VanMoof PowerBank is a range extender and troubleshooter

VanMoof, maker of some of our favorite electric bikes, has just announced the PowerBank, a range extender that also charges the internal battery of the company’s S3 and X3 models. The Emotional Support Battery not only promises to alleviate range anxiety by expanding VanMoof electric bike travel from 45 to 100 km (28 to 62 miles), but it also addresses VanMoof’s biggest limitation: batteries don’t removable that allow an elegant look. , but may need to transport the 19 kg (42 kg) bikes inside to load them.

I’ve had a new VanMoof S3, upgraded for 2021 (more on that later), with the PowerBank starting Friday. After 3 hours in the saddle in two 90-minute rides, I can attest to the extension and the most comfortable loading. It’s not cheap and it’s not perfect and I haven’t gone that far as VanMoof claims, but the PowerBank makes a compelling purchase.

The 378 Wh capacity PowerBank is attached in seconds (about 20 of them). It has an on / off button so you can choose when charging the larger 504 kW battery found in both full-size S3 and small X3 e-bikes. It is loaded stopped or while driving and adds an additional 2.8 kg to the total weight of the bike. This is a reasonable (and unnoticed) compromise if it means not having to take the bike back up the stairs to your apartment. It also adds $ 348 / $ 348 / £ 315 to the cost of a bike that already starts at $ 1,998 / € 1,998 / £ 1,798.

The PowerBank is in a permanent assembly that you must first connect to the S3 or X3 e-bikes. The PowerBank battery is inserted into the frame and locked with a key provided and secured with two velcro straps. A third velcro strap is used to prevent the charging cable from falling around as it sinks to the bottom of the top tube and to the bike’s charging port. I drove along some pretty bumpy brick roads and didn’t hear any sound from the assembly.

The thick velcro straps, despite being unelegant, combine very well with the dark black S3 model. But the straps and bulky battery are visually discordant on the X3, lighter blue, smaller electronic bike.

While new to VanMoof, range extenders are not uncommon among electric bike manufacturers, especially for electric mountain bikes. Last month, Specialized announced the Como SL electronic travel bike with an optional range extender of $ 449.99, which it says adds 55 km of range.

Over the weekend I tested a PowerBank equipped with a new VanMoof S3 on a round trip of 76.7 km (47.7 miles) from Amsterdam to the coastal hamlet of Castricum aan Zee and back. This exceeds the 60 km range of a VanMoof mounted at full power and well beyond the 47 km I managed during the S3 range test in April 2020. VanMoof claims that a fully charged S3 battery is attached in a PowerBank it has a range of 105-250 km (65-155 miles), depending on the level of powered assistance you use. I wasn’t close to that.

I drove at full power (level 4) on very flat Dutch terrain making liberal use of the Turbo Boost button. A little over half of my tests were done directly on a fairly strong 14 knot front wind, the rest benefited from a 6 knot tail wind. In total, I would estimate that it could have traveled about 80 km (50 miles) before the S3 and PowerBank batteries were empty. In other words, the VanMoof PowerBank along with the new S3 expanded my range by about 70 percent compared to the 47 km (29.2 miles) I managed last year.

In my tests, I noticed that the S3 battery drained faster than the PowerBank could recharge it while running at full power with many Turbo Boost button presses. (VanMoof confirmed this behavior after completing the tests.) So instead of running the risk of having to stop and recharge on the way home (or go with a less fun economic mode), I took advantage a 20-minute ferry wait to finish the S3 Battery when it showed only the remaining 15%. I would probably have reached the last 7.9km home even without recharging, but the purpose of having a PowerBank is to avoid anxiety and I was in a hurry to get back.

As for my buttocks, well, I should make an honorable mention on VanMoof’s custom saddle. It’s surprisingly comfortable and the first time I rode it: my S3 overhaul bike was fitted with a different saddle last year. Although I noticed some discomfort down there when I got on the bike for my return trip, it was much less than expected.

Although my test goes below lower of range estimation for the PowerBank, VanMoof still maintains its figures. “It should provide most riders with an additional 45-100km range depending on an individual’s conditions and level of use,” the company said in an email response to my findings. Apparently, my aggressive driving style, my weight (86 kg), height (183 cm) and the environmental conditions of the tests make me look more remarkable.

Some other observations …

VanMoof e-bikes don’t provide a USB charging port for handlebar-mounted phones and the arrival of the PowerBank doesn’t change that. In my opinion, this is an oversight. A range extender allows travelers to travel longer distances, which often require GPS navigation on a phone that runs at full brightness and is paired with Bluetooth headphones for detailed directions and perhaps some music playing through of your 4G / 5G connection. My three-year-old iPhone didn’t live up to the job, which meant tying it to another battery I had to carry in my jacket. I forgot about the cable when I stopped at a ferry crossing, almost knocking myself over.

VanMoof says it was considered a USB port, but was eventually abandoned for “waterproofing reasons.” Shame.

I should also note that the S3 I tested was one of the models that recently added support for Apple’s Find My tracking network. While this was the main element, VanMoof’s X3 and S3 e-bikes were also upgraded with improved bike screens that are more visible in direct sunlight and more accurate electronic shift changes. Last year I complained about the readability of the screen in my review and it improves slightly. More importantly, the e-shifter looks much better than the S3 variation I reviewed at launch in April 2020. At the time I said it failed at 2 out of 100 turns, but the automatic speed of four speeds of my new S3 failed approximately. 1 in 100 changes over the course of my three hours of driving. I characterize a problem as an unexpected “tinkling” mechanical sound, a surprise freewheel of the pedals when expected to have resistance, or an obvious feeling of being in the wrong gear.

VanMoof, unlike many electric bike manufacturers, is able to constantly improve the hardware and software of its electronic bikes, as it has a dedicated factory and relatively tight control over a supply chain of custom VanMoof parts. This means it should not compete for Shimano levers or Bosch motors, for example, which left many bicycle manufacturers without parts for months after the recent rise in demand for electric bicycles. Good thing, too. The first shipments of S3 and X3 models were affected by emission rates of up to 10%, company co-founders told me last year.

VanMoof claims he also improved the internal wiring of his bikes to improve weather resistance, added new pedals for better grip and new fender fins to reduce excess splashes on wet roads. It also made shipping boxes more environmentally friendly, which is important considering VanMoof ships around 12,000 giant boxes a month as of September 2020.

All this is to say that the 2021 S3 and X3 models, which have the “Locate with Apple Find My” label printed under the top tube, are the best VanMoof electronic bikes out there so far, which is really saying some what. The new PowerBank option is just the icing on the cake.

All photos of Thomas Ricker / The Verge unless otherwise noted