Why don't more electric bikes have regen brakes?

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[scuba]

I'm currently running with a Grin Technologies Gmac 10T motor. It does regen braking, has a virtual freewheeling feature in the controller (so it feels like normal freewheeling), and is a geared motor. I usually gain back around 8-11% of my ride depending on my riding style and haven't had to engage my brakes in any meaningful way in months! Oh, and I can use the throttle to modulate how much regen braking is going on. I have it start at 50% braking and can crank it to 100% with the throttle as needed. It seriously is the best of both worlds! I love this motor!

[alonsopiedra]

there is a plus about regen brakes that was not covered: it may not contribute much to the recharge cycle BUT it extends the lifespan of your brake pads.

[CanonFirefly]

Best thing about regen braking is the reduced wear on your brake pads.

[rickfucci]

Using a heavily weighted cargo bike with regen breaking has saved many many sets of brakes.

[geofrancis]

The best part of regen is that it can be used for ABS on the back wheel, it stops it locking up when leaning on the front brake, this stops the back end of the bike skipping side to side and trying to overtake the front wheel. i only use the front brake now unless im pulling a heavy trailer. since the regen force is more than enough for the back when normally using the front brake.
next benefit is for pacing down hill without cooking the brakes it works even better with a heavy trailer.

[NerdENerd]

My favourite thing about regenerative braking on my electric scooter is controlling speed with the throttle and not touching the brakes.

[dumsterdave]

the only reason I have regen is to extend the life of my brakes

[Rozbujnik_Rumcajs]

Cool part about regen braking is braking part, not regen. In very powerfull e-bikes it open posibility to make real abs-brakes. It is a lot easier to make driver that brakes with the motor itself than with some wierd, complicated contraption involving actual brakes.

[SedonaMTB]

Nice video. I have an ebike touring company. I have 8 Bionx 500D (NORCO frame). In addition to 6 Specialized Comos. The regen mode on these bikes is fantastic. My routes are very hilly and I have had customers who have returned from an 18 mile tour with the battery fully charged!!! Very efficient. Bottom line is that because motor efficiency and range are such that it isn't needed. Not sure what you are talking about regarding coasting on my Bionx ebikes, I have in shape riders who ride without assist, turning the motor off. I haven't tried any other regen ebikes so I have nothing to compare my experience with. Anyway, this is my experience with over 3, 000 riders on tours with the ebikes I have.

[thorbjrnhellehaven]

I can agree on regen giving little on flat roads, but where I live there is more up/down than flat. Would be nice to save breaks and energy going down.

[trusoulja]

Just getting into ebikes and have learned a lot from watching your videos. Watching your older videos is very informative. Thank you for contribution to ebikes.

[jonabub]

Did I overhear it or didn't you mention saving breakpads? that d be the biggest advantage for regenbraking in my book.

[LexYeen]

Regen braking on human-powered vehicles is, and will remain, a controversial subject. I personally think it's a great idea on tadpole-style recumbent e-trikes and cargo e-bikes, not because it helps recover power - though in those more mass-intensive applications it does make more sense - but because it helps you save money on brake pads in the long run.

[varman]

I have a slightly different idea for regenerative/generative braking, that means Not just generating when braking, but also charge the battery by pealing as much a rider wants or can. that way if you running out of charge on the battery then you can charge the battery by pedaling for some times and then use the energy when you are tired, that way a good physical exercise for the rider and saving time on the hills! Can you understand what I trying to say here? So, in order to do that I would put the trigger on the OFF position of the thumb control or twist control line, so when you are NOT give power AT ALL you have an option to pedal on low gears to ride and charge at the same time, and a switch to turn charging on or off completely... so that way if the forward resistance when charging will be gone when you want to JUST ride pedaling. Makes sense? This way has another advantage that you can charge the batteries a lot even fully... if you give enough pedaling and RPM to the wheels.

[javierpeletiermaura]

Thanks, good video.
Just a couple of points, about my experience of 6 years and 30, 000 km with a Kalkhoff with Albert Xion hub direct drive motor and rege in braking:
1) I do not perceive any friction if costing,
2) and something very important: practically, I do not spend brake pads, no brake maintenance. Another important point regarding the central motor, is that in hub motor's, the chain suffers less (risk of breakage, and you can continue your journey by motor w/o pedals...), and the chain has a 3 times more life.
Thanks & Regards 👍

[thorium]

You could possibly add regenerative braking with additional circuitry that regulates the voltage. And to deal with the rather high spikes of current, a supercapacitor bank could be used to deal with the sudden amounts of current. While then the power returns more slowly back to the battery

[thedronehorseman]

You missed out on the point that Regen also saves on brake pads! Also the savings can far exceed 10% if you regularly go on a route that has a down hill and uphill where you need to slow down for safety on the down hill and the regen can not only help you do that without wasting brake pads but save that downhill energy for when you go up hill again. Lastly if you want to turn your bike into a dual renewable energy wind turbine you can only do it with regen braking by turning the bike upside down then adding in the wind blades into the wheel spokes section and then engaging the brakes slightly to recharge your battery with wind power.

[wjksea]

I typically get over thirty percent regen but my last ride was 55.5%. I rode over 20 miles and returned home with more in the battery than I left home with. Plus it does save the brakes.

[Thunder_and_Fury]

I'll take smooth coasting over regenerative braking.

[Lucaslfm]

I have a high power ebike (2kW). Can go pretty fast. For me, regen braking is a must! I don't even care about the "Regen" part. The real reason I use it is for Braking power. It's a safety feature for me. It helps a lot when braking from 40mph, and riding alongside traffic. Not sure about this, but I would say the motor does more than 50% of the braking overall. Plus, it is instantaneous. The moment you touch the brake lever, all that braking power kicks in.