Are there any existing or planned bikes that can charge over USB-C Power Delivery?
Posted by oakseaer@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 15 comments
The standard can support up to 240W (48V - 5A), which is more than enough for most bikes and low enough that many consumer chargers could meet this demand.
bradland@reddit
Most e-bike batteries do not have an internal charge controller. The BMS acts as a circuit breaker and balancing regulator. The li-ion charge cycle starts current limited, and ends voltage limited. For 48V packs, that's 13S at 4.2V per cell, or 54.6V peak. USB-C PD max voltage is 48V.
None of these are insurmountable challenges, but it would require that the battery contain a charge controller and voltage converter to take 48V up to the 54.6V needed to top off the cells. So far, none of the big names have offered it. There might be a niche brand that does.
oakseaer@reddit (OP)
Are 48V packs the standard? My bike uses 36V packs, while the one I linked seems to use a 46V pack.
OnMyOwn_HereWeGo@reddit
Standard? What standard? My manufacturer used 48v then switched to 52v. Lots of other manufacturers are using 72 now.
oakseaer@reddit (OP)
I’m asking if there’s a commonly-used standard across the industry. Presumably it’s whatever’s currently least expensive from trusted suppliers.
davpad12@reddit
Most bikes of the Chinese nature do stick to a standard with easily sourced chargers. But when you get into Bosch Shimano or Bros it gets more complicated. You have to use their proprietary chargers.
GregSimply@reddit
48V packs and above are very common.
heskey30@reddit
Yes, 48v is probably the most common, followed by 36v and 52v.
dallascyclist@reddit
No. Different motor and controller configurations use different batteries from 12 V to 96 V. The one thing you can be sure of in the bicycle industry is there is no standard and where someone tried to make one, there are exceptions.
OnMyOwn_HereWeGo@reddit
I’m saying there is no standard. That’s why we have so many Chinese bikes with goofy names. You could say that those listed voltages, including the ones you mentioned are the standards - plural.
bradland@reddit
There isn't really a unified standard, but a lot of bikes come with 48V batteries these days. Most D2C bikes are 48V. Specialized uses 48V. Bosch still uses 36V.
Also, 46V isn't a standard voltage. All e-bike batteries are built from individual cells. You arrange the cells in series to increase voltage, and arrange them in parallel to increase capacity. When companies say 48V, they are referring to 13S packs.
The actual voltage varies between 54.6V (4.2V per cell × 13S) peak down to around 39V (3.0V per cell × 13S) at low-voltage cut off. The 48V rating is a "nominal" rating, of around 3.7V per cell. While some cells are rated at 3.6V nominal, if you multiply that by 13S, you get 46.8V, or rounded off to 47V. No one sells packs like that though. Everyone just calls them 48V. There is no configuration that would be sold as 46V.
stormdelta@reddit
I'd guess part of that too is that 250W over USB-C is relatively new, and few chargers can actually do it (and those that exist are expensive + you need higher tier cables).
100W has been around longer, but that's a relatively slow charge for mid to larger batteries.
davpad12@reddit
Sure ..if you have a week to wait for it to charge.
0jdd1@reddit
Here’s a little more news on the Ampler Nova, which does seem to be the first e-bike to charge off USC-C PD. I wonder what the new US tariff tax is on Estonian e-bikes…. https://www.theverge.com/news/639681/usb-c-charging-e-bike-ampler-nova-specs-price
0jdd1@reddit
I do hope this quickly becomes a trend with e-bikes. It’s so great to charge All The Things with USB-C, and especially USB-C PD. You can distinguish cool new devices from their junky old cousins because they charge with today’s USB-C, not some obsolete old USB cables from the Twentieth Century, or their own weird bespoke connectors that are destined for the junk drawer.
oakseaer@reddit (OP)
It’ll probably change vastly between my typing this comment and receipt to a US port of entry. I don’t even know how you’d ship it, considering the frame seems to be built into the body, which would require a HAZMAT-certified air carrier.