Custom 24V Ebike Battery Manufacturer for Your Unique Electric Bike Project
- 17 Years In the Industry
- 500 Collaboration partners
- 24Hours Online Service
- 1Day Battery Packs Solutions
- 2Weeks Received Prototype
Your best custom 24V ebike battery manufacturer
Finding high-quality custom battery suppliers has never been easier. TLH Battery offers a variety of different 24v electric bike battery customization solutions that are perfectly compatible with all brands and models of electric bikes.
Custom Any Ebike Battery for Your Brand
Strict Quality Control Process for Each 24V ebike Battery Order
- Some new ebike battery solutions, we will test your sample with our electric bike in our side
- Our PE engineer modify our battery craft in period time
- Each ebike battery will do charge and discharge aging testing before shipment
- To ensure the quality,10% of your order will do fall drop test
V E-bike battery-The Ultimate Guide
Electric bikes have seen an increasing trend in Pandemic, and it seems like electric bikes will soon become an integral part of every Individual.
E-bike batteries have a crucial role in deciding the bike’s performance; thus, our technical staff has devised the following set of questions and answers for your knowledge.
- 1. How should you charge the 24V E-bike battery?
- 2. How should you store a 24V E-bike battery?
- 3. What are the potential hazards for a 24V E-bike battery?
- 4. What is the lifetime of a 24V E-bike battery?
- 5. What are the 24V E-bike batteries are made up of?
- 6. How should you place a 24V E-bike battery in the bike?
- 7. What is the cost of a 24V E-bike battery in the bike?
- 8. How should you repair 24V E-bike batteries?
- 9. What are the specifications and features of 24V E-bike batteries?
- 10. What is the MOQ for 24V E-bike batteries?
- 11. What are the protections in your 24V E-bike batteries?
- 12. What type of composition should you prefer in 24V E-bike batteries?
- 13. How should you optimize the performance of 24V E-bike batteries?
- 14. What type of E-bikes requires 24V batteries?
- 15. How can you fulfil our demand for 24V E-bike batteries?
How should you charge the 24V E-bike battery?
Charging has a crucial role in defining an E-bike battery’s lifetime, and you should consult your user manual to understand the limitation of the battery pack.
Our technical staff has suggested that you should charge your battery after each ride.
Our batteries are equipped with a battery management system, and this system enables high voltage cut-off.
So when the charging goes beyond the set value, the high voltage cut-off system shuts down the charging.
You can optimize battery output for 450-500 charge cycles before getting a cell capability downfall from these routines.
Simultaneously, if your batteries aren’t equipped with BMS, they will get drain in a very short period of time.
You should also ensure that your battery temperature should be normal while charging; you should avoid charging after a long hot day ride.
Take 30-40 minutes and let the battery achieve the room temperature
Try not to charge your batteries for the longer period of time fully, and you should keep charging at almost 80%.
You can charge it to full before getting the ride.
From this practice, you can double the life cycle of your battery.
It would help if you charged your E-bike batteries with manufacturer recommended chargers only, and these chargers are right according to battery requirements.
Chargers of other specifications might affect the charge cycle of your battery packs.
How should you store a 24V E-bike battery?
It is really necessary to control cells’ chemistry; otherwise, you can end up losing battery efficiency.
It is requested to store 24V E-bike battery packs at room temperature along with at least 50% charge.
You should avoid storing battery packs at 100% of your capacity.
Simultaneously it would be best if you kept other physical parameters such as humidity at a constant level.
After some research, it is stated by our technical staff that your battery pack degradation is least in between 35-75% of charge.
State of charge is one of the most deciding factors in battery aging.
If you have more than 80% or a SOC with less than 30%, then chemical reactions in between electrode and electrolyte are accelerated.
It would be best if you tried to store the battery pack away from fire hazards; if any leakage from the battery pack, it can result in an accident.
You shouldn’t store your battery packs for a very long period of time, and you should try to discharge them after every 1.5-2 months.
You should isolate terminals of battery packs so that it doesn’t cause any short circuit.
You should practice maintenance checks even if your battery is in storage, and this can keep your battery optimized even in long storage time.
