this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2025

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micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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USB-C charging for electric bikes has arrived with the new Ampler Nova | BikeRadar (www.bikeradar.com)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

Tired of proprietary chargers? If, like me, you yearn for a simpler life without hunting for specific chargers for specific devices, through a tangled mess of cables, sit up and take note. Ampler has introduced the world’s first commercially available electric bike charged via USB-C.

Forgive me if people already know this, but while the plug for USB-C is universal, the cables are not. You can't just plug any cable into a 45W or 100W wall wart and expect to get the power you need. Every cable has its own rating, and it needs to match or exceed the rating of the charger, or else you could cause damage to the devices, the cable, or even start a fire.

The Nova, Ampler says, can be charged with a regular USB-C laptop charger

Exactly. So we're talking probably 45W+, or else long charge times.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good step away from proprietary chargers, but USB-C is kind of a mess in terms of having a unified or at least clear standard. Inb4 people unknowingly damage their bike battery by using the wrong cable.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Inb4 people unknowingly damage their bike battery by using the wrong cable.

it needs to match or exceed the rating of the charger, or else you could cause damage to the devices, the cable, or even start a fire.

I could be incorrect, but I don't think this is the case with USB-C. I believe fast-charging power bricks are generally able to detect the capabilities of the cable and device to prevent damage.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

You're right, but not if the cable is unable to deliver that expected power. If it's rated too low, the wattage will heat up the cable, and you'll get unexpected behavior due to how heat and electricity interact.

It's possible that the charger or battery might have some way to monitor and mitigate that, but it's not something I would recommend testing on your expensive ebike.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

This is fair, but one would hope that manufacturers see the writing on the wall: if using USB C as the charging input, the products (ebikes, phones, laptops, etc) have to be resilient, because we already have a world where the USB C connector is the "lingua franca" but each charger's capabilities are different.

Phones already have logic to detect "slow chargers" or poor cables, by way of sensing the voltage drop when ramping up the charging current. That's the minimum level of sophistication I would expect in a production ebike, and it'll certainly have to be more than that for 100+ Watts.

Fortunately, charge controller chip manufacturers are mostly on top of this, marketing their wares for very advanced charging profiles and feedback inputs. Especially for an ebike, I would further expect variable charge rates, so that users who know that their charger isn't high power -- or if they're concerned with the slightly elevated risk of battery fires at higher charge currents -- can choose to use a lower level, or to prolong battery life.

But I'm not an electrical engineer; I just watch in awe the things they produce.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

The USBC PD spec requires cables to be able to pass 3 amps minimum.

Unless you're buying non-spec cables it should be fine.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

USB-C is kind of a mess in terms of having a unified or at least clear standard. Inb4 people unknowingly damage their bike battery by using the wrong cable.

USB in general is a mess, but it's the best mess we've got lol. That said, when I briefly perused the spec a while back, I understood that 100+ W operation requires active validation of the attached cables, to make sure they're built to a higher standard.

I'm hoping -- ignoring the issue of shoddy or counterfeit cables, which isn't a technical issue per se -- that this should be enough to prevent damage to end-devices. The newest USB PD spec simply hasn't been as widely deployed as earlier specs that were more than enough to charge a phone.

It will, however, be awesome when one day, an ebike can quickly top-up a friend's phone in the field. But I'm getting ahead of myself, dreaming of an all USB C world.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

I'm with you. I hope we get there, too

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Trickle charging is still better than no charging at all, and you would more likely to have a charger that works with you if fast charging is important.

Also, even 120W USB chargers tend to be smaller than their ebike equivalents with the typical barrel pin connectors.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

To be fair, this is probably a voltage difference. The max a PD charger can go is 20V, while some ebike chargers go up to 48V.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

USB-PD 3.1 can go up to 48V 5A for a 240W output.

Granted, almost none exist yet even though the spec is four years old, I know of one 180W charger and a handful of 240W rated cables, but the possibility is there.

And while 36V & 48V are the most common ebike batteries, they go up to 92 volts for the "not sure how this isn't just an electric motocycle" ones (Surron etc).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

Oh sure. I'm not saying this is bad, per se, but the author presents it like some panacea, and it's not (yet?).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

sigh...

NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE USB-C!!

We already have barrel jacks and if you want to you can include the transformer with the battery and use an IEC connector to plug it in. There are other standards that are better suited to some things.

