 On Tuesday, an e-bike in east London burst into flames, destroying the first floor of a house and leaving a man in hospital. The story, sadly, is not an original one – and others have had even more tragic consequences. But as the popularity of e-bikes shows no sign of slowing down, why are so many of them catching fire? The answer lies in the battery. More specifically, the quality of it. E-bikes are generally powered by lithium-ion batteries, the same basic cell as found in laptops, smartphones and electric cars. These products are widespread and generally safe, but not infallible – hence why you can't put a laptop in your checked luggage, because if it catches fire in the cargo hold, there's no one around to deal with it. 'When lithium-ion batteries fail they create a fire unique in its ferocity,' says Stephen Curtler, product safety manager at Electrical Safety First. 'When this happens, the battery goes into a process called thermal runaway, which is almost impossible to stop once triggered. 'The battery is made up of many individual cells, so when thermal runaway occurs, these cells heat up to an extreme temperature, causing the neighbouring cell to fail and catch fire in what is a domino effect. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'This process releases oxygen, meaning a fire of its kind is much more difficult to bring under control.' There is no shortage of shocking footage online of such explosive fires taking place, including those issued by the emergency services. However, while the London Fire Brigade isn't warning people about exploding phones and laptops, it has issued multiple alerts about e-bikes. This begs the question, why are they so prone to going up in flames? Consider this – when was the last time you or anyone you knew tried to change the battery on your pho){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
On Tuesday, an e-bike in east London burst into flames, destroying the first floor of a house and leaving a man in hospital.
The story, sadly, is not an original one – and others have had even more tragic consequences.
But as the popularity of e-bikes shows no sign of slowing down, why are so many of them catching fire?
The answer lies in the battery. More specifically, the quality of it.