Introduction
The technology is evolving with every day passing by. Each and every moment counts in this journey of evolution. It is transforming our lives as well. Transportation is not an exception when it comes to evolution. E-bikes are the latest trend that is picking up popularity. Even e-bikes are improving from different dimensions these days. The advancements in the field of e-bikes are more related to improving their mileage per charge. One such effort is to introduce dual batteries in e-bikes. We’ll take a look at different perspectives related to a dual-battery e-bike in the lines below.
The function of a battery in an e-bike?
The function of a battery in an e-bike is to not only store the charge but to discharge it as well to power the bike. We can say that a battery acts as a warehouse of charge in an e-bike.
This function of the battery is similar to a combination of many components in traditional bikes such as the engine, the valves the carburetor, etc. All of these are replaced by a battery in an ebike which makes them easy and simple to operate.
What parameters make a battery good?
Before purchasing an e-bike or a battery for it, one must be aware of what are the parameters of a good battery. This is necessary so that you get the best value for your money and don’t get a compromised product.
Battery Type
Before buying an ebike, it is good to know what battery type this bike is using since there are different battery types available in the market such as Lead-acid battery, Nickel-cadmium battery, Nickel-Metal Hydride battery, and Lithium-ion battery which is more commonly referred to as Li-ion battery.
Of all the types mentioned above, the Li-ion battery has become more popular these days as compared to the other types. Ebike batteries are neither too cheap nor too expensive but when we compare different types of batteries, Li-ion ones are the most expensive ones of all.
Power Output
Before buying any battery, you must ascertain the power output required for your ride. Power is a product of Voltage and Current. Assuming that the Electrical Current remains constant, power is directly proportional to the Voltage. This means that the more the Voltage, the more the power.
However, you may not have the choice to choose the battery that provides the exact power required by you. This is because commercial batteries usually come in voltage multiples of 12 i.e. 12V, 24V, 36V, or 48V.
A battery with more power is considered better but it weighs more than the one with a smaller power rating. A battery with a higher power rating is costlier as well.
Ampere Hours
A good battery must store the charge for a long-range in terms of time. This is measured by a technical term called Amperage-hour rating (Ah). The more this rating, the better.
Life of the Battery
A good battery must have a longer life. The life of a battery is measured in terms of charge cycles. A charge cycle is defined as the complete charging of a battery and then its discharging. A good battery lasts at least 500 charge cycles. The same is true for most of the batteries available commercially.
Features
Whether a battery is good or not also depends upon modern features. For example, there are batteries in the market that tell the user about the battery health, the range that it can help the rider to cover with the remaining charge as well as many other data parameters. Such batteries are usually referred to as smart batteries.
Dual battery eBike: An overview
The originally perceived form of an e-bike contained a battery and a motor. Dual battery e-bike is a new concept in the field of transportation. An e-bike that has two batteries instead of a single one is called a dual-battery e-bike.
Application
A dual-battery e-bike is more suitable for purposes where a single-battery e-bike may display limited or restricted capabilities. Some of these applications are listed below :
- The dual-battery e-bike is capable of storing more energy in the form of Electrical charge. This implies that it is capable of traveling more distance with a single charge as compared to the e-bike which contains a single battery.
- Other than long drives (as mentioned above), such e-bikes i.e. dual battery e-bikes are more suitable for off-road drives. Why? Because such rides are more power-intensive than casual urban rides. For example, there is far more power required in an uphill drive or on a track/course full of turns and curves where brakes have to be applied too often.
- Since the mileage of an e-bike is dependent upon the sum of the weight of the bike and that applied to it, a bike with more capacity to store the charge will be more suitable for carrying cargo over a long range.
Therefore when we compare the dual-battery e-bike with that containing a single battery, the former is more suitable for transporting the cargos.
Summary
The concept of e-bikes is gaining popularity day by day. The growing interest of people in their use is making them popular and leading the manufacturers to look for the solutions that arise in their use. One such solution i.e. the use of dual batteries can resolve many problems of certain e-bike users. The dual-battery e-bike is more suitable and affordable as compared to the traditional single-battery e-bike.
However, there are certain disadvantages of dual battery e-bikes as well such as the weight of the additional battery itself being a burden on the bike, the cost of keeping two batteries in use is more as well as they consume more time to charge to the full extent. The person opting to use a dual-battery e-bike must keep all these points in mind before taking any decision in this regard.
