Another question - batteries

[Terry1100]

Here's another newbie question.

Are all batteries machine (or perhaps brand) specific - or is there any degree of standardication/commonality or interchangeability

I am thinking longer term - when I need a battery in the future will I always be going back to the bike supplier - or to a battery specialist

TIA

Merry Christmas

 

[flecc]

They are mainly brand specific in various ways. Some of the lower cost e-bikes made in China tend to use standard types that can be bought independently, mainly direct from China though.

The problem it's best to avoid is buying an e-bike with a special integral battery system when the longevity if supply is not certain. One brand that has let buyers down very badly due to discontinuing the in frame-tube battery is Izip.
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Some bikes, mainly those not at the cheap end of the range use communication protocols with the battery like Canbus, which also means you're tied to a OEM battery. That's another reason to buy generic Chinese bikes.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Terry,batteries are the Achilles heel of the e-bike world,both from the viewpoint of customer and supplier.
The problem is that there is no standardisation and the situation seems to be getting worse. In terms of chemistry I liked LifePo4,it has a very long life,originally we were predicting 5 years,now 10 years could be possible. But the market demanded lighter bikes and LifePo4 is heavy,so for all our recent bikes we have chosen Samsung LiMno4,the life is predicted to be 3 or 4 years,time will tell.
With regard to types it is inevitable that there needs to be several different designs,you need a different battery for a diamond frame bike (down tube mount),step thru (rack mount),folder(in frame or seat post cantilever) but every manufacturer seems to have his own design.
The water bottle style on our MTB bikes seems a very popular type,is probably the most common and not expensive but several manufacturers are using a wind cheating shape similar to the Bosch,our new Kudos Rapide uses a well engineered pattern version. Rack mounting seems to have spurned literally dozens of similar designs,the change to LiMno4 has allowed much slimmer types,similar to that used by Batribike and our new Kudos Sonata.
I am trying to standardise but I don't think we can get to below 4 different designs. I suppose the golden rule is asking the supplier how much are replacement batteries,how long are they likely to last and will they keep stocks of batteries for old models,trust you get honest answers!!!!!
I suppose you have to make a judgement of how long is the supplier likely to stay in business for that is your best source of replacements. There was a time in this business that some suppliers seemed to last for one container and then disappear,thankfully those times seem to have passed.
Kudos will guarantee to keep battery stocks for one year after the last bike of a model range has sold,but in reality we have kept replacements of LifePo4 models for much longer,the replacement cost is average £200.00,
For LiMno4 future models it is our intention to standardise wherever possible on future models,that is somewhat easier now that we have a range of batteries that will suit most bike designs,
Hope that helps
KudosDave

 

[Cyclezee]

eZee standardised battery cases and fitment for their bikes almost 10 years ago, so one of the latest batteries now available with 4 capacities will still fit a bike from back then.
e.g. David Henshaw's 2005 eZee Torq prototype fitted with a new battery a couple of months ago.