E-bike Without Batteries: Can we use it?

Many people get confused that an e-bike looks like a scooter or bike, but e-bikes are just bicycles with electric motors. They have the same shape and structure as regular bicycles, and the only difference is that they have a battery, a motor, and a display screen or controller.

An electrical driver system that assists you in propelling your e-bike further as you pedal. You have to control your speed with your feet just as you do on a regular bike, but you feel accelerated and find it easy to pedal when you have an electric motor to serve you.

The motor runs on the battery and gives torque when you pedal. The more torque value, the more power you have while cycling. So, e-bikes are impressive, but if you want to know how they can be used without batteries or when the battery is out charged, then keep reading.

I’m here to give you a detailed answer to your queries. This blog will give you an idea of how an e-bike works without a battery.

Can You Use An E-Bike Without Batteries?

You can ride an e-bike without batteries, and it will behave just like a regular bicycle. But here I must warn you about the weight of the bike. An e-bike weighs more than a traditional bicycle so, if you are riding it without battery power, you have to give extra effort to overcome its weight.

What Is An E-Bike?

E-bikes are very similar to a traditional bicycle with an additional electric system that makes them super-efficient and fast. It has wheels, handles, breaks, pedals, and all the structures, same as a regular cycle. But as in the name, it is an electric bicycle or e-bike, it has some more features running on electricity produced by batteries.

E-bikes have a battery and a motor that assists you when you pedal. Your pedaling becomes easy as you get help. It is beneficial for long-distance travel and hill regions.

Some e-bikes have a throttle that kick-starts the motor with a button press. They have a kind of moped-like functionality, so they don’t give you a good cycling experience.

Why Should We Use E-Bikes Without Batteries?

As you know now that you can also use an e-bike without a battery, you may be open to considering situations when a battery cannot be used. Usually, most e-bike uses lithium-ion polymer batteries (LiPo). This has become a standard battery for more than 90% of the market. But also, some use a lead-acid battery.

Actually, there is no unification in the battery system that can serve all e-bikes. Each bike needs a specific battery based on battery voltage, ampacity (amps/capacity), i.e., maximum current in amperes, size, and weight of your bike. But whichever battery you have in your e-bike is hazardous to the environment to some extent.

The chemical byproducts of the battery pollute the environment at a striking rate, and battery waste contaminates the soil and groundwater. So, we feel like not using a battery is good for us in some cases.

When you’re traveling long distances with your e-bike, it is beneficial to use the special function of your bike, i.e., the electrical system. But if you sometimes use your bike for a short distance to run errands or you want to burn your calories exercising with a cycle, then putting the battery off is your mantra.

Also, your battery may charge out at the hour of need. At that time, you may look at the option of riding your e-bike without any batteries.

How To Use E-bike Without Batteries?

You can ride e-bikes without a battery, just like a regular bike. When the battery is off or not there, your motor remains to sleep so, you switch the pedal-assist function to zero.

Now you can ride your e-bike without the assistance of electrical components. But keep in mind that electric bikes are heavier than traditional bicycles.

Since there is no assistance from the electrical components, you have to apply extra force to overcome its weight. Maybe that is not reasonable for long distances.

Advantages Of Using E-Bike Without Batteries

The advantages of riding an e-bike without batteries are quite a few. At first, if you are trying to exercise and boost your fitness, then sometimes riding your bike without batteries will make you feel strong. You will be exercising with loaded weight while your pace is up.

E-bike batteries typically weigh around 7lbs (3.4-12.5lbs). The higher the battery capacity, the more it weighs. See the table below:

So, going battery-free removes the extra weight, and it is advantageous in some conditions.

You can experiment with various gears to find a good pace. If you develop a habit of riding an e-bike in off-battery mode, then you’re ready for any situation. If the charge drains out or you forgot to recharge, you can still not be helpless. At least you can make it back home or to any charging station.

This gives you relief when you are up to an adventure ride, right?

Disadvantages Of Using E-Bike Without Batteries

E-bikes are weighty because of the additional electric system so, the main disadvantage is to overcome their weight while pedaling without an electrical system.

A regular bike weighs 18-20lbs, whereas e-bikes weigh over 40lbs! You can easily understand that it takes a lot of effort to ride it.

Also, you cannot speed up without the motor. With motor assistance, you can travel up to 16-20 mph with your e-bike, which is approximately 3 mph higher than a regular bike.

But here is a question. E-bikes cost much more than a regular bike. Then why should you invest in an e-bike and use it as a regular bicycle?

Here is a discussion to address this question. Keep reading.

E-Bike Without Batteries vs. With Batteries

Depending upon your need, area of living, and fitness level, you can decide whether you need an e-bike always with a battery facility, or sometimes you can carry on without any assistance from the electrical system.

If you are to cover long distances, hilly roads in a decent time, your e-bike with a battery can provide you with a hassle-free experience. The battery runs the motor, and you get assistance when you pedal. You can set how much power assistance you need by using the controlled display. By doing so, you are all set to go considerable distances at an impressive speed without exhausting yourself.

On the other hand, you can use your bike without a battery if you need to. Suppose you want to work out, then cycling is an effective way to exercise. So, if you use your e-bike to keep the batteries off, you can use it as a regular bicycle that weighs somewhat more.

If you’re planning to travel through airways taking your bike, then here is another piece of info you need to count on. Some airlines don’t allow batteries, and you can go battery-free and carry your bike.

Just remember that you can rent batteries from local shops whenever you want. Furthermore, riding e-bikes without a battery doesn’t harm the bike, the electric components, or the rider.

Can The Electric Components Of An E-Bike Run Without A Battery?

Electric components always need an energy supply to run. In the case of e-bikes, the battery is the energy source that keeps the electrical gadgets alive.

A regular bicycle with electrical components like a motor, battery, control screen, or display is an electric bike. All these electrical components cannot be run without an energy source. So, in general, the constituents of an electric bike cannot work without a battery.

But what about substitute energy? Yes, other options can serve you as the required source of energy. You can use all the electrical components of your e-bike without a battery. Of course, that’s not happening without a replaced energy source! So, let’s find out what our substitute energy source is.

Green Hydrogen Fuel As Energy Source

Replacement of the basic lead-acid or lithium-ion battery can be green hydrogen fuel. Your bike will have a fuel cell to carry green H2 fuel. Some hybrid hydrogen batteries use solar energy to extract hydrogen from water. Hydrogen fuel cell e-bike takes 2 minutes to fill the fuel cell and gives 60+ mileage.

The major problem is that we cannot just get hydrogen out of mines as coal or natural gas. In the e-bikes, what is done is to use science from 6th grade. You will be using fuel cells filled with hydrogen and air (heat, water in little quantity) to produce electricity to run the motor of your electric bike. 

The alpha electric bike of Pragma Industries is a kind of green hydrogen fuel-run e-bike. Some companies are making these e-bikes as it has a good prospect. 

But yeah, it is costly. For these zero-carbon clean fuel run bikes, you have to spend nearly $9,000 each with an additional cost of almost $35,000 by charging stations. Clearly, these bikes are too expensive to get a grip on the market.

Conclusion

You can ride your e-bike as you want- with a battery or without. We all want our belongings to function as we wish, isn’t it? So, it is satisfying to know that we can ride e-bikes without a battery as a regular cycle at times of need.

Yes, e-bikes function as a regular bicycle without batteries though considerably heavier. You will face difficulty in pedaling due to its weight and motor resistance.

You cannot go very fast or decent distances with a battery-less e-bike, and how far you can ride depends on your bike type, land, and fitness level. So, if you intend to replace driving with riding an e-bike, you’ll probably prefer an e-bike with a battery.