A look at what is currently available on eBay
Does an electric bike need additional protection due to the battery?
I'm planning on getting an electric bicycle fairly soon. It's my very first one, and I'm rather ignorant about them (which I'm trying to fix). I'm unfamiliar with how the battery is attached to the motor, or how the motor is attached to the bike. Do you have to worry about people stealing the battery and/or motor while the bike is chained up? If so, how can one properly secure the motor/battery as well as the bike itself?
There are three major ways you will see an electric motor attached to a bicycle:
In the first instance the motor rests over the back wheel and powers the wheel by friction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzstENmZ8cc
In the second way one wheel is replaced with a different hub. These are hub motors. http://www.electricrider.com/crystalyte/index.htm
Last is connecting to the crank set. Here is a visible method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3UCgX_jMWA&NR=1 (another way is hidden in the framing that is the subject of bike racing cheating claims.)1
I would expect the hub motor to be more secure if you just lock the wheel up with the frame when you secure the bike.
The next issue is the battery. In many instances these are easily removable so that you can take them inside to charge them. It is less likely someone will take the batteries without the bike. You could take the batteries with you as you go but this may be a bit of weight. You could make some attempt to disguise the batteries (throw a towel over them?) and you could make some attempt to lock up the container they are in.
These systems are used on a fairly normal bike frame. Other purpose built Ebikes may have the batteries stored in a prebuilt case and not look like such a normal bike. These may be targeted if they stand out from other bikes on the rack. http://www.google.com/products?q=ebikes+for+sale&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ADRA_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=aUoeTLy9PIH58AbJ1PXCDA&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CDwQrQQwAg
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