With the rise of climate change and technology, electronic transportation is on the rise.
Many people are moving from traditional fuel-consuming vehicles which are one of the major factors in increasing greenhouse gasses to electronic vehicles.
This boom in the demand for electric vehicles is one of the factors behind Tesla, an electric car company being the most valued company in the world today.
In 2020 alone 10 million electric cars were sold, a 43% increase from 2019. The global e-bike market was valued at nearly 40,000 million dollars with a projected growth of 118,657 million by 2030.
Many Governments around the world are giving a major push toward electric transportation so the country’s carbon footprint can be reduced.
There are many benefits of owning an electric vehicle, from doing your bit to battle climate change to and it is cheaper to drive an electric car than a traditional fuel car and e-cars have also become a status symbol.
Though during the initial rise e vehicles were expensive, now this trend is starting to change and electric vehicles have become more affordable, with e-bikes being the most affordable.
In India alone, the e-bike market is worth 1.02 million as of 2020 and is expected to rise to 2.08 million by 2026.
Many experts expect the price of electric vehicles to become more affordable in all sectors of the electric vehicles market.
A question arises in our mind can you ride an e-bike without the battery?
The simple answer is yes, an e-bike can operate without the battery and this will not damage any of the other parts of the bike. So yes you can ride an e-bike without the battery.
E-bikes provide an additional boost to the bike which makes it easier to ride, but even without the battery one can ride their bike, with the only difference being that it’ll take a little more effort to ride the bike, this effort will be even more pronounced when riding on rough terrain or riding uphill.
But other than that one can rest assured that their e-bike will be fully functional even without the battery.
If you want to ride an e-bike without a battery, then you will need an e-bike with a removable battery option.
Sometimes people ride their e-bikes without a battery. The reasons are:
Exercise:
Riding the bike with its battery makes it more convenient and helps cover a larger distance without getting too tired.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good exercise, so riding the bike without the battery can be good when one is riding their bike to exercise and to stay fit.
Mountain biking:
Mountain Biking is one of the most popular types of adventure sports. Having an e-bike in this activity can go either way, where some people might love the experience with their e-bike, or hate it.
But when people are trying to mountain bike, they need to take the chairlift to reach the better parts of the mountains, but the bike could be too heavy, but removing the battery can reduce the weight of the bike.
Airplane travel:
Airplanes obviously are very cautious of what is brought on to the plane and do not allow any item which might have any risk of any kind.
Airplanes see the battery of a bike as a risk, as it might malfunction and become hazardous, so people are asked to leave the battery behind.
But the bike can function even without the battery and they can buy and rent the battery anywhere else.
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But there are a few downsides to not using a battery in the e-bike.
Motor Resistance:
Some e-bikes have direct or crank hub motors which give resistance when the battery is removed and because of this reason, it takes more effort to ride the bike.
However this also largely depends on what kind of path the bike is being ridden on.
Wastage of money:
e-bikes are built with specific parts, and these parts are added to the cost of the bike, by not using the batteries we are pretty much-wasting money.
It would have been better if we had bought a regular bike if we were not using the batteries which are integral to the e-bike.
Sometimes the battery of an e-bike fails or does not function properly and the reasons behind it are:
The Charger:
Sometimes the problem is not with the battery but rather with the charger. If a charger is not charging the battery or not providing the necessary output to charge the battery it leads to the battery not lasting as long as it is supposed to.
Overcharging:
This is a major problem not just with electric bikes but other electronic devices as well. Charging the battery more than it is supposed to leads to the battery being damaged and reduces its overall durability and life.
Therefore we should never charge more than necessary and stop charging once it’s fully charged.
Battery life span:
Sometimes the problem is just that the battery is at the end of its line and it is time to change the battery and put in new ones.
We should know how long a battery’s lifespan is and change it once it reaches us to avoid other problems.
A few tips to maintain the e-bike and its battery well are:
- Store the battery well. It’s always better to store the battery at 60% charge rather than 100%.
- Using a battery cover prolongs the battery life and saves it from damage.
- Removing it for cleaning after a ride.
- Using the right type of charger helps the battery charger correctly and not over or undercharging it.
- Don’t try to repair the battery on your own, it’s safer and better to take it to a professional.
Electric bikes function even without their batteries. Sometimes it’s better to use it without the batteries because of health or other reasons.
But it is not good to make it a habit as it can lead to wastage of money and depletions of overall quality of the bike’s performance.
Conclusion – can you ride an e-bike without the battery?
Like everything else, battery-less e-bikes also have their own set of pros and cons.
As it is mentioned, it is a great form and exercise and good for mountain riding.
So it solely depends on its use whether you should go battery-less or not. In a nutshell, it is possible but it isn’t suggested for everyday use to choose an e-bike without a battery.