Electric batteries are a vital component of electric bikes. If you don’t have a good battery, there’s very little that you can do with your bicycle. The electric batteries are evolving day after day and one has to keep up with the latest technological advancements to be able to decide on which battery is the best in the market. There are different types of batteries such as the 48v lithium battery for an electric bike.
Different types of batteries
It is really important to choose the right battery for your electric bike. In this article, we’ll compare the seven different types of batteries based on battery life and performance.
- Lead-acid Electric Bike Battery (SLA)
These batteries are cheaper and can be recycled very easily. Lead-acid electric bike batteries are, however, quite sensitive to bad treatment. They’re also not very long-lasting and are therefore not a good choice for people who use their bikes to cover long distances on a daily basis.
The main reason why these batteries are cheap is that they actually have a little usable capacity and are really heavy. Lead-acid electric bike batteries last only half as long as the nickel or lithium batteries.
Most cheap electric bicycles use lead-acid batteries. These may be cheap but are not worth a bargain. The only time that these batteries are good enough is when the bike is only used occasionally and in the immediate neighborhood.
- Nickel-cadmium (NiCd) Electric Bike Batteries
These batteries have more capacity than the lead-acid batteries. Although these batteries pass the capacity test, they are really expensive. Also, cadmium is a nasty pollutant that is hard to recycle.
Nickel-cadmium electric bike batteries may last longer than lead-acid batteries but in the real sense, they are hard to get rid of safely. These days, not as many people are using the NiCd batteries as they’re not a good choice of batteries.
- Nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH) Electric Bike Batteries
The NiMH batteries are more efficient than the NiCd batteries. Even though the NiMH batteries last longer and are much easier to dispose correctly, some people say that they don’t offer much improvement in range over then NiCd.
Nickel-metal hydride batteries are becoming rare as the market is being taken over by Lithium-ion batteries.
- Lithium-ion (Li-ion) Electric Bike Batteries
These batteries have become the most commonly used type in the market since they’re used by more than 90% of the population. There are different types of lithium-ion batteries in the market.
Lithium-ion batteries last longer compared to all the previously mentioned batteries and are also quite powerful for their weight. The main disadvantage is that these batteries need a whole lot of genius-inspired features to prevent them from self-destructing and catching fire. Lastly, these batteries are quite expensive and do not show any sign of getting cheaper.
- Lithium-ion Polymer (Li-pol) Electric Bike Batteries
The Lithium-ion polymer electric bike battery gives us the promise of being better than then lithium-ion batteries in terms of weight, price, and range. They contain no liquid and can be molded into different interesting shapes.
Li-pol batteries do not require the heavy protective cases that are common among other types of batteries. Since they don’t have the free liquid, it means that these batteries are more stable and less vulnerable to problems related to overcharge and damage.
Generally speaking, Li-pol batteries are ideal for application in high capacity to low capacity use such as in electric bikes.
- Lithium Cobalt Electric Bike Batteries
These batteries are relatively new in the market. The lithium cobalt electric bike batteries offer a much higher density and as a result, give optimum power in light and performance. Bikes that use these batteries are referred to as “Opti-bikes” and can go for really long distances.
- Lithium Manganese Electric Bike Batteries
The LiMg204 batteries use the same battery technology that is used in the Nissan Leaf hybrid car. Some people report that is the best type of battery that there is in the market. It’s claimed that these batteries last longer and are more powerful than any other type of battery.
In Conclusion
One really needs to consider what is really important to them before they can choose the type of battery that works best for them.
By now, it’s quite obvious that the best choice of battery is the lithium-ion battery and any one of its variations. The lithium cobalt batteries offer a higher energy density while the lithium manganese batteries are safer and more environmentally friendly. The lithium-ion polymer batteries come in cool shapes.