Before using batteries after a more extended period of time, you should first check all of the battery packs’ safeties and protections.
You should make sure that BMS is fully functional, and you shouldn’t use the battery pack to maximum right after the storage.
What are the potential hazards for a 24V E-bike battery?
Lithium-ion battery packs are safer than batteries of other chemical compositions; there are still some hazards for it.
Electric battery packs require AC intake from your home supply to charge; if there is a surge in your house supply, it might affect your battery charger.
Your electric bike charge contains rectifiers that convert AC supply to DC supply to charge your battery packs. If any of the rectifier malfunctions, it might affect the cell balancing.
There can be a potential hazard of the short circuit, it can happen if you met an accident and the wires get short with your bicycle’s body.
This can cause a shock to the end-user; it is always advisable to install a Battery management system; this provides multi-level protection to your device and the end-user.
Apart from this, there can be a high charge and discharge from your battery pack, which can malfunction your E-bike circuitry.
If you have exposed your batteries to high temperatures and higher charge level, it will result in the battery pack’s early discharge.
It would help if you did not dispose of your used Ebike battery packs to open ground; this can harm other animals and birds.
Simultaneously, any leakage from the battery pack will toxicant the land present there.
It is advised to recycle your battery packs to minimize global warming.
Another potential hazard is the shipping of 24V E-bike battery packs, and if they aren’t shipped according to the right standards, it might damage your battery pack.
What is the lifetime of a 24V E-bike battery?
It is not a simple question to answer because this has numerous factors to consider.
One of the dependent factors is the power of the 24V E-bike battery, and this factor is inclined with the battery management system.
The battery management system enables multi-level protection and saves your battery pack from various faults.
A lifetime of battery majorly lies in your usage, and if you are using the battery pack right according to the user manual and set standards, it will enhance your life battery pack.
Some E-bikes are equipped with multiple levels to help in setting the desired speed of battery life.
Usually, you should ride almost from 24 km to 71 miles in a single charge of your E-bike.
In case you are riding more than a set km for a single charge along with high speed, you should expect less from your E-bike battery pack.
We suggest our retailers charge your Battery packs at least one time in 30-40 days.
We provide almost 600 lifecycles which are more as compared to other suppliers.
If you are using the battery right according to set requirements, your battery will last almost 2.5 years.
What are the 24V E-bike batteries are made up of?
Usually, 24V Electric batteries are made up of Li-ion or made up of lithium polymer battery packs.
Some of the E-bikes have lead-acid batteries, but such batteries are restricted in the life cycle.
Simultaneously, lead-acid batteries are heavier and less durable than lithium-based batteries.
Almost 99% of the production of electric bike in Europe is based on lithium.
From this, we can understand that lithium-based batteries are more usual in Europe due to their performance, weight and charge cycles.
Lithium and lead acid-base battery packs are made up of cells, but both contain different electrolyte and electrodes.
The lead-acid battery packs are heavier, and they have only 210-310 charge cycles, but lithium ones are quite compact, and their charge cycles last in between 500-1000 charge cycles.
LiPo based batteries are the extension of lithium-ion batteries, these batteries are cheap and compact, but their service charge is undetermined and are fragile.
How should you place a 24V E-bike battery in the bike?
The placement of a bike depends on a number of factors, such as the frame dimensions of the bike.
than 50% of the city bikes have their batteries mounted on carrier rack.
Simultaneously mountain bikes have their batteries place on a down tube.
You can also customize batteries’ placement; TLH batteries are quite compact and lighter in weight; thus, they can be placed easily anywhere on a bike.
Simultaneously there are three different types of motors placed in E-bike.
Figure 2 Placement of batteries in your bike
The two most ordinary sorts of FOCUS motors used in electric bicycles are brushed and brushless.
Various plans are open, fluctuating in cost and flightiness; direct-drive and furnished motor units are both used.
For more information on how to replace a battery to your bike, please visit the following video.
There are primarily three kinds of engine areas in an electric bicycle as depicted underneath.
One of them is the Front center point, which is situated on the front tire, while another area is the back center point; they give power from the back to the bicycle, giving the more regular impact.
