The Electric Bicycle Conversion Kit Store

Most of the times it happens that you buy an electric bike based on the range it provides, but end up having a bike which has a range far too less than what is said or promised. In such situation, you cannot blame the shop keeper, because he will put the blame on the manufacturer, saying it has not happened before and you are first one with such problem. Believe us, you are not the first! In electric bike industry, sometimes, it is the game. So, it is very important to have a little bit of knowledge regarding the range of your electric bike.

Range, provided by an electric bike, is the maximum distance travelled by the bike in a single charge. So if your manufacturer says that the bike has a range of 10 miles or so, then your bike should travel 10 miles in a single charge. While buying an E-bike, range should be your key consideration.  Generally, range depends on various factors like, motor efficiency, battery capacity, efficiency of driving electronics, aerodynamics, weight of the bike and the rider etc.

Most of the times, an e-bike comes with a range starting from 7 Km to 70 Km. It will give you maximum range if you provide your bike with pedal assist while riding. This exercise increases the range drastically. And one more thing, never forget to ask your vendor, whether the bike was tested on flat road or in a hilly region. Depending on the testing conditions, decide what range you are looking for. And accordingly make a right choice.

When it comes to selecting an appropriate battery for your e-bike, there are many good reasons why a LFP battery is considered superior to others. LFP batteries are widely available in the market. If you don’t get a LFP when you visit an electric store, consider it your hard luck! In this blog we will be discussing various advantages LFP hold against other lithium ion batteries, particularly lithium cobalt oxide batteries (LCO).

To start with, we will discuss the safety. LFP batteries have high thermal runaway characteristics, so they provide an improved safety when compared with LCO batteries. If you consider life of the battery then LFP batteries will out run the LCO batteries due to all the additions, which we discussed in the previous article. Another reason for their long life is they provide longer cycle. A complete cycle includes a single charging and discharging activity. Longer the time difference between these two, longer will be the cycle. Also, they have higher current and peak power rating which outclasses LCO batteries.

Finally, use of Iron and Phosphorus makes LFP battery have a lower environmental impact as compared to cobalt, which is used in LCO batteries. All these advantages make LFP battery the most suitable battery for your beloved electric bike!

As discussed in the earlier blogs, LiFePO₄ (LFP) battery has earned a name for itself in the electric bike industry. The technology used in LFP battery is quite unique.  Here in this blog we will discuss the basic technology used in the battery and its advantages.

LFP technology does not allow the use of heavy metals in the cells. This helps to prevent the “memory effect” as noticed in Nickel cadmium and Nickel-metal Hydride solution based batteries. This results in long shell life and long cycle life. And this is the reason why LFP battery is a maintenance free battery. LFP technology provides flexibility in battery application and cell design. Flexibility in cell design allows LFP to fit in smaller applications. It can even be used in cylindrical, prismatic and polymer battery construction. What makes this battery superior to other batteries is the technology used in it. This technology incorporates natural, phosphate based material which makes LFP battery safe.  This material offers excellent combination of performance, safety, cheap cost and reliability. All these things make LFP battery environmentally sound!

All these are the reasons why LFP battery is used in wide range of applications like electric bikes, cell phones, notebooks, and pdf and consumer appliances.

You must have heard this name many times but were unable to understand what it meant. Well, if this is the case then this blog is dedicated to you. Here, we will discuss history and early evaluation.

Basically, LiFePO₄ (LFP) is a battery which helps your e-bike run smoothly. It stands for,” lithium-iron-phosphate battery”. It is the cheapest battery available in the market. It was discovered by John Goodenough at the University of Texas in the year 1996. It is a low cost, non-toxic, and full with iron kind of a battery. It has good thermal stability and gives excellent electrochemical performance. Also, it has high specific capacity of the order 170 mA·h/g. As it is packed with excellent characteristics, this battery has gained a name for itself!

Though it has gained a name for itself, it was not so in the beginning. First problem that the inventor had to face was of low electrical conductivity. It had a very simple but complicated solution. Reduce the particle size and coat those particles with conductive material such as carbon. Doping also helped. Electrical conductivity increased drastically. This was due to the presence of nanoscopic carbon which originated from organic precursors.  All these additions to the battery made LFP what they are!

 Later on when LFP were introduced, with all the additions, in the market, they were an instant hit. And, as usual, the rest is history!

When you are out in the market to buy a battery for your electric bike, one question haunts you: What exactly to ask? If you are looking for a simple, cheap yet a robust battery, then we recommend LiFePO4 (LFP) battery.  But before you procure a LFP battery, it is advisable to know some basic specifications.

Let us start with the voltage rating. It starts with 2.8V. But widely used working voltage is 3V-3.3V. Maximum available voltage is 3.6V. You can choose accordingly. Volumetric energy density available is 220 WH/L.  Gravimetric energy density provided by the battery is 90 WH/Kg. it provides 2000-7000 life cycles. Cathode configuration may vary according to manufacturer. Even cell configuration varies according to manufacturer. Different manufacturer provide batteries with different cathode and cell configuration. So check out these configurations while shopping and select according to your requirements. After you get a suitable LFP battery, don’t forget to check its suitable working conditions. Normally, they work at room temperature and voltage limit ranging between 2.5-4.2V.

Finally, we will advice you to take good care of your battery because it is the most important part of your electric bike and kit. Normally, maintenance manual is provided with the battery, so it will serve you good!

