Well it's now been 7 months since I first took to the road on my self-build ebike. And what a life changing experience it's been. I had no idea how much so when I first embarked on the project. I use the bike every day now to take my mail and sacks of parcels to the sorting office across town and it makes light work of the 5 mile trip which I can do in under 30 minutes there and back. I also enjoy riding the bike for leisurely outings and enjoying the countryside.

It had to happen sooner or later, but my first battery gave up on me last week. I use little 5Ah 36v LiFePo4 batteries which I had specially made in China. They cost about £80 each delivered. Far cheaper than the £300+ you normally pay for ebike batteries from UK manufacturers. I was expecting it to last a bit longer, but wasn't really sure with it being an unconventional small size (most batteries start at 10Ah) whether it would stand the load placed on it. I bought two of them, so I'm now using the other battery. Assuming the other battery lasts a similarly as long, £160 for 12 months of usage is not too bad. I am wondering though, whether I might fair better with a bigger 10Ah battery next time around..

I had actually planned to start a business building ebikes after completing my bike and testing it. I was so impressed with it and thought I had spotted a gap in the market for producing light-weight folding electric bikes. I had started to put my plans in place, but unfortunately space limits at home and the inability to find suitable factory premises meant I had to shelve my plans. I must admit, I also had some reservations about leaping into such a business without first testing the bike and battery technology for a while. Glad I waited in hindsight.

Posted on 20 August 2011