Finally, in the mid-drive position, in this area, the engine is set in the mid of the cycle.
What is the cost of a 24V E-bike battery in the bike?
The cost of E-bikes varies according to your number of orders.
You can visit our Alibaba store for basic rates.
We offer free sampling to our prestigious customers.
Shipping cost in china is quite minimal.
We can connect you with potential freight forwarders for shipping to international destinations.
We offer 12 months of warranty to our customers, and this warranty can be extended at the request of our customers.
Figure 3 Comparison of energy consumption
We give our customers free storage for a particular number of days depending upon your order size.
We are manufacturing Batteries for more than a decade, and TLH is committed to providing you 24V E-bike batteries at minimal rates with maximum performance.
How should you repair 24V E-bike batteries?
TLH battery packs are simple to operate and maintain; thus you can easily repair your battery pack in case of any fault.
You can always access the user manual for tracing any fault; we have presented a number of steps to trace the faults.
Sometimes batteries can’t be repaired; hence they have to be changed.
You should check your battery from the battery management system; BMS will provide you with the list of faults and represent further actions for it.
If the batteries can’t be repaired, you need to dispose of recycling to avoid any hazard.
You should also check the protections of battery packs, and sometimes the battery is shut down in response to a surge to save your battery and device from any damage.
Do check for short circuit scenarios, and this might tripping your battery again and again.
If your battery isn’t proper charging, then you should look for the cell balancing.
The imbalance of cells might result in improper charge and discharge of cells.
If your battery is exposed to extreme temperatures, then the repair can’t be undone.
In this case, you have to dispose of the battery pack.
TLH 24V E-bike batteries are quite strong, so they can bear a lot of physical pressures.
If the battery pack is met with a lot of damage, you might have to dispose of the battery pack.
In such conditions, please check for any leakages and short circuit scenarios.
What are the specifications and features of 24V E-bike batteries?
Our 24v Ebike batteries have diverse applications; in case you want to know more about our 24V E-bike batteries, then please visit the TLH website or refer to the FAQs section
Our clients typically ask us about the battery framework with the most un-complex correspondence; for this, we have prepared our Electric bicycle batteries with the advanced correspondence convention.
CANBUS and UART are one of their models; through this framework, you can have a baud pace of 1mbps.
Generally, our group request that you characterize us correspondence convention for your battery observing framework, yet in the event that you’re not mindful of one, at that point, our clients will plan BMS with CANBUS, UART or SMBUS as per your prerequisite and request.
Our batteries have a more extended lifetime.
Figure 4 customize your E-bike
Normally, it relies on individuals’ use, yet on normal, they give ideal outcomes for a very long time. Our batteries have more than 600 lifecycles, which will bring about higher proficiency for your gadget.
TLH gives lifetime backing to its clients just as we give you batteries guarantee of at any rate a year, and we may stretch out this term to two years on the solicitation of clients.
Clients ordinarily give us BMS and 3D plans for electric bicycle batteries.
Yet, in the event that you don’t have this office, at that point, there isn’t anything to stress over on the grounds that our specialized group is here to plan the BMS plan and 3D drawings according to your necessity.
When you affirm the plan and drawings, TLH designers will additionally modify them in the subsequent variant.
Our electric bicycle batteries are outfitted with useful cells to make your battery healthy and dependable, and we use cells from much-referred to organizations, for example, Samsung, Chinese, Panasonic and LG and so on
We get cells either straightforwardly from their industrial facility outlets or their authoritatively perceived vendors.
As TLH offer high voltage and energy charges, we try to furnish you with effective securities to guarantee your well-being.
TLH offers over-voltage, interior short out, warm burden and significantly more to its batteries to guarantee the protected working of electric bicycle batteries for your gadgets and clients.
Alongside it, we offer an electric center of incredible quality alongside a BMS defensive plate to evade cheat just as over-release; this will come at last prompt a long life for your E-bicycle battery.
Our electric bicycle batteries have a battery level marker in the type of LED.
This will make an exact presentation for battery remaining force.
