Get more out of your e-bike: understand the technology behind your battery

It helps to know a little more about the technology behind your e-bike and its battery. A few facts come in handy when you are stranded on the road because the battery has given up.

The first question to ask: is your battery charged enough? If the answer is no, the website www.oplaadpunten.nl is a quick way to find charging points in the Netherlands.

If charging does not solve it, there may be a technical fault. No need to worry: that does not mean an expensive new battery straight away. Sometimes a new charger fixes the problem. If the electric assistance cuts out, there can be several reasons for it. An e-bike battery sounds simple, but that is not quite the case.

An e-bike battery is made up of several parts, and each of them can be the cause of a fault. The construction is in fact fairly standard. Inside the casing are battery cells that are connected to each other to deliver the voltage the bike needs. Each cell is like a link in a chain. If one link is broken, the whole battery stops working.

Besides the cells, the battery contains electronics that monitor and manage it, so that it can be used efficiently and without damage. Whether you are charging or out riding, these electronics, also known as the Battery Management System (BMS), control every flow of energy without you noticing.

If your battery refuses to work, the cause can also lie with the BMS. Faults can come from the electrical connections on the bike or on the charger as well, or even from faulty battery cells.

The good news: a fault that turns up while you are riding does not have to hit your wallet straight away. If the battery is the problem, we at KWS Seuren can look at it, so that you do not have to buy a completely new one right away.

We find the problem with a thorough inspection, and often we can repair it too. The cost of a repair tends to be lower than people expect, certainly when they assumed they would have to buy a new battery.