**Disclaimer: Modding your board is inherently dangerous. This post is for education purposes only. Mod your board at your own risk. Shredd Labs cannot be held responsible for any injuries or death caused by modding your battery or potentially damaging your board. You have been warned.**
Many of you have probably heard of the XXR battery upgrade pioneered by Hector Arroyo. Well, Bara from Chi Battery Systems has stepped up to make an even better replacement battery mod that requires less modding but gains even more range. In the video below you’ll see how easy it is to replace your old Onewheel battery pack with the upgraded CBXR battery, as well as a range test video where Bradley drains the battery to empty. Just how far did he make it? You’ll have to watch the video to find out…
Some things we don’t go into detail about in the video are specifications and the benefits (besides range) that you’ll get by doing the upgrade. It’s also to be noted that not all Onewheel+ XRs will work with this battery mod. Check your hardware version, if it is 4206, 4208, 4209, or 4210, you’re okay! It will work. 4210 may require a power cycle when your board “thinks” you’re at 0% but after turning it off/on, you will enjoy the rest of that CBXR range. Many people have reported that 4210 works without any power cycling needed. If you have the 4211 or 4212 hardware version, you’re out of luck at the moment unfortunately. To find out which version you have, go to the Onewheel app on your phone, select the Menu icon, then board settings, and then look for your hardware version.
Chi Battery Systems uses 18650ga Sanyo battery cells which are high quality cells that are known to be safe and have better reliability than other 18650 cells. The battery configuration is 15s3p, which is the largest cell count ever fit inside of a Onewheel. This configuration provides the Onewheel with 567wh of actual usable capacity and provides 30 amps of continuous discharge. According to Chi Battery Systems, the cells used will provide 800-1000 full charge cycles (meaning you drained the battery from completely empty to full 800-1000 times). After 800-1000 complete cycles, you’ll still have 70% battery capacity. This means that after riding 24,000-30,000 miles, you’ll still hold 70% of the original capacity.
We lied, you don’t have to watch the YouTube video to find out the range we got in our range test video. Chi Battery Systems advertises that the range you’ll get on the CBXR is between 32-38+ miles per charge. We can confirm this because riding on varied terrain, with a rider weighing 170lbs and the PSI set to 17, we got 33.5 miles in our range test which blew away our expectations because of the riding speed and the many steep hills encountered in the video.
Some other benefits, besides practically doubling the stock XR range, is more torque which means less surging uphill and likely less of a chance of the dreaded “nosedive.” There was much less voltage sag as well. Meaning, at 50% battery on the standard XR, you’ll start to notice less power on the Onewheel with surging uphills and less zippiness. At 50% on the CBXR, the board felt like it was still at 100% battery with seemingly no voltage sag. It takes around 3 hrs and 15 minutes to charge the CBXR with the stock charger, or just under 2 hours with a fast charger.
One of the best things about the CBXR battery mod is it’s the easiest upgrade out there. It requires very little modding to your existing battery case and can be done in under an hour. We are absolutely stoked with the performance and ease of installation. Do you have a Pint and want more range? Chi Battery Systems also made a battery upgrade called the “Quart.” See the link below for more details.
Where to Buy:
CBXR Battery Upgrade for Onewheel+ XR
Quart Battery Upgrade for Onewheel Pint
Will the onewheel app still work with the cbxr battery in terms of showing how much battery is left and so on?
LikeLike
Not exactly. You have to view the voltage to tell how much battery you have left. You can view a photo of the voltage battery conversions here: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58001d7eb3db2bebfef588cf/1591366864338-WDJ25DYK223MNQ0CVK2V/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGI1NCdRMxQKX5o2RycsssVZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWEtT5uBSRWt4vQZAgTJucoTqqXjS3CfNDSuuf31e0tVFxx6Ua-VA-lYiCz74Gj-kgmr8tp4mmJ0j8kNzsVzNi4k2k4gJagDAoCl4pRH98xgQ/102291826_198675961268852_6873474375559938048_n.jpg?format=1000w
LikeLike
And what’s with the ow+?
LikeLike
Nothing available for that unfortunately
LikeLike
Thank you! I have one on order. I appreciate the installation video. Looks easier than swapping tires.
Gorgeous day for a range test!
Did you notice any difference in the board balance or handling with the additional battery weight?
What mode or custom settings did you test with?
LikeLike
Awesome article! and video!. This is truly next level.
LikeLike
My cbxr on my 4210 board read error 23 when voltage dropped to 52. 4 while connected to app. I turned board on/off and it still was reading error 23. I disconnected from board within the app, charged it up and to no avail. Nothing. Am I the first 4210 that failed?
LikeLike
I haven’t heard of this issue before. It could be something else that’s wrong. Have you reached out to Bara from ChiBatterySystems?
LikeLike
Yes, ive reached out to chi. They said its not the hardware (4210) but the firmware gemini -4150 that is causing problems. Talking to a few people on some forums which they replied and believed …I got the last batch of the 4210 which the new firmware was updated. Which doesn’t take kindly to range mods. I had my stock app open at the time during the error 23. I will try another test to see if I completely disconnect from the stock app itself to see if I gain some range. Rather than cutting out at 53v with and error. Wish me luck🤞🏽
LikeLike
Thanks for the update. Good luck! Keep us in the loop.
LikeLike
Chibattery Systems has a battery upgrade for the Plus now. Should give a Plus very similar range as an XR.
I’ve only had 2 rides on mine and it is fantastic! Makes my Plus feel like it is on performance enhancing drugs.
Vastly more torque and speed and range.
LikeLike
great review and nice scenes in your area.. i bought CBXR already just checking out your review after i bought.. lol
LikeLike
OMG this is what made me finally buy a CBXR. Holy. Crap. Literally a game changer. There is this pond by my house that i like to ride to and going there and back used to run me down to 40 percent on my 4209 xr. First ride, went to the pond and back, only used like 20 percent. WHAT??? Best thing i’ve ever done. Took a while to ship tho😂. Your the best Bradley! Thanks again for the inspiration!
LikeLike
You’re very welcome Jason! I’m glad did then upgrade! So worth it, eh?!
LikeLike
Anything in the works to try to get around the 4211 / 4212 issues? 4211 here, and purchased it with 13 mi on it before I “knew” it was “too new” for range extension. 😦
LikeLike
No solutions that I’m aware of just yet. I know people are working on it though.
LikeLike