Ebike Battery New Invention, 36V, 48V, and 72V Ebike Battery
Ebike Battery New Invention, 36V, 48V, and 72V Ebike Battery– This Ebike Battery New Invention is going to blow your mind; because using this circuit you can make 36V, 48V, 72V, or even a higher voltage Ebike battery. And I am going to share with you every bit of information, it’s designing, Proteus simulation, soldering, and practical testing. I know you might be thinking; why have I connected 4 battery packs? Why not a single battery pack? Is it cost-effective? Well, you will get answers to all your questions. So, let me start by telling you why I needed to make this in the first place?
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Large battery packs like these are very expensive and for beginners, it’s hard to make a 36V or 48V, or 72V Ebike battery. Because connecting these so many lithium Ion Batteries in series and parallel combinations and then connecting them to a single BMS “Battery Management System” is the hardest job. I myself, when I built my first Trike Electric Scooter for performing some experiments; I used 4 Lead Acid batteries in series to get 48 volts. Of course, these were expensive and too heavy.
Anyhow, at that time this was the easiest solution that I could think of. Even with this easiest solution, the next issue which I faced was charging this 48V battery pack. So, I bought myself a 48V charger which is expensive and not easily available like 12V adaptors.
I ordered this online and then I had to wait for 3 days. Anyway, I performed all my experiments, first I started with a single Hoverboard BrushlessMotor, I successfully controlled it using a throttle handle and then using two 500Watts controllers I controlled two Brushless motors using the same throttle handle.
Next, I studied different Battery management system modules. And I built myself 3S and 4S Lithium Ion Battery Packs as these were easy to start withand moreover at that time I only needed 3S and 4S battery packs.
You can read my article on how to make 3S and 4S lithium Ion Battery packs, I have pretty much explained everything the connections diagram, welding using my designed spot welding machine and I have also explained how to do soldering if in case you don’t have a spot welding machine. So, if you are just starting with Lithium Ion battery packs then you should read my previous articles.
Anyway, after practicing for a while; finally, I was ready to make a 4S lithium Ion Battery pack for my Racing Drone as I was tired of using Lipo batteries. Lipo Batteries could hardly give me 5 to 6 minutes of flight time while my designed 4S lithium Ion battery pack gave me 30 minutes of flight time.
Based on my previous knowledge and experience, I built this 48V battery pack. This is cost-effective and can be easily built by anyone, and this 48V battery pack can be charged using a 12V adopter or a solar panel.
If you make a large 48V battery pack like this then you will need a 13S BMSwhich is available in the range of 3000 to 4200Rs on Pakistani online stores and it’s also quite expensive on Amazon. While on the other hand 3S and 4S BMSmodules are quite cheap. I am going to need four3S BMS modules which will cost me only 1600Rs or 7.17 USD. So, it will save me 2600Rs. And if you purchase these 3S BMS modules on Amazon then it will save you 50USD. Even if you search for the cheapest 13S BMS modulestill you will be saving yourself a lot of money.
So, using these 3S BMS modules I built myself these 3S Lithium Ion Battery Packs. You can read my article on how to make 3S and 4S lithium Ion Battery packs using 3S and 4S BMS modules. Anyway, now I can connect these 4 battery packs in Series to get 48 volts.
For this I designed this Semi-automatic control circuit. Its job is to connect all these batteries in series when needed to power up the Electric Bike or Electric Scooter and to charge the battery packs using a low-cost 12V adaptor. You don’t need a 50V or a high volt charger. A 12V and 3 to 4 amps adaptor is more than enough or if you want you can also use a solar panel. Now, you might be thinking how am I charging a 48V battery pack with a 12V adaptor? Well, it’s simple let me explain this by connecting all the 4 battery packs.
I have designed this circuit in a way that when this switch is OFF, all the batteries are connected in Series, and on the output, I get 48 volts.
And when I turn on this switch then all the batteries are connected in parallel. Now, I can use my 12V adaptor or a solar panel to charge all the batteries. At the same time, you can either charge the batteries or use them to power up the Ebike. This limitation is on the BMS side, I have already explained this in my previous video and article.
Anyway, this is a fully working prototype model. If you don’t like using the relays, then you can use power MOSFETs to implement the same concept. This circuit works with 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s, 11s, 12s, 13s, 14s, and so on. It depends on you how much voltage you need on the output.
