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We are asked this question by almost every customer. The answer that applies to most electric bicycles is no but you do preserve the battery by pedalling! There are a few exceptions but this technology adds weight, more expensive components, and the benefit is pretty negligable.
Regen is slang for ˇ°Regenerativeˇ±. Some motors (direct drive) can generate electricity when the rider propels the bike by pedaling, or while when going down hill or braking.
A motor and a generator are actually the same thing. If you turn a motor shaft, you will generate electricity. If you energized a generator you would get a motor.
So on an electric bike that does not have a planetary transmission, or a freewheel between the motor and the hub, and has a controller that will allow the motor to become a generator ¨C you can have regen.
Regen, however, is not as useful as it sounds. To recharge the bike while riding requires you to ride a long way against the resistance of the motor. You must create more work (due to efficiency losses) to recharge the battery than the work that the energy in the battery can do through the motor. (Awkward to explain.) Basically, you have to work harder to charge the battery enough to propel the bike 10 miles than it would have taken you to ride 10 miles by yourself.
So for most purposes, Regen captures a small, very small, amount of extra range. Maybe 50 meters in a 20 mile ride.
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