Tag Archives: electric travel bike

The only Electric Bike you can travel with…

How to fly and with ease, bring your electric bike. LiGo Batteries are the only electric bike battery you can legally enter a plane with and Bike Friday was/is the first travel bike to employ them into the design.

The Battery: The LiGo by Grin Technology

Yes, these batteries really can be carried on passenger aircraft in carry-on luggage. Both we and our customers have clocked hundreds and hundreds of flights with LiGo batteries going through security without any incidents. Aaron, from Grin, even caught on video what happens when LiGo batteries go through the scanning belt. We recommend removing the LiGo packs from your baggage and plugging the pair of Anderson connectors on each pack into each other so that there are no exposed terminals and each pack is clearly individually contained. Airport personnel has been well trained at looking for the watt-hour rating lithium batteries and seeing if they are compliant or not.

While most airlines do not have a firmly defined maximum number of batteries under 100 Wh that can be brought aboard, we’d suggest traveling with no more than 4-5 LiGo’s per person in order to avoid extra scrutiny. Grin has had customers travel by air with as many as 12 LiGo modules on them, but we wouldn’t recommend that as a matter of course.

Travel with the LiGo powered E-Bike Friday:

Bike Friday E-Bike packed and ready for travel *photo: Ruth K.

Bike Friday E-Bike almost ready to ride *photo: Ruth K.

Bike Friday E-Bike ready to ride after being unpacked *photo: Ruth K.

Rear Hub Drive(our most popular system for NWT and Diamond Llama)

Motor replaces rear hub in the rear wheel.  This is a Bafang motor which has been tuned to perfectly work with our wheel size and bikes.  It’s the quietest system you can buy and is super smooth which you will love.

– This kit is compatible with all Bike Friday models –

This is the most popular system that we sell for our bikes! This system packs easily and pairs well with Ligo batteries making it the best option for travelers!

Strengths:

  • Is similar to the front hub motor kit but also has an 8,9,10 spd cassette driver. This allows it to work with all rear dérailleurs.
  • No motor resistance
  • Fits all 20” wheels (406mm & 451mm)
  • Very light! Adds only ~ 11 lbs to your bike
  • Ligo travel battery option makes for a light electric assist bike that is legal to fly with.
  • Very Quiet!
  • Easiest to pack into the suitcase for air travel.
  • Disc brake compatible

Limitations:

  • Rear frame dropouts on a bike need to be sized to 137mm – 140mm (wider than usual)

System price for Motor and Battery kit starts at $1320 (bike price not included)

Front Hub Drive:

Motor replaces front hub in the front wheel with a specially designed Bafang motor which is optimized for our wheel size, is the quietest you can buy and works effortlessly.  With this option, you are able to remove it when you want to lighten the overall bike weight depending on its use.

Front Wheel Electric Assist Kit with Ligo Travel Batteries on a Bike Friday New World Tourist Silk

– This kit is compatible with all Bike Friday models –

Strengths:

  • No motor resistance when coasting or riding without power
  • Fits both 20-inch wheel and 16-inch wheel Bike Fridays
  • LiGo travel battery upgrade option available (as seen in the picture above)
  • Comes standard with pedal assist
  • With a second front wheel and 3 minutes you can take off all but one lb of the weight (removing motor and battery) and have your light non-assisted bike ready to ride

Limitations:

  • Puts weight in front of the bike which isn’t natural to everyone.
  • Harder to control in slick or loose-dirt situations

System price for Motor and Battery kit starts at $1275  (bike price not included)

LiGo(the only travel-approved E-bike battery in the world) 3 Batteries and bag $525

LiGo 4 Batteries and bag $700

Charger: $49.00

Contact us and a bike design expert will help you with your questions and find the best electric kit for your situation.

For retrofitting older Bike Fridays into E-Bikes with an electric assist there are additional costs. Contact us for details.

Bonus Material: Walk assist on every Bike Friday E-bike which means stair assist. Life changing!