When it comes to troubleshooting of this 48V battery pack it’s very easy. You can individually check each battery pack and if there is something wrong you can replace that battery pack with a new one or you can simply replace the faulty cell and you are good to go.
While on the other hand if one or more cells are damaged in a large battery pack then you will need to de-solder all the cells to find the faulty cells, which is really a tedious job.
Now, you know the advantages of this new 48V Ebike battery system, and now I am going to explain its simulation, PCB designing using Altium Designer, Online order placement on JLCPCB, Soldering, and practical testing. So, first, let’s start with the simulation.
V Battery Pack Proteus Simulation:
Before designing the PCB, I designed this simulation in Proteus. Let me play this simulation.
when the button is OFF the circuit is completely dead and on the output it gives 48 volts, right now you can see 44.4 volts but when the batteries are completely charged you will see 48 volts, I already demonstrated this. So, when the button is OFF the circuit consumes no electricity and you get full output as all the battery packs are connected in series.
When the switch is turned ON, all the batteries are connected in parallel and on the output you will see 11.1 volts. This voltage may vary depending on how much charge is available. Anyway, when the switch is ON simply connect your 12V adapter or solar panel to charge all the 4 lithium ion battery packs. So, after successfully implementing this idea in Proteus, then I switched over to Altium Designer for designing the PCB.
V Battery Pack PCB designing in Altium Designer:
Before creating the schematic and designing the PCB in Altium Designer, first I started off by searching the components on the world’s fastest components search engine Octopart. I selected the desired components with footprint models and used them for creating the schematic as per the simulation. I already have a very detailed video on how to make a schematic and PCB using Altium Designer.Anyway, then I switched over to the PCB designing document, I defined the PCB board size and re-arranged all the components.
Using Altium Designer you can automatically route all the wires. But I did it manually. I increased the width of the wires and I also applied solder to the top and bottom traces to increase the current carrying capacity as most of the current will be following through these copper traces.
I have used a total of six XT60 connectors. These 4 connectors on the bottom side are used to connect the four battery packs. From the middle one, we get the output to power up the Electric bike or Electric Scooter. And the one on the top is used to charge all the four battery packs using a 12V adaptor.
Finally, before generating the Gerber files, I activated the 3D layout mode by clicking on number 3 on the keyboard. I double checked all the connections and once satisfied. I again activated the 2D layout mode by clicking on number 2 on the keyboard. Finally, I was ready to generate the Gerber files.
Generate Gerber Files using Altium Designer:
For this click on the file menu and then go to Fabrication Outputs and click on the Gerber Files.
On the units tab select Inches and on the Format tab select 2:3.
Then click on the Layers tab, by default no layers are selected, so click on the Plot Layers and select Used On.
Then click on the Drill Drawing tab and select Plot all used drill pairs in both sections.
Finally, click on the Ok button to generate the Gerber files.
Next, you will also need to generate the NC drill files. For this go to the File Menu and then to Fabrication Outputs and select NC Drill Files.
Select inches and Format as 2:3. Then click on the OK button to generate the NC Drill Files.
Now, I have the PCB Gerber files and the NC Drill Files. Right click on the project name and select explore this will open the project folder.
Open the Project Outputs folder, now, these are the output files that we need to send to the PCB manufacturing company.
Convert your Project Outputs folder to WinRAR before you send it to the PCB manufacturing company. As you can see in the image below.
Online Order Placement on JLCPCB:
For the Online order placement I am going to open the JLCPCB official website.They offer extremely cheap prices, you only need to pay 2 dollars for 1 and 2 layers PCBs of 100x100mm size.
For the same price, you can also order 4 and 6 layers PCBs of 50x50mm size. 5 PCBs for only 2 dollars it’s quite affordable. Besides this JLCPCB also offers PCB Assembly and 3D Printing Services. Anyway, drag and drop the PCB Gerber files WinRAR folder or Click on the Add Gerber File Button.
It automatically detects the number of layers and the board dimensions. Select the number of PCBs you want to order, you can change other details as per your requirement, in my case I am going to change the PCB color and everything else I will leave to their default values.Now, I am going to click on Save to Cart button.
