Remove battery when transporting?

[bobcat931]

I have read a recommendation that in transporting an ebike the battery should be removed and carried “safely” inside the vehicle. Not sure I want the battery inside the vehicle with me. Fire hazard? As far as on the bike rack, in hot, hot weather does that create a fire hazard while on the bike? What do you guys do?

 

[Mysery]

I've removed my battery 2 or 3 times in 1100 miles. I never have removed it when transporting the bike.

 

[Chuy]

I always remove my battery when transporting. Primarily cause the bike is then 12 lbs lighter to pick up and place on the rack, and also as an anti theft measure if I make a stop anywhere, although, I do put two cable locks on the bike. The battery is placed on floorboard of my truck. I do have one of them fire suppressant battery bags but I only use it when charging the battery in the house. I don't see any issue in the car as long as it doesn't sit in the sun.

 

[m@Robertson]

If you are worried about the battery in the vehicle with you, why aren't you worried about it when riding? The battery is far safer sitting inside your car than it ever would be sitting on a bicycle. Riding or otherwise.

It is very much a safety concern to have a battery sitting on your bike while transporting it on an exterior rack. As has already been mentioned, taking the battery off removes a significant amount of weight that is fairly high up on the bike.

A battery sitting in the sun is an inherently bad idea. A li-ion ebike battery is safe up to about 140 degrees Fahrenheit from a thermal runaway (i.e. a fire). Let a bike sit on the back of a car in the hot sun driving down the highway and, depending on what part of the country you are in, you can induce that thermal runaway by doing nothing more than driving for awhile. OR go into the local EAT for lunch, leave the bike on the rack and with no more air flow, you can tip the scales (but rolling up the windows and leaving the battery in the car is arguably worse since a car interior can get up to about 150 after an hour sitting in the sun).

If you've been around bike forums enough, you have seen a few bikes fall off their racks and get ground up pretty good. Having the battery inside the car saves you a few hundred dollars in replacement costs if that happens, too.

Just use your brain... and only be as fearful as is necessary. Remember that literally hundreds of thousands of ebike batteries do NOT explode every day versus one or two that do... and the ones that go up had some help either from cheap manufacturing ... or stupidity.

 

[jaders]

I'm very curious about this issue as well. One bike store said "no way" to remove the battery while traveling as it exposes the pins, etc. to too much dust and debris. But the manual for the dang bike recommends removing the battery when transporting and it would certainly lighten the load which I would also like. When I'm traveling and camping I take my bike on and off pretty much daily, so it needs to be convenient (as someone else recommended wrapping the battery area with saran wrap, which would be an utter pain to do constantly.)

I'm new to this ebike stuff. Sure love the bike tho! (Aventon Soltera 2.) Just have to figure out the transport part. I do get caught in rain occasionally as well, but read that bike covers act as sails and can cause lots of problems too. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[major masingil]

I'm very curious about this issue as well. One bike store said "no way" to remove the battery while traveling as it exposes the pins, etc. to too much dust and debris. But the manual for the dang bike recommends removing the battery when transporting and it would certainly lighten the load which I would also like. When I'm traveling and camping I take my bike on and off pretty much daily, so it needs to be convenient (as someone else recommended wrapping the battery area with saran wrap, which would be an utter pain to do constantly.)

I'm new to this ebike stuff. Sure love the bike tho! (Aventon Soltera 2.) Just have to figure out the transport part. I do get caught in rain occasionally as well, but read that bike covers act as sails and can cause lots of problems too. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Is it possible to keep the bike in the camper while you travel instead of having it on a rack? I transport mine inside a ford explorer with the rear seats folded down. Unfortunately I have to take the front wheel off to have it fit, but the piece of mind that I get from having it inside my car is really nice

 

[jaders]

Is it possible to keep the bike in the camper while you travel instead of having it on a rack? I transport mine inside a ford explorer with the rear seats folded down. Unfortunately I have to take the front wheel off to have it fit, but the piece of mind that I get from having it inside my car is really nice

Actually it's not. I have an older 1987 Toyota Van Wagon that I travel in for a month or so twice a year. Definitely not big enough to have the bike in there when not in use.

