Dual Batteries on an ETrike: Smart Upgrade or Total Waste?

Do you need dual batteries on your e-trike? Stick around to find out.

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry. Today we're going to answer the question, do you need dual batteries on your e-trike? All right, so right here I've got the Simple Glide dual motor, dual battery e-trike. It's linked in the description if you want to check it out.

So the question is, do you need dual motors on your e-trike? Well, we obviously made a trike here with dual motors, but it also has dual batteries, and we get a lot of customers who want to ride substantial distances, 10, 20, 30 miles. And I think that's amazing. Now, the thing is, having the dual batteries is when you have a trike set up for dual batteries, it has a position where both batteries can be hooked up to the controller, to the electrical system, right? So in this case, in the rear here of the Simple Glide, you have two slots for a battery, and each position is hooked up to the controller.

Cost and Value Considerations

Now, with that said, of course you're gonna pay more money to buy an e-trike that comes equipped with two batteries. So oftentimes I will tell people, if you think you wanna go farther, you can always buy an extra battery later, and you could keep it in the basket, you could attach a bag to bring it with you to have that extra battery on rides. So you don't necessarily have to buy a trike that comes equipped with the dual battery because, 100%, that trike's gonna be more expensive than buying it with the dual battery straight out of the gate. A prime example is our e-trike right here.

Now, this is a dual motor, this is $4,000. And our regular version with a single motor, single battery is $3,200. And the battery is actually the most expensive thing on an e-bike. They cost, you know, three to five hundred to $550, if not more, depending on the amp hours and what size they are. So again, that's just something to think about is if you do find an e-trike with dual batteries, is it a good value, or are you just paying extra money for that battery now? Maybe you could save yourself a few bucks, get your trike at home, start riding it. Then later you might be like, you know what? I do want an extra battery, and you could add it later. Now, by all means, if you want two specific slots that are hooked up to the controller and you like having them already positioned on the e-trike, go for it.

Battery Capacity vs. Dual Batteries

The other thing I'll say is that just because it's a dual battery doesn't mean it'll have more capacity than possibly a single battery on other models. As an example, there's a lot of e-bikes out there that have 10.4 amp-hour batteries. If you double that up, now you're at about just under 21 amp hours. We have a single battery on our rickshaws that has 21 amp hours. So no benefit really. I mean, there's a benefit on maybe that particular model to having dual batteries, but the reality is you could get a single-battery version probably from another brand that has the equivalent amp hours in one battery that you would need two on another model, right?

So now, this particular E-Trike is 30 amp hours, we didn't have a UL-compliant battery. Our 15-amp-hour battery is compliant with UL 2271. So we wanted to make sure that we kept that battery here as opposed to coming with a larger battery that we haven't yet gotten tested to be compliant with UL 2271. So as a result, we doubled it up to bring it to 30 amp hours. 30 amp hours is more; it's a bigger battery capacity than probably 75- 80% of all e-trikes out there. Although now I am seeing batteries that can come huge, 40 amp, 50 amp.

Weight and Efficiency

The other piece of that is that by adding these extra batteries, you're adding weight. Again, if you have a dual battery model like this one, you don't have to have both batteries installed. You're adding about 10 pounds to the trike. That's going to have an impact on the range. That's also going to have an impact if you need to lift it for any reason at all. It's also just going to make it a little less efficient because now you've added more weight to it. The motors have to work harder, things like that. You wanna be sure that you want either a dual battery or even a bigger battery because you're adding cost, but you're also adding the weight. And I know the weight of their trike is important to a lot of riders. So really, just all things to consider.

Benefits of Dual Battery Setup

But again, if you like it to be sleek, built-in, and you already know, you know what, I'm gonna consistently ride 20, 30, 40 miles, I'll need those dual batteries, then that's great. Also, if you can have them both plugged in, you don't have to worry about swapping that battery, of course, because the controller will automatically do it and pull the power from the battery that still has a charge. So it'll make your life a little bit easier in the sense that you'd never have to get off and change out the battery on a ride. So last thing I'll say is obviously by doubling the batteries, you're gonna double your range. So, as an example, our base model of this, our advertised range is about 50 miles.

This one is 80 miles. The reason it's not a complete doubling is that it is a dual motor. So we're accounting for people wanting to use those dual motors, which is going to drain the battery more. But again, you don't have to use both motors. You can just use one at any given point. That's totally up to you. And that will preserve the battery life to last even longer. So I hope that helps. If you have any other questions at all, please comment below or reach out to us at theteam@sixthreezero.mom. Or call us at 310-982-2877. Don't forget, Simple Glide, dual motor, dual battery, linked in the description if you wanna check it out.

Policies and Community

• 30-Day Test Ride: We offer a 30-day test ride policy. If you don't love it in the first 30 days, send it back with no questions asked and no money out of your pocket.
• 1-Year Warranty: We warranty everything for one year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we'll take care of parts and labor.
• In-Person Test Ride: If you want to come out for a test ride, visit us at San Clemente, California (1046 Kairokoto Unit K) to test ride any of our e-trikes before purchasing.
• Join the Community: Join our Facebook group, Sixthreezero Pedalers, with thousands of members to talk to existing riders before buying, post updates, make friends, and download the app to track your rides and compete on the leaderboard.

So thanks for sticking around, and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.