What are the differences between Lithium polymers (Lipos) , Lithium-ions (Li-ions) and iron

phosphate?

Lithium ion is the general category (we just call them lithium batteries), Lithium polymer another name for Lithium ion batteries and iron phosphate is a type of chemistry used to make Lithium ion.
If you want to be precise, it is better to refer to the battery by their chemistry.
Virtually all current electric bike batteries use one of these two chemistries:
1) LiNiCoMnO2 (commonly called Lithium ion) and 2) LiFePO4 (Lithium iron phosphate).
The word LIPO is often used with two different meanings: the technology of making Lithium ion batteries and RC Lipo.
RC Lipo is never used in our bikes because they are unsafe.
Lithium ion batteries are made by printing over a plastic film (hence the name polymer) with Lithium composite anode and cathode.
The process ends up with a 7-layer film only 15 micron thick (substrate, cathode tab, cathode, electrolyte, anode, anode tab, protection).
This film is then rolled up and packed into either soft pouch (prismatic cells used in our rear carrier batteries) or cylinders (eg 18650 used in our bottle batteries).
About a quarter of the weight of your battery comes from Lithium metal, the rest is mainly plastic and other metals.

Which chemistry is better for electric bikes?

Lithium iron phosphate has a flatter discharge profile but heavier.
We think Lithium ion (LiNiCoMnO2) is now the clear winner because it’s lighter.
However, it’s the quality of the cells used in your battery that makes all the difference.

What do you mean by C?

C is the capacity of your battery. It’s the 12A in 48V 12AH for example.

What is the maximum continuous discharge rate?

This is given usually as 1C to 1.5C, for a 48V 12AH, that means between 10A and 15A.
For a short period, Lithium-ion cells will sustain 3C and iron phosphate will sustain 5C.
This is not very useful information because firstly, there is a 30A fuse on the output and secondly the controller will limit the current to 14A.

What do you mean by CC and CV?

These are charging methods, CC = constant current, CV constant voltage.
The chargers are smart, you must always use the right charger that comes with your bike and battery.
They usually have been programmed to charge the battery with the correct method.
Lipos for example require contant current charging (CC) up to the programmed voltage (usually at 2A up to 50V for a 48V battery),
then gradually reduces the current while maintaining the specified voltage (CV) until the current drops to near zero.
During this period, the battery management system carries out the balancing, equalizing the charge between all its cells.
It may change from red to green a few times before finishing, during balancing.
Lithium-ion chargers are thus said to be CC/CV chargers
The charging light on the charger goes red when charging and green when charging is finished

What does the BMS do?

There are always small imbalances between cells because they are chemical devices.
The BMS (battery management system) tries to balance the cells when charging and discharging.
Without the BMS, the battery will have a much shorter life and are dangerous to handle.

Should I run deep charge cycles?

No. This is not appropriate for modern batteries.

What is conditioning a battery?

Wing batteries do not need conditioning.
But if you still want to do this, charge it up to full before first use then run it to nearly flat but do not stress your battery too much  in the first few days (avoid hills) and put the battery back on charge every night for a few nights.
Your battery works best between 95% and 20%. At either end of the spectrum, the electrodes are stressed by swelling and may produce gases which damage their structure so avoid stressing it if the battery level is already low.

What is the trickle current?

Your battery is a chemical device, it loses its charge through diffusion.
The rate of natural discharge is called trickle current.
On modern batteries, this is around 3% per month but it’s better to err on the side of caution, recharge your battery at least once every 2 months even without use.

Should I charge my battery every day?

Only if you ride every day.
Put the battery on charge after you come back from a ride and switch off the charger (from the wall socket) after the charging light goes green.
Batteries like and need to be used. Use it or lose it.

Do you sell replacement batteries for other ebikes than Wing ebikes?

In principle no but if your old battery is very similar then we can sell to you but without any warranty because we have no idea whether it’ll fit or it’ll work.
We will still try to help you out if we can.

Do you sell replacement cells and BMS?

No. But we may if you can prove to us that you have the expertise.