If the USB-c bike is 3 grand and the mains plug bike is 1 and a half, you can take your marketing gimmick and shove it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Bosch sells its 2A charger (~80w) for $93, and it's still 3x6x8 inches and weighs a pound. If I could use my MacBook Pro 96w brick, I wouldn't have to haul the Bosch charger to work.

I also have a Serial1, and there were no available chargers for a few years.

There is also fire risk when bodegas try to charge many bikes. If the bikes had the BMS and DC-DC on-board, and just used USB-C to get the electrons, we may see fewer fires.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Nice, but 3k ? Jesus

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Wait until you see what the average price for a downhill mountain bike.(non-electric) is.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

Ik, but is this a downhill mountain bike ? It isnt, its a city bike. 3k seems excessive. Plus it has such a small battery.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That might seem expensive, but just to add some context:

It's made in the EU.
Has a torque sensor.
usb-c charging
includes good tires
2 year warranty (double what some American brands give).
integrated GPS and bluetooth.
other stuff like built-in lights, brand name components, etc.

$3,000 seems like a great deal, TBH.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Its certain its a good bike, just at a price I dont like. I have a 1.5k ebike with torque sensor, good tires, 2years warranty, built in lights, and made in the EU. Cernainly, it only has a 8 speed dérailleur and no gps/bluetooth, and obv no type-c, but I dont think thats worth 1.5k more. Plus, my bike has a 504wh battery, so longer motor assisted-rides.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I have a 1.5k ebike with torque sensor, good tires, 2years warranty, built in lights, and made in the EU.

I'm really glad to hear that, actually! I didn't look long enough to see what else justifies the cost, but you'd be surprised how some components can really bring up the price. When I was looking for a road/gravel bike, I came across some with SRAM 1x systems that had cassettes that cost $400+. LOL Yeah, if it's more than $40, it's too much for me. 😂

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, the sram/shimano duopoly is crazy. Fortunately theres chinese manufactures like ltwoo that make products at reasonable price. What gravel/road bike did you buy at the end ?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Decathlon RC520 Gravel. I got it late summer, but put 2000km on it (not my main bike) before it got too cold to keep it out.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Nice. I have an rc120, where I changed wheels and tires to 40mm ones. I'm now looking to upgrade the groupset :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I think one of the guys in our ride group has the RC120! Really good value from Decathlon on pretty much all their bikes.

I haven't upgraded any of the components other than the saddle and tires. This bike is my "budget bike", despite it being the one that I ride for hundreds of KM at a time. 😆

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, decathlon has really good prices on bikes. I've bought 4 bikes from them so far. Hundreds of kms, you say ? Jesus, im a novice. I normally only ride 70-80km. Hows the terrain where you live ?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, I've got three bikes in total: a steel mountain bike set up as a beast for "everything", and I take that when I need to go offroad or to haul stuff.

Then I've got a folding bike. Even though I've used it for really long rides (150km+), it's become my fair weather, local bike.

The RC520 is one that I got specifically for long rides. Our terrain... well, it's not flat! That's for sure! The elevation gain on most longer rides can be 2000m+. But we aren't talking mountains, either. Lots of rolling hills, especially out in the rural areas.

I didn't know how I'd like the feel of drop bars and "brifters", but I got used to everything pretty quickly. It's a comfortable bike, and the gearing they went with is a little lower than a pure road bike, so climbs are "easier". Not sure if I'll be riding gravel with this bike, but we do have some nice rail trails around.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

2000m of gain ? I'm feel depleted only thinking about doing that much uphill. I live near the Alps so theres also a lot of gain, but I only do 1200-1500m max in one ride. I usually have a tail bag with drone/other things, about 4-5kg, so that adds to the weight. Anyway, talking with you made me wanna go even further xD

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, it can get tough depending on which direction I want to take for these long rides.

But we're talking about those numbers when the distance is 200km+.

For example, one ride that was 240km had around 1600m of elevation. Another that was 220km has 2600m. For rides around town you might only have a few small hills here and there. But our country roads are long and hilly! Makes for some great training rides, but those hill can be punishing if you aren't pacing right.

I remember one route I did, in an area I've never ridden in, where I relied on Garmin to tell me where (and how many) the hills would be. Man, it said there'd be like 4 big climbes, but in really, there were like 15 long, medium grade hills. That day was challenging, but I'm so glad I had my gravel bike and not my foldie! 😂

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Btw, for workout tracking, I recommend this service: https://github.com/jovandeginste/workout-tracker. Self-hosted, private, you can see the heatmap, and you can automatically upload new workouts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

That looks amazing. Especially the heatmap, which I have to do manually right now.

I'm going to try that out some time this week 😀