These are the PCBs I received from JLCPCB. As you can see the quality is really great. The silkscreen is quite clear and the Black Solder mask looks amazing.
The components placement and soldering:
For the components placement and soldering watch the video tutorial on my YouTube channel Electronic Clinic or click on the link given at the end of this article. For the soldering I used the ATETool AE689 Soldering Station.
After completing the soldering, I double-checked all the connections using my Andonstar digital microscope. Anyway, you can see I am done with the soldering and as you can see I have also soldered all the 6 XT60 connectors. Now, I am going to connect a 12V adaptor to check if all the relays are working. Great! by turning ON and turning OFF the switch I am able to control all the relays.
Practical Testing:
The 500 watts Brushless DC motor controllers wiring I have already explained in my previous article on the Trike Electric Scooter. I am using the same 500 watts controllers, the same throttle handle, and the same Hoverboard motors. The only difference is, this time I am using a 48V Lithium Ion Battery Pack. So, let’s go ahead turn on the switch, and start controlling the motors.
This is simply amazing. I just built myself the cheapest 48V battery pack using low-cost 3S BMS modules. And I can charge this 48V battery pack using a 12V adaptor or a Solar Panel. And one more thing, if you want more current and more backup time then you can connect multiple lithium Ion batteries in parallel. So, that’s all for now.
Everything you need to know about e-bike batteries [from a battery engineer]
Would you be the person taking the stairs or the escalator?
I’ll be honest. barring the one-off day that I’m feeling particularly sprightly, I would just hop on the escalator with those 30 people on the right. And I’m willing to guess that most of you would too.
What we can gauge from this picture is that most people would rather do as little work as possible to get from point A to point B. This is especially true when it comes to commuting on a bike. The picture above is analogous to the difference between a regular bike and an e-bike.
Even if we address all the concerns when it comes to biking in a city (like safe biking infrastructure), we can’t expect to change fundamental human behavior. when given the option between less work or more work to achieve the same outcome, people will more likely choose to do less work.
Since getting my e-bike, I can comfortably bike from my home in Somerville to the Seaport district in Boston. a roughly 5-mile trip. in just about 20-minutes. All of a sudden, biking 5-miles is a piece of cake. I also don’t have to spend time sitting in traffic, waiting for public transit, or worry about showing up to a meeting looking like I swam across the Charles river to get there.
The beauty of an e-bike is that it makes cycling an inclusive mode of transportation because it doesn’t discriminate by age or physical ability.
When it comes to purchasing an e-bike though, there are a plethora of options for both the bike and battery. So how do you decide which one is best for your needs? As a battery engineer who has built hundreds of batteries and logged way too many hours soldering battery packs, here are my thoughts on the most commonly asked questions when it comes to e-bike batteries.
If you’re new to battery terminology, you might want to start here: Battery terms that every e-bike owner should know.
In this post, we’ll cover the following questions:
What is the best e-bike battery?
This is one of the hardest questions to answer. There are so many variables that go into what makes a good battery and what’s best for you, may not be the best for me. Even then, a good battery can perform poorly if it’s not cared for properly.
Battery packs are made up of individual battery “cells”. Cells are classified into cylindrical cells (like your AA and AAA) and prismatic cells (like the one in your phone). Each class of battery is manufactured in a variety of form-factors (in the battery world we use this term to mean size). The most commonly used form-factor of cells in an e-bike battery pack is the 18650.
A battery pack is only as good as it’s weakest cell.
When it comes to batteries, in my experience, there is a strong correlation between price and quality. I don’t follow this rule when it comes to most things like for example, box wine (I’m just saying, there are plenty of really good box wine options these days!). When it comes to batteries though, you really don’t want to be compromising on quality because you’ll eventually end up having to pay the price.
Here are some things to keep in mind when purchasing an e-bike:
Cell Manufacturers: Panasonic, LG, and Samsung have a good reputation in the battery industry for their high quality cells, so paying a premium for these cells is certainly worth it. If the e-bike you’re trying to buy doesn’t have or provide cell manufacturer information, they’re likely not going to be a reliable source anyway.
Cell Chemistry: Lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries are the best option for e-bikes. Although lead-acid batteries are significantly cheaper, they’re three times as heavy as their li-ion equivalents.
