With an e-bike, there are reasons as to why it might be preferable to change the battery to one that is more powerful. For instance, to increase the range, which in my opinion is the most important aspect. For instance, many babyboomers have an electric bike to help them during the times when they are tired while climbing a huge hill.
Can you simply add a more powerful battery to your Ebike to better its performance? You can add another battery to your electric bike as long the controller, motor and the software can deal with the replacement battery. If not, one of those items would need to alter at the same time.
Are Batteries Interchangeable – Can You Use One from Another Ebike that is More Powerful?
Some people may feel that they can simply switch out their present electric bike battery for another one that has a higher voltage. This is not so, it is like trying to add a battery pack from one computer system to another one. The battery has to be able to work with all of the components. Components are certified to work at certain voltage levels safely.
If you were to go to your local dealer and ask for a battery upgrade, they should be able to help you out. Nevertheless, they might not have the knowledge to make the switch so that damage does not occur to your ebike.
Personally, I feel that it is best to check the manual and also to speak with a tech person at the manufacturer to see if an upgrade is even possible. Sometimes older systems have not even been designed to upgrade to Lithium- ION, the newest tech for batteries. This is because this type was not even conceptualized years ago.
You could just trust the local dealer, but better to be safe and to do your research beforehand to see if their opinion coincides with what the manufacturer might be telling you.
I recommend that you view the ebike battery by x-go.
It is better to deal with the manufacturer of the battery?
It is possible to upgrade to a better battery even if the batteries are not from the same manufacturer. Nevertheless, you need to do a lot of digging first to ensure that you will not end up damaging your ebike with a higher voltage.
For instance, I read in one forum about someone that added their Izip Dash battery 2015 to a Raleigh Yekoa 2015 ebike with zero problems. Now, this might be a rare situation, but if you were to do your research correctly, you could end up increasing the power and the range of your normally mediocre ebike.
Another case that I read about was someone that wanted to switch their Surface Colt 604 battery to a Voltbike Yulkon 750. This would have possibly ruined the ebike in the worst scenario, or perhaps they would not have been able to charge the battery after switching it.
Can you Use an Aftermarket Battery on an Ebike?
You can use an aftermarket battery on an e-bike. Nevertheless, if you still have a warranty on your electric bike, might be prudent to check to see if your warranty will be voided if you do so.
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Something that I read about was the fact that you have to have the right type of charger based on your battery. You cannot assume that your present charger will work on a refurbished battery. You will need to check the specs of the newest battery and then purchase a charger that will work with it.
For example, in an ebike forum, someone mentioned that their cycle satiator charger did not work on their RCS bike after they had added an aftermarket battery.
One way to quickly rule out a battery charger is to check to see if the connector lines up correctly with the generic battery that you may have purchased. The charger will have a connection that is different from the typical connection that you may have seen on your home computer system, they are very specific.
For instance, one popular connector is the xt160 connector that does not look anything like a USB or a similar connector. You may be able to determine if the charger works by looking into the specs and finding out the exact item number for the connector that will work.
Besides that connector matching, you need to learn how to keep the battery that is aftermarket working at its optimum level. It is fine that you are saving money by buying such a battery, but you need to treat it correctly so that you will be able to maximize its limit on charging cycles.
One major way of increasing the times that you can charge an aftermarket battery that is cheaper is to charge it slowly. Do not try to charge it as quickly as possible. For instance, by trying to use a plugin that provides higher power.
You can actually increase the life of most ebike batteries 4 times just by learning to charge them correctly.
Will upgrading Your Ebike Battery Give More Speed?
Some people feel that upgrading their battery is going to increase greatly the speed as long as the battery is a type that is popular and well known. This is not always the case.
You need to increase the voltage to see any increase in speed. Getting a battery that had more cycles is not going to affect the speed, it just ensures that the battery will last longer.
The problem with having a battery that commands more voltage is that this new voltage may cause compatibility issues for your ebike. In general. An ebike is usually designed so that it can use a uniform voltage. The parts are sourced for the same level of voltage.
Switching to a battery with a higher voltage to increase the speed, may cause you to be in a situation where you will not be able to even charge the battery. You need to be able to determine the upper limit for your bike.
For instance, here are the main parts of an ebike that require voltage and that will be an upper limit depending on the model and the year of your ebike:
- Motor (click here to see the BAFANG motor on Amazon)
- Controller (check the pricing on the Sine Wave Ebike Controller on Amazon)
You can determine the upper limit by reviewing the specs for your ebike. There should be an indication of the upper limit for voltage. It will probably be higher than the voltage of the factory battery that your ebike is using right now.
The reason that the voltage limit is higher is so that the ebike will still work even the typical new battery starts at a higher voltage than your ebike recommends.
The same adjustments are made to the typical motherboard. For instance, your motherboard might be designed to be able to handle an upper limit of ram that is not even presently available on the market.
Is it Possible that an Upgraded Battery of Higher Voltage will not Affect the Speed of Your Ebike?
It is possible that your bike will not be faster even after adding a battery of higher voltage. The speed is limited by the components that are on the bike. For instance, you cannot increase the speed of some ebikes that contain a Panasonic motor.
If an ebike has hub-drive than the motor is positioned in the hub of the front or rear wheel. By changing the battery to an upgraded battery, you are not going to see a difference in the speed of the ebike.
Nevertheless, with any ebike, you can try to switch to a lower gear to increase the speed. For instance, switch to 19th gear when you are typically using gear 21. The lower the gear the more the chain is going to spin the wheels.
Even if you manage to upgrade to a battery that allows your ebike to reach higher speeds, the weight might reduce that upper limit.
For instance, if you get a battery that weighs a lot more than your present battery, you are going to increase the overall weight of your bike. The more that a bike weighs, the greater the effect that gravity will have on the ebike, which will reduce its speed.
Can You Typically Upgrade from 48v to 52v?
Since many ebikes after the year 2018 can handle 52v, can you safely just switch your 48v battery to a 52v battery? Yes you can, but of course, you need to check the specs.
Download the manual for your ebike and check the list of specs. You will find an indication of the recommended voltage. Most newer bikes can handle 52v, but it is best to verify beforehand. Otherwise, you may buy a battery that will never work with your bike.
I have noticed that some 52v batteries are actually able to perform a lot better than the closest rivals at 48v. They seem to require less current and they are quite powerful.
If you are adventurous you could try this method that pushing the upper limits of your battery. I have read on forums where people are pushing the limits of their 52v battery. Of course, you need to check to see if your ebike is certified to deal with at least that voltage before you try this tactic. It is the same principle as over-clocking a motherboard.
Some people claim that they are able to reach as high as 58.8 volts on their ebike with a 52v rated battery. Personally, I would not try this since you could be ruining your warranty or you could end up frying resistors and capacitors in the circuit boards for your ebike.
