What Electric Bike Battery Size Do I Need? - Ebike Batteries Sizes Explained

Hey, guys. Today we're going to explain what size battery do you need for your electric bike, stick around. All right. So today, we're going to talk about what size battery you need for your electric bike. But before I do, hit that subscribe button below. Stay in touch with us here at Sixthreezero, so you can be the first to know about all the new content we're putting out, including giveaways of bikes, e-bikes, and accessories, and also new products. So hit subscribe.

Now, e-bikes, are all the craze right now, and there are lots of different sizes, shapes, motor sizes and of course, battery size is what we're going to talk about today. So behind you, I have our Sixthreezero 500 Watt e-bikes. These have 48-volt, 10.4 amp hour batteries. Now, there are all sorts of battery sizes and shapes. I'm going to give you some general principles around what size battery do you need. Now I've been in the bike industry for 15 years and I've been helping people find bikes and e-bikes for a very long time.

And when people come in looking, I always ask them, well, how are you going to ride your e-bike? Where are you going to take it? What are your needs? And one thing I see, also in being a part of a lot of forums and post-purchase feedback is after people get an e-bike, I think they discover that they're riding the e-bike in a lot of new ways that they never thought possible, or they started to push themselves to do more.

So I think what I'm seeing is your first e-bike may not be your last e-bike and you may go through an evolution of needing more batteries or a bigger battery or spare batteries. So I'm going to do my best to explain to you, maybe on your first e-bike, how do we determine what size battery.

But I think after you ride for a year or two, you're going to discover that how you thought you would use your e-bike, may be different from how you actually are because I think you're going to realize you're going to ride farther, do more, go different places. So battery sizes, there are two ways to talk about e-bike battery sizes, the volts and the ... Sorry, and the Watts.

And you multiply those two to get amp hours, so I've seen some manufacturers talk about the size of the battery and amp hours, like 681. Other people talk about 36 volts and 10.4 amp hours. Sorry, amp hours. I don't know if I said amp hours. So you can say volts, amp hours, or you can say watt-hours.

So you can multiply the two together. I've seen other people on their sites where they multiply them. We list our batteries, just saying 48 volts, 10.4 amp hour, which is what these two are behind us. You should hopefully be able to get both types on most websites.

Now, the battery size. Number one, with the battery size, the battery is typically the most expensive piece of an electric bike, so that's something that is really important to think about. If you get a very large battery and you only end up riding your e-bike maybe one, two, three, or four miles at a time, you're really going to have spent all this extra money to have a super large battery, when you really don't need it. So something to consider is how far are you really going to ride? How much battery juice do you need?

The other option too, is that if you find you got a little battery, you can most likely buy either a secondary battery, you could bring with you on rides, or buy a bigger battery later on. At Sixthreezero, we are actually about to offer a bigger battery for these bikes, which will be 48 volts, 14 amp hour, which is going to give you a lot more juice on your rides.

So typically, you see 250 Watt motors, 500 Watt motors, 750 Watt motors. All of those are going to use different battery sizes, typically speaking. Now, you can have the same battery size as a 500 watt on a 250 watt. You're typically not going to have the same battery size on a 250-watt, as on a 500-watt.

You can bring the bigger battery down, but too small of a battery on two powerful of the bike is going to drain that battery very quickly. So typically as the motor goes up, the batteries enlarge because if you're going faster, you're draining the battery quicker, which makes complete sense. Also a lot of times, with fat tire e-bikes, you're going to see larger batteries because you're going to have more drag. So you're going to drain that battery quicker because the bike is powering those fatter tires.

Now typically the manufacturers do the best job they can of matching the correct battery size to the watts of the motor. There are typical battery sizes for a 250-watt motor, typical battery sizes for a 350-watt motor, and typical battery sizes for a 500-watt motor. There are ranges, I would say, as well. It's not always the same. I've seen some 500-watt e-bikes that have 21 amp hour batteries. I've had some e-bikes that have had 500 watts that have 10.4 amp hour and 14 amp hour. Again, you're going to pay more money for that increased battery size.

As an example, we retail these currently for around 1500 with a promotion going on. So 1500, we have a 10.4 amp hour. It's a 500-watt motor. I've seen the same e-bike, 500 Watts or very similar, that's been 2200, 2300. They have a 21 amp hour battery. So you're paying a little bit more for that larger battery. And again, it's something that you can just look into.

And then when people talk about the range and how long can you get out of the batteries, that's a very difficult question because many factors that play into it. How fast are you going? Are you using the throttle? Are you using pedal assist? Are you going up and down hills and how heavy the rider is. Obviously, with a larger battery, you're going to get more range, but to say how much more range you will get out of a 10.4 hour, versus a 14, versus a 21 amp hour, it's very, very difficult to say that because of how it's being used.

Now, if I could guesstimate, I would say, it's going to be basically about the percentage. It's going to be a percentage increase, right? So a 14 amp hour is about 40%, or sorry is like 10%, about 14%. So you're getting about 14% more out of a 14 amp hour versus a 10.4. 21 amp hour, you're going to get about 20% more than a 10.4 and a 21 amp hour.

