We reiterated in this news the shocking price offered by Carrefour on the Angel Electric Bike Vintage 2021 and more precisely on the Rapid M and Rapid S: 999 € instead of 2999 €! The big deal of the moment? In case we already had some objections, a Twitter post penned by Angel further complicates the story. In fact, the bicycles sold by Carrefour are largely defective. We uncover everything for you.
Chief, I didn’t see the paper!
Despite recent advances in this area, current generations of batteries contain complex components with sensitive chemistry. And it is precisely the batteries of the bicycles marketed by the Carrefour brand that sin. Before we move on, let’s salute Engel’s transparency, even if his communications ultimately involve abandoning his trading partner and clearing customs.
The bicycles sold on the Carrefour site were delivered during the winter of 2021-2022. Since then, several months have passed and as with any electric vehicle, a phenomenon known as deep charging can occur. This is a condition where the battery is so discharged that it cannot be recharged from a regular power supply. To avoid this, it is recommended to charge bicycles regularly in order to maintain their well-known batteries, under long-term storage conditions. However, the Carrefour service provider, which managed the stock of Rapide M and Rapide S waiting patiently in their boxes while waiting for the promotion, did not implement the process. Although the process may have been described by Angel.
A pure and simple battery change
As a result of the races, many of the bikes sold have deep discharged batteries that just need to be replaced! Headache for Carrefour and Angel, who certainly don’t want this to tarnish their image. The two companies are working to find a technical solution, but it should not be approved before mid-September.
Is there an alternative to outright battery replacement? We have already looked at more or less empirical techniques for recovering batteries from deep discharge, but nothing says that such a solution can be found for the unfortunate consumers who have fallen into the trap of Carrefour’s Angel. Finally, Angel announced that development of a new generation of VAEs had begun and these would use a new battery technology that would make it possible to avoid the deep discharge phenomenon.