You can get the notice for charging time, and it will likewise maintain a strategic distance from the shut down of force while riding.
We can likewise offer waterproof packaging alongside a hard plastic shell, which makes our batteries better, as thought about, than conventional batteries.
Our electric bicycle batteries accompany security keys, so you don’t have to stress taking electric bicycle batteries.
What is the MOQ for 24V E-bike batteries?
There is no particular MOQ for the purchase of 24V E-bike batteries.
TLH prefer customers having a good number of quantity.
We offer free sampling to our customers.
Simultaneously we offer multiple revisions to the prototype until you are satisfied with all of the specifications.
We give special discounts to customers in a large number of quantity.
We offer to market competitive to you.
What are the protections in your 24V E-bike batteries?
Our batteries are equipped with Battery management system, this enable multi-level protection for your battery packs.
BMS is quite efficient and it is also assisted with a fast communication protocol.
We have different options for E-bike batteries’ fast communication protocol, such as CANBUs, ETHERNET, PROFIBUS, etc.
These communication protocols enable efficient communication to respond to any fault.
Our batteries have protections for voltage and current surges.
We have protections for short circuit.
We have protections against the working of batteries at extreme temperatures.
We have a voltage regulator to ensure a smooth supply of voltage to your Electric bike.
The battery management system trips the system as soon as it witnesses a fault in it.
We have installed a cell balancing system in the batteries to ensure proper charging and discharge of battery packs.
We can also install customized protections on your request.
Let us know about your applications, and we will suggest to you all possible protections for them.
What type of composition should you prefer in 24V E-bike batteries?
There are usually three types of compositions in 24V electric bikes.
Usually, there are Lipo batteries, lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries.
Lead acid batteries are heavier and expensive, along with a few numbers of lifecycles.
Lipo batteries are the extension of Li-ion batteries but they are not as good as Li-ion batteries are.
Li-ion batteries set best for electric bike batteries due to their price performance and compactness.
You can watch the difference of performance in the following video.
How should you optimize the performance of 24V E-bike batteries?
24V E-bicycle batteries are getting well known and mainstream as time passes.
24V E-bicycle batteries are acclaimed because of their similarity, sturdiness, science, and long life.
24V E-bicycle batteries could last as long as ten years on the off chance that you handle them with care and ordinary support.
Here is a portion of the tips to follow for the durable existence of the battery packs;
Our specialized group profoundly informs you to keep away from any sort regarding cheating and release.
It is truly important for you to deal with this issue; else, it could obliterate your battery execution as well as it will harm the hardware of your gadget.
To maintain a strategic distance from this, you need a proficient battery security framework that could guarantee a protected and smooth voltage stream to the cells.
Overheating of the cell is one of the significant downsides of cheating; it could prompt fire risks in extreme cases.
There are various explanations behind the following fault.
One reason for it very well may be the helpless security arrangement of the battery.
Another explanation could be the flawed establishment of the insurance framework.
At the same time, some unacceptable establishment of the insurance framework could likewise prompt battery disappointment.
Over-releasing additionally impacts cell harm; BMS ought to be sufficiently dynamic to eliminate the heap on the off chance that the cells are going for full release.
The next tip from our specialized group is to clean the terminals at the establishment’s hour appropriately.
Generally, the battery terminals are the development of aluminum and copper, and the exhaust with the progression of time on account of the oxide layer’s arrangement because of air openness.
At the hour of establishment, you should ensure that terminals of BMS modules, interconnectors ought to be cleaned appropriately to stay away from any possibility of oxidation.
You should keep a common mind terminal, and you should clean oxide layers occasionally to dodge any disappointment.
The following tip from our group is to utilize the right terminals mounting equipment.
It would help if you used, in any event, 2 cm long darts for terminals having 90Ah.
In the event that you are having cells of M6 terminals, you ought to incline toward the utilization of 1.5 cm jolts.
For your guarantee, you should estimate the cell’s string profundity, and you should ensure that the jolt shouldn’t be fixed till the lower part of the opening.
What type of E-bikes requires 24V batteries?
It depends upon the specifications and features of your electric bike.
We have a number of options for 24V electric bikes.
