Electric bike battery care is an important thing to consider when getting into the awesome hobby that is ebikes.
Batteries are generally one of the most expensive parts of your electric bike. Often coming close to half of the entire cost! (Depending on how much battery you want.)
So I think it’s safe to assume that you probably want to get as much life out of it as possible before replacing it.
There’s a few habits that you need to get a hold of to prolong the life of your battery.
Note: We’re talking about prolonging the life of lithium-ion batteries. These are the most common battery types for electric bikes. You can read more about other types of battery types here.
So get your battery in your arms and start caressing it and let’s dive in to the fun!
Why Does Electric Bike Battery Care Even Matter?
Electric bike batteries are expensive. Take this for example. Or this 48V rack mounted battery.
Why would you want to replace them any more often than you need to?
It’s a known fact that batteries lose capacity over time.
As lithium-ion batteries are used, they age and diminish in maximum capacity.
This means that after a certain amount of time, the total charge that they can hold is permanently reduced. This is not recoverable in any way, shape or form.
If we can change our habits, we can reduce the rate at which our electric bike batteries age. Meaning that they hold more charge for longer amounts of time.
This is great, because we can use the same battery for longer without replacing it!
If you’re really interested in why lithium-ion batteries age, check out this link from Battery University.
Want to know how to keep more juice in your juice box for longer? (Uh, by that I mean more charge in your battery for longer…)
I thought you did – let’s find out!
1. Stop Early And Often
Interested by my vague title for this first best practice?
Awesome.
A great way to stop your battery from ageing is to stop. Stop charging your battery all the way to 100%.
Lithium-ion batteries often come shipped at around 50-60% charge. Which is a safe percent to store the battery. This means your should charge your battery when you receive it.
For this charge, it is recommended to charge it to 100%. This should be left on charge for a while to ensure all battery cells are balanced.
However, this should be the only time you fully charge your battery.
Lithium-ion batteries like to be “sipped from the top”. Meaning that you should charge to about 80% capacity and then stop.
You should also not discharge your battery to less than about 20%.
Essentially this means it’s best to keep your battery charge between 20 and 80%.
You may have realised that this means you’re only using 60% of your total battery charge.
You would be correct in saying that.
So you might also be thinking, why would I want to only use 60% of my battery?
And the answer really boils down to: do you want to replace your battery more often and pay more in the long run?
If you’re reading this and haven’t bought a battery yet. Awesome!
Armed with this new information, that means that you’d be best to opt for a high capacity battery, so that you can easily do a roundtrip with 60% of the battery capacity.
Figure out how far you need to go using an average of 1km per 20Wh (0.62mi per 20Wh).
If your battery has 13Ah at 48V, you have 48 * 13 = 624Wh total in your battery.
60% of 624 is 374Wh.
374 / 20 = about 19km with 60% of your battery.
Calculate it for the battery you’re looking at, and think to yourself. Is this enough for a roundtrip?
Or alternatively, is it enough for one way assuming you can charge it at one end. (Work, home, etc.)
2. Keep It Cool
Batteries hate being at extreme temperatures. Especially warmth!
A fully charged battery, kept at a high temperature can dramatically decrease the life of the battery.
If you’re following step one above, you already know not to fully charge all the time. Sweet!
Now you just need to find a cool spot to leave your battery when you are finished charging!
Certainly don’t leave it in direct sunlight, eek!
But at the same time, try not to leave it in a warm area of your house like a conservatory, sunroom, hot water closet.
Closed, small spaces aren’t usually good either.
Somewhere ventilated, cool and not humid is best.
If the area you live in is always like this – just try your best!
Riding outside in very cold, or very warm temperatures will also affect the performance of your battery.
You may not be able to avoid it. But keep it in mind also!
3. Don’t Push Too Hard
If you’re really keen on keeping your battery in tip top shape, don’t push your bike too hard.
An ebike motor that’s working hard demands lots of juice!
