best?

To squeeze more useful cycles out of my battery, I've been fine tuning my charging routine based on all your helpful tips and inputs 🍻 thanks! So here goes, 🆕 SUGGESTED E-BIKE BATTERY CHARGING BEST PRACTICES ✅ Charge to 80% before most rides, or charge to 100% just before a long ride. After...

www.emtbforums.com

Thanks, does that allow for different connectors? I have a Specialized levo sl and the port seems proprietary but may not be

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

To my knowledge, the Bosch chargers can only be used with Bosch batteries. For some reason, I thought you were using a Bosch powered bike. My bad...