Li-ion has several variants of cell chemistry. The most popular ones for e-bikes are Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC), Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO), and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP). The metrics to look for when selecting a cell chemistry are:
- Specific Energy: has an impact on the range of your battery.
- Specific Power: how the battery handles high load scenarios like going up
- a hill.
- Safety: does the chemistry have a history of high in-field failures.
There are trade-offs when choosing one chemistry over another, but as we’ve shown in the image below, NMC and LFP are both great options that both offer the best value in terms of performance, price, and safety.
Picking the right battery chemistry has to do with figuring out what matters most to you. Do you want a battery that has a longer range (higher specific energy) but doesn’t have as much power? Or do you want a battery that has a more power (higher specific power) but may not last as long?
In my opinion, the best e-bike batteries are likely going to be made from cells manufactured by Panasonic, LG, or Samsung with either LFP or NMC cell chemistry.
What is the range of an e-bike battery?
The range of a battery pack depends on the amount of energy packed inside of it and is measured in Watt-Hours (Wh). Watt?
Watt-hours are calculated by multiplying the battery capacity, in Amp-hours, by the battery Voltage, in Volts.
Let’s assume that, on average, 1-mile requires about 25Wh of energy. So a 14Ah, 36V battery should get you about 25-miles per charge.
Keep in mind that the weight of the rider, outside temperature conditions, and the amount of pedaling will make a significant difference in range.
A word of caution: the range that e-bike manufacturers provide should be taken with a grain of salt. That number is generated from tests that are run in perfectly tailored lab conditions. Do you charge any of your electronics in an incubation chamber set at 28° C with a lab-grade charger that applies the perfect current while charging? Yeah, I don’t either. And so, We should assume that the manufacture-specified range is delivered only if the battery is charged and discharged under ideal conditions i.e. not real world conditions.
For a more realistic estimate, shave off 15% of the manufacturer specified range and assume this padded number to be your real range.
If you’re looking for a longer range, choose a battery that has higher capacity (Ah). If you’re looking for more power, choose a battery that has higher voltage (V). Learn more why voltage and capacity matter.
What is the lifespan of an e-bike battery?
There are several factors that affect the lifetime of a battery such as:
- environmental conditions: temperature during charging discharging
- charging rate: how fast or slow your battery is charged
- charging voltage: what voltage the battery is charged to
- depth of discharge (DoD): what voltage the battery is discharged to
The list above isn’t exhaustive but, in general, batteries decay as a function of time in the charged state. Period.
Day 1: You get your new e-bike and charge it up to 100% and go on a bike ride. When you come home, you charge the bike back up to 100% and you’re excited to ride it again soon.
Day 2. 364: Life get’s in the way and you still haven’t been out on your bike since that first ride.
Day 365: One year later, it’s the perfect day for a bike ride and you finally have some time on your hands. You head to your basement, unlock your bike, and excitedly turn it on. 80% charge. What? You clearly remember charging your bike to 100% last year before moving it to the basement!
The truth is, we can’t beat thermodynamics. I’ll say it again: batteries decay as a function of time in the charged state.
Now, because you left your battery at 100% for a whole year in a basement with no temperature control, you inadvertently caused your battery to lose a certain amount of irreversible capacity. Your range will be ~20% lower and you’ll likely have to replace your battery sooner than you expected. The table below shows you how much recoverable capacity exists in a battery after storing it at different temperatures and different charge states for 1-year.
This is why a lot of electronics come with batteries that are only partially charged. to help slow down this decay. That being said, it’s hard to track how long e-bikes and their batteries have been sitting in warehouses before being delivered to your door so you could get a battery that has been decaying for a year or two.
Manufacturers also tend to overrate their batteries and will make claims about certain batteries having a lifetime of at least 1,000 cycles. Show.me.the.data.
The lifetime of a lithium-ion battery is described as the number of cycles until the capacity (Ah) drops below 80% of it’s initial capacity. In general, this is roughly 250-400 cycles (depending on battery chemistry and other factors) which amounts to roughly 1.5 to 2 years if you charge discharge daily and care for your battery properly.
