Ebay today announced that is banning the sale of e-bikes by private sellers at the end of this month. This has come in response in the huge increase in the number of e-bike battery fires and calls for the Government to take action. E-bikes are not inherently dangerous and we welcome this move. Let us explain why.
At iCycle we've been selling and servicing electric bikes for approaching 15 years now and have seen our own fair share of horror stories. You wouldn't put a Formula One engine in a Fiat 500 and expect it to be safe, yet this is exactly what some e-bike conversion kits are like: adding a powerful electric motor to a bicycle whose frame and brakes weren't designed for it is a recipe for disaster. When it comes to e-bike batteries there are two elements to the danger: batteries made up of recycled cells and a lack of education.
Why some e-bike batteries catch fire
Rechargeable batteries are made up of a multiple cells that are linked together to increase the amount of power that the battery can deliver. Batteries are expensive to manufacture so when you see a battery or e-bike whose price appears too good to be true then that's because it is. These cheap batteries are made using recycled cells from other batteries such as from within laptops. Problems arise from a phenomenon call thermal runaway. Extreme heat and gases leaking from the cells lead to fires or explosions. Of course, science applies to even the best built batteries. It's a question of probabilities. However, there are some basic rules that you can follow to keep you and your family safe.
What you need to know about e-bike charging
Complacency around battery safety is understandable given the number of devices that we charge without incident each and every day. The big difference between your mobile phone or wireless earbuds and an e-bike is the amount of power they require to operate. Your e-bike takes longer to charge because it stores more energy and, in the unlikely event, that something went wrong the consequences could be catastrophic. Here are some essential tips to keep you safe and to get the maximum life out of your bike's battery:
- Only use the charger that is designed for your e-bike. If you've lost your charger replace it with the original manufacturer's charger rather than a generic one off eBay or Amazon.
- Never charge your e-bike when you are asleep or out of the house. If something goes wrong you won't be there to stop it or, worse, you may never wake up.
- If you have to charge an e-bike inside your home make sure it isn't blocking any exits.
- Regularly check on your charging battery. Warning signs include excess heat (it's normal for batteries to get warm but not hot), bulging in the case, unusual hissing or cracking sounds, smells or smoke.
- If any of these occurs disconnect the charger from the mains outlet immediately. If the battery is smoking or on fire, call 999 and leave the premises as soon as you have disconnected it from the mains.
- If you are unsure about the safety of your battery speak to the bike shop you bought it from.
Why the eBay ban is a good thing
The eBay ban on private sellers may appear draconian but the protection it will provide against potentially lethal batteries should be welcomed by all. eBay has said that it will only allow e-bike sales from "eligible business sellers". What the eligibility criteria are is yet to be disclosed, but eBay implicitly adding its stamp of approval to a vendor could lead them to being accused of being partly culpable of bikes are found to be unsafe. they aren't going to let that happen. Whatever the criteria, I suspect some of the purveyors of £300 brand new e-bikes may be forced to peddle their wares elsewhere once the new rules come into play.
Will we benefit as a business from the lack of private sellers of used e-bikes? Probably not. You see, the bikes being offered at bargain prices really are too good to be true, whether a private seller or a "business". When you look at the reviews of the cheapest e-bikes, you'll see that they turn themselves off when you go over a pothole, bikes that won't charge (red flag), and generally a lack of durability. We sell e-bikes across all price points and won't touch anything we've not rigorously tested ourselves. You simply can't make and sell a quality e-bike for the prices some eBay sellers are offering. And when things go wrong, it's our name that will be dragged through the mud by unhappy customers. (Not only do we want our customers to be happy, our survival as a business depends on it.) Whether the change at eBay means we'll end up selling more used electric bikes remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: we'll only ever sell you a bike that we know is safe and comes from a reputable manufacturer. That's the iCycle difference.