A eBike battery costs between £190 to £250 depending on capacity (10-15amp hours) and they can be quite heavy. We wondered whether there was another option using low cost power tool batteries. Aldi Ferrex brand batteries are 2.5amp hours @40 volts and cost £30 each. You can simply buy as many (or few) as you need. So 10amp hours capacity (4 x Aldi batteries) would be £120 (plus £15 charger). We have made a 3D printed adapter to allow an Aldi battery to connect to the eBike controller.
The advantages are:-
- You can also use the batteries to power your other power tools
- If you frequently travel between 2 or 3 locations you can leave a battery there on charge and reduce the weight carried
- You can avoid "range anxiety". If you have say 2 batteries and use up one, you know that you are exactly at 50% of your range.
- If you only need to "pop to the shops" then 1 battery might well be sufficient
- They are easy to replace / detach and take with you.
- The bike is several kilos lighter
- The batteries and charger can be purchased from Aldi.com
- Each battery has a 3 scale charge level indicator, so you can see if it is full or empty.
We tested a 2.5amp hour battery on the Fair Mile in Henley (which is flat). Without any pedalling and running at 15mph a single battery ran for 3.5 miles, before the power tailed off (quite quickly) and the bike needed to be pedalled. Obviously if you pedal as well as use electric power then it would go further.
This option is not for everyone, but we are offering this as an option for specific use cases. We are also testing a switch on the handlebar to select whether to use the main battery or use the "reserve" (for those with range anxiety!
The advantages are:-
- You can also use the batteries to power your other power tools
- If you frequently travel between 2 or 3 locations you can leave a battery there on charge and reduce the weight carried
- You can avoid "range anxiety". If you have say 2 batteries and use up one, you know that you are exactly at 50% of your range.
- If you only need to "pop to the shops" then 1 battery might well be sufficient
- They are easy to replace / detach and take with you.
- The bike is several kilos lighter
- The batteries and charger can be purchased from Aldi.com
- Each battery has a 3 scale charge level indicator, so you can see if it is full or empty.
We tested a 2.5amp hour battery on the Fair Mile in Henley (which is flat). Without any pedalling and running at 15mph a single battery ran for 3.5 miles, before the power tailed off (quite quickly) and the bike needed to be pedalled. Obviously if you pedal as well as use electric power then it would go further.
This option is not for everyone, but we are offering this as an option for specific use cases. We are also testing a switch on the handlebar to select whether to use the main battery or use the "reserve" (for those with range anxiety!
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