Why We Only Use Samsung and Sanyo Cells
You spent good money converting your trusty old frame into a trail crushing machine. You hit the Washington and Old Dominion trail on a beautiful Saturday morning. Then, halfway to Reston, your battery just dies. Why? Because you bought a cheap, generic battery pack online to save a few bucks.
I see this happen all the time around Northern Virginia and the DC metropolitan area. Riders think a lithium battery is just a simple box of energy. Okay, well, it is but it’s not all the same. I’ll do my best at explaining without trying to sell you on anything, promise. At Duo Designs, we don’t do mystery meat cells. Yes, Spam is cool, it’s probably my island side. And yes, I also like McNuggies. However, we stick exclusively to premium cells such as Samsung and Sanyo cells. Let us get into exactly why that matters for your daily ride, wallet, and most importantly, your safety.
The Real Cost of Cheap Lithium Batteries
The internet is absolutely flooded with generic e-bike batteries promising massive power for very little money. Seriously, most people getting into e-bikes will find their first batteries on Amazon with a sketchy dealer, brand, and battery. If it looks too good to be true, it always is. These generic batteries are often packed with cheap, recycled, or completely unbranded lithium cells. They might work fine for the first few weeks. You might even think you scored the deal of the century.
Again, if you don’t want to buy from me, that’s perfectly fine. I can recommend several other people who you SHOULD buy from. If you’re hell bent on buying the cheapest, it’s a free country baby! We all speak with our dollars.
But when that the dreaded voltage sag hits you hard… Voltage sag is that terrible feeling when you twist the throttle to climb a steep hill in Arlington and your power suddenly cuts out. Generic cells simply cannot handle the high discharge rates required by powerful electric motors. They overheat rapidly, they degrade quickly, and their total capacity falls off a cliff after just a few short charge cycles. What was supposed to be a forty mile range drops down to fifteen.
Why does that happen? Like I previously stated, these cells are not quality which means they’re lowly graded or not graded at all, which means that they’re inconsistent. When you have a battery pack, ideally, all the cells are balanced and share very close or the same voltage so that they’re able to discharge and charge evenly. Doing so is healthy for the battery pack, it’s more efficient, dissipates heat evenly, and allows the full use of the entire system. Otherwise the cells will cause the BMS to misread, will can prematurely kill the battery or worse, allows the battery to degrade much more quickly.
Worse than getting stranded is the safety aspect. We all know the horror stories about cheap lithium batteries catching fire. Do you really want to store a volatile plastic box of unknown origin inside your house or garage? You saved a hundred bucks up front, but you bought yourself a total nightmare in constant maintenance and major safety risks. Throwing your money at generic battery packs is the absolute opposite of an upgrade.
Why Samsung and Sanyo Cells Reign Supreme
This brings us directly to the core of how we build our machines at Duo Designs. We want you out on the trails having fun, not stuck on the side of the Custis Trail calling a ride share to haul your heavy bike home. We use premium lithium cells like the Samsung 50G, Samsung 50S, and Sanyo NCR because they are the absolute gold standard of the battery industry.
These branded cells are meticulously engineered to handle the exact type of high stress an electric motor demands. We event tell you on the product description what the cells were intended for when they were designed by the manufacturer and what application is best suited! Seriously, how much easier can it be? When you ask for raw power, a Samsung or Sanyo cell delivers it cleanly and efficiently without excessive heat buildup. Remember our previous chat about how heat destroys internal components? Premium cells manage their internal resistance much better than generic knockoffs. They run incredibly cool under pressure. A cooler battery means a happier, much longer lasting electric bicycle.
Furthermore, the energy density of these premium cells is outstanding. We can pack massive amounts of reliable range into our custom 52V jumbo shark and triangle packs. You get true, honest voltage ratings every single time you charge up. When we say a battery has a specific capacity, it actually delivers that exact capacity. You can ride from Alexandria all the way deep into Loudoun County with total confidence. You’ll probably need to charge at a coffee shop when you’re way out there, if you want a return trip (depends on battery), but hey, that’s on you! It’s better than the alternative where you’re lost somewhere!
Building an e-bike is a smart investment in your health, your daily commute, and your sanity. Do not handicap your beautiful build by slapping a mystery battery on a great electric motor. Quality lithium cells from Sanyo and Samsung give you serious peace of mind, highly predictable range, and the raw torque you need to conquer the local hills. Doing it right the first time is always the cheapest option. Stick with the proven cells, keep your battery charged, and I will see you out on the local trails.
