Do Fords only run on Esso petrol?

timidtom

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Will the day ever dawn when the battery from one range of ebikes will clip into any other brand? What is the benefit to the purchaser of having to buy a battery from just one supplier? I know there are gifted people on this forum who know what they're doing and can work magic with a soldering iron - I am a lesser mortal!
The sun's shining - off for a ride!
Best wishes,
Tom
 
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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A major reason why it hasn't and couldn't happen so far is the state of flux due to continuing development.

There's a consensus on what petrol or diesel fuel consists of, barring very minor additives, so standardisation is easy. There is no such consensus on batteries since they all fall short of what is really wanted and needed, the various chemistries and constructions are in competition and development to reach an agreed acceptability continues.

Even a standard mounting isn't easy to agree since the different chemistries have very different bulks.
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timidtom

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I take your point, flecc, but surely there is room for standardisation? The electrickery which comes into my house may have been manufactured by wind, wave, coal or atom but it flows through the same cables and pops out through the same 13amp sockets. I want a box which will fit onto my Dutch ebike/etandem/efolder/ewhatever and can be lent to brother Bob or sister Fanta for their ebikes - just as simply as Esso/Shell/Morrisons petrol will 'fit' into any car's fuel tank.
Tom
 

amigafan2003

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You're looking at it the wrong way.

The energy in the battery is the same as petrol in the fuel tank, so in that respect, any bike can run on the energy the battery contains.

Now think of the actual physical battery as being the same as the fuel tank on a car. Would you expect to be able to fit a Jaguar fuel tank to your BMW?
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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As amigafan says Tom it's the physical side. One maker prefers a small compact li-polymer battery, while another likes to offer longer life at the cost of greater bulk and weight with LiFePO4.

Then there's the view on the range, no consensus on that. One wants a compact small battery for lightness and isn't concerned with offering long range, while another wants to offer that long range. Unlike cars, e-bikes can't just fill up en-route.

And position, light bottle battery, heavier rear of seat post or carrier mount? None of those suit many of the crank drive units with integrated battery mounts of course, so that's yet another problem.

Basically, until there is a consensus on the shape and layout of an e-bike, on where the motor should be, on hub or crank drive etc, plus a fairly fully developed battery that all agree is the best option, it isn't going to happen.
 

neptune

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If standardisation could one day be achieved , it might become feasible to rent , rather than buy a battery . So , if you went on a tour , you could stop at a rental outlet , and swap your battery for a fully charged one . Only problem is , to cover depreciation , you would have to pay quite a bit for the swap .
 

flecc

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There is an Israeli system in it's early stages for cars like this, the cars made by Renault. Refuelling stations hold fully charged batteries and there's a swapping mechanism to handle the change.
 

timidtom

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If standardisation could one day be achieved , it might become feasible to rent , rather than buy a battery . So , if you went on a tour , you could stop at a rental outlet , and swap your battery for a fully charged one . Only problem is , to cover depreciation , you would have to pay quite a bit for the swap .
Much as in the good old days your coachman would swop the tired horses for a fresh team? Worked perfectly well then, until some fool invented steam trains ...
Perhaps an interim solution might be the introduction onto the market of a series of adaptors such as travellers use now in foriegn hotels? This cannot be beyond the wit of man!
Happy Spring ebiking! (Maybe that's the solution - clockwork! But I bet the winding keys wouldn't conform to a common standard?)
Tom
 

flecc

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Perhaps an interim solution might be the introduction onto the market of a series of adaptors such as travellers use now in foriegn hotels?
Theres a perfectly good business idea here. A company could market reasonable cost batteries in a cycle carrier mount with flying leads and adaptor heads for various popular e-bike battery mount connections.