Consumer Reports: Ebike Fires

A high charge rate increases the risk of a catastrophic battery failure, but the following is the kernel of the article :
Just modest indentation, bending or twisting of the batteries can cause nanoscopic fissures in the materials to open and lithium to intrude into the solid electrolyte, causing it to short circuit.
Even dust or other impurities introduced in manufacturing can generate enough stress to cause failure.

That last sentence above kind of has me a bit worried about my ebike batteries. I assume the cells they are constructed with are not from a top tier manufacturer.
 
E-bike fires made front page of NYT yesterday: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/realestate/e-bikes-fires-danger.html#commentsContainer (paywall). The extremely widespread use of e-bikes in NYC and its high population density make finding solutions difficult if not impossible, The anti e-bike folks are (rightfully) also seizing on the bad (i.e., illegal) riding habits, particularly, but not solely, of delivery folks. Reader comments are interesting and diverse. Tighter regulation/certification of batteries and plentiful safe charging locations might help, but implementation would be a dauntingly challenging...if not impossible.
 
E-bike fires made front page of NYT yesterday: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/realestate/e-bikes-fires-danger.html#commentsContainer (paywall). The extremely widespread use of e-bikes in NYC and its high population density make finding solutions difficult if not impossible, The anti e-bike folks are (rightfully) also seizing on the bad (i.e., illegal) riding habits, particularly, but not solely, of delivery folks. Reader comments are interesting and diverse. Tighter regulation/certification of batteries and plentiful safe charging locations might help, but implementation would be a dauntingly challenging...if not impossible.

New York has problems because of a flood of crappy ebikes and batteries. Comments like yours and even the general framing of the article obscure this or imply the opposite, as if the problem were inherent to electrifying bicycles, or really, any battery powered device.
 
Last edited:
E-bike fires made front page of NYT yesterday: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/realestate/e-bikes-fires-danger.html#commentsContainer (paywall). The extremely widespread use of e-bikes in NYC and its high population density make finding solutions difficult if not impossible, The anti e-bike folks are (rightfully) also seizing on the bad (i.e., illegal) riding habits, particularly, but not solely, of delivery folks. Reader comments are interesting and diverse. Tighter regulation/certification of batteries and plentiful safe charging locations might help, but implementation would be a dauntingly challenging...if not impossible.
Asher is correct. I was in NY City a few weeks ago. Most of the delivery ebikes, batteries, wiring, and ebike "store/charging stations" that saw looked really sketchy. Ebike delivery drivers, and the stores servicing them operate on slim margins, and there's a lot of DIY. Human nature being what it is, I presume that they cut corners when it comes to purchasing, repairing, and charging batteries. There's a big market in "used" batteries in that industry.
 
SQUATTERS are only in New York City, and not next door to US, OUR family right?
"Junkies, migrant squatters turn NYC block into a crime-ridden nightmare, starting blaze with stolen e-bikes that torched 2 nearby homes"
NYPOST
Moshe Kabasso with Luly Kabasso on the front porch of the home they were forced to leave after a blaze started at a squatter home next door.
 
Well, you want to go to the NY Post for the story.


Scooters with big batteries in a pile with ebikes. Idiots probably plugging in random chargers and jumpering wires when nothing works.
 
Back