The battery is the heart of the e-bike, the essential component of the experience. Having a good battery is essential to enjoying the ride!

Knowing this, we at It's Electric / Power in Motion have spent countless hours perfecting our lithium batteries, ensuring that we offer a high quality, well developed product. We are proud to stand behind our batteries as world class in quality and performance!

What does world class mean, for a lithium battery?:

Professional quality assurance

Some battery brands are contracted out to a manufacturer whom will then outsource the project to a smaller factory, and the battery will just be drop shipped to the customer, only undergoing basic manufacturer testing and never even being seen by the retailer!

At It's Electric / Power in Motion, we are in direct contact with our professional manufacturer who constructs our batteries to specific guidelines, tests them factory side, and then also passes personal inspection by our trained staff to ensure that the package received by the customer is top notch in performance and reliability.

Built in Battery Management System (BMS)

Most lithium batteries include a battery management system, a small monitoring chip that controls parameters like temperature and voltage cutoff to help the lithium battery regulate itself. This is an important part of the lithium battery, to both preserve the life of the battery by protecting it from exceeding its limits, and to enhance the safety of the product.

While some battery manufacturers may contract the BMS out to other companies for installation, once again, our batteries are all built in the same factory, including the BMS system. This ensures that there is one professional company whom completely understands the system and can fine tune the system to perfection, instead of relying on different contractors who may have different expertise and won't have complete knowledge on the product they are working on.

As an additional measure, we also test the BMS in person to make sure that parameters are set correctly in order to operate with a wide variety of different electric bicycles and conversion kits!

Some lithium batteries may fail in high stress situations due to poor BMS programming but as shown in this video, ours are well tuned to both provide the protection and safety you need and give great performance in high demand applications:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3486872651786930118&hl=en

http://www.electricpedaler.com/album4_004.htm

Our 37v/10.5a lithium batteries are used with the high power demands of the electric bike shown in the video, with no problems delivering extreme current! this person is using a Phoenix  motor with a 35ah controller and  two 37v 10.5a battery

Why choose a lithium battery pack?

Well, let's begin with a brief rundown of the basics about each type of battery pack currently being offered on the market.

Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries:

SLA batteries are a common choice for low entry cost solutions. They are:

+Inexpensive
+Simple
+No memory effect

But, at the same time have several drawbacks:

-Low energy density, low usable energy
-Very high weight and size (4x the weight of lithium, and quite bulky)
-Low lifespan (up to 200 charges)
-Poor cold weather performance
-Lower distance (SLA can not discharge to the same level as other types, and will not go as far)

Overall, the SLA battery is okay for being cheap, but is extremely outperformed by Lithium batteries in nearly every way, and when one considers that multiple SLA packs must be bought to equal the lifespan of a lithium pack, the value of the SLA pack drops.

It's Electric / Power in Motion carries the SLA battery as an inexpensive entry solution, but it can't compete with lithium in the long term, when one considers the extreme performance gap.

Nickel-Cadmium (NiCad) batteries:

A less common option, but still offered by some retailers. We do not carry or endorse the use of these battery packs, as they are highly toxic. Nickel Cadmium batteries have already been banned in Europe due to environmental concerns, and many recycling facilities are now reluctant to receive these batteries.

NiCad batteries can also suffer from a memory effect, potentially degrading the performance of the system.

Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries:

Nickel Metal Hydride batteries eventually replaced the NiCad in mainstream use, and are common as rechargeable household batteries at the moment. They are available for use in electric bicycles.

+Good lifespan
+Low toxicity
+Mid weight and size (2x lithium weight, 1/2 lead weight approximately)
+No memory effect

Downsides?

-Low power delivery ability, not much good for high demand applications
-Changing costs have made NiMH more expensive than in previous years

Nickel Metal Hydride up until recent years was a good option for those looking for an in-between option, better than lead, but not at the cost of lithium.

However, NiMH has been increasing in cost consistently in recent years, while the cost of lithium is dropping and the technology has only been getting better and better. NiMH is no longer so much an in-between, as it is only slightly less expensive per battery as lithium, but the performance and lifespan is nowhere near comparable.

Lithium battery packs:

The current flagship of the battery world, lithium batteries provide extremely good performance, lifespan, and light weight. They are environmentally safe, easy to recycle, and cutting edge technology for the most demanding needs.

+Very light weight and compact (1/4 the weight of sealed lead acid!)
+Great lifespan (700+ charges for li-polymer, 1000+ charges for li-phosphate!)
+No memory effect
+Great energy density and high performance (long distance, great power output right to the end)
+Excellent performance, even in very cold weather (the winter rider's pick!)

The only current downside to lithium is the higher entry cost, but considering its long life, the lithium battery is now a very cost effective choice. Our batteries will provide years of high performance, reliable service to the end, and can be safely recycled when the time comes!