Forum menu
Im trying to think about the logistics of charging a eeb on a van trip in Europe. We tend to just tramp it around following our nose so never based anywhere for a period of time.
ive just had my first eeb and my other half mentioned we should take it with us as a second bike for dragging kids, shotgun seat etc. bBut how do we charge it away from campsites, have seen the public charging spots in towns but never paid them any attention due to not having a eeb, can i charge any bike in them or obly certain brands?
Get an inverter and charge it from the van? van engine would need to be running though...
or a big leisure battery plus inverter would also work, and then recharge the leisure battery when you're driving, or from solar panels whilst parked
There are also those portable powerstation things from bluetti etc, but theyre just an expensive more convenient variant of the leisure battery + inverter solution.
Campsites would be your best bet I think. Surely you will be using them at least some of the time?
I was trying to figure this out for if/when the wife and I buy e-bikes and go back to the Alpes next year. And then realised my van has an investor and plug socket built into it. 🤦🏼♂️. The best we could come up with (prior to remembering) was staying on a campsite.
Will an inverter off a lesiure battery give enough power to charge the ebike up?
European campsite shower blocks always seem to be full of people recharging phones and power banks. I'm sure you wouldn't be the first person to ask to charge up an ebike...
Yeah we would stay in campsites but not every night so would beed to do the bits in between. Van is kitten out with solar panel etc but not sure if it would be upto charging a ebike?
I was more interested in the charging stations dotted around the alps, have seen some bosch ones but not sure if i can charge other bikes mine is a kenevo and i presume the chargers arnt interchangeable
Runs on petrol or LPG if you have that in the van
Will an inverter off a lesiure battery give enough power to charge the ebike up?
yep, if you get the right inverter and the right leisure battery it will.
The power demands of most ebike chargers are not huge, I have a 4amp charger and it draws about 240watts at peak,which is too much for an inverter that plugs into the fag lighter, but fine for an inverter that connects directly to the battery terminals and is designed for this load.
We have an inverter in our camper. When we aren't on hook up we charge via that during the day with the solar putting the charge back into the leisure batteries.
Seems to work OK
Yes, right leisure battery setup will do it.
There's a company that I can't remember right now who make a DC-DC charger for ebikes, and has swappable cables for the various standards. Saves an inverter going up to 240v AC only for the charger to bring it back to DC again.
Surely all the various e-bike companies do their own variations of this?
As above, makes a lot more sense to do it DC > DC rather than up to 240V AC and back down again.
https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/blogs/info/bosch-ebike-12v-travel-battery-car-charger
I did see this on Holiday this year which I thought was neat!
Thats the sort of thing i mean,that one seems to have a normal eu 240v plug had seen some bosch ones in Italy and didnt know what the setup was.
ill have a look at the van battery and calculate if it will do the job.
100% not getting a diesel genny was next to someone who had one in inners carpark a while ago and its the most antisocial thing ever bith noisy and loads of fumes
If that's what you are looking for you just need a uk to eu adapter for the existing plug
I believe that Bosch one is discontinued, not sure Shimano and others have ever offered them.
Found the company I was thinking of: https://powerbutler.de
100% not getting a diesel genny was next to someone who had one in inners carpark a while ago and its the most antisocial thing ever bith noisy and loads of fumes
Well, it's not diesel and they do one that runs about 50dB
But yeah, get you
Austria is full of free public chargers, almost every gasthof, hotel, lift station, cafe, town centre has them. They usually have leads for all of the big motor makes.