How do I know what is a good quality eBike battery?

One of the most common questions we get asked is “How do I know what is a good quality eBike battery?”

I guess the easy answer is buy from a major reputable supplier and not the online cheap seller with little if any warranty and certainly no research and development guiding what they supply.

But certainly, the topic deserves a little more explanation and clarification.

Europe and especially the Netherlands have been there from the earliest days of eBike battery development, guiding and developing the original platforms and then innovating with some of the best research and development that is fundamental to the safety of most reputable eBike Batteries to this day.

Currently eBike battery technology in Europe is racing ahead, striving to provide the best and safest technology as well as deliverable power and the maximum number of charge cycles safely possible.

This encompasses areas such as adopting the latest technology in safety, and with the global supply issues affecting all battery suppliers worldwide, maintain a genuine brand cell inside the battery pack, the amount of fake batteries out there is amazing since the Covid crisis affected the manufacturing chain through materials shortages.

But let us be very clear Cap Rouge is not a small bike shop supplier, we have strong and long foundations (and the reputation to go with it) for the source, supply and warranty of eBike batteries in Australia, we regularly test our batteries we bring in through a professional battery testing centre to ensure they meet our safety requirements as well as the stated capacity on the label, this is an expensive exercise but this is essential to bring you the quality and consistency in one of the worlds (or Australia’s) leading Genuine brands.

We back what we sell with one of the best warranties available, all of this is reflected in our customer testimonials that we love, reminding us doing it “The Cap Rouge Way” is what the leaders in eBike adoption not just want but expect from their eBike batteries.

So, as you see we do not “Just build and sell” eBike batteries, we constantly adopt the new tested technologies and change with the fast-paced world of development to stay in the lead. This involves new product testing and development both locally in Australia, but also with feedback and direction on what we need directly with the manufacturers. This allows us to deliver the “best bang for buck” from a brand with safety and Battery management systems to keep your valuable battery pack safe.

At Cap Rouge we see your investment in a battery not as just a single sale, but our repeat business, this is due to the fact of clients often upgrade their bikes, and look to higher capacity longer lasting solutions, they want to stay with the reliable brand they know and have trusted – This alone is a key part of our continuing success.

So, what is this latest technology you use in Cap Rouge eBike batteries?

It starts of course with the Cells; these are the individual batteries inside your eBike battery pack. There are several different manufacturers, many of you already know the key names such as LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Sanyo and in some cases even Tesla. While all of these are great Cells, some are better suited to certain types and styles of battery and demands over others, it’s all about finding the best choice of Cell type balanced with discharge rates, current demand and long life, this is why no one battery pack can suit all situations.

We have done the hard work in selecting and balancing these choices so you can just choose the type and style of pack that fits your needs, or if you are uncertain email or call us for advice, it is what we do best. But in any case, you can be assured we are not a small supplier that has limited access to the best and with a range second to none.

But is does not stop there, batteries are only as good as their safety systems, no one should take a risk with such a significant investment in their eBike and Battery.

This is where the really clever technology comes into play, this is called the Battery Management System, this forms the heart of the battery and has a few functions, but key are its ability to protect the Cells inside the pack should a motor fail or draw an abnormal amount of power, or in the case of a faulty charger stop this bad charge from damaging the cells inside the pack.

We spoke earlier about improvements in technology, when we talk about these developments it is almost always about the advanced developments in the BMS (Battery Management System). Even in the last two years most manufacturers have gone from using old technology such as fuses (a good solution at the time) to a smarter BMS with electronic protection that does not take seconds to blow (often damaging the battery system). The electronic solution built into the BMS not takes just milliseconds to detect a fault and electronically disconnect the Cells from the outside world protecting them and you in the process.

These BMS modules now come standard in most of our newer packs, in fact these are required as part of the safety systems demanded by the European eBike Market. We certainly do still have some of the packs that do also have fuse technology, these are been phased out, but ours work in conjunction through design with the BMS to deliver the best protection for those particular packs.

The other Technology changes that we have driven the adoption of is the newer generation of FET’s, A FET is an electronic Device inside the BMS that in simple terms controls the power flow both in and out of the battery as well as acts as that electronic switch in case of a fault.
In older systems FET technology was a little limited and as you either charged or discharged your battery the FET’s were not as energy efficient as today and as such generated wasteful heat often requiring a large metal heat-sink to spread the heat away from the FET. All this added to the weight of the Battery as well as heating the cells.

At Cap Rouge most battery packs now contain the latest technology in FET’s that no longer require this heat-sink assembly, lowering both the weight of the pack as well as not generating heat inside the battery casing heating the Cells, this is because the newer FET’s are more efficient, with lower turn on resistance and less waste of energy ensuring when you charge all your energy goes into the Cells and not away as heat, but the real advantage is when you need the power coming out, it’s clean and effective without been wasted in heat been dissipated through an older style Heat-sink assembly, giving you the power and performance to do what you want to do best!

That is the Cap Rouge difference, worldwide best practice and engineering to stay ahead of the pack so you can too.

But how does this compare to other Battery Pack’s like Bosch, Giant and Shimano?

Well while we would love to tell you we are the very best we do accept that we have other very worthy players in the market we stand in.

It is difficult in a world that is very sensitive about commenting on their products to say much, but if you want to know many of these other players (if not all) now use the same technology as we do, certainly they choose the best cells from the reputable manufacturers, they all as far as we have adopted the new FET technologies and mostly have phased out the unreliable fuses and innovate and develop just the same as we do.

Our repair centre recently completed some work on a Bosch system and was impressed with their technology and how Cap Rouge was right up there with what is considered one of the best player’s latest developments, there would be no doubt in the industry Bosch are a leader also, we feel very proud at Cap Rouge to stand with such great company while still delivering excellent value for money in a no compromise battery system for your demanding eBike needs.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog sharing some of what makes us special, many would love to claim they play in the latest technology industry with eBikes, but there are few that have worldwide input into what we supply and maintain in Australia.

Below are some examples of the BMS units we have discussed in this topic.