E-bike phone charger: keeping your smartphone functional during a bike tour
If your smartphone runs out of battery during a bike tour, even the best app will be useless. In this article, we will show you what options you as an e-bike rider have when it comes to choosing a suitable bike phone charger - to make sure that your smartphone functions fully whenever you need it.
In our overview article “How to find the best e-bike app for your needs”, we looked at the potential of mobile phone apps for e-bike riding. Whether GPS navigation, fitness tracking aimed at health benefits, or managing settings on the bike – with the right apps, a smartphone can replace a bike computer.
Although it is very practical, there is one catch: every mobile phone needs energy. And the more active it is, the more energy it needs. When using it for navigation on a longer ride, its high energy usage can become a challenge. And sometimes this even applies to a short ride in case your battery is not fully charged.
Running out of phone battery does not have to be such a big deal – after all, your e-bike also has a battery. However, it’s not quite that simple.
Using the electric bike battery for the mobile phone – when it is possible and when not
All e-bikes, regardless of whether they are e-MTBs or e-city bikes, have batteries and thus electricity on board. But tapping into this power source is not always so easy for your cell phone.
The decisive factor is not the e-bike itself, but the display. Depending on the manufacturer, it has a USB or micro-USB port. This is primarily intended for service, but sometimes it is also suitable for powering a cell phone.
Unfortunately, the amount of power you can draw this way is rather limited. Often it is only enough to slow down the discharge of the cell phone during its use, while some cell phones do not respond to it at all. And there are also cases where there is no charging option at all.
Anyone who likes to use handy smartphone apps on their e-bike tour will need to charge their phone along the way.
Overview of displays for electric bikes from different manufacturers
With or without a charging option, with a USB port on the display or as a smartphone hub with an app, modern displays for electric bikes vary greatly. In the following section, we will take a closer look at some devices from popular brands.
Bosch
E-bike displays from Bosch impress with high performance and innovative features. However, they offer only limited support for charging mobile phones. All Bosch displays have a Micro USB port type A that can be connected to various smartphones with the appropriate charging cable. The most common connection cables (USB-C connector for Android smartphones or lightning connector for iOS devices) are available for sale.
Bosch Intuvia
The Bosch Intuvia is rightly an evergreen among displays. However, the USB port only supplies 0.5 amps to your cell phone.
Bosch Nyon
The Bosch Nyon of the first generation also only provides 0.5 amps for your mobile phone. And the second generation doesn’t even have a charging option. The Micro USB port type A can only be used for maintenance purposes.
With a Bosch Kiox you can enjoy 1 ampere for your mobile phone. Still not much, but better than nothing.
Cobi.Bike
For some time now, Bosch has been offering a smartphone hub for e-bikes called Cobi.Bike. This practical device including an app turns your mobile phone into a command centre for cycling and even has an integrated charging device. It’s ideal if you want to do without a conventional display, but it’s rather expensive.
Yamaha
Yamaha drives are used in Haibike e-bikes, for example. In this case, too, it depends on the display whether you can use the battery as a power source for your smartphone:
According to the manufacturer, both the Yamaha C and the Yamaha X offer up to 1 ampere to charge your smartphone or at least to delay discharging.
With the Yamaha A, you have to do without this option.
Flyer
Some Flyer e-bikes are equipped with a Panasonic drive. The associated FIT display scores with a classic USB port that supplies your smartphone with a little more than 1 ampere.
Brose
Like many manufacturers of drives, Brose has revised its displays in recent years or taken their production into its own hands.
However, this has not brought good news for charging smartphones from the electric bike battery – because the new models generally only have a suitable connection for e bike chargers.
SP Connect Wireless Charging Module
The SP Connect Wireless Charging Module is not a display, but a mobile phone holder for inductive charging of your smartphone. Simply mounted on the handlebar, it charges your phone. To couple the device with the battery of your electric bike, you also need the SP Wireless Charger cable.
Although charging a smartphone via the e-bike display would be a decidedly useful feature, most e-bike manufacturers do not yet offer a reasonable solution for this.
