Kennet Cruises

Choosing Between the Various Types of Bike Batteries

bicycle battery

Most electric bicycles come with a built in battery fiets accu management system but if you own an electric bicycle that doesn’t have one, or isn’t serviced on a regular basis, then your battery could be suffering from what is called “malnutrition.” With just a tiny bit of corrosion and mildew, your ebike batteries can start dying out. You need to maintain your bike batteries so they work for years to come. Here’s how to do it.

Let’s first talk about battery type. The most common electric bicycle battery type is NiCad. The reason this type of battery is so common is because it’s easy to repair and maintain. You don’t need to purchase any expensive special tools to clean and maintain the battery. In fact, the only tools you’ll need to service your NiCad battery type are a small screwdriver and a bottle of distilled water.

Lithium-ion and lithium-metal battery types are less common. Unfortunately, these types of ebike batteries often develop what’s called a “memory” which means the cycling time of the battery starts to slow down. This happens regardless of whether the battery is being charged or not. So while they’re less expensive, they don’t last as long and they have much lower charge cycles. Lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries are usually intended for use in applications requiring large amounts of power.

In general, the most expensive electric bicycles battery type is Nickel-Cadmium. This battery type was developed in Germany in the 1970s. Although it still has a life span that surpasses that of some other battery types, it does tend to lose charge cycles more easily and will require maintenance more frequently. It also tends to get hot when charging and requires a small amount of cooling. Nickel Cadmium batteries are best suited for applications requiring high power with a lot of discharge currents.

The third type of bike battery is the nickel strip. Although this type of battery is cheaper than the others, it does not offer as long a lifespan. The problem is that nickel strip batteries can corrode through the metal threads of the alternator. So you need to make sure that your alternator has a nickel strip or a heat shrink tube to avoid the corrosion.

To protect your nickel strip, you should buy a spot welder that has a welding protectant on one or both ends. A spot welder is a special welding tool that has both a welding and impact flux tip that helps to keep the weld from getting hot while it is forming the connection. You can purchase the welding protectant in a variety of different stores including auto parts, home improvement stores, and local hardware stores. The heat shrink tube is available at auto supply stores also, but you may have a hard time finding it.