on the subject of travel bike...ebike

[eddief]

I know not what most here would be considering but I am beginning to consider a travel ebike. I have been exploring the idea of a Specialized Turbo Creo with the main in-bike battery removed and using two extender batteries instead. As I understand it airlines will allow you to carry on two batteries of 160 watt/hours each.

And that's why I've been asking questions about Orucase and Post Transfer. May be in the process of giving up on S&S me-bike and moving on to Creo ebike for travel.

[Mark McM]

I don't understand how it would be possible to take a Turbo Creo SL on an airliner. The FAA allows batteries up to 100 Wh in checked luggage, or up to 160 Wh installed in a device with the air carrier's permission. But the Turbo Creo's installed battery is 320 Wh, or twice the limit. This seems like a non-starter.

Where do you plan on going? Many vacation destinations have e-bike rentals, which could save a lot of hassle. Heck, many people find it easier to rent standard pedal bikes at their destinations, and standard pedal bikes are much easier to get on a plane.

[eddief]

The bike's downtube battery would be removed and left at home. Power would come from two extender batteries carried on the plane. A quote from the FAA:

"Size limits: Lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries are limited to 2 grams of lithium per battery. Lithium ion (rechargeable) batteries are limited to a rating of 100 watt hours (Wh) per battery. These limits allow for nearly all types of lithium batteries used by the average person in their electronic devices. With airline approval, passengers may also carry up to two spare larger lithium ion batteries (101–160 Wh) or Lithium metal batteries (2-8 grams). This size covers the larger after-market extended-life laptop computer batteries and some larger batteries used in professional audio/visual equipment."

Quantity limits: None for most batteries — but batteries must be for use by the passenger. Batteries carried for further sale or distribution (vendor samples, etc.) are prohibited. There is a limit of two spare batteries per person for the larger lithium ion batteries described above (101–160 watt hours per battery).
I have been on bike tours where rentals were made available. They were 50 pound tanks, not quality road-ish bikes like the Creo.

I don't understand how it would be possible to take a Turbo Creo SL on an airliner. The FAA allows batteries up to 100 Wh in checked luggage, or up to 160 Wh installed in a device with the air carrier's permission. But the Turbo Creo's installed battery is 320 Wh, or twice the limit. This seems like a non-starter.

Where do you plan on going? Many vacation destinations have e-bike rentals, which could save a lot of hassle. Heck, many people find it easier to rent standard pedal bikes at their destinations, and standard pedal bikes are much easier to get on a plane.

[Mark McM]

The bike's downtube battery would be removed and left at home. Power would come from two extender batteries carried on the plane. A quote from someplace on the web:

"For batteries that are 99 watt or under 100 watts each you can carry four. You can carry up to 160-watt batteries. And you are allowed up to two 160 watt batteries, not more than two. And you may only carry them on, you may not check them. If you have two 160 watt batteries, and then you start stacking on 99-watt batteries, you’re going to start to have a problem. They’re going to start saying you’re carrying way too much."

Rather "a quote from someplace on the web", you should probably start with the FAA's official policies: https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/more_info/?hazmat=7

I have been on bike tours where rentals were made available. They were 50 pound tanks, not quality road-ish bikes like the Creo.

That probably says more about those particular tour operators. There are plenty of bicycle tour operators that do rent the Turbo Creo. Here's one in California (https://maddogsandenglishmen.com/), and here's one in Mallorca (https://www.justrentabike.es/). A quick google search finds many more in the US and Europe.

[eddief]

you can take two 160 watters on the plane carry on. I'd prefer to be able to do any tour I want and not have to choose ones that happen to rent ebikes.




That probably says more about those particular tour operators. There are plenty of bicycle tour operators that do rent the Turbo Creo. Here's one in California (https://maddogsandenglishmen.com/), and here's one in Mallorca (https://www.justrentabike.es/). A quick google search finds many more in the US and Europe.[/QUOTE]

[Mark McM]

you can take two 160 watters on the plane carry on. I'd prefer to be able to do any tour I want and not have to choose ones that happen to rent ebikes.