Figure 5 Different types of Electric Bikes
You need to check the load, power and required voltage for the battery pack.
Once you have this information, you need to represent the data to our technical staff and its application.
How can you fulfil our demand for 24V E-bike batteries?
We are the leading producer of LiFePO4 Battery packs, and we are in this industry for over ten years.
We have customers’ set of experiences from everywhere in the world.
TLH is creating sharp batteries for more than ten years, our gathering is incredibly able, and we oblige the forefront world’s necessities.
Our splendid LiFePO4 Battery packs have gainful correspondences, for instance, UART, CANBUS, Ethernet, and Bluetooth.
Our LiFePO4 Battery packs are extreme for disagreeable use; be that as it may, you ought to reliably check the battery’s manual to consider as far as possible.
About TLH Battery
TLH Battery Has been the number one leading lithium-ion battery manufacturer for over 15 years.We are focusing on custom battery pack solutions for industries.
TLH Battery owns three international service centers in United Kingdom, America, and Germany. helping you address your troubles and quality issues.
E-Bike Batteries: Volts, Amps, Watt Hours Explained
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What Are These Volts, Amps, and Watt-Hours? How Battery Specifications and Capacity Equate to Capability and Cost
Understanding e-bike batteries can be challenging, even for those of us in the know; the nitty-gritty details are figured out by electrical engineers with years of education and experience under their collective belts – and for good reason, it’s all chemistry and math over there!
You’ll encounter a host of terms when reading about e-bikes or looking at electric bike battery specifications: things like battery size, capacity, voltage, amp hours and watt hours. Some of these words are more-or-less interchangeable, others are related but distinct. All of them can be confusing, but they are also hugely important in understanding electric bikes and their capabilities – most notably when trying to interpret how far they can take you before needing to be recharged.
In this guide to e-bike batteries, the helpful writers at Electric Bike Report will help you to understand the meaning of common battery terms and their relation to the performance of the electric bikes they power.
E-Bike Batteries Explained
Batteries are one of the core elements of electric bikes. They are needed to supply power to the motor, which in turn provides assistance to the rider, and reduces the amount of human effort needed to move the bike.
E-bike batteries come in various sizes, and can be mounted to the frame in different ways. Some are fully internal, and are sealed inside the bike’s frame. As such, they are not removable, except by using special methods and tools available to professional technicians. Others are removable for easier charging and replacement, whether mounted completely externally (outside the frame), partially recessed (sunken into the frame to some degree), or completely recessed (sunken entirely and nearly invisible on the bike).
Regardless of their type, all e-bike batteries are actually battery packs, and are made up of groups of cells, similar to the standard AA or AAA batteries used in everyday applications. The number of cells and the method used to cluster them together determines how quickly they can provide power and how long they can continue to supply it.
In contrast to standard AA or AAA batteries, however, those used in e-bikes are most commonly rechargeable lithium-ion batteries similar to those used inside smartphones and in conjunction with cordless power tools. Lithium-ion batteries are efficient and can be recharged hundreds or even thousands of times if cared for properly. The Light Electric Vehicle Association, or LEVA, has a great article that they allowed us to re-publish regarding proper battery care and safety to ensure maximum life span.
Fully integrated batteries such as the one on the Velotric Nomad 1 can match the bike’s color and disappear into the frame.
Electric Bike Battery Terms and Definitions
Before we dive deeper into the details, let’s consider a couple of examples of e-bike battery specifications in relation to how they usually appear:
V = Volts and Ah = Amp-hours
V = Volts and Wh = Watt-hours
Both examples convey two basic measurements, albeit a little differently. In both examples, we see volts first; this measurement relates to the availability of the electrical energy the battery can deliver. Next, either amp-hours or watt-hours are shown; these represent a battery’s capacity, or the amount of power it can store.
Let’s define these words (and a few helpful additional terms) a bit more clearly:
Current: the flow of electricity, or transfer of electrons, through a circuit.
Circuit: a closed system of wires and electrical components through which current can travel.
Volts (V): the amount of electrical force or pressure the battery can produce; the speed of the battery’s output of current. This is also sometimes referred to as the electromotive force, and is more specifically the speed at which electrons move through the system.
