Ride further with Tenways Power Bank – and charge your devices too | electric bike reviews, buying advice and news

ebiketips has already reviewed three models from Tenways’ easy-to-use and maintain CGO single-speed belt-drive electric bike series: the sporty and lightweight 600, 600 Pro and the more comfortable 800S, as well as the latest 009 with smart connection. We also recently took a look at the motor and belt drive technology that is at the heart of the CGO series. While the bikes and technology may already be fairly familiar to those who follow the e-bike media, Tenways’ Power Bank may be less well-known.

The Power Bank is an optional accessory that not only allows you to charge the main battery of your Tenways electric bike while riding, but also allows you to charge your smartphone or any other USB-powered device.

The Power Bank is compatible with all Tenways electric bikes and perhaps deserves more popularity.

Tenways Power Bank – Specifications

The Tenways CGO range includes battery capacities from 252Wh to 374Wh. While this may seem like a small amount at first glance, thanks to the incredibly efficient torque-sensing drive system, most e-bikes should achieve a range of 20-40 miles on a typical charge (depending on battery size and a number of other factors).

Still, if you’re going to be driving all day without the option of plugging into a wall charger, you might need something a little more – and that’s where the belt-mounted 180Wh range extender comes in.

The Power Bank weighs 1.25 kg and measures 212 x 138 x 57 mm, making it ideal for the bottom of the Diamond Frame. The hard battery case is enclosed in a semi-flexible casing that allows the battery to be firmly attached to the frame using three Velcro straps. This makes it easy to remove if you want to take it with you to charge your devices elsewhere or if you want to charge the Power Bank itself.

There are three connection ports. A six-wire cable charges the bike’s main battery (the Power Bank comes with a shorter and longer cable – the latter is probably for models other than the CGO 600 Pro we rode).

There are also two USB ports that can be used simultaneously if you have two cables. The USB A port (shown on the right in the photo above) will provide around 10W of power, enough to slowly charge a modern smartphone or other low-power device.

The USB C port can be used to fast charge a smartphone or similar device at up to approximately 40W, provided the device supports the USB C Power Delivery standard.

The USB-C port can also accept charging by plugging it directly into a standard USB port – but the charging is so glacially slow that it’s impractical. You’re better off investing in a 21V 3A fast charger, which will fully charge from zero in about 4-5 hours.

There are three light bars on the Power Bank that inform you that the device is turned on (three solid bars) and the main battery is charging (the bars flash).

To charge a device with the Power Bank, simply connect the device to the USB A or USB C cable and press the Power Bank’s “on” button. The device will show as charging and will continue to charge until you decide to turn it off.

Tenways Power Bank – in use

We initially used the Power Bank on a 30-mile ride on the CGO 600 Pro bike west of Oxford, including some steep climbs to the Shotover Plain to the east of the centre.

Incredibly, we only used half of the 360Wh battery during this ride, so we didn’t use it to charge the battery, but rather to top up our power-hungry smartphone and action camera setup.

On this ride we only used a single cable, carefully routed around the frame, but switching it between the two devices kept both devices at around 70-80% charge for most of the ride.

Without it, heavy use of the smartphone’s GPS would have drained the battery by the end of the day, and would have required several battery changes in the action camera. Using the Tenways Power Bank was almost effortless; we only had to remember to switch between the two devices from time to time.

Once the Power Bank was switched on, it could be charged while riding the bike and when getting off it, for example while grocery shopping at the local market or simply while taking a nap to escape the midday heat.

Outside of the sunniest days in the UK it’s hard to justify mobile solar power on an electric bike in this country. However, we believe there’s potential to charge a power bank with solar power while riding.

For more powerful e-bikes, a setup with adequate solar power would require what most would consider an impractically large, and not easily portable, solar panel. However, since the Tenways CGO 600 Pro simply draws power, a small low-voltage panel, perhaps on a rear rack, could be a good setup for light off-grid use—say, light weekend camping. That would require carefully selected and compatible kit, though, so that’s a topic for another article.

The power bank is also easy to remove and use off the bike. For example, we used it to quickly and easily charge a Samsung Galaxy tablet. This makes it handy for charging on the go or simply when you’re away from a power outlet.

While it is advisable to use good quality cables (especially when charging with modern, higher-power USB cables), we were pleased to see that the Power Bank charged an old smartphone using a well-used and very cheap USB A to micro-USB cable.

Did we have any reservations? It would have been nice if Tenways had included a mains-to-USB charger with the Power Bank – although since many users of the devices may already have one, we can understand why they didn’t. Unlike e-bike battery chargers, USB charging has its own set of standards that are compatible with devices of similar age, which is definitely a good thing for the end user.

We also do not recommend using the Power Bank in any other conditions than dry weather – especially if you use the USB charging ports to charge devices. When the rubber cap on the USB ports is removed, they are exposed to the elements to some extent.

The Tenways Power Bank is currently selling for £289 in the UK, which is certainly competitively priced compared to Bosch’s 250W PowerMore range extender, which costs around £400. Mahle’s range extenders are similarly priced, and while Specialized’s frame-mounted plug and play battery can be found for a more reasonable price, none of these three competitors appear to have the ability to charge devices via USB connections.

In short, the Tenways Power Bank is an extremely useful, versatile and well-thought-out product.

Tenways Electric Bikes UK – EcoMove Bristol (eco-move.co.uk)