Worlds first self charging e-bike

GLJoe

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 21, 2017
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Whatever the added weight of the additional battery charging gear is

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Now if regenerative breaking gear was very lightweight, cheap and reliable you could just about see it as worth having as an option for when you're freewheeling downhill and would have to brake anyway - free energy is free energy after all. But that scenario isn't actually that common on a lot of rides and the fact that basically no ebike manufacturers have thought this worthwhile suggests that it isn't worth it.
Assuming you already have a direct drive hub motor, the 'additional battery charging gear' usually weighs nothing. If you want to, you can design it to use the existing hardware. Mostly its a software thing.
Some ebike manufacturers HAVE already implemented it years ago.
 
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MarcusT

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May 5, 2019
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I won't say it's a sham, but if self charging was realistic, don't you think Shimano, Bosch or Yamaha would have come out with one?
 

danielrlee

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'Self-charging' (regen) is already realistic, but only if you're already committed to a direct drive motor. At that point, everything required to implement it would be present, so would be silly not to.
 
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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I won't say it's a sham, but if self charging was realistic, don't you think Shimano, Bosch or Yamaha would have come out with one?
BionX notably have for years had regenerating direct drive rear hub motors. They have four switched power levels and four switched regen levels, so the regen use and amounts are optional.

Owners are split on the regen feature, some use it and say it's valuable, others say it's not worth bothering. I think that's more down to the individuals and differing circumstances than the quality of the feature.

Regeneration hasn't been helped by some very poor implementations over the years, giving it an unduly bad reputation for high drag with little energy recovery.
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Deleted member 25121

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BionX notably have for years had regenerating direct drive rear hub motors. They have four switched power levels and four switched regen levels, so the regen use and amounts are optional.

Owners are split on the regen feature, some use it and say it's valuable, others say it's not worth bothering. I think that's more down to the individuals and differing circumstances than the quality of the feature.

Regeneration hasn't been helped by some very poor implementations over the years, giving it an unduly bad reputation for high drag with little energy recovery.
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The hillier the terrain the more useful it would be I suspect.
 

danielrlee

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The hillier the terrain the more useful it would be I suspect.
This is definitely true from an energy recapture perspective, but overlooks the even greater benefit of regenerative braking - almost zero physical brake wear & maintenance.
 
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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This is definitely true from an energy recapture perspective, but overlooks the even greater benefit of regenerative braking - almost zero physical brake wear & maintenance.
Absolutely. On my Nissan Leaf e-car the energy recovery is rather disappointing even in Eco mode despite its near one and half tons. But I do use the regen boosted Eco mode in all urban and suburban driving since the motor does all the routine braking, meaning the brake pads will almost last for ever. And it's relaxed one pedal driving.
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Deleted member 25121

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This is definitely true from an energy recapture perspective, but overlooks the even greater benefit of regenerative braking - almost zero physical brake wear & maintenance.
Yes, that would be a benefit provided the hub motor/generator is on the front of the bike. It might be a bit of a handful to ride then though, especially when it decides to brake on the wet and ice.
 

danielrlee

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Yes, that would be a benefit provided the hub motor/generator is on the front of the bike. It might be a bit of a handful to ride then though, especially when it decides to brake on the wet and ice.
There's no need to have the hub on the front. In fact, a rear hub has the potential to provide much stronger regen since you're able to mount the motor much more securely.
 
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There's no need to have the hub on the front. In fact, a rear hub has the potential to provide much stronger regen since you're able to mount the motor much more securely.
But most of the braking effort, and so brake wear, needs to be on the front wheel.
 

danielrlee

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But most of the braking effort, and so brake wear, needs to be on the front wheel.
While that's certainly true when it comes to 'emergency' braking, the huge majority of braking is done with lots of time to prepare, e.g, slowing at junctions, hill descents, stop-start traffic, etc. This sort of braking doesn't require an abrupt speed reduction, so doesn't cause loading of the front wheel with braking force in the same manner. It is this sort of braking that regen is perfect for.
 

joelectric

Pedelecer
Feb 22, 2019
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Motherwell
Self-charging electric bikes becomes possible thanks to regenerative braking. Regenerative braking uses a device that transforms kinetic energy into electrical energy and then stores it. The energy is put back into the battery, which powers the motor while it is running.
Bot?
 
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