How to charge your e-bike battery to make it last longer
- The thing that will kill your battery faster than anything else is leaving it charged at elevated temperatures. If it’s 80 degrees outside and you have your e-bike fully charged, move it indoors where it’s cooler and try to drain the battery as soon as possible.
- Charge your battery at room temperature as often as possible.
- When sourcing an e-bike battery charger, the slower the charge rate the better. For example, if you have a 2-Amp charger, and your battery is a 14 Ah battery pack, you are charging at 14 Ah / 2-Amps = 7-hours. This is a nice, slow charge which will certainly improve the longevity of your battery pack. Avoid charging at rates that are faster than 2-hours for a full charge.
There’s a lot that goes into choosing the best battery for you e-bike, and there certainly isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. But if I were buying an e-bike battery today, here’s what I’d do: LFP or NMC, slow charge, avoid storing or charging in hotter temperatures, and leave the battery at around 30% charge if you don’t plan on using it for a while.
Have questions? We’d love to help. You can get in touch using the contact form or find us on @somerville_ev
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Li-Ion Ebike Battery Charge Charts
Whats an 80% charge on a 48v battery? on a 36v? 52v? These charts give answers to questions like these on all common ebike battery voltages.
Remember, ALL numeric charts show ballpark values that may be numerically correct, but no generic chart can match your individual cell characteristics, your pack’s age or its chemistry. Bottom line: imperfect charts like this are still good baseline references. Use these and teach yourself how to read the voltage gauge on your display screen.
Quite some time ago, I produced a series of charge status charts for a variety of common lithium-ion battery voltages. They’ve become a fairly common link to help folks out on various groups who use these battery voltages in their ebikes.
I built them using Google Sheets, so they are not web pages, which I suppose has kept them from being widely linked in search engine results when people are looking at such things.
Here for the first time are direct links to the charts on a normal web page.
Volt (10S) Battery Charge Chart
The first link is to the lowest voltage: 36v. Generally this is the lowest voltage you will find on a modern, commercial ebike. Note that its called ’36 volt’ but really that is the ‘nominal’ value. A 36v battery is actually fully charged when it is at 42.0 volts.
Volt (13S) Battery Charge Chart
The next common size is 48v. These batteries are fully charged at 54.6 volts.
Volt (14S) Battery Charge Chart
The next battery voltage is 52v and very common. 52v batteries will work on systems designed for 48v, and why is easier to understand when you become aware that a ’48v’ battery really tops out at over 54 volts. A ’52v’ battery tops out at 58.8v, so it essentially lets you use a 48v system for a longer time at higher voltage levels that it is already designed to utilize.
Volt (16S) Battery Charge Chart
With a 100% charge voltage of 67.2 volts, when you have one of these you are getting into high voltage territory
Replacement Electric Bike Batteries Guide
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A good e-bike battery should last for hundreds of cycles. With average use, this means several years. Eventually, electric bike batteries need to be replaced as their life cycle comes to an end.
You can tell when a battery is nearing the end of its life when it does not provide you with much range. Some high-quality batteries that come on the top e-bikes such as a Bosch battery have a battery management system (BMS) integrated into the battery that actually tells you the current capacity and also how many charge cycles it has gone through.
But no matter what type of battery you have you’ll sooner or later be asking yourself the all-important question: how can I replace my e-bike battery?
Down below Electric Bike Report dives into this question and more in greater detail.
Are E-bike Batteries Interchangeable?
In general, the answer is no – you should only replace a battery with one that comes from the same manufacturer and is of exactly the same spec.
The reason is that the original e-bike or kit manufacturer has the responsibility to ensure that the battery pack, charger, and e-bike all work safely together, and using a ‘non-original’ replacement pack potentially introduces all sorts of uncontrolled risks.
It’s a little more complicated than this in some situations. For example, some Bosch batteries of different capacities are explicitly made to be interchangeable and there will be many instances where an original supplier and/or manufacturer of the e-bike cannot be traced or has gone out of business – in such cases we look at your options below.
As an important side note: you should always, if possible, use a charger that comes from the original manufacturer too. The one that comes with your battery should sync up well and not overload the battery. Pairing your battery with a different charger adds in risk of malfunction during charging.
Let’s first look at the basics of getting a replacement battery for your e-bike, then we will look at some of the major manufacturers of e-bike batteries and some of the main e-bike manufacturers to see which common battery types are still replaceable. Let’s consider the options for replacement in terms of desirability.