Your battery will be sucked dry in no time if you’re always pumping it at full speed!
Discharging your battery more often leads to charging it more often!
Who knew!
But this also means you’re stressing out the battery more often with constant discharges and recharges.
(If you’re charging fully and discharging fully, you’re in for a bad battery life!)
So over time you’re using up more of the battery’s finite life span.
Compared to someone who uses their ebike at a more leisurely pace, they’ll be charging less.
Which means over the same period of time, your battery will hold less of a charge than theirs does.
So keep that in the back of your mind when you’re screaming down the street at 30mph!
(Although I can’t pretend to be an angel here. I love screaming down the street at 30mph!)
Keep your pedal assist (or throttle!) use at the lowest you can comfortably use.
Sometimes it’s nice to slow down and smell the roses.
4. Storing Your Battery
You might be wondering if it is okay to store your battery for long periods of time.
The answer is yes! With a few things to think about logistically.
Firstly, you should try to keep your battery charged around 60% when storing for a long period of time.
Long period of time being more than a couple of weeks.
This is the ideal charge to prolong the life of the battery.
Being charged more or less can stress the cells and make them age quicker!
You’ll also want to keep the battery away from anywhere that will keep it too cold, or too warm.
That means you should stay away from a cold basement, or hot water closet. It should be stored around 59F – 68F (15C – 20C).
Make sure the area is not damp, nor should any moisture get in.
So don’t place your battery above the kettle where steam can easily seep into the case.
That’s a fire waiting to happen!
A cupboard in your house should be a fine place to store it for an extended period of time!
A Few Bonus Tips
Bonus #1
Riding your bike flat generally won’t damage it. Woohoo!
This doesn’t mean you should run it flat all the time (see point #1!).
Most reputable batteries will have a Battery Management System (BMS) which actually prevents the cells dropping dangerously low.
So you won’t be killing the battery by running it “flat”. Flat being where the BMS cuts off the battery.
If you have lights on your bike, you should still be able to use your “flat” battery.
This is because the lights draw very little electricity, so should not cause much voltage sag.
Bonus #2
You should also clean your battery (and ebike in general!) after getting it dirty, or wet.
Most decent batteries will be waterproof to some degree, so that they won’t die during a quick downpour.
However, they are still best kept when they’re dry and all clean.
So clean up your ride to have a good time!
Final Thoughts On Electric Bike Battery Care
Keep your battery happy, and your wallet happier by taking to heart these steps!
Try to not charge your battery too much, or discharge it too much.
Keep it between 80% and 20%!
Also make sure if you’re storing your battery, keep it at 60% charge, in a moisture free and cool area.
And of course, don’t push your battery too hard if you want it to last!
Follow these steps and you’ll be riding your original battery for many happy years to come.
Stay charged my friends!
Clear and comprehensive – love it. The only thing I’d include is maybe something around taking care of your battery in the winter months? For example, Raleigh recommend that if you’re not using your ebike for an extended period of time, that you still try to charge it every 3 months to keep the battery healthy.
What are your thoughts?
Hey Alex!
Thanks for reading my blog, really appreciate it 🙂
Yeah that’s a great idea! I guess you could put it down to the “extended storage” tip here too. I imagine there’s a lot of people who aren’t so keen on commuting in 6 inches of snow! So would benefit from knowing about winter storage of their ebike battery.
Hello ! I’m just wondering how to charge bosch powerpack 500 , Should i drain the battery or charge it after every time i’m using it . My work is about 10km away and my battery takes me 130km on a full charge . The question is if it’s smart to recharge it after everytime i’m using it ?
I’ve been reading a lot about it and honestly every webbsite says something different i would be thankfull for the information 🙂
Hey Rikardo!
Thanks for reading out my blog!
If it’s a lithium ion battery pack, I wouldn’t charge it after *every* ride. I would try and keep the battery between 20-80% charged.