 

[Mysery]

Mine rides in the bed of my truck with the battery installed and a trash bag over the handle bars held in place with a bungee cord.

 

[Annieolnie]

I'm very curious about this issue as well. One bike store said "no way" to remove the battery while traveling as it exposes the pins, etc. to too much dust and debris. But the manual for the dang bike recommends removing the battery when transporting and it would certainly lighten the load which I would also like. When I'm traveling and camping I take my bike on and off pretty much daily, so it needs to be convenient (as someone else recommended wrapping the battery area with saran wrap, which would be an utter pain to do constantly.)

I'm new to this ebike stuff. Sure love the bike tho! (Aventon Soltera 2.) Just have to figure out the transport part. I do get caught in rain occasionally as well, but read that bike covers act as sails and can cause lots of problems too. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I've posted this pic before but I love this thing. My bike lives in a shed that has more than its fair share of chipmunks. I have a topside battery and this stops them from nesting in the battery shell area. It's also good in rhe rain and insulates, when riding in the winter. You've got a Soltera, so this and some silicone tape (sticks to itself and not the bike) would seal off your underside battery chamber.

 

[m@Robertson]

One bike store said "no way" to remove the battery while traveling as it exposes the pins, etc. to too much dust and debris.

That is *incredibly* bad advice. I mean... yeah sure if there is a monsoon going on thats going to be a bad thing. Or you are driving thru a haboob. The cheapest least-thoughtful way to solve that would be to put some blue painter's tape over the contacts. Or just take a rag and tie it around the affected area maybe.

Seems like almost anything is smarter than leaving an expensive, heavy battery that uses borderline high voltage out in the elements and hanging off the back of your car above pavement instead.

 

[LightningP38]

Mine rides in the bed of my truck with the battery installed and a trash bag over the handle bars held in place with a bungee cord.

Mine rides in the bed of my pickup with the battery installed. I do have a rubber mat in the bed to make her a bit more comfortable. The seat bag covers up the battery, so no direct hot sun on the battery. I have a 1”x6” board about 6’ long I use as a ramp, with flat steel bent to hold the board level to the to the tailgate which holds the board in place.

 

[Bohemoth]

I am going to design battery cradle snap on covers and have them pumped out in China, who needs one? But wait there's more! Order today and get for just shipping cost and fees! Now to call Shark Tank...

 

[jaders]

I've posted this pic before but I love this thing. My bike lives in a shed that has more than its fair share of chipmunks. I have a topside battery and this stops them from nesting in the battery shell area. It's also good in rhe rain and insulates, when riding in the winter. You've got a Soltera, so this and some silicone tape (sticks to itself and not the bike) would seal off your underside battery chamber.View attachment 16565

I saw these recently and will definitely be getting one...

 

[m@Robertson]

I saw these recently and will definitely be getting one...

You can achieve a greater safety effect (and a lesser insulating effect) by using velcro cinch straps. These straps will clamp the living hell out of the battery so it cannot move no matter what.

Its still a terrible idea to leave a battery on a bike when its on a rack on a moving car. I use these to secure a battery while its bouncing along a rough trail, and keep me from relying entirely on two water bottle bosses for support.

What you see below is a bit more extreme than that. I had two 3" straps, and one 2" strap. You use cinch straps. NOT just the velcro you buy at Home Depot so you can clamp the straps tight. I DID use the Home Depot velcro in two strips on the sides to ensure the straps could never shift, which was overkill. Really they just give me what I think is a more attractive look.

And the hose clamps you see clamping the base to the frame are another bit of extreme solution that normal people will not emulate.

 

[Annieolnie]

You can achieve a greater safety effect (and a lesser insulating effect) by using velcro cinch straps. These straps will clamp the living hell out of the battery so it cannot move no matter what.