Where Should I Go to Get a Replacement E-Bike Battery?
On this last point it may help to note that there are a couple of manufacturing standards for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes. Although it’s not a legal requirement, it may be that one of the standards is actually marked on the battery itself.
The standards are BS EN 50604‑1 and UN38.3, the latter required for lithium-ion battery transport by air, sea or land. Just because these standards are not marked on a battery doesn’t mean it does not comply with them – but it is a reassuring sign if a battery does bear one or both of these marks.
Note that using a replacement battery that does not come from the original manufacturer (whether a dealer is involved or not) may void the warranty of your electric bike or kit. Check with the e-bike or kit company to understand what their policy is regarding the use of aftermarket replacement batteries.
Replacement Batteries from Original Manufacturers
Bosch E-Bike Batteries
Only Bosch manufactured batteries will be used on any new Bosch e-bike – this has always been the case and so it makes advice on interchangeability a little more straightforward than with the likes of Shimano and Brose who have both allowed the use of third party batteries with their mid-drive motor systems.
There have been four basic designs made by Bosch over the years (good online overview here):
- Rack mounted batteries: PowerPack in 300, 400, and 500 Wh versions which are all interchangeable with each other.
- Down tube mounted batteries: PowerPack in 300, 400, and 500 Wh versions, current versions of which are all interchangeable with each other.
- Frame integrated batteries: PowerTubes in 400, 500, and 625Wh versions, with the 400 and 500 units being interchangeable with each other. The 625Wh may be retrofittable but it needs a compatible frame with a big enough space to house it (400 and 500 units are the same physical dimensions but 625 is bigger). 500 and 625 Wh units are used on the Dual Battery system to give a capacity up to 1250Wh.
- Frame Integrated ‘Smart’ Option batteries: This is a new 750Wh option for 2022 and will be only compatible with 2022 e-bikes that feature the Bosch ‘Smart’ system and will not be compatible with other Bosch e-bikes that are ‘non-Smart’. Similarly, other types of PowerTube batteries (400, 500, and 625Wh versions) will not be compatible with e-bikes featuring Bosch’s ‘Smart’ system.
Some third-party batteries compatible with Bosch systems are available as detailed in the section below.
There are some suppliers of batteries that will fit older models, in some cases dating back to 2011 when the Bosch e-bikes first entered the market, for example, The Holland Bike Shop in Europe sells some batteries compatible with much older Bosch-powered models.
Shimano E-Bike Batteries
Shimano produces its own brand batteries for use on their systems, but you may also find new e-bikes powered by Shimano motor systems with batteries manufactured by their licensed partners Darfon and SMP. These third party batteries are not interchangeable with any Shimano batteries.
Shimano’s current range includes rack-mounted, downtube-mounted and frame-integrated batteries from 418Wh to 630Wh. You can see a brief overview with detailed links to each battery on offer here.
It’s important to note that each battery model has a limited number of specific battery mounts it will work with, so it is important to replace an old battery with one that is compatible with the mount on your e-bike. You can check out detailed compatibility info here and here.
Shimano says that ‘the oldest current battery we have is the BT-E6000 and the corresponding battery mount BM-E6000. These are compatible with all five of our current drive units (DU-EP8/E8000/E7000/E6100/E5000), but not earlier systems. For reference, DU-E8000 is the oldest in that list – it was introduced in 2016.’
Brose E-Bike Batteries
The only battery listed on Brose’s own website is a 630Wh frame-integrated option.
However, Brose systems are widely used by other manufacturers who also spec own-brand or third-party batteries. These include the likes of the widely respected battery manufacturer BMZ and well-known brands like Scott and BULLS.
For example, Specialized’s ‘full power’ range use Brose-based mid drives and a range of their own brand frame-integrated batteries. Although information on interchangeability is scarce, a Specialized FAQ page, in response to the question ‘Can I increase range by using the 604Wh aftermarket battery in any Turbo Vado/Como?’ says yes, all Vado batteries are cross-compatible as long as you are running the latest firmware (by implication so are Como and Turbo full power batteries are cross-compatible too).
The above appears only to address compatibility on current Specialized models and battery availability for older models appears a bit more complex with lots of debate online over the matter.
