The Karmic Battery, reborn.
These last 60 days have gone by so fast. The euphoria of closing a big Kickstarter campaign has worn off, and we know there’s still plenty of hard work ahead. We hit a big bump in the road when the “Lifetime Rebuildable Battery” failed to make the leap from the lab bench to the harsh tarmac. Nobody was more disappointed than me when that happened. It felt like the end of the road, but we just kept going. Luckily we found a proven partner in HiTech Energy, and today I can show everyone the new Karmic Battery.
It’s bigger, better and even more high-tech.
Battery Features
The prototype rectangular battery was a design limitation dictated by the circuit boards of the old technology. We tried to keep the new battery visually slim, while including important features requested by our backers. Now the Karmic Battery has secure locking, LED “fuel gauge”, better charge/discharge ports, and easy installation and removal.
The new battery circuit boards utilize modern UART communication with the motor and display. It also features an advanced Battery Management System (BMS) with both Sleep and Deep Sleep modes to protect the pack for longer life, on and off the bike. The new design does take up more space in the main triangle, so we’ve moved it to the downtube for better support and weight distribution. There is also an integrated carry handle for taking it with you indoors for charging.
Battery Range
There are also more cells than before (highest quality Samsung ones) which gives more range and better long-term reliability. More energy also means consistent, reliable power and greater usability of your Koben on a daily basis. The smaller pack design was having issues in range testing, and we have decided to spec the larger pack (10.4Ah, 450Wh) across the line. While this makes the Koben more expensive to produce, it means an even greater value to you, the Karmic owner.
Real-world range goes up to 50 miles for both Koben & Koben S models. In fact, these same battery packs were used in the 2015 Rad am Ring 24-hour electric bike race held at the Nürburgring in Germany. After a grueling battle, the Karmic Koben’s motor and battery combination came out on top! Even the best of three well-regarded (and well-funded) Bosch Factory Teams had to settle for 3rd in their own race. Next year should be fun!
Battery Design
Some ebikes boast about hiding their batteries inside the frame, with two common results. One is a huge tube that looks ridiculously out of place on a bicycle. The second is a really small battery with limited real-world range of 10–20 miles. While we would have loved to spend another 6–12 months designing a even better integrated battery, we’re pleased with the design that HiTech is providing and we know it works really well.
We hope our backers will be happy to get their Koben sooner, rather than waiting for the ne plus ultra of modern bike design*.
We can’t wait to get them to you!
Cheers,
Hong
*we can always work on that next year!
