Alternative AXS battery?

[epifas87]

Hey guys, first post here, long time reader!

My AXS battery died, and when I opened it, found a lot of corrosion and a broken tab on one of the lipo cells.. Tried soldering it, but it doesn't stick to the rest of the tab..
So I started thinking about replacing the battery with a cheaper alternative, but couldn't find solid info about who sells those..
I have two question for you guys:

1- Who makes good, cheaper alternatives to the original batteries?
2- Has anyone found if there's a compatible lipo cell to swap within the original battery case?

Any info is appreciated, and links to buy the items are even more welcome!

[Da11as]

Forum search is your friend
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,5413.msg68588.html#msg68588
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,5826.msg77687.html#msg77687

[pushpush]

I bought a couple different 3rd party batteries. They were approx half the cost of SRAM.

They worked just fine, but in both cases they lost their ability to hold a charge for more than a few days. Meanwhile my original SRAM batteries continue to keep working years later.

I'm not sure what the differences actually are. It seems like batteries should be batteries these days and they should all work similarly. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience. In a pinch I would not hesitate to use these other batteries, but go into it with reasonable expectations.


EDIT: I just searched my order history. The ones I bought were both MRX but came with different color covers. So I guess they were probably both the same battery, not different. I stand corrected.

[epifas87]

Forum search is your friend
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,5413.msg68588.html#msg68588
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,5826.msg77687.html#msg77687

I did search, but those topics never came up.. But thanks for finding them! Lots of good info

[epifas87]

I bought a couple different 3rd party batteries. They were approx half the cost of SRAM.

They worked just fine, but in both cases they lost their ability to hold a charge for more than a few days. Meanwhile my original SRAM batteries continue to keep working years later.

I'm not sure what the differences actually are. It seems like batteries should be batteries these days and they should all work similarly. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience. In a pinch I would not hesitate to use these other batteries, but go into it with reasonable expectations.


EDIT: I just searched my order history. The ones I bought were both MRX but came with different color covers. So I guess they were probably both the same battery, not different. I stand corrected.

Back when they were new, did you notice any difference in capacity compared to the original ones? Like did you have to charge them more often?

[Da11as]

Back when they were new, did you notice any difference in capacity compared to the original ones? Like did you have to charge them more often?

I have been using MRX batteries for around a year now. They are of smaller capacity and therefore require more frequent charging. Having them for one year, I haven't notice any substantial degradation.

P.s. If you want to search across entire forum, go to main page, else you will search within the directory you currently are.

[Daviddavieboy]

I have been using MRX batteries for around a year now. They are of smaller capacity and therefore require more frequent charging. Having them for one year, I haven't notice any substantial degradation.

 Have one of the MRX ones as well. I paid $20 in Jan 2024 and have had zero issues. I get about 2 weeks of commuting (20km) daily on a charge.

[pushpush]

Back when they were new, did you notice any difference in capacity compared to the original ones? Like did you have to charge them more often?

Yes. Definitely smaller capacity and needed to be charged more often, even when new. Important to ground that statement though. We are talking about batteries that need to be charged every few weeks even with regular use. Not every day or anything like that. They could have been anomalies. That is possible. A sample set of 2 is hardly conclusive.