The fact that the latest Specialized e-bike batteries contain a Bluetooth chip to communicate with the latest Mission Control App certainly suggest both backward compatibility and availability of third party batteries will be very limited. Current e-bike batteries available from Specialized can be found here.
Yamaha E-Bike Batteries
Yamaha has integrated, rack-mounted and frame-mounted options ranging between 400Wh and 600Wh but information on backward compatibility is rather hard to find. Their systems appear on Haibike models and in the US on their own brand models too.
Giant use Yamaha motor systems but apparently have their own brand of battery – the EnergyPak range. The standard EnergyPak comes in rack-mounted and frame-integrated options whilst the Smart Compact variant allows for faster charging.
Finally, there is the Giant EnergyPak Plus, for use with the Smart Compact – a range extender style battery that fits onto the frame and effectively increases the capacity of the main Plus battery.
Giant’s Service web page states that there are EnergyPaks with 300, 360, 400, 500 and 625Wh capacities and also states ‘Giant EnergyPaks are interchangeable’.
Fazua E-Bike Batteries
This lightweight German-made system uses a frame-integrated 250Wh design and there have been two types of battery, Battery 250 and Battery 250X, the latter having the ability to be switched on and off remotely.
The latest Fazua Evation 250X battery is compatible with all Fazua electric bikes from 2019-22.
GRIN and Cytronex E-bike Kit Batteries
Canada’s GRIN is a true expert in producing a wide variety of e-bike kits. Whilst they do several designs of batteries, one of their best options from a replaceability point of view is their own brand LiGo batteries.
LiGo batteries are very unusual in being modular so that you can easily connect together as many as you like to increase or decrease battery capacity at will. They are particularly suitable for lightweight and folding bikes (I use them on a GRIN Brompton kit) and also for those who want to air travel with e-bikes as the individual battery units are only 98Wh and so are generally allowed on passenger aircraft (disconnect them from each other for travel and reconnect them on landing to make a useful e-bike battery).
The design has been around for several years and is backward compatible.
The UK’s Cytronex produces both European and US spec lightweight kits which use a unique own-design of ‘bottle battery’.
Cytronex says all their lithium bottles are compatible forwards and backward from the first version in 2017. They have different firmware for the new Bluetooth variant but both this and the non-Bluetooth version allow you to use the new 2-way – 5 level Boost Button or the previous one-way 3 level button.
In fact, if you have old and new kits on two bikes you can switch the bottle between both and it will recognize the two different button types automatically.
E-bike Manufacturers Own Brand Batteries
There are hundreds of e-bike manufacturers in the more budget space so it’s way beyond the scope of this guide to cover the options for each one; rather we’ll take a look at a couple of the market leaders.
Rad Power Bikes E-Bike Batteries
Rad Power Bikes first started producing e-bikes for the North American market in 2015 and now claims to be the US market leader. Their website lists several replacement batteries and their current lineup of bikes uses one of two battery designs.
There is the External Battery Pack (with the option for the smaller pack specific to the RadMission) which is compatible with all 2018 and newer model ebikes except the RadRover 6 Plus and RadCity 5 Plus, which use the Semi-Integrated Battery Pack.
Rad Power Bikes does offer legacy options for bikes older than that 2018 ‘cutoff’ and although some of these legacy batteries are currently out of stock Rad says they have plans to restock them.
The battery packs are consistent across their main sales areas of Canada, US and Europe.
The Rad Power website has a great filter system so you can track down the compatibility of what batteries are in stock against all current and previous models, right back to the original 2015 RadRover. All e-bike manufacturers’ websites should provide this service!
Pedego E-Bike Batteries
A longstanding US manufacturer with a clear set of battery specs for current models here. However, there doesn’t appear to be any info about legacy batteries or backward compatibility.
Interestingly, and it seems uniquely amongst the mainstream manufacturers, Pedego have recently introduced a serviceable battery (pictured above) – designed to be easily maintained at the local Pedego store. It features a rear light, brake light and indicators to boot.