Its still a terrible idea to leave a battery on a bike when its on a rack on a moving car. I use these to secure a battery while its bouncing along a rough trail, and keep me from relying entirely on two water bottle bosses for support.

What you see below is a bit more extreme than that. I had two 3" straps, and one 2" strap. You use cinch straps. NOT just the velcro you buy at Home Depot so you can clamp the straps tight. I DID use the Home Depot velcro in two strips on the sides to ensure the straps could never shift, which was overkill. Really they just give me what I think is a more attractive look.

And the hose clamps you see clamping the base to the frame are another bit of extreme solution that normal people will not emulate.

View attachment 17246

I think he wants something to cover the empty battery chamber when transporting. Also, I'm just curious about this, but why didn't you want to add rivnuts to your frame for your battery base?

 

[jaders]

I think he wants something to cover the empty battery chamber when transporting. Also, I'm just curious about this, but why didn't you want to add rivnuts to your frame for your battery base?

Exactly. Something to cover the empty battery chamber while driving to keep it from getting a lot of dust and debris in there.

I also wonder where is the best place to store the battery when I'm off hiking and the bike is on the platform rack attached to my van? I might hike for four-five hours and it can get pretty hot in places like Moab or Sedona, etc. I was thinking of putting the battery inside a cooler in my van tho, rather than just leave it sitting in the hot sun with the bike? I always have a cooler going when I'm traveling and camping and the battery for the Soltera isn't quite as large as most of the ebike batteries, from what I can tell. Or find a place to hide the battery under the van someplace so that it's at least out of the sun? There's just no way to avoid having the van sitting in the sun at times.

All these issues need attention that I never had to deal with before when traveling with a plain bike. But the ebike is just too much fun!!!

 

[Annieolnie]

Exactly. Something to cover the empty battery chamber while driving to keep it from getting a lot of dust and debris in there.

I also wonder where is the best place to store the battery when I'm off hiking and the bike is on the platform rack attached to my van? I might hike for four-five hours and it can get pretty hot in places like Moab or Sedona, etc. I was thinking of putting the battery inside a cooler in my van tho, rather than just leave it sitting in the hot sun with the bike? I always have a cooler going when I'm traveling and camping and the battery for the Soltera isn't quite as large as most of the ebike batteries, from what I can tell. Or find a place to hide the battery under the van someplace so that it's at least out of the sun? There's just no way to avoid having the van sitting in the sun at times.

All these issues need attention that I never had to deal with before when traveling with a plain bike. But the ebike is just too much fun!!!

I use cooler, dry bags for storing long items because they have a roll top which extends the bags length, if it's needed. If you wrap a gel pack in a face cloth and seal it in a baggy and add that to the cooler bag, I think you will be fine. The bags are also waterproof. I started doing this for my stand-up paddle board because things were overheating on the deck. I'll post a couple of pics.

 

[m@Robertson]

Also, I'm just curious about this, but why didn't you want to add rivnuts to your frame for your battery base?

I did. Thats a big, heavy (fully potted so heavier than usual) battery whose mount is being held on by just two rivnuts into an aluminum frame (they are the factory bottle mounts but still rivnutted, not welded in). On a bike that could be bouncing around on singletrack, I want all the help I can get keeping that pack stable. This is not a Hailong pack, but Hailongs are infamous for becoming UFO's on singletrack. The standard DIY remedy for that is cinch straps. Not something I thought up myself.

 

[Annieolnie]

OK, that's good to know.

 

[jaders]

I use cooler, dry bags for storing long items because they have a roll top which extends the bags length, if it's needed. If you wrap a gel pack in a face cloth and seal it in a baggy and add that to the cooler bag, I think you will be fine. The bags are also waterproof. I started doing this for my stand-up paddle board because things were overheating on the deck. I'll post a couple of pics.View attachment 17259View attachment 17260

Great idea! I actually already have a dry bag that I think might be big enough. Thanks for the tip!