So basically think of it that way. Now, the exact mileage, it's going to depend on the bike, it's going to depend on how you're riding, things of that nature. One other thing to consider then, with the battery is the size and the actual configuration of it. So bigger batteries are going to weigh more. You've got batteries like ours, that go back here, pretty thin.

This is a 10.4 amp hour. This is going to weigh about eight pounds. Now a 21 amp hour usually is going to be mounted back here or sometimes here. So the design plays into the battery selection as well. You have to think about what is most important to you. Is a combination of the aesthetic and the battery important or do you just want the biggest battery? Sometimes the biggest battery's going to be the most aesthetically not pleasing because it's going to be something huge right here. It's also going to be heavier.

21 amp hour batteries probably going to weigh about 12 pounds, 13 pounds. So you're going to add more weight onto the bike with a larger battery. Now, one thing I will say is if you're going to ride your bike a lot, I'm 215 pounds. If you're a heavier rider, having a bigger battery will be helpful because we're going to drain the battery quicker because the motor's going to be working harder to pull us. So riders 250 and under, can get away with 10.4 amp hour, eight amp hour batteries, if it's casual riding. And then my weight, there's a middle section, right? 215 to 250, where it's borderline, you might want a bigger battery.

If you're 250 and above, you probably do want to look at 14 amp hour, or 21 amp hour, depending on your riding. If it's mostly flat ground riding, I've gotten 20 miles out of this bike personally, with just using the throttle. So 10.4 amp hour battery, the range with a throttle, I've done 20 miles. Pedal assist, it's going to be 30 to 50 miles. So that's kind of a basis, 500-watt motor with these size tires, the 215-pound rider. And we have another video on that with how far does the e-bike go, 20 miles with just throttle.

That's a lot of distance, right? So if you're 250 and you're just doing throttle, that's not bad. You're going to get 10 to 15 miles and you're going to get 25 to 45 miles with the pedal assist. So again, another one of those factors, how are you going to ride the bike? Are you going to ride primarily in throttle, primarily in pedal assist, or just a little bit of pedal assist? If you just plan to barely use the pedal assist and opt for a smaller battery, you're going to save yourself a bunch of money.

If you're going to work that battery and you're going to be using pedal assist five, and you want to go as fast as possible, get a bigger battery, because I tell you what, you're going to kill that thing quick. Also, if you're going to do a ton of hills and that motor's going to be working hard, get a bigger battery. You're going to need it to last. When I say bigger battery, I'm saying 14 amp hours and above, 21 amp hours, things like that.

If you're going to cruise and just use pedal assist and you just want a great recreational e-bike, 10.4 amp hour is great, and eight amp hour is great. You're going to be on flat ground, nothing crazy. The other thing I will say is if you want to save yourself money on the initial purchase, opt for a smaller battery or opt for something 10.4 amp hour and below, and then you buy a secondary battery. It might cost you two, $300.

I have another video showing how you can bring a second battery. You place a bag back here and you can slip it in. It's really no big deal. You wouldn't feel the difference too much by putting it in a bag in the back here. So that's also another option, you can swap those batteries out, again. And then when you go up to the 21 amp hour batteries, they're going to be so large that I don't even know it would be feasible to bring a secondary battery on a ride. It would be, but they're going to be longer and a little bit bulkier. So if you like the idea of having one smaller, lighter battery, and then a secondary battery, if only that you bring on the trips that you want a secondary battery, then that's a great option as well.

So I hope I've helped you more than I've confused you, but you can see the idea of what size battery is. There are a lot of choices to be made. And I would say, number one, think about the price and what you're comfortable with. And then number two, what the needs are going to be of your ride, how much you weigh, what kind of hills you're going to be doing, and then the distance, right?

And if you're heavier, doing a lot of hills, bigger battery, if you are 215 and below, flat ground riding, you won't need a huge battery. In addition to that, even if you make the wrong decision the first time, you can always buy secondary batteries and bring them along with you, so don't forget that's an option. So if you have any specific questions about what battery you need, please comment below or shoot us an email at theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us at (310) 982-2877, and also go to sixthreezero.com.

You can check out our e-bikes. We've got 14 amp-hour bikes, 10.4 amp-hour e-bikes, and 21 amp-hour e-bikes. You can check it all out there. And if you're in the market, take our proprietary body fit quiz on our website, answer a few questions about your body, and your life, and our proprietary algorithm will recommend the perfect bike for you. And we have a 30-day test ride on your e-bike policy. If you don't love your e-bike within 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. Lastly, be a part of our community, our Facebook pedalers group, and download our app.

Both are great places to visit prior to purchasing because you can talk to other riders, see their e-bikes and ask them questions about their experience. And after you have your e-bike, go on our app, track your rides, compete on the leaderboard, make new friends and post photos in the pedalers' group. It is a ton of fun to be a part of the community. So thank you for sticking around and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the-