Summary: Manufacturers usually offer only limited charging options
The brands mentioned here are only a few among many, but they reveal a fundamental dilemma that also applies to other manufacturers, such as Giant: many displays do not have a connection to charge your smartphone. Even if the option is available, the amount of power supply is very limited.
If you use your smartphone as a bike computer anyway and don’t need a display – the SP Connect Wireless Charging Module is the best solution. And with Cobi.Bike from Bosch you are also on the safe side. Although you have to pay more, you get a complete system including an app.
Tip: If you have the option to connect your mobile phone to the display, you will need the appropriate USB ports, such as Micro USB-A to USB-C or a Lightning connector for Apple devices.
Many cyclists swear by a dynamo for their bicycle lights. After all, they don’t have to worry about the battery going flat and the light going out in the dark in the forest. In addition, modern hub dynamos are durable and not affected by the weather.
If you have a bicycle with a dynamo, you can use it to charge your mobile phone. However, you need an adapter that converts alternating current into direct current and regulates the voltage.
E-bike riders hardly benefit from this as modern lighting systems for pedelecs draw their power from the bike battery.
The classic: portable charger, aka power bank
There is another way to charge your mobile phone when you are on an e-bike ride: you take a power bank with you.
The advantages of this option:
Portable chargers (i.e. lithium ion batteries) are relatively cheap.
They take up little space and can easily be carried in a bag.
They are available in more robust versions for outdoor use.
Depending on the model, you can charge your mobile phone several times with one battery pack.
Sounds good? Well, then it’s important to choose the right power bank.
On tours with the e-bike, a power bank can prove to be a particularly practical gadget.
You should pay particular attention to the following criteria:
Capacity: 5,000 mA or less is usually only enough for one charge. For longer trips and/or multiple devices, we recommend three or four times that.
Weight: Unfortunately, battery packs with more capacity are heavier. If every gram counts, we recommend a compromise between high performance and low weight.
Charging time: How long does the charging take? Short charging times save you some precious time on your tour.
Connections: Maybe you want to charge several devices at the same time on one power bank. In that case, one USB port is not enough. The type of connections can also play a role.
Robustness: If you prefer to go on tours with your e-MTB in windy or rainy weather, the power bank should be robust. If in doubt, a waterproof model is worthwhile.
Solar charger: charging with the power of the sun
Environmentally friendly, practical, inexpensive: solar chargers for smartphones are the ideal alternative to electricity from the grid or from the e-bike battery. Depending on the model, you can strap them onto the luggage rack. Solar chargers with integrated lithium ion batteries help you to get through rainy days. This is important, because for all their advantages, solar chargers have one major disadvantage: they only work when the sun is shining.
For the most part, the same rules to the selection apply as to conventional power banks. Powerful solar chargers are not only suitable for mobile phones, but also for tablets and the like.
Conclusion: The simplest solution is sometimes the best one
It could be so simple: connecting your smartphone to the e-bike battery (like the electric bike charger), done. But in reality, things are more complicated.
Many modern displays of popular brands provide very little or no power for your mobile phone. Since e-bikes, unless they are converted from conventional bikes, do not have a dynamo, this option also falls flat.
This leaves you with two main options if you want to charge your mobile phone while cycling:
You can use a holder with charging function or a smartphone hub, such as Bosch offers with Cobi.Bike.
You can take a power bank with you.
If you only want one “charging solution”, a power bank offers good value for money.
Hier erklären wir dir, wie du erkennst, welche Bosch-Version des Motors in deinem E-Bike verbaut ist.
If you have a Bosch "Active Line" motor, then it is a Bosch Generation 2 or 3 motor.
Hast du dein E-Bike in den Jahren 2020 - 2021 neu gekauft und hat dieses einen „Performance Line CX“ oder „Bosch Cargo Line“ Motor, dann ist es ein Bosch-Motor Generation 4 - nicht smart.
Wenn du dein E-Bike 2022 neu gekauft hast, dann ist darin ein Bosch-Motor Generation 4 - smart verbaut. Dies erkennst du auch, wenn am E-Bike eine „LED Remote“ Steuerzentrale angebracht ist.
Sollte diese Information nicht aus der Beschreibung deines Bikes mit Bosch-Motor hervorgehen, dann bekommst du diese Information bei Deinem E-Bike Händler.
