In our previous article, we talked about how to choose electric bicycle batteries among various battery types. And today, we are gonna share some knowledge about ebike battery specs, since we know that you guys value it very much when buying an ebike. Parameters such as Watt, Ford, and Ampere determine the performance of an ebike and directly affect your riding experience. For these specs, some people want strong power, while others prefer sufficient battery range. But there are many parameters of ebike battery. Here we summarized the 6 relatively important specs for your reference, hope you could have a better command of electric bicycle battery specs before making purchases.
Watts (W)
Watt is a unit of power in the International System of Units (SI), defined as one joule per second, and is used to express how much energy is consumed, used, or converted in one second, and one watt is equal to one volt times one ampere. Watt is an important parameter used to measure the power and performance of an ebike battery. A higher wattage corresponds to a higher battery output power, so as to provide your ebike motor with more power.
In addition, there is a terminology called watt rating, and there are two different concepts, continuous and peak watt ratings. These two ratings are respectively used to describe how much energy the motor can process continuously over a long period of time, and the maximum energy the motor can process in a short period of time. Here the Himiway 750 watts motor known to our Himi family members is a continuous watt rating, which means that your Himiway electric cruiser bike or Step-Thru ebike motor can work continuously at 750 watts for a long period of time, and it will definitely bring you an unprecedented fantastic riding experience.
All in all, Watt is an important factor affecting your ebike performance, such as going uphills or riding on rugged mountain roads. Commonly seen ebikes motor watts are 500W, 750W, and 1000W. Research shows that 750W is the most suitable power for the public. It is suitable for most scenarios while ensuring good safety performance. If you do not pursue extremely high power, 750W will definitely be your best choice.
Watt per hour (Wh)
Watt-hour refers to the unit of power within a certain period of time. It is mainly used to measure the energy consumed by a certain power of electrical appliances in a unit of time, and kilowatt-hours (symbol kW⋅h) are more often used in daily life. For example, if your ebike battery is continuously discharged at 100W for one hour, then it has consumed 100Wh during this time. And Himiway Cruiser series battery spec is 840Wh, which means it can work more than 8 hours in this condition, of course, this depends on the power level you use it.
Watt-hour is actually similar to Watt. It is just a unit introduced for the convenience of calculation and is also related to the performance of the ebike. Generally, the higher the watt-hour, the faster the speed of the ebike and the wider the riding range.
Voltage (V)
In the International System of Units, the volt is the unit of voltage that is used to express the electric potential difference between two points. As one of the factors affecting ebike battery power, volts is another essential technical spec to consider when you buy an electric bike. The volt is proportional to the voltage. A higher voltage can give your ebike more powerful energy and extend the battery range, allowing you to experience a faster speed and spend more time enjoying your riding.
The household voltage in the United States is 120V, and in most parts of Asia, because of the large number of electricity users and the serious transmission loss, their household voltage is usually 220~240V. As for ebike, the common battery specifications on the market are 12, 24, 36, and 48V. The 24V battery is the most accepted one, mainly used on city ebikes as a means of transportation, suitable for riding in flat places such as towns. However, when riding on mountain roads or uphill roads, you will need more power, that is, higher volts. At this time, it is particularly important to have a mountain bike equipped with a 48V battery. And now, the 48V battery ebike seems to be synonymous with high-end electric bicycles. Himiway Escape and Cruiser series are mountain bikes designed for various complex terrains. They are undoubtedly equipped with a 48V Samsung/LG battery, with higher performance and lower price, which can meet most of your riding needs.
Amperes (Amps)
Ampere (A) is the basic unit of electric current in the International System of Units. It is used to express the intensity of electric current and has important physical meaning in electricity. If ampere is compared to a water pipe, then electrons are the water flow through this water pipe. The larger the cross-sectional area of the pipe is, the more water will pass through every second, which means stronger electric current intensity and more power from the battery. There are many references to ampere in life. For example, the charging electric current of mobile phones is about 0.8~2A, and the electric current of lightning is about 10,000 to 100,000 A. And just as we mentioned before, the ampere is one of the determinants of power, so choosing to buy an ebike with a larger amperage will make your riding more enjoyable.
Ampere per hour (Ah)
Ampere hour is a unit used to measure the battery capacity of electronic devices. Although it is a non-SI metric unit, it is also an important term that is often used. If the specification of a product is marked as one ampere hour, it means that it can work continuously for one hour with a current intensity of 1A Himiway Cruiser 17.5Ah Samsung/LG battery can be continuously discharged for about 12 hours at a current intensity of 1.5A, or we can say that it is discharged for 1 hour at a current intensity of 17.5A. From this point, we can say that higher Ah can bring you larger ebike battery capacity, in other words, longer riding range.
But please note that Ah is an important factor in the riding range but not the only one. It is also slightly affected by many other factors, such as riding against the wind, overloading your ebike, riding on rugged terrain, and excessive riding speed. All these uncertain factors will reduce the power of the motor and thus requires more energy from the battery.
The battery Ah specs commonly seen on the market are 10Ah, 12Ah, 14Ah, and even more. Here we proudly say that the Himiway 17.5Ah battery can bring you 35+ miles of riding range. The battery capacity is higher than the market average but still follows a reasonable price.
Motors
As the power source of electric bicycles, electric motors play a vital role in the range and speed of ebike. Currently, there are mainly two types of motors on the market, geared hub motors and direct drive hub motors. Geared hub motors can produce more energy with less power and generate more torque at lower speeds, which saves more battery power while also saving human energy. Moreover, the geared hub motor is usually lighter in weight and smaller in size, which will significantly reduce the burden on the battery. The only disadvantage of geared hub motors is that they will make a slight noise when working and will be slightly worn after a long period of use, but the impact on your ebike is almost not taking into account. In summary, geared hub motors have more efficient energy utilization than direct drive motors and that corresponds to a wider riding range. Of course, if you would like to know more details of the difference between these two types of motors, please refer to our previous article about E-bike Geared Hub Motors vs Direct Drive Hub Motors, which will share some knowledge about it clearly and professionally.
Well, that is all the things we want to talk about battery specifications, plus the knowledge about batteries in our previous articles, you will definitely make the right choice for you. For the above six specifications, although as a newcomer in the bicycle industry, Himiway is ahead of most ebikes in the same price range on the market. You can just shop around and compare our products with other ebike battery specs, we believe you will find Himiway the most cost-effective in the end.