Over the period of years, Canada has emerged as a growing industry for electric bikes. People there are finding use of e-bikes affordable, enjoyable and most importantly time saving. So the government there has taken some steps to facilitate citizens.

Eight provinces of Canada allow use of e-bikes. In the province of Ontario, government introduced a three year trial for the use of e-bikes, which will conclude in October 2009. Depending upon the response of the people there, government will decide the future of e-bikes in that region. In remaining seven provinces, the power output of the bike is limited to 500W and bike cannot go faster than 32 Km/hr or roughly 20 miles per hour. In Alberta, maximum power output can be 750W and speed 36 Km/hr.

As far as age is concerned, it varies from province to province. But they all agree on the use of helmet. So if you are thinking of using an e-bike, don’t forget your helmet. In some regions, depending upon the model of e-bike, you are required to use a driving license. They also have age limits. Though insurance is not required, an e-bike is supposed to follow normal traffic rules!

You must have heard that LiFePO₄ (LFP) is the cheapest and safest battery available in the market. Well there are many things that make LFP battery safe. Here in this article, we will go deep in some technicalities regarding LFP structure. We will try to explain them in the simplest way possible.

Basically, if you compare LFP battery with lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) battery, the Fe-P-O bond present in LFP battery is stronger than Co-O bond. So Fe-P-O bond can withstand short-circuiting and overheating better than Co-O bond. This bond will break only in the extreme conditions. So when you are using LFP battery, you are using a battery which is intrinsically safe. Generally, this breakdown will occur at 800 degree Celsius. Basically what happens is, at breakdown the bond stability reduces and increases the possibility of thermal runaway. These properties make LFP batteries safer than LCO batteries.

In LCO battery, at breakdown lithium migrates out of the cathode cell resulting in non-linear expansion of the cell. This literally affects the structural stability of the cell and thus the battery. On the other hand, in LFP, lithium does not remain in the cell during breakdown.  So naturally, structural stability of LFP battery is better as compared to LCO battery.

Thus, your LFP battery is safe in every way possible!

In the last blog we compared LFP and LCO batteries based on some basic specifications. Here in this blog, we will compare Lithium-manganese oxide (LMO) and Lithium-nickel oxide (LNO) batteries according to the same specifications.

We will again start with safety. As far as LMO battery is concerned, it is safer than the LNO battery. Under extreme conditions, LNO becomes unstable and is not easy to handle. Environmental safety of LMO battery is acceptable whereas LNO battery is quite dangerous to the environment. Now when you think of cycle life, then both the batteries give acceptable performance. If we go by power and weight density, then LNO batteries outrun LMO batteries. This is precisely the reason why LNO battery poses a threat to the environment.

Even though LMO battery has somewhat lesser power and weight density, they have low operating cost in the long run. On the other hand, LNO will cost you more. In other words, LMO is more economical than the LNO battery. But when the operating temperature rises beyond 50 degree Celsius, LMO battery starts decaying and that too at extreme rate. Even though LNO battery has some disadvantages associated with it, it will work smoothly in temperatures ranging between -20 to 55 degree Celsius!

Though it is the cheapest and most widely available battery in the market, LiFePO₄ (LFP) has some disadvantages. Actually, they cannot be called disadvantages as they can be solved by proper use and maintenance.  Remember, LFP, after one year of use, will have higher energy density than LCO battery.  Here, we will discuss some common problems associated with LFP battery and how they can be solved.

Let us start with the specific energy, i.e. energy per unit volume. A new LFP battery has a low value of specific energy as compared to LCO battery. Currently manufacturers are finding ways to overcome this problem.  LFP battery was found to break down prematurely if deep cycled. Deep cycling refers to discharging of battery below 33%. In short, don’t use your e-bike when your battery shows power less than 33%. To overcome this problem, we recommend break-in period of 20 charging cycles. Also don’t charge your LFP battery rapidly. It will reduce the life span of your battery. LFP have low discharge rate when compared to LCO batteries. To overcome this problem, we recommend use of LFP battery with higher Amp-Hours rating.

We will still recommend using LFP battery as it is cheaper, batter and most importantly dependable!

Salesman, nowadays, have two important jobs to perform: One, to sell you their products and second to confuse you. So, it’s no wonder that whenever you go out shopping for a battery you are quite confused about what to buy. But this blog will help you out. Here, we will compare LiFePO₄ (LFP) and LiCoO₂ (LCO) batteries.

We will start with safety. LFP battery is the safest battery available in the market as its unique technology prevents thermal runaway during normal operating conditions. On the other hand, due to the presence of lithium in the cell during the breakdown, LCO batteries are not stable and do not provide long cycle life. As far as environmental safety is concerned, LFP is far better than LCO. Cobalt present in the LCO battery makes it an unhealthy and a dangerous battery.  If you compare cycle life, then LFP provide you with an excellent performance. On the other hand, LCO’s cycle life is acceptable.  But when we talk of power and weight density, LCO batteries outrun LFP batteries. If you consider cost as in the long run, then LFP is far cheaper as compared to LCO battery. Normal operating temperature range for LFP battery is -20 to 70 degree Celsius. But in this range, LCO battery starts decaying. So LCO’s operating temperature is quite less than LFP battery.

All these factors make LFP a far advanced and better battery as compared to other batteries!