Get to know the heart of your e-bike: the battery

An electric bike has the ability to transform your delivery experience, accelerating you comfortably and safely to complete as many trips as possible. How does it do this you may be asking?

Seamlessly integrated into the frame of your Zoomo e-bike, is a state of the art battery manufactured specifically for delivery. With couriers in mind, this battery is made to last up to 8 hours all the while bearing heavy loads. 

Although sometimes overlooked, the battery is essentially the heart of an e-bike. More than any other element, it must be kept in optimal condition to ensure an efficient and safe trip.

In this blog we will discuss the features of our battery and what you need to know about it before riding an electric bike, as well as how to take care of and charge your battery for best practice.

The battery: A vital organ

Food delivery needs to be done fast, on-demand, without any mistakes, and sometimes in the middle of the night - rain, hail or shine (be thankful for thermal bags)!

To ensure you don't get stuck on the street, in a less than ideal situation, we created a battery you can trust. 

Generally, entry level e-bikes for hire have 36 volt / 11 amp hours (Ah) batteries, some even less. For delivery, you should be looking at a bike that has at least 13Ah to keep you on the road for a 4hr shift. That said, amperage isn't the be-all-and-end-all of batteries - there's no point in having a high Ah e-bike if it doesn't use that power efficiently. 

Zoomo bikes have a 17.5Ah capacity battery or 630Wh capacity, which is incredibly impressive for a frame integrated battery.

Additionally, the longer it lasts, the more deliveries you can make so we wanted to facilitate your potential. The batteries we integrate into our electric bikes last up to 8 hours.

At Zoomo, we use Tier 1 Samsung cells, renowned for their ability to handle high temperatures through their high density. This is key in preventing fires, which often occur due to cells reaching a high temperature and becoming deformed or spontaneously combusting. Tier 1 cells are not only safer, but provide more charging cycles which result in longer battery lifetimes.

A complex system: Key features

Some additional features that our batteries have:

• Smart LED Button 

This indicates not only the state of charge, but any errors that may have occurred with the battery. The process for resolving these errors is just as easy.

• IoT Integration 

Zoomo has partnered with a leading IoT technology provider to build a ground breaking IoT system for our bikes. Key battery parameters for each bike will be sent to the cloud vio a webhook. Zoomo will record key data relating to the battery several times a day. This includes the number of times the battery pack has been charged and its master temperature. Zoomo can then monitor these parameters in the cloud and automatically flag problematic batteries in the fleet, before they would experience charging problems or similar.

• Motor Controller Type 

The standard choice as far as motor controllers go is a Sine Wave controller. At Zoomo, on the other hand, we for for the more expensive Field Oriented Control system which allows for a significant improvement on motor efficiency. Overall our bikes have a 15-20% higher range than those which use Sine Wave controllers 

Our controllers, like many components of our e-bikes are manufactured to boost rider experience. The FOC technology allows the motor to remain silent and acceleration to remain smooth.

Forget the Throttle

For now in Australia, it's illegal. Pedal assisted bikes are capped with 250w motors and you are not allowed a throttle capable of accelerating beyond 6kph*. Do we think this might change in the future? Yes**, but all our bikes play by the rules.

Remember that the legal limit for pedal assisted electric bikes is 25 kilometers per hour.

Look After your Battery

To keep your battery in top nick, here a four quick tips to boost the longevity of your battery and by association e-bike.

‍

1. Charge your bike to nearly full, and charge it overnight
2. Take every opportunity to charge your battery
3. Don’t let your battery drop to 0%
4. Don't blow a fuse, make sure your charger isn't running when you plug in your battery

‍

If you live in parts of the globe that get drop down to cold temperatures, including perhaps the presence of snow, we have also investigated the best protocol for looking after your battery in inclement weather.
‍
In short, our suggestions include:

1. Don’t store or leave your battery outside for extended periods of time - always bring it inside to room temperature where possible
2. Charge your battery indoors at room temperature if charging to full capacity 
3. Never use a fast charger on the battery when it is exposed to cold weather
4. Never put your battery in front of a heater to warm up, let it naturally come back to room temperature
5. Expect reduced range in cold conditions

‍

See more tips on how to take care of your bike on this video:

Hopefully this blog was helpful to you in getting you to know your battery and how to look after it to optimize your electric bike lifespan.

‍

If you have any other questions regarding batteries, or e-bikes in general, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of our experts in store or on the Zoomo website.

‍