Note that this is a nominal rating that is used for classification purposes. In reality, a battery’s voltage varies based on the amount of power being drawn from it at a given moment, as well as the battery’s present level of charge. As current is drawn from the battery, its voltage decreases. This can be seen in an e-bike battery voltage chart.
Voltage is determined by the number of battery cells arranged “in series”.
Amps or amperes (A): a measurement of the strength of the battery’s output, or current. specifically, the volume of electrons passing through the system. This is limited by the size of the wires making up the system. Larger wires allow more current, smaller wires allow less. Generally, systems with higher voltage should use smaller wires (that limit amperage) to prevent overheating.
Amps can also be thought of as the amount of energy being drawn from the battery by what it is powering, and can fluctuate from moment to moment. In the case of e-bike batteries and their motors, a greater number of amps are drawn as the motor works harder (i.e. going uphill or using only the throttle).
Amp-hours (Ah): a measurement of charge; the amount of energy that can be delivered through an electrical system over the course of an hour.
In the case of a 10 Ah battery, it can deliver 10 amps of power in one hour, or 1 amp of power for 10 hours, etc, depending on the needs of the component that is delivering power to.
Amp-hours are determined by the number of clusters of battery cells arranged “in parallel”.
Watts (W): a unit of power, determined by volts and amps; the amount of work that can be done by one amp of current delivered at 1 volt. The amount of work is determined by the rate at which the energy is used.
This measurement is generally applied only to an e-bike’s motor, but its battery must support the motor’s needs.
Watt-hours (Wh): another measurement of capacity. In this case, the amount of work that can be done, or the amount of power that is spent, over the course of an hour. This is a direct result of a battery’s voltage multiplied by its amp-hours.
As such, a 24V, 20 Ah battery and a 48V, 10 Ah battery might look different on paper, but they have about the same amount of energy. This makes watt-hours a more reliable indicator of capacity when comparing different batteries.
Controller: A device that limits the flow of electricity through a circuit, and prevents a battery from discharging its energy all at once. In terms of an electric bike, this is the “brain” that adjusts the pedal assist system, the amount of input the motor contributes, and the e-bike’s speed.
How to convert a bike to electric power | Electric bike conversion kits explained
The best electric bike conversion kits will enable you to add a motor to your existing bike simply and relatively cheaply – at least compared to the price of buying a whole new electric bike.
There are an increasing number of ebike conversion kits out there, and they’re getting more sophisticated and easier to install on your bike, making for a practical alternative to a new purpose-built electric bike. An electric bike conversion kit will include the motor to drive you along and the battery to power it. It also needs to include the apparatus to control the power output level. This usually takes the form of a bar-mounted display.
In addition, a kit will include sensors to detect how fast you’re travelling and your level of pedal input to ensure the power supplied matches your needs. We’ve tested a few electric bike conversion kits here at BikeRadar, but there are lots more we’re yet to try. A full test of the best electric bike conversion kits is in the works – stay tuned. If you want a more detailed explanation of the different types of kit available and things to consider when purchasing an electric bike conversion kit, then head to our explainer further down the page.
Best electric bike conversion kits 2022: our picks
Swytch electric bike conversion kit
Swytch says its electric bike conversion kit can convert any bike into an electric bike. Stan Portus / Our Media
- Pros: Very compact; easy to install; variety of range options
- Cons: 100mm threaded front axle only; not compatible with thru-axles
London-based Swytch makes a conversion kit that, it says, is the lightest in the world at 3kg total weight. It can convert any bike into an ebike.
The kit includes a 40Nm brushless hub-based motor that comes pre-laced into a replacement front wheel. The lithium-ion battery pack connects to your handlebars and also acts as the system controller and LCD display.
There’s a crank-mounted cadence sensor, and that’s all you need to fit to your bike to get going.
There’s a Brompton-specific kit available too, with an adaptor for the Brompton’s front luggage mount.
Depending on the range you want, there are three sizes of battery pack available, which provide a claimed range of 35km, 50km or 100km.
