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📖 What do all these e-bike terms mean? (Quick glossary)

A plain-English cheat sheet for the e-bike terms you'll run into — volts, amps, watt-hours, BMS, mid-drive vs hub, PAS, and the cadence and gear sensors, all in one place.

July 12, 20262 min read

📖 What do all these e-bike terms mean? (Quick glossary)

Quick, plain-English definitions for the e-bike terms you'll see across our guides and product pages.

Glossary

Electrical

  • Volt (V) — electrical "pressure"; higher voltage = more speed/power.
  • Amp — electrical current (flow).
  • Amp-hour (Ah) — battery capacity; bigger number = more range.
  • Watt (W) — power; one amp under one volt of pressure.
  • Watt-hour (Wh) — total energy stored (volts × Ah); the best apples-to-apples capacity number.
  • BMS — the "brains" of the battery; manages charging, balancing, and safety cutoffs.

Motor & drive

  • Controller — the brain of the motor; tells the electronics what to do.
  • Mid-drive motor — motor at the cranks that drives the chain (uses your gears).
  • Hub motor — motor built into the wheel.
  • Pedal assist (PAS) — motor helps when you pedal.
  • Throttle — motor power on demand without pedaling.
  • Walk-assist — low-speed help for walking the bike.
  • Display — handlebar screen showing speed, battery, and settings.

Sensors

Frame & components

  • Bottom bracket shell — frame tube the cranks/mid-drive install into.
  • Chainstay / dropout / fork — frame parts near the rear wheel, axle slots, and front wheel.
  • Chainring / crank arm / derailleur — front cog, pedal levers, and the shifting mechanism.

Visual references

Anderson power connection Anderson power connector — how the battery and controller join. Bottom bracket shell Bottom bracket shell — the frame tube a mid-drive installs into. Bike frame parts breakdown Frame parts — chainstay, dropout, fork, and where each sits. Diagram of bike wheel Bike wheel diagram — hub, spokes, rim, and axle.
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