- The fact that the battery breaks before the cycle is even two years is almost disaster, I think, Hans Hansen told SVT's consumer editorial Plus.

In the summer of 2017, Hans Andersen bought two electric bikes from Biltema for SEK 5,999 each. The bikes have been used for a few months each summer in connection with motorhome trips, and the rest of the time have been serviced and stored in a warm garage according to Hans.

The battery shows fully charged but provides no power

But in the spring when the bikes were going to be used after winter, one of the batteries suddenly did not want to charge.

- It's dead. The charger shows fully charged, but the battery gives no power to the bike, says Hans.

According to Biltema, the battery should last for three to five years with proper care, and it is pointed out that the General Complaints Board ruled in Biltema's favor in His case.

Nowhere in the shop or manual has Hans found any information on how long the battery is expected to last. But when he contacted Biltema to advertise the battery, he was told that the one-year warranty had expired, and that he could buy a new one for SEK 2,499.

- I would never buy the bikes if I knew that the batteries did not last more than two years, Hans says.

Pedelec folding is one of two bike models whose batteries customers have complained to Plus. Photo: SVT

Many disappointed on short shelf life

Hans is far from alone about his story. The plus editorial team has had contact with about twenty people who are all disappointed that their Biltema batteries stopped charging unexpectedly early, some as quickly as after a year, but most within two to three years.

The majority of them Plus talked to say that they gave up the idea of ​​compensation when they were told that the warranty had expired. And getting a spare battery has taken months.

Low step Photo: Mats Nilsson

Hard to prove manufacturing defects

Hans Andersen took the dispute to the General Complaints Board, but because he could not prove that the battery had a manufacturing defect, he got rejected.

- What makes me most upset is that I discovered in retrospect that the batteries were already ten months old when I bought the bikes, says Hans, and shows the 2016 date marking on the bike battery.

In his opinion, if the manufacturer can only guarantee a year's durability, that time was almost over already when he bought his battery.

- Now we do not use the bikes at all, because new batteries could not be obtained before the motorhome season was over. So we decided to buy new bikes. And no, they were not from Biltema.

Follow the whole Plus review of the problems with electric bicycles here.