Swytch has recently unveiled an even more compact kit with a.sized battery that weighs just 700g and, Swytch says, gives 15km of range.
Latest deals
Cytronex electric bike conversion kit
Cytronex makes electric bike conversion kits for Bromptons, as well as standard bikes. Russell Burton / Immediate Media
- Pros: Clever sensor tech; decent range
- Cons: Not much onboard info on battery level and range
Weighing between 3.2kg and 3.6kg, the Cytronex ebike conversion kit is another front-wheel conversion to house a hub motor, but in this case, the battery is designed to fit in a standard bottle cage.
We tested the kit on a Cannondale Quick hybrid and reckon that conversion takes around 30 minutes. The charge level is displayed via LEDs on the battery, which also houses the system controller. We got up to an impressive 48 miles on a charge.
We’ve also tested the kit on a Brompton P Line lightweight folder, where the total weight undercut the C Line-based Brompton Electric. Fit it to a C Line and it’s also cheaper than the Brompton Electric.
Electric bike conversion kits: different types explained
Electric bike conversion kits come in styles to suit all types of bike. Russell Burton / Immediate Media
There are a number of ways to electrify your existing bike for assistance up those hills: you can fit a powered wheel, either front or rear; you can attach a drive unit to the bottom bracket; you can fit a motor above the rear wheel and drive it via friction; or, most sneakily, you can conceal a motor in the seatpost.
Whether you ride a hybrid, mountain bike, road bike or even a folder, tourer or gravel bike, it should be possible to convert your bike.
Many can even be fitted by a competent home mechanic if you’re feeling handy and have an afternoon spare.
So, what are your options? Let’s take a look at the different ways to convert your non-assisted bike into an electric bike.
Powered ebike wheels
The Swytch is a good example of a readily available universal electric bike conversion kit that uses a motor at the front hub. Swytch
Fitting a powered ebike wheel is probably the most practical option for many people.
A powered ebike wheel is built around a special hub that contains a motor. This is usually powered by a separate battery.
This sounds simple, but the main downside is that it adds rotating mass to your bike, which feels harder to accelerate than non-rotating mass.
There’s a steady stream of front- and rear-wheel conversion kits on Amazon and eBay, all looking suspiciously similar, priced from around £150 and with names you’ve probably never heard of.
Be wary of systems controlled by a throttle (also called ‘twist-and-go’) though. Legally, they’re classified as electric motorcycles rather than ebikes, and need to be taxed and insured. Take a look at our guide to ebike laws for more information.
Rear-mounted friction drive ebike conversion kit
Readers of a certain age may remember earlier incarnations of these in the 1980s/90s: a box that sits on your rear wheel and powers it via friction with a rubber flywheel driven by a motor.
The idea hasn’t gone away, and lives on in devices such as the Rubbee, which promises bolt-on electric assistance for nearly any bike.
Rubbee’s base model has a claimed weight of just 2.8kg, with a 16km range that can be extended up to 48km with the top-spec, 4kg version.
It works with any wheel diameter between 16in and 29in, has an integrated carrying handle and clips on and off your seatpost. start from €579.
Concealed ebike conversion kit
The Vivax Assist hid a motor in the seat tube of the frame and applied power directly to the axle of the crank. Vivax
Now we come to the low-key way to do it – hiding a motor inside your bike so no one knows it’s there.
The Vivax Assist was the best-known device for doing this, although the company has now ceased trading. It’s the system that was used by Belgian cyclocross pro Femke Van den Driessche in 2016 to power her way to victory in her home championships. She was found out at a subsequent race, got a six-year ban and quit racing.
Vivax Assist may be no more, but we reckon this idea still has legs – at least for the budding cyclocross cheat.
Mid-drive ebike conversion kit
eBay and Amazon are awash with mid-drive motor electric bike conversion kits like this one from TongSheng. TongSheng
Many commercially available ebikes are powered with motors mounted around the bottom bracket, near the pedals.
These have the advantage of placing the weight low down on the bike, making it more stable.
This isn’t just a ready-made option though – you can also buy aftermarket conversion kits with mid-drive units.
