3 Alternative Ways To Charge Your eBike | Powering Up On The Move

[@embn]

How much do you now want a mini pickup to shuttle your e-bike around in?

[@neilclarke6419]

It wouldn’t make me mad if I’m honest drop it off or I can pick it up I’m easy either way 😅

[@piersbickerton-jones6231]

I used to buy sell restore minis back in the late ‘80’s, you could pick them up (nice pun if I do say so myself 😁) for £50 without an mot. Good luck finding one for under £15k now!

[@Constructian]

Ha, ha. My first car was a mini pickup. I rebuilt the engine from the 850to 1330 and it would do 110mph. Not sure there would be any bikes still in the back though. Nice to see Steve Jones fit inside the mini. 😂

[@theziggyg]

Sooooooo cool 😎

[@Nomads_Rowing]

Crickey Steve - let the man get a word in before you fire your next enthusiastic question at him😆

[@mitch_smith]

steve doing steve things

[@BikingBadwithTC]

I’ve never seen a Mini truck, now I want one!

[@ruairidhalexander7631]

Didn't think to include the obvious and most flexible solution, a portable power station such as Jackery, Bluetti, etc?

[@neilclarke6419]

@@ruairidhalexander7631 I have a ecoflow I get about 2.5 full charges out of mine 750 battery on a mondraker never needed more.

[@Boediprasetya]

Use DC to AC Inverter min 500 watt

[@markroberts7866]

I’ve wondered about portable power stations if your riding somewhere like Fod and get down to 50% on your battery, something to charge my trek exe while I’m stuffing my face in the cafe 😂

[@WilliamKennedy-g5k]

That's what I use and I have an inverter that plugs into a 12 volt socket in the vehicle to charge up while driving.

[@JubeProductions]

When I first got my EMTB I looked into getting a portable charger for my vehicle so maybe I could do a ride, take a lunch break and charge up, then go back out with a full battery. It just got too confusing and too complicated for my taste, to figure out a simple plug and play solution. It seems easier and cheaper to buy a second battery to bring with me.

[@gordoncahill1170]

That plug hanging out the back of the transporter is dodgy AF.

[@user-ga42]

I'd be interested in EMBN doing a piece on suitable portable power stations. I have an Ecoflow unit with 240w solar panel used for home power back up. Bit bulky to keep lifting into the car though. Besides wife would kill me if I was away for the weekend with it and the power went out at home 😂

[@philseton5796]

Worth mentioning that you really need a Pure sine wave inverter not a cheaper modified version.

[@gattoflyer]

Most quiet running gennys are pure sine wave

[@philseton5796]

@gattoflyer I was really meaning an inverter that runs off batteries in your vehicle. Never thought about using a generator to charge up myself.

[@alangravy27]

It is so much easier to charge in hotels if you have a removable battery.

[@embn]

Great place to charge your batteries! But if you are camping you might not have the luxury of a plug 😬

[@alangravy27]

@embn Glad my car has V2L

[@BURSTspeed]

Would love to see a video using a portable power station / good sponsorship opportunity I would think for the channel too. (explain the size needed etc)

[@AlecBurns-h9g]

Fazua sell a charger you plug into you car cigarette socket. I also use a Goal Zero 500kwh pack, charged from the car or solar panels. You can plug into a mains charger to it, to charge your bike. If at a campsite I use a waterproof extension wire and socket to plug into chargers. 8 weeks off grid this year no problems.

[@deanrwilson]

Anything that runs of a Cig Socket would be a really low power solution only

[@22Jeffers]

These plug and socket choices are a bit amateur. There are proper IP rated camping plug and sockets.

[@ajsahagun8790]

It’s about time someone talks about this issue.. I’d like to hear options or a serious conversation about traveling with my EMTB. Is a series in the works that discusses camping with your EMTB?

[@nealgreen8188]

We don’t currently have a tow bar (soon) but I hadn’t even thought of charging the batteries while driving using the inverter.

[@bionic909]

Id love to have a 320w panel that gave me 10a on a dull day. I have a 370w panel and lucky to get 2a on a dull day. I have a 460ah LifePo4 and it’ll last two weeks tops! Without charging a ebike.

[@trialsta1]

Sounds like there's something wrong with your system, even on a dull day it should be producing more than that.

[@bionic909]

@ At the forest of Dean, sunny, pulling 1.5a. Any suggestions on how to test if anything is wrong?

[@dml5053]

still have absolutely no clue how to set any of this up...

[@deanrwilson]

Connect an inverter to your car battery. The size of the inverter will be determined by how many amps your bike charger uses.

[@grantnewby3756]

Why not just plug it into your home, either the whole bike in the garage or the battery if it comes out easily in the house? Or is everyone living in a van?

[@embn]

This video was aimed to tackle the issue of charging on the go 👍

[@richardwalsh5570]

What sized inverter did you need to charge a bike?

[@mscustomlures]

Renogy 1000w inverters are currently on a good saving with black Friday at £109 they were £129 a few weeks ago

[@S14AA]

Depends on the current draw of the charger, its on the label

[@BikeParkLane]

I've got an inverter in the truck and a seperate power station with solar panel for Ac/dc whilst not moving for fridge and general use. i dont even own an ebike!! Use it for camping. I'd have to upgrade the Power St to 1500w from 300w if using it for this purpose.

