It is nowadays very typical for e-bikes to get popular among travelers. During their vacation, most people like to ride e-bikes abroad. If you want to bring your e-bike, it is easy if you have a motor car or the exact vehicle. But the problem is when you want to fly with that. You know what I mean. Airline companies are not allowed to bring your e-bike to their planes. The main reason is not your e-bike. But it’s your e-bike battery. You have to follow trick protocol if you want to carry an e-bike like that. So, actually, can you bring your e-bike under with these all-technical facts?

There are strict limitations regarding capacity and the battery size you can carry through baggage. Usually, plane operators limit the battery capacity to 100Wh. But sometimes, you can bring your e-bike battery to 160Wh. Most e-bikes consider a battery capacity of 300Wh-600Wh capacity range. In that case, you cannot carry those batteries with you. Fortunately, some options can take your e-bike and battery separately to your expected destination. Let us remain that last. Shall we?

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Can you take an e-bike on a plane?

E-bikes are popular these days, and most people in Europe also intend to go to the streets and watch some adventure shows. I’m pretty sure that if you have that kind of electric bike, indeed, you have thought about that kind of trip. To Spain or France, you should fly if you want to enjoy that kind of experience. It is not as easy to carry your e-bike on the plane as you expected. So let us discuss how we can bring an e-bike on a plane. And what are the difficulties that you are facing regarding this?

Momentarily, I can say no; you can’t bring an e-bike on an airplane. It is all because of its battery. It’s prohibited to be taken into a plane with a rechargeable lithium battery above 100Wh capacity.

Some plane companies allow you to bring you up to 160Wh. The main reason for that is lithium batteries have a fire hazard. If the outer layer gets damaged by those batteries or if the batteries get hot, it will appear as a tiny spark through a short circuit. Lithium is highly flammable because of that reason. A tiny spark can cause a fire or a small explosion. Actually, nowadays, lithium batteries are designed to prevent such kinds of issues. However, we can’t get a RISK.

If the fire in the batteries reaches the aerosols or nail varnish, there is a chance to explore the whole airplane. Clearly, this can be a massive problem for the plane. Otherwise, this happens more often than you think. Do you know that from 2006 to 2020, 268 incidents happened regarding lithium-ion batteries? That is more than one every month.

However, this rule permits most personal items, including phones, laptops, and cameras, to be brought on airplanes. The issue is that batteries for electric bikes typically have a minimum capacity of 300Wh. As a result, they are not allowed to be flown on commercial aircraft.

How to calculate the watt-hour (Wh) rating of a battery

When we consider the battery, there are many units to take measurements. I know you will get confused if I tell you all of that. Especially when you try checking how much power your battery has. You will have a simple idea of how these calculations are going without getting any confusion.

First, shall we get started with basic theory? A battery means you can store the power in it, convert it into electric energy, and use it. Inside the batter, that stored power is stored as chemical energy. Inside the battery, by helping a chemical; reaction between positive and negative electrodes of the storm, electricity is generated. The unit used to measure the energy stored in a battery is Watt-hour (Wh).

You must consider the limitations of bringing the e-bike battery to the plane by the watt-hour rating. Calculating the watt-hour in a battery is relatively easy. You need two kinds of data. Those are (V)and amp hours (Ah). You have to consider the following equation.

Watt-hours (Wh) = Volts (V) x Amp hour (Ah)

Alternatives to flying with an electric bike

There are workarounds for the problem, so your plans to bring your electric bike abroad shouldn’t be abandoned just yet.

Rent a battery once you arrive

You can find a battery to use for the length of your journey once you get there. Here, there are a few factors to take into account. First off, make sure you can actually find a lender by doing your research before taking off. Since it’s not an often-offered service, double-check. Your chances of obtaining a lender will be much higher if you fly to a prominent cycling location. Second, make sure the battery is appropriate for your specific electric bike. Since there is no “one size fits all,” you will also need to research this area.

Even though it seems like a lot of work, renting an entire e-bike for your trip will be far more expensive. Trips by bicycle might take several days or even weeks. Thus the cost of renting an electric bike can be relatively high. Additionally, the battery should be protected from short-circuiting by the packing. In a nutshell, the following is what you’ll need to do to get your e-bike battery there:

Ship your battery separately

In some circumstances, delivering your bike’s batteries to the destination could be possible, but doing so would be quite expensive. Several shippers, including FedEx and UPS, provide thorough guidelines on how your battery must be packaged and how to ship it abroad. It must, for instance, be labeled as “Dangerous Goods” and state that only cargo aircraft are permitted to transport it. Additionally, the container it is in needs to guard against short-circuiting. There is a workaround, but it cannot be easy if you’re set on carrying your own battery.

For instance, it should be marked as a “Dangerous Goods” and only suited for cargo aircraft.

Packaging

Max net weight for the complete package is 35kg for Cargo Aircraft Only.
Each battery must be shielded against short-circuiting and encased in an internal package that covers the battery with an even stronger outer box.
UN specifications need packaging.
For stand-alone batteries, the rated capacity of the SOC shouldn’t exceed 30%.
It has to be fully regulated.

Documentations

You have to come with shippers’ “Dangerous Goods” declaration.
Waybill must have a “Dangerous Goods as per attached DGD” statement.
Remember that you must arrange for the battery to arrive at your hotel if you choose to ship it to your location. This could be more challenging than anticipated if a foreign language is involved.

Additionally, since you’ll have to pay shipping fees for both the battery and the e-bike, shipping the full e-bike together with the battery will cost you more than shipping the battery by itself.

Use another form of transport

If possible, the best way is to choose an alternative method to transport this battery. For example, there are no restrictions on battery transport in ferries. You can bring ferries from the United Kingdom to Europe’s mainland. Or you can bring a farrier from France or Belgium. After that, you can travel by motor car for the rest of the journey. Suppose you want that you can actually choose this kind of path. But the truth is this kind of way saves many troubles for you.

Please don’t let these regulations discourage you. Some parts of the world can see by bicycle. I am hardly bilevel that. And you can reach that kind of beautiful destination by e-bike by defeating many inclined planes you ride.

conclusion

You want to cram a foldable bike into standard luggage, I assume. By doing this, it complies with most airline standards. It is treated as a piece of regular luggage rather than athletic equipment. If a piece of luggage complies with all requirements for its size, it is not allowed to be evaluated based on its contents. Be aware that depending on the airline, if you travel to a large container, they can treat it like a bicycle and charge you anywhere from $0 to $300 one-way.

You may encounter difficulties while trying to bring an electric bike on a plane. Fortunately, researching and planning will help you avoid all the extra fees and confusion. With this article, we wanted to have given you some helpful advice on how to transfer your e-bike battery quickly!