If you ride it a couple of days in a row and then charge to 80% you should be totally fine. It won’t affect the battery life much. Just steer clear of draining too far or charging too much, and you should be all good!
Some handy tips – thank you. Here’s another question – if you have a spare battery, should you simply store it and not use it at all – or should you use both batteries, swapping them over regularly?
Hey Nick,
Thanks for checking out my blog!
If you’re biking actively, I would use one main battery keeping it in good shape for as long as possible. Occasionally you should use your spare, but primarily the main battery.
Keep the spare charged to around 50-60% for storage in a dry, cool location.
That should keep it in good condition, without stressing out the cells too much.
Hope this helps!
I have double batteries on my bike. Should I take one off and only use it when the first one gets low on power?
Hey Greg,
Thanks for reading my blog.
Yeah, I would say it’s best to use just one battery at a time. Unless you have them in parallel for extra voltage or something similar.
Often times I recommend keeping a smaller battery with you just in case the first runs out and you need that extra little oomph to get home!
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Zade.
Tip for actually charging to 80%?
Use a power timer plug in?
I’ve got the Bosch system, 500W battery for my Crossrip bicycle. I’ve got two batteries, which I carry with me for extended weekly rides. The only charger I’ve got is the one that came with the bike. Is there a battery charger you recommend to shut off at 80%? I know I could put a timer on the charger, but that’s still no guarantee it cut off at the perfect charge percentage. Thanks for your help on this.
Should a 48V Li-ion battery show power when it’s turned off? I check with a multi-meeter and it showed 44V with Off and 54 V with On.
– Thanks, Todd
Thanks for the info..very helpfull
Stuart
Do the Batteries in a tri electric Bike Have to above o zer0 to charge in winter? Thankyou
I have a couple of these ’48V, 14 Ah (672 Wh) Lithium-Ion battery packs”. I have removed them from the bikes and keep them in the garage. When I removed them they were both maybe 90% charged. What would be the best way to discharge them off the bikes on my work bench?
I am waiting on this reply as well! I have a new ebike that I haven’t even ridden yet…it got rainy and cold. The battery charged to 100%. I have run the bike in the house, with the back tire off the ground (obviously) and full throttle for 50 miles…battery still shows 100% charged. Looking for another way to discharge the battery for winter storage without having to go out in the rain and cold.
QUESTIONS ABOUT E-BIKE BATTERIES !!!….
Hello Everyone ! – I have a few QUESTIONS below about my e-bike BATTERY that i hope someone can answer. My 2018 E-PIONEER (Chinese brand) folding e-bike has a 500w rear-hub motor and comes with a (no brand) 12ah /48v “silverfish” (?)-type BATTERY.
About the BATTERY performance : I have ridden the ebike many times with and without pedaling and it works fine, altho i havent yet determined what the actual ELECTRIC-POWER ONLY mileage-range is (claimed by some e-bike reviewers as around “20 miles” one-way).
The CHARGE METER (on top of BATTERY) : 5 vertical-aligned LIGHTS (each light equals approx 20% charge). When top METER BUTTON is pressed, the top 4 LIGHTS light up GREEN and bottom light RED if battery charge is 100%. ONE GREEN light + RED bottom light = about 40% charge remaining / Only the RED light = about 20% charge remaining. Presently, a button press shows 100% charge (all 5 lights show).
(NOTE: For eight MONTHS up to March 2020 i had been mistakenly OVERCHARGING the BATTERY overnight to 100%, instead of only up to 80%, and will not make that mistake again.)
Im an apartment tenant senior on a no-elevator 2nd-floor, so i have to keep the very heavy e-bike (70+lbs with battery and accessories) locked to a provided bike rack in the gate-locked POOL AREA (with a weather-cover over it), which since March is now temporarily off-limits to all tenants for a few MONTHS, so im keeping the e-bike-battery in the apartment.