Wenn du einen BikeTrax GPS-Tracker für E-Bikes bestellst, bekommt du eine Schritt-für-Schritt-Montageanleitung mitgeliefert. Darin wird Dir im Detail erklärt, wie du deinen BikeTrax GPS-Tracker einbaust, wo du diesen platzierst und auf welche Details du achten sollest.
Wenn deine Motorhaube die Tretkurbel wie auf der Abbildung umschließt, machen wir es dir leicht: Den Kurbelabzieher kannst du im nächsten Schritt schnell und einfach mit einem Klick bestellen und er wird dir zusammen mit dem GPS-Tracker geliefert.
Nähere Informationen dazu:
Bei einigen Elektrofahrradmodellen kann die Motorabdeckung (1) erst entfernt werden, nachdem die Tretkurbel (2) mit Hilfe eines Kurbelabziehers (3) abmontiert wurde. Erst dann kannst du BikeTrax in den Motorraum einbauen.
Kann der GPS-Tracker für E-Bikes mit
-Motor auch für andere E-Bike Motormodelle verwendet werden?
Im Großteil der Fälle benötigst du nur ein anderes Anschlusskabel. Dieses kannst du im Nachhinein bei PowUnity erwerben. Lediglich in Ausnahmefällen muss der komplette GPS-Tracker bei einem Motorwechsel ausgetauscht werden.
In diesem Fall brauchst du den Kurbelabzieher für Fahrräder:
Bei einigen Elektrofahrradmodellen kann die Motorabdeckung (1) erst entfernt werden, nachdem die Tretkurbel (2) mit Hilfe eines Kurbelabziehers (3) abmontiert wurde. Erst dann kannst du BikeTrax in den Motorraum einbauen.
Wenn deine Motorhaube die Tretkurbel wie auf der Abbildung umschließt, machen wir es dir leicht: Den Kurbelabzieher kannst du schnell und einfach mit einem Klick bestellen und er wird dir zusammen mit dem GPS-Tracker geliefert.
In diesem Fall empfehlen wir dir die HexLox Sicherungsschraube:
Musst du deine Tretkurbel abziehen, bevor du den GPS-Tracker im Motorraum verbauen kannst, dann kannst du nach der Montage von BikeTrax die Inbusschraube (1) deiner Tretkurbel zusätzlich mit der HexLox Security Schraube 8 mm (2) sichern.
Ist dieser sogenannte HexLox Inlay in die Inbusschraube eingesetzt, kann niemand mit einem herkömmlichen Werkzeug deinen Motorraum öffnen und schon garnicht erst auf den Gedanken kommen, den GPS-Tracker zu entfernen.
Für Specialized E-Bikes mit Brose Motor gibt es einen speziellen Brose-Anschluss. Wähle den „Brose für Specialized E-Bikes“ Anschluss aus, falls Du ein Specialized E-Bike fährst. Für alle anderen E-Bike Hersteller, welche einen Brose Motor verbaut haben, gibt es einen einheitlichen „Universal“ BikeTrax-Anschluss.
In diesen Fällen empfehlen wir dir die Akku-Erweiterung für BikeTrax
Wir liefern dir BikeTrax immer mit einem Zusatz-Akku, um einen sicheren und stabilen GPS-Empfang zu gewährleisten, sollte das E-Bike mal ausgeschalten und der Akku entfernt sein. Er hält im Stand bis zu 3 Wochen.
Wir empfehlen aber unseren Kunden, die ihr E-Bike längere Zeit nicht nutzen, wie z. B. in den Wintermonaten oder während eines längeren Urlaubs, für den GPS-Tracker die Akku-Erweiterung zu bestellen. Diese beinhaltet einen weiteren Zusatz-Akku und ein Y-Kabel, an das beide Akkus angeschlossen werden.
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If you are under 16 and wish to give consent to optional services, you must ask your legal guardians for permission.We use cookies and other technologies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.Personal data may be processed (e.g. IP addresses), for example for personalized ads and content or ad and content measurement.You can find more information about the use of your data in our privacy policy.Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to entire categories or have more information displayed and only select certain cookies.