Everything you should know about an e-bike.

Not all electric bikes are much unrelated to conventional bicycles. They share the same characteristics but feature an additional motor to support their riders even more. The majority of people profit from e-bikes since they help the riders up hills, for long distances, and in windy circumstances. e-bikes arrive with three parts: a motor, a drivetrain, and a battery.

• Motor

An e-motor bike serves as its structural support. The motor determines whether a bike will succeed or fail. These three locations—the front hub, rear hub, and mid-drive—all include motors.

• Drivetrain

The power required for an e-bike to turn its wheels comes from the powertrain. The chain cranks effortlessly as a result of the mid-drive motor’s power transfer to the drivetrain. As a result, an e-bike is useless without a drivetrain.

• Battery

The bike battery’s capacity is influenced by the rider’s manner of riding. Usually, a standard battery allows you to bike for 20 to 60 kilometers.

1. The standard bike’s riding mode is pedal-only. Only when you pedal will the bike move, hence the rider is the source of power.
2. Pedal assistance is useful for cyclists.– This helps the rider pedal. The motor kicks on when the user starts pedaling, effortlessly moving the bike forward. Cyclists can work in this manner without experiencing a lot of physical fatigue. It simplified the ride.
3. Driving by Just electric – The easiest ride a person can take is this one. Simply turning the throttle will cause your bike to move in the direction you desire. this kind doesn’t if you need any extra help. But the main drawback is that it quickly depletes the battery.

Can you charge your eBike battery in your car?

The straightforward answer is yes. You can use a 12volts car socket to charge the battery of your ebike if you’re taking it out of town. Usually, 12volts car sockets can only control the power of 150watts. So you can use a car inverter if you have a charger with lower amperage and voltage. For example, we can say that 18volts 2 amp socket can pull out a power of 90w when differentiated from the 150watta socket. 

You shouldn’t use a charger with higher amperage and a battery with higher voltage as it can blow up the fuse. So, if you want your car to be safe, use a lower amp/volt charger and a battery. But if you think using a small inverter doesn’t do much damage, then you’re wrong. A small inverter can drain the battery quickly. A way to prevent that is to keep running the car to have the alternator going as it keeps the battery charging continuously. As you might think, it’s significantly easier, but it’s not an excellent way to charge your e-bike battery. So we wouldn’t recommend doing that often, but if you’re going for a trip or traveling long distances for camping, etc., this method would be really beneficial.

How to charge an e-bike off a car?

It’s the easiest way to charge your battery when taking your ebike for a long-distance trip. You can plug the battery into your 12v socket inside the car. Normally you’d need a 600w ar inverter, which is the standard size for your e-bike battery if the charger has low voltage and power. You can consider that a 12v car socket gives off 150watts o power and a 36volts 2amp battery fives 90watts of power. 

Charging e-Bike Battery with Inverter

If you want to charge the battery of your ebike from the battery of your car, you can use an inverter. One thing you need to consider is that the battery of your vehicle isn’t flat because it can fully drain your ebike battery dead. If the battery gets low, you can use an alternator tester. It can shut off the charger when the battery is low. And also another way to see how much power the battery gets is to use an energy monitor.

 If you’re charging the battery of your ebike from a 12v source car or a 110v ac inverter solar panel, you should understand where the gridlock is; it can be the inverter or the source.

As an example, we can consider, Can you charge a battery that is 36v 13ah using a 2A charger from a power plug that is 12v 10A with an inverter that is 200w? Let’s find out.

• The capacity of the battery: 36×13= 468Wh
• Charging power: 42V x 2A = 84W
• Power source: 12V x 10A= 120W
• Inverter power: 200W

So, according to the above information, the answer is yes. You can charge it because the charger uses only 48w. That means it only uses less than 75% of the power of the 120w car plug. And when you’re charging with a solar, you’d need an intermediary battery or power which is above 25% of the production rate. But using solar isn’t ideal as solar panels are not very efficient. You can get the output voltage of your solar panels to the amperage and voltage of your batteries that need to charge by using a boost module.

 

What size inverter to use to charge an electric bike?

Generally, if you want to charge the battery of your ebike using an inverter, the recommended power is 350watts. The 350watt inverter is excellent as it won’t cause any damage to your battery and will charge quickly without harming the inside parts. So if you want a quick charge to head home from your long trip, this will be the best and the easiest way. 

Can You Use a Car Battery for an Electric Bike?

Nowadays, e-bikes are one of the most popular modes of transportation worldwide but especially in the cities of the United States. This popularity is due to the difference between regular gasoline-powered bikes and e-bikes. There are so many advantages of e-bikes, but the most important thing is that they are eco-friendly.

One of the outstanding qualities of an e-bike is that they’re low in price compared to cars but have many advantages. As we mentioned, e-bikes are environmentally friendly as they don’t release any harmful emissions into the atmosphere. And also much easier to drive through traffic and even more accessible to park in crowded areas. Other than that, e-bike rides are so much fun!

