Bike Characteristics
Important electric bike characteristics to consider before purchasing a bike:
There are two main electric assist bike categories, the first is the pre-built or pre-fabricated bikes that cames directly from manufacturer. The second, are the converted bikes. These are regular bikes that are converted to electric assist through conversion kits.
Another important feature to consider is the type of the battery type mounted on electric bikes. Here are the list of these battery types:
Sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries are heavy but they are the least expensive.
Lithium (LiFePO4) is the most expensive but provides longer lasting power and they are lightest weight. 48 volt LiFePO4 is almost 12 times longer lasting than regular SLA battery.
Nickel cadmium and other batteries are categorized somewhere between SLA and LiFePO4 batteries.
For the moment Lithium batteries are the most ecologically friendly from the rest. And due to their light weight they can be carried indoors for quick recharge since finding electric outlets outdoors for recharge could be challange.
The Motor
The performance of the motor is measured in terms of wattage. However, for the time being there are no performance standards for wattage, so marketers could present their products in terms of peek performance instead of real output wattage performance. In another word, an electric assist bike could be listed as 800 watts but in fact it puts out 500 watt in terms of operating wattage, but could peek to 800 watts if pushed.
There are two main electric assist bike categories, the first is the pre-built or pre-fabricated bikes that cames directly from manufacturer. The second, are the converted bikes. These are regular bikes that are converted to electric assist through conversion kits.
Another important feature to consider is the type of the battery type mounted on electric bikes. Here are the list of these battery types:
- Sealed lead acid (SLA)
- Nickel cadmium
- A Lithium LiFePO4
Lithium (LiFePO4) is the most expensive but provides longer lasting power and they are lightest weight. 48 volt LiFePO4 is almost 12 times longer lasting than regular SLA battery.
Nickel cadmium and other batteries are categorized somewhere between SLA and LiFePO4 batteries.
For the moment Lithium batteries are the most ecologically friendly from the rest. And due to their light weight they can be carried indoors for quick recharge since finding electric outlets outdoors for recharge could be challange.
The Motor
The performance of the motor is measured in terms of wattage. However, for the time being there are no performance standards for wattage, so marketers could present their products in terms of peek performance instead of real output wattage performance. In another word, an electric assist bike could be listed as 800 watts but in fact it puts out 500 watt in terms of operating wattage, but could peek to 800 watts if pushed.
The beauty of