Can we assume that you plan these trips more than a week or two in advance? Then would it be possible to have a full sized battery shipped to the location before hand?

As above, the OEM Turbo Creo battery is 320 Wh. For you're plan, you'd have to cobble together two smaller batteries, and these would likely have been originally designed for some other purpose. Plus you'd need a different charger than the original Turbo Creo charger. So you'd have to hope that re-purposing the batteries doesn't cause damage to them. It's bad enough that large lithium batteries can sometimes cause fires in buildings - but fires on airplanes can have much greater consequences.

[eddief]

Specialized makes 160 extender batteries. They simply plug into the same charger and the software knows what to do with them. 2 x 160 = 320. That equals 80 miles of distance under moderate conditions.

https://www.performancebike.com/specialized-2020-sl-rangeextender-battery-black-98920-5640/p1001854?gclid=CjwKCAiA7vWcBhBUEiwAXieItmYAXwikCzz 4sSMEzYaWX1F38tOsUCZT1s2Q25T7z_YVAe0U25FxIxoC4M0QA vD_BwE

You are trying really hard to refute my idea and I welcome your questions.

Can we assume that you plan these trips more than a week or two in advance? Then would it be possible to have a full sized battery shipped to the location before hand?

As above, the OEM Turbo Creo battery is 320 Wh. For you're plan, you'd have to cobble together two smaller batteries, and these would likely have been originally designed for some other purpose. Plus you'd need a different charger than the original Turbo Creo charger. So you'd have to hope that re-purposing the batteries doesn't cause damage to them. It's bad enough that large lithium batteries can sometimes cause fires in buildings - but fires on airplanes can have much greater consequences.

[Mark McM]

Specialized makes 160 extender batteries. They simply plug into the same charger and the software knows what to do with them. 2 x 160 = 320. That equals 80 miles of distance under moderate conditions.

https://www.performancebike.com/specialized-2020-sl-rangeextender-battery-black-98920-5640/p1001854?gclid=CjwKCAiA7vWcBhBUEiwAXieItmYAXwikCzz 4sSMEzYaWX1F38tOsUCZT1s2Q25T7z_YVAe0U25FxIxoC4M0QA vD_BwE

You are trying really hard to refute my idea and I welcome your questions.

With the purpose built extender batteries that becomes a more feasible solution. But I still see two possible issues, one probably minor, and the more likely major:

The minor issue is that you'll have to find out if the bike can operate on the extender battery without the presence of the internal battery. It probably can, but there's a small chance that the computer might detect the missing internal battery as an error of some kind and refuse to operate.

But a possibly bigger issue is this: It is likely that the case containing the Turbo Creo will be opened to be inspected (by either the TSA or the airline). They'll likely know that e-bikes aren't normally allowed in checked luggage, so they might just reject it without investigating whether or not the internal battery is actually installed.

[eddief]

Research tells us they run fine on extenders without built in battery. Never thought of TSA rejecting due to thinking it was electric. I would think that could be brought to light at check in.

[Philster]

I think the extender batteries for travel is a pretty well known solution. It may even be an official Specialized thing. I guess the question is how well it works.

[eddief]

Plug into the charging socket on the bike. The bike and the software don't care if it's the built in battery or the extender.

I think the extender batteries for travel is a pretty well known solution. It may even be an official Specialized thing. I guess the question is how well it works.

[palincss]

Can we assume that you plan these trips more than a week or two in advance? Then would it be possible to have a full sized battery shipped to the location before hand?


There's an obvious solution at hand if you adopt the ship-ahead mode: one of the e-bikes that uses the Fazua Evation or Road 50 systems. These feature removable powerpacks and batteries. The battery alone weighs 1.4 kg or 3.1 lb.

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0044/8941/2698/products/Battery250X_DSC0045_900x900_grey_1200x630.png

Here's mine, an Alchemy eRonin

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52066920993_a5b4e17b55_b.jpg