Bafang is a brand that is increasingly focusing on complete ebikes, but it also offers a mid-drive conversion kit on Amazon, as well as wheel hub motors.
Priced from £360, Bafang says the conversion is easy to install using only a few tools to remove the bottom bracket and fit the drive on the front of the down tube.
As above, be careful of throttle-controlled kits that won’t pass the UK ebike regulations and will legally be considered a moped.
You’ll find other mid-motor systems on Amazon too, such as that from TongSheng, which is claimed to fit 95 per cent of standard bike frames and be 30 per cent lighter than a Bafang unit.
It uses a torque sensor, so should fall within the ebike regulations, and is priced from around £350 – although that doesn’t include a battery.
German brand Pendix has a mid-drive system priced from €999 to €2,190 that weighs from 5.4kg for a 28km range. It replaces a BSA bottom bracket and can be fitted to folding bikes as well as a wide range of regular machines.
Folding ebike conversion kit
The Brompton electric conversion from Electric Concepts is one of many kits available to electrify an existing Brompton. Electric Concepts
What can you do if you’ve got a folding bike and want to join the electric revolution?
Well there’s good news if you’ve got a Brompton – a number of ebike conversion kits are available. They generally work with a powered hub in the front wheel and a battery carried in a bag mounted on the front.
As discussed above, Swytch and Cytronex can both be used to convert a Brompton. Swytch’s Brompton kit is priced at £999, although discounts of up to 50 per cent are sometimes available on the site.
As with its other systems, there’s a front wheel hub motor, a clip-on power pack and a bottom bracket torque sensor. Quoted range is up to 50km.
Swytch will also build wheels for folders with other wheel sizes and different fork blade widths, such as Dahon’s models.
Are electric bike conversion kits legal?
If your electric bike uses a throttle, it is technically classed as a moped, and must be taxed and insured as such. Simon Bromley / Our Media
Most electric bike conversion kits are legal to fit to a bike, although the precise rules differ depending on where you live.
In most of the world, the motor needs to be limited to a maximum of 250 watts of continuous power output, unless the electric bike is only used on private land.
You also need to be pedalling for the motor to work – a throttle can only operate at low speeds and assistance needs to cut out once the speed exceeds 25kph. There may be a minimum age to ride an electric bike: in the UK it’s 14.
The rules are different in the US, where higher power outputs and higher speeds are usually legal, while Australia has some variants as well, so it’s worth checking that your electric bike conversion kit is legal where you live before purchasing.
Is converting an electric bike worth it?
An electric bike conversion kit is not cheap, so you want to be sure it’s going to work for you.
You need to have a candidate bike in decent condition to justify taking the kit route.
If you’re going to have to buy a bike to fit the kit to, or going to need to make a lot of repairs to your bike to make it roadworthy, the total cost is probably going to mean it’s not a lot cheaper than buying a complete electric bike.
You need to be confident you can fit the kit yourself as well. If you’re going to have to pay a shop to fit the motor or sort things out if the conversion goes wrong, your savings over purchasing a new electric bike may dwindle quickly.
It’s also worth noting that an electric bike conversion kit may affect your bike’s handling, particularly if there’s a heavy motor and battery mounted somewhere where the bike was not designed to carry it.
Drivetrain components may not be adequately beefed up for the extra power they need to transmit and may wear or break. Factors such as torque steer may be a problem, and cabling and sensors can be unsightly.
In contrast, if you buy a complete electric bike from a reputable brand, it will have been engineered around the motor and battery, and you’ll know what the finished product looks like.
Can you convert any bike into an electric bike?
There are designs of electric bike conversion kit that will work with pretty much any type of bike. Kits are available that are engineered specifically for certain bikes, such as the folding bike conversion kits we’ve talked about above.
A design such as the Rubbee should be mountable on most bikes. However, tyre wear may be an issue with a road bike with narrower tyres, and wet-weather grip between the motor’s drive wheel and the tyre may also be a problem.
But some kits, such as those that work with a specific bottom bracket configuration, may not fit on some bikes. An unusual wheel size may also limit available options, so it’s worth checking the compatibility of your planned solution before buying.
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