Batteries for Out-Dated Motor Systems
There are a number of older motor and battery systems that are either not used or little used these days but there are still some suppliers out there who may be able to help out and if you are in this position a bit of internet research might just turn something up. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
BionX E-Bike Batteries
BionX operated between 1998 and 2018 and were once one of the leading e-bike system manufacturers in North America, with the likes of Trek and Kalkhoff using their systems.
There are still limited stocks of spare parts available here and there, including batteries, for example on this Ohm webpage.
Heinzmann E-Bike Batteries
German company Heinzmann had a great reputation for quality and produced the now obsolete Classic system and the newer Direct Power system. At various times both were available as kits or fitted to off-the-peg e-bikes.
In the UK Electric Vehicle Solutions are the main stockist of complete Direct Power kits and of spare parts for the Classic system.
What About Non-removable Frame Integrated Batteries?
A relatively small number of e-bike batteries are incorporated into the frame and not designed to be removed by the rider – they must be charged on the bike. Whilst perhaps inconvenient for some, the system has the benefit of a sleeker and simpler design and keeps the battery cells well-protected.
The Ebikemotion X35 system is one example of the most common lightweight systems out there to feature a frame-enclosed battery.
When it comes to replacing these batteries, to be clear, our official advice is that this is a job for the dealer, or expert shops to do only.
DIY in this area can get tricky in a hurry. Looking into service options to replace batteries in an integrated system is something to consider before purchasing the bike.
Third-Party Replacement E-Bike Batteries
For some older batteries – or even some current ones – there may be manufacturers other than the so-called OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who made the original batteries. These third-party companies are not recognized by the original e-bike manufacturers so if possible it is always best to go back to your dealer or the manufacturer directly to source an original battery.
However, third-party batteries may be a solution where no original batteries appear to be available.
There are a growing number of companies that provide third-party batteries and here we take a look at a couple of the bigger operations.
Please note that on e-bikes that are still in their warranty period, replacing the battery with one from a third-party manufacturer will most likely void the warranty.
FTH Power has a good amount of experience in the electronics business and has diagnostics and assembly capabilities. They look to have good stocks of popular far eastern battery brands such as Reention (used by the likes of Juiced and Surface 604) and Hailong. They also have this handy battery/model finder to see if they have batteries for your particular model of e-bike.
Third-party battery provision (and recelling services) appear to be bigger business in mainland northern Europe than in the U.S. It makes sense, this is where e-bikes have been around much longer and where the average value of e-bikes is higher. The need to keep older bikes going longer is greater. For example, Heskon is a major supplier of replacement batteries to dealers and Fiets Accu Revisie is the part of Heskon that sells direct to customers.
The UK’s Electric Transport Shop network offers battery diagnosis (refundable against a replacement battery or recell if required). The ETS says they also have stocks of Battery Management System chips that can be used on certain packs, usually on older e-bikes.
The ETS also says ‘There are so many shapes of e-bike batteries now that we cannot guarantee that we have cell packs to fit them all and it is usually cheaper to buy a factory-built replacement than to hand-build a replacement pack in the UK so we usually recommend buying a battery from the original supplier if the diagnosis proves that’s what is needed. If their supplier is no longer available to supply a replacement pack in this instance we will help people find a suitable replacement or as a last resort we will offer to wire in an alternative pack which may be in a different position on the bike.’
What Should I Do With My Old E-bike Battery?
If at all possible the ideal solution is to take it back to the dealer you bought it from who will send it on for recycling.
In the US the industry is in the midst of setting up its own recycling scheme. It was organized by People for Bikes and will be directly coordinated under the auspices of Call2Recycle. There will be a network of battery drop-off locations from the nation’s roughly 3,000 independent bike shops. Manufacturers and retailers can sign up here.
The batteries will be sent on to ‘processing partners’, four of which are domestic and two of which are foreign—one in South Korea and one in Belgium.
The consortium brands are funding the recycling service, which will be free to riders; of course, consumers will still have to pay for replacement batteries. There are also plans for a consumer-direct mail-in recycling option in the summer – EBR will keep you posted on its development.
There are already such ready-made recycling networks in mainland Europe and the UK is just beginning to establish such a network.
This guide to replacement electric bike batteries hopefully covered the basics of what is out there for you. It’s certainly just the tip of the iceberg though. If there is anything else that wasn’t covered here, let us know in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев below and we’ll update this guide with the info our readers are looking for!