Do I need to balance a hyper ebike battery

kev123

Member
Region
USA
City
Oregon
I got ahold of hyper bikes, they said I no I don't need to balance, their batteries. I'm gonna do it anyway because it not performing real great.
 
Can you describe in more detail what not performing great is?
Range?
Mechanical?
Top speed?
Give us more information.
 
I'm not sure what you're asking, I mean. I've read all the. Information on. Balancing. Batteries. So my question isn't. Weather needs to be. Balanced. My question is. Can you balance. The hyper ebike battery. And like I said I've read a lot of information off of this website, this forum. And I'm just saying hyper. (Bike) people are saying. You can't. or. There's no need to balance their batteries. The range is not good. That seems to be the most. Of the problem. So I think the question is, is the hyper. Company. Right or wrong. About. Or they're just saying that you can't or you don't need to, balance their batteries. So I guess they're not. Saying you can't they just saying you. They don't think you need to. Or have to. Oh so. Yeah. So I guess I can balance this battery. (Cause) yeah they're emailed to me was saying, that they didn't think you. Had to. Yeah and again it's. Definitely the range. Thank you.
 
No that is not needed, This is what hyper bikes said to me. So they, said that I can't. They just said. They didn't think it was needed.
 
ok this is about the best we can do. the battery will balance when you charge it. That's why you cant do it. if the bike is used the battery could have been killed or it sat around too long without charging.
 
yeah I don't know. Some say you wanna rebalance your battery once a month under heavy use, Yeah I don't know I have to keep reading about balancing . I mean you don't balance on a regular basis, OK thank you.
 
some ons said this Its a good practice unless you have a pack that comes on a manufactured bike that specifically tells you not to do it. On a daily-use bike, here's what I do:

1. Charge to 80% normally - typically thats 2x per day for me.
2. Once per month, charge to 100% and let it sit on the charger for a couple of hours @ 100%. This is your balance charge.

On that balance charge, I typically use a Grin Satiator as its got a reliable voltage setting. You can typically *see* the pack balancing as the display will read 'charge complete' for a few seconds, then it will pop out of that mode to charge for 0.1a or 0.2a for a few seconds, then a brief stint back to 'complete' and the cycle will repeat itself. When the charger sticks solidly on 'complete' the BMS has topped up everything and you are balanced. So while I say 'leave it at 100% for a couple hours' the precise method would be to monitor it and pull the plug when the display tells you its not topping up anymore.

For your typical cheapie Chinese charger you'll have to just let it sit awhile as they have no display.

If you have your packs made by a quality pack maker, they will spend some time testing the cells and sorting them by hand so they can use cells that are already a close if not exact match. At that point, its a lot more likely that you can get away with balancing the pack once when you get it and leave it for a much longer time thereafter (as in forever, theoretically). My packs are made like that but I still do a monthly 100% balance.
 
The real question is does this battery have a BMS (battery management system).
If it does, it should balance itself when you fully charge it.
If it does not, there is no way to balance the battery without opening it and rewiring all the cells with a BMS.
 