QUESTIONS (please indicate question # for each answer) :
1. To what approx charge % will this BATTERY naturally discharge to if not used again for 6 months ?
2. Should i now DISCHARGE the battery to 0% (or to 80%) for these few months I cant use the e-bike ?
3. If yes, HOW do i DISCHARGE the battery ? NOTE: The USB side-port (which was NOT able to recharge my cellphone) is apparently NOT usable.
4. Can i (or a bike technician) safely open the battery and (affordably) make the USB port usable ?
5. Why is this BATTERY-type (no-brand, straight and 15-3/8″ tall, mounted behind seat tube, with top pull-out handle) sometimes identified in online ads as “silverfish” ? (a brand ?)
6. What is the AVERAGE MILEAGE-RANGE (electric-power only) i should be able to get with this 12ah /48v battery, in this type of e-bike (70+lbs including accessories, 20″ fat-tires, 500w rear-hub motor) ?
7. As i would like to achieve a greater MILEAGE-RANGE, what is the HIGHEST ah /volt ratio BATTERY i can upgrade to for this 500w rear-hub motor (as ive seen some new e-bike batteries online that are up to 20ah /52v) ?
8. As i would like to replace the very cheap /weak headlight, what is the MAXIMUM lumen or watt rating the new headlight can have to be compatible with the 12ah /48v BATTERY ?
9. How much RECHARGE TIME (in approx hours) does the BATTERY need to reach approx 80% charge (from a 110-volt wall outlet) ? The provided printed e-bike USER GUIDE has no mention of anything regarding this.
I hope someone here can knowledgeably answer these questions soon (indicating question #s).
Please also mention any UPGRADE-BATTERY brands / model #s / prices that you know of and think i should also consider ! I thank you ! – Paul M. / Lakewood, CA
How u doing thanks for the review I’ll be moving to Florida with my ride1up is it going to effect my battery riding in the heat
My eBIKE is a. FOLDABLE cyclomatic. . When I Am riding it it turns off. I have to get off turn it on and off and then it works for a little while. I can only Use It for a short time in low gear aNd THEN IT TURNS OFF.
If I go up a hill it turns off.
I don’t know what to do.
Help!
I had that problem too Antoinette. My response may not be what you want to hear, but I’ll chime in anyway…..I have a Pedego Ridge Rider which I bought new. They have top of the line Samsung batteries. However, my first brand new battery would work great for a while, like from 100% down to 85% or 70% or whatever and then all of sudden, drop to 7%? I had to pedal home a few times with no power. (NOT FUN!) Then, after recharging to 100% and going on a 5 mile trip the battery just shut down altogether while attacking a pretty steep short hill? I experienced this type of scenario several times until Pedego just replaced the battery, but the new one did the same thing shortly after I got it? Pedego, not able to solve the problem, replaced my controller with a new one. This didn’t even fix the problem which continued for the next four or five rides. Sometimes the battery would just stop working and shut down? Pedego tech support couldn’t figure it out nor the local dealer. The owner of Pedego just decided to send me a brand new bike. No problems since then. I don’t know why Pedego didn’t consult with a Samsung battery engineer but they didn’t. They just gave me new equipment. Personally, I think from all I’ve read on Battery University, batteries are very complex units. It’s not an exact science. I hate to say it, but I personally think you have a faulty battery Antoinett. I’m very happy I purchased a Pedego ebike. They cost more for sure, but it was very important to me to have premier customer service if something went wrong. Pedego has delivered on that “big time”!…..If your battery is still under warranty, get it replaced….
I’m planning to start using an electric bike, in going to work because this is more eco-friendly compared to commuting or driving a vehicle. Thank you for this; I’ll keep in mind to never charge its batteries for more than 100%. You’re also right about the importance of leaving them in a cool spot.
Why is this article mainly about lithium-ion batteries, Where I am now, China, 90% of bikes are lead acid. Purchasing one with LiIon would double the price of the bike.