How Much Does an Electric Bike Battery Cost?

Electric bikes can be fantastic for running errands, getting to work, or just cruising around. The battery, is the power source of an electric bike, and is the most important as well as expensive component of it. Normally, the battery sells along with the bike as a combo sale, so there is no need to acquire it extra. 

However, a spare is necessary if you intend to do cycling on a daily basis or have a long cruising in case of unexpected power failures. Here comes the second question:

How much exactly does a battery cost?

Anywhere between $500 and $900 for a new high-quality battery is the short answer, so let’s look into some details and decode the pricing of an electric bike battery.

The primary price of a battery could fluctuate, depending on its size, material and charging cost. After analyzing the three factors, this article aims to offer you some tips you might find useful in selecting and maintaining your battery.

Size of the Battery

48V and 52V are the most comparable sizes in the market, and they come with different capacities. The bigger an electric bike’s battery is, the higher the capacity it has, meaning a larger amount of charge the battery can store, and its lifespan is also longer.

Another function a battery size can affect is the cruising range. Compared with the commonly-seen 48V 15Ah battery which can sustain a range as far as 40 miles at full charge, a 52V 15Ah battery from Magicycle is able to cover 55 miles at the most. No wonder it is priced more.

Material

Batteries made up of different materials feature varying lifespans, thus leading to price difference, among which lithium is quite a thing. Raw material underpins the basics of the final price, so lithium price consists of a big part of the lithium battery. But why lithium particularly?

With a range up to 55 miles Magicycle electric bike was created for your commute, source: Magicycle.

A great advantage of Lithium batteries is represented by its intense power, meaning that it provides the most power per unit of volume among the others. This is great for the battery because it will last for a long time, holding the charge better, while keeping the electric bike relatively light.

As the most expensive and most commonly used type of electric bike battery in the market, Lithium-ion battery come out with optimized efficiencies and longer lifespans. It focuses on lightness and can be made in various shapes and sizes, making them suitable for nearly any type of electric bike. It is because of these qualities that this battery has the highest market price among the others of lower price like Nickel battery and Lead battery.

Charging Cost

Another give-out directly associated with the battery’s cost is the charging of the battery. This expenditure is often overlooked because it proceeds after the battery purchase. However, according to many buyers who complain about low charging efficiency, charging could take a large proportion of the expenditure pie.

An average range electric bike could keep going for 5-7 hours. After this, the rider could either pedal their ebike or recharge their battery. Recharging the electric bike battery means continuously using an electric source for 4-6 hours. Electric bikes that have higher capacities require longer charging periods, which could take up to 6-18 hours.

However, the electricity rate in the USA could float between 5-dollar cents/kWh to almost 36-dollar cents/kWh. Therefore, charging for a long time is quite expensive. Thus, selecting a smart, adept and efficient charger is a real bargain.

While the average charger in the market requires more than six hours to fill the juice, the battery charger of Magicycle only needs 3-5 hours, protecting the lifespan of the battery as well as sparing you a huge bill. As said, technology contributes to energy conservation. 

Considering the three basics that build up the battery cost, next we will have a brief review of the mainstay batteries of lithium batteries.

Price comparisson between regular Li-ion batteries and the Lithium battery provided by Magicycle, image source: Magicycle

If you enter an electric bike store with a budget around 500 USD at hand in getting a new high-quality branded 48V pack, it would probably suffice. Rather, if you are intending a 52V, it needs somewhere near 600 dollars.

In addition to that, there are several tips worth buyers’ attention:

Purchase and replace your battery in an authorized store.

Be aware of the date of manufacture (DOM) and brand logo.

Make sure the new battery replacement is compatible with your electric bike. It is okay if you want to upgrade or downgrade the capacity, but to stay the same with the original size is recommended because the previous size matches your charger and if it allows too much current to pass, your battery could get overheated, which could severely damage your battery’s life expectancy.

After loading the battery, check the welding and screws and make sure they stand at the right point.

Store the bike in a cool and dry space to preserve its lifespan.

Last but not least, in getting a new battery replacement or spare, it is important to prolong its lifespan and a well-maintained battery might even largely outlive its lifespan.

Inevitably there is wear and tear of the battery until one day it dies away, then what can we do to extend the process? We may use some simple tricks about charging.

According to battery engineers, charging batteries to a full 100% is not necessarily a good idea. This downsizes their capacities and affects their life. Furthermore, every time your e-bike gets charged after a complete discharge, its capacity would reduce as well.

For electric bike batteries, an optimal charging range is between 20% to 90%. Based on this, the suggestion is to charge frequently and avoid charging it below or beyond the optimal range, and don’t forget to always turn your e-bike off after using it. This saves its battery life.

After all, the cost of electric bike battery is both manufacturing-and- maintenance depended. After acquiring one, we need to take care of it so as to make a full use of its cost.

Magicycle 52V can be considered the most powerful Electric Bike for Adults only because it provides both long range and power at an affordable price.