So I guess my rad Rover one. Doesn't have a management system. Because the instructions for it says to do this.Balancing the Battery When you first receive your bike and for the first three times you charge your battery from Rad Power Bikes, follow the procedure outlined below to ensure the cells that power the battery are balanced and operating as efficiently as possible. Note: Since the battery should arrive with between 50-75% of a charge, it should be able to be ridden without initially charging once assembled and verified as safe by a certified, reputable bike mechanic. Charging normally before the first ride is also fine. 1. After the first, second, and third ride, regardless of distance ridden or the amount of battery used, charge the battery and leave the charger attached to the battery and the outlet for as close to 12 hours as possible (but not longer than 12 hours). Note: this may require leaving the charger attached to the battery and outlet even after the charger illuminates one green (and one red) light indicating the battery is full. 2. Disconnect the charger from the outlet then the battery once the first balance charge (long charge as close to, but not longer than, 12 hours) is complete and store the bike until you are ready for your next ride. 3. Ride the bike again with power assistance as normal, and discharge part (or all) of the battery capacity. 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for a total of three balance charging sessions (as close to, but not longer than, 12 hours). 5. After the third balance charge and fourth ride, begin normal charging procedures including: ● Charging the battery after each ride according to the Battery Charging Information section. ● Removing the charger from the battery as close to the green charge light indicating the battery is full, which will typically occur between 3-7 hours. ● Never leaving the battery charging for longer than 12 hours. ● Never leaving the battery/charger unattended while charging. Repeat battery balancing steps 1-5 only after a period of long-term battery storage (see the Long-Term Battery Storage section), if experiencing noticeable range decline, when instructed to do so by Rad Power Bikes Product Support, or up to once per month with frequent use as proactive battery maintenance. Do not perform battery balancing more than once per month
 
Not sure I follow your logic.
From the above it suggests that by leaving the battery on the charger for a while after charge is complete, it will balance the cells, implying there is a BMS to do the job.
Rather than speculating, the easiest would be to ask the manufacturer if their battery has a BMS. While at it, you may want to ask what BMS (brand / model) is being used as that would allow you to find information on how it can be programmed and setup.
 
: RadRover Step-Thru in Black, RadRover in black, RadRover in white) Follow these steps for charging your bike from Rad Power Bikes: 1. Ensure the battery is off by inspecting the key port markings (1, below). If needed, align the key port with the “off” icon (the small circle with an “X” inside) by inserting the key into the key port and rotating to align the key with the off icon as shown (at right). 2. Remove the rubber cover on the charging port (2, below) on the opposite side of the battery from the key switch. 3. Plug the charger into the battery’s charging port. With the battery on or off the bike, place the charger in a flat, secure place, and connect the DC output plug from the charger (round barrel connector) to the charging port on the side of the battery (2, below). 4. Plug the charger into a power outlet. Connect the charger input plug (110/220-volt plug) to the power outlet. Charging should initiate and will be indicated by the LED charge status lights on the charger illuminating as two red lights. 5. Unplug the charger from the outlet, then the charging port. Once fully charged, indicated by one charging indicator light turning green (and one remaining red), unplug the charger from the wall outlet first and then remove the charger output plug from the battery charging port.
 
Sorry now I'm talking about my rad Rover one that I bought used. And what it says to do for balancing.
 
I can't imagine any ebike battery with li-nmc cells (i.e. your garden variety 18650 or 21700) that does not have a BMS. Thats universal for ebike packs. If we were talking about drone or RC batteries then yeah they seldom have a BMS but thats a whole other battery world.

I would still do a balance regimen regardless of what a manufacturer says. Balancing a pack is simply letting it sit on full charge for a couple hours... and people do that all the time anyway. Its not like you are doing anything unusual.

Looking at the Hyper web site, their ebikes are in the $1000 range. Thats pretty telling. I am sure you are looking at basic packs and basic BMS'. For sure you'd want to do a mindful balance charge. Key word is 'mindful'. At the price point of these bikes, I would not be expecting any super high end features or parts. Especially hidden behind a battery casing.
 
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Every commercial ebike battery has a BMS, but only the better packs have balance BMS.

I doubt that the green Hyper step-thru, which can sell on sale for $398 (shipped) and for which spare batteries cost $200, will have a balance BMS.
.
The balance feature probably adds a few bucks to the cost of goods. but the battery makers must deem it not worth it. I can speculate on why. I don't think they help much either if a battery uses cheap cells.
 
...The range is not good. That seems to be the most. Of the problem...
Hyper's cheap Walmart ebikes come with very small batteries - usually around 36V 8.8Ah - which is why your range is not good. I also believe that the low quality hub motors they use are very inefficient, and will drain batteries faster as well.
 
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