Some of you might ask if you can use a battery of a car on an e-bike. Cause some of you might have an old vehicle at your house. You might wonder if you can use the same battery to power your ebike because you won’t have to spend more money to buy another battery. Even if you think it’s much easier and saves money and time, replacing a car battery on your bike isn’t ideal. It’s not easy as you think, so using your old car battery and replacing it on your bike won’t be worth the effort you put into it. So you can buy a new battery for your ebike and keep the old battery of your car, or else you can even sell it if you have no use for it.

How to power an electric bike?

If you want to power your bike, you have a few options you can use if you wish to clean transportation, as mentioned below,

• Electric Outlet

The straightforward and the best option is an electric outlet. You don’t need any equipment or tools, and it won’t cost you a thing. You can charge your e-bike using a regular electric outlet when you’re not using it. This is much easier. You can do it at home without much effort.

You can plug the charger into an empty socket on your house hall and enjoy your day, as it won’t need any extra equipment. And also, if you want to change the location near your bed or working table, you can use an extension cord to the outlet. That would be more flexible and easy.

•  Charging using solar energy

Another option that saves money is using solar panels to charge your e-bike. You can charge directly by using solar energy, which will reduce your house’s electricity expense. And also, it is much easier that you can keep your bike outside in the afternoon (daytime) so it can absorb the sunrays and get charged. This is one of the easiest ways to save you time and money. You won’t have to put much effort into it, and there won’t be any risks.

• Pedaling Power

This option will save you as much money as possible. And also, you won’t even need the battery to ride your ebike if you pedal. So this method is no different from a regular bike. But you won’t have the power to go fast, but it’s the best for people who like to pedal slowly, and you won’t have to plug your bike into anything. 

For most bikes, there is an option where you can turn off the throttle entirely and use it as a regular bicycle. This option is advantageous as you won’t need to recharge your battery or put money into it. And this is very beneficial for your health as a good workout too.

• Electric Bike Batteries

Most of the bikes come with an output for your bike that doesn’t need any rewiring but also, but some are expensive and specially designed. But usually, a new battery offers a new charger. And you can immediately charge your bike and go for a ride. Or else, if your battery is old, you can replace it by going to a bike shop that sells batteries. 

Can you extend the range of your e-bike battery?

Yes, you can. These are some of the ways you can use to extend the battery range of your e-bike.

Never ride with a lower cadence. It would help if you lessened the weight of the load on the bike. You shouldn’t use too many brakes. You should increase the type of pressure to equity the grip and comfort. Would help if you always keep an eye on the battery power you’re using so you can alter the cycling style. You shouldn’t ride in cold surroundings. It can reduce the battery range.

How to clean the battery of an e-bike?

Yes, you can. You can clean your battery when cleaning the bike, but you should be careful not to immerse it in water. It would help if you used a washer without much water pressure. Or you can clean it using a soft cloth, especially when you’re cleaning the electrical contacts and the frame of the battery. If you cycle in wintery, salty, and wet conditions, the connections should wipe the contacts with a small amount of grease. So the battery won’t corrode at all.

Things to consider when charging and storing an e-bike battery

 

• Always consider the temperature around the battery

Charging an e-bike during critical climatic changes can harm the battery’s performance and useful life. That’s one of the reasons why overheating diminish the battery life instantly. So you should always check and keep the temperature of the battery stable when you’re charging it and using the bike.

E-bikes charges and works best at average temperatures. It is a reason why you should keep the battery somewhere that it is not freezing or not too hot. For example, when charging your battery, the temperature should be around 50 -70 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Do not store Empty Batteries.

Someday you might not want to use your bike. You might not be in a good mood when it’s too cold or hot outside when you’re busy with work. It’s okay if you’re not using your bike regularly. So you can remove the battery and keep it somewhere safe in a room with a suitable temperature after charging it partly. You don’t need to set your bike’s battery to 80%, and you can charge between 40 and 60. Storing a discharged, empty battery and keeping it unchanged for a while can damage the performance of the battery

• Use the correct charger. 

It is a must to charge the e-bike using the charger you got along with when buying it. The charger given by the shop has the same voltage ad amps as your bike’s battery. That makes sure the cycle is charged safely without harming the battery.

You generally get the charger along with the bike, but if you don’t, you should check the voltage and amps when buying a charger.

In conclusion,

The famous question that most people ask is whether they can use their car to charge their ebike battery. And As discussed in the sections above, the answer is yes. We mentioned the proper ways and the power that needs to charge the e-bike in previous paragraphs that will help you to get an idea. Even though it isn’t ideal to constantly charge your e-bike using the car, you can do it sometimes when taking your bike for long-distance rides or trips.