[@deanrwilson]

for a 6 amp charger you'll need 1500w but for a lower power charger it could be 800w or 1000w

[@gigga8948]

Always use only pure sine wave inverter or generator, that has the same or better electricity than the grid. Modified sine wave can damage sensitive electronics. That could get really expensive.

[@AlanGeddes-w8p]

Why not have a spare battery.

[@bamboo1078]

Anyone know if you can charge a FAZUA 430wh battery from your car while the engine is off ? Large SUV & I have a standard power socket. It charges well when I drive, but haven’t tried charging without engine on

[@embn]

We wouldn't recommend charging your eMTB off of your car without it running. You might end up with a fully charge eBike battery but a flat car battery 😬

[@Schizee]

If you don't have a van you could plug it in to a ev charger lamppost with a adater you will have to pay for the electricity thow

[@Craig_Broadbent]

An electric car with V2L. Hyundai/Kia/Renault etc. When I have my integrated rack finished, no need for specialist bike vehicles.

[@nimrodrdc]

Great. Now I just need canyon to fix their batteries that might blow up and burn down everything around them. 😢

[@Forestsmuggler]

Whose car doesn’t come with a three pin plug socket for charging these days! Fossil vehicles aren’t up to much 😂

[@tomcagle5324]

ICE generator/inverter unfortunately.😮 Nothing like running ole' pollutety six hours to charge an 800 Wh battery at camp...sucks 4 sure! At least until I can find a couple of 2000W battery banks for under a $1000 for both.💸💸💸💸

[@Mark-yy2vw]

I would swap my ebike for the mini

[@embn]

It's a really cool mini isn't it!

[@mitch_smith]

EMBN NEEDS that mini truck for filming reasons. That's the best thing I've ever seen.

[@barrakingbeatz7794]

Just buy a echoflow Solar generator

[@adrianrogers6976]

I can never take advice from someone who fits a snorkel (high level air intake) head back to front.

[@barrygoh5840]

Honda generator £690 runs 5-6 hours job done if you get really stuck and it only weighs 7kg

[@matt45540]

Smallest Honda generator in the States is like two grand

[@deanrwilson]

@@matt45540 No you can get the smallest Honda Generator for less than that. You want the Honda 1kw Generator which is 1000watts

[@nippinon9]

Well that was pointless. You did not show the kit on the crafter, Try listening.

[@rob_erto]

To get the energy in, solar on the roof, leisure batteries, charge controller, split charge relay, and hookup cable for plugging into the mains.. For storing energy, Leisure batteries.. To access the energy, the inverter converts 12v from the batteries to 240v mains. Also, the hookup cable will top up your leisure batteries and provide normal 240v whilst at a campsite. It would have been pointless to show the equipment because it's boxes and cables! Just google off-grid camper setup 👍

[@nippinon9]

@rob_erto about to start a new van had the leisure set up before but the 500 watt inverter kept popping so looking for a bigger set up. Cheers 🍻

[@AntonyBradley]

Just remember, electricity and water do not play well together. It is going to take a couple of hours at least to receive a meaningful amount of battery charge. So, if you have forgotten to recharge your bike after the last ride, you will need a fair drive to the trails to make it worth considering. If there is a risk of rain/road spray during the drive, you would need to make sure all the various electrical connection points that will exist in the back of the Mini are suitably rated to operate in a wet/rainy environment. A Shimano charging unit is IPX5, so no issue there. The rectangular Shimano plug that plugs in to the bike on our Merida’s are sensitive to movement, don’t think I would trust them to keep a connection for more than a few minutes on our roads in Melbourne. However, that may say more about our roads than the connector. The Shimano electrical connector (into the bike) looks like it was designed to be used in a static environment after being plugged-in by hand. Not sure I would like to see such a connector jiggle around over a few hours in the back of the cars’ tray where it could experience hundreds of make/break connections. Yes, you could tie it down with a strap. For me, a removable battery is important. So easy to recharge a battery in a motel room when travelling and no stink-eye from reception as you try to wheel-in a bike. The battery is also in a much better environment for charging. As others mentioned, a portable sine-wave generator or Bluetti type devises are a good option for off-grid situations. That Mini is a sweet ride!

[@deanrwilson]

100%. This comparison is a bit silly. Who forgets to charge their bike before the ride.

[@AntonyBradley]

Agree. You only forget once, like I have. Just delayed the ride that day and rode in Eco Mode more.

[@Mulisha0071]

Just have 2 batteries for ya bike. One fully charged to change over after lunch.

[@embn]

That's a great solution, but not the most cost effective when it comes to multiple bikes 🤘

[@Mulisha0071]

@ surely the only eeb ya need is the big s. 🤙

[@Boediprasetya]

USB OTG? No Charging OTG? Yes 🚲🚲🚲🛴🛴🛴

[@deanrwilson]

USB not enough power and doesn't do 110 vac or 220 vac (Mains Power)