How To Unlock Extra Range From Your Electric Bike

Cycling Weekly

The battery in your electric bike is the lifeblood of the system and if treated poorly, won't last for as long as you may hope as ebike batteries are ultimately an exhaustible item.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 Looking after your battery should be

00:07 one of your main priorities

00:09 because it does have the ability to degrade over time,

00:12 but to what extent can be determined by how you treat it.

00:15 So here are my top tips to ensure

00:17 that it lasts for as long as possible.

00:18 First up, if you've got a lithium-ion battery,

00:20 which most e-bikes do,

00:22 then don't allow your battery to get all the way to zero.

00:25 You do have what's called a BMS,

00:26 or battery management system.

00:28 Now that's there to ensure

00:30 that the battery never actually gets to zero

00:32 and it will cut the charge off

00:33 to make sure that there's a little bit

00:34 of residual power in there.

00:36 Should you ever actually get to zero,

00:39 then the cells will never recharge again

00:41 and it will be absolutely toast.

00:43 So the best practice is to ensure

00:45 you never let your battery get near that level

00:47 and to charge it regularly.

00:48 A question that often comes up is,

00:51 will I damage my battery if I charge it up to 100%?

00:54 Well, no you won't, but you may get fewer charge cycles.

00:57 Now a charge cycle is a full discharge and recharge.

01:01 A normal e-bike battery would be expected

01:03 to get between 800 to 1,000 charge cycles.

01:08 If you charge to 100% all the time,

01:10 then you may be looking towards

01:11 the lower side of that bracket.

01:13 If however, you charge to 90%,

01:15 you could be looking towards the higher side of that bracket.

01:18 The trade-off is though,

01:19 that you might be left with slightly less range to use

01:21 when you're out riding.

01:22 The good thing is though,

01:24 that the BMS will ensure that when you get to 100%,

01:27 it will cut off the charge and protect the battery.

01:29 So it is very hard to do long-term damage.

01:32 Balancing a battery is some pretty nerdy e-bike knowledge,

01:34 but bear with me here.

01:36 As we already know, the BMS will protect the battery

01:40 so that the level won't get so low that it damages itself.

01:43 And it will also mean that when we get to 100%,

01:46 it will also cut off the charge.

01:48 However, if you don't charge the battery to 100%

01:50 on occasion, then it won't have a chance to balance itself.

01:53 And this means that the overall range of the battery

01:56 will slowly decrease over time.

01:58 So if you do wanna maximize the number of charge cycles

02:01 you get by charging to 90%,

02:03 do ensure that on occasion you charge to 100%

02:06 to allow the battery to balance itself

02:08 so that you ensure that you maintain the amount of range

02:11 that the battery is capable of delivering.

02:13 This may mean that you have to closely monitor

02:15 the battery level whilst charging,

02:17 which for some may just not be practical at all.

02:19 Come winter time when perhaps you've stabled the pony,

02:23 but you wanna ensure that you're still looking

02:24 after it properly,

02:25 there are a couple of things you can do

02:27 to make sure it doesn't damage itself.

02:29 So if you're planning on leaving your bike stationary

02:31 for anywhere up to a month,

02:33 it's absolutely fine to leave at 100%.

02:35 If you're gonna be storing it for over a month and longer,

02:38 then I would recommend leaving it at 70%

02:41 and also dismounting the battery from the bike

02:43 and leaving it at an ambient room temperature.

02:46 Some manufacturers recommend charging every six months

02:50 to ensure good battery health

02:51 if you're really putting it into some long-term storage.

02:54 It should go without saying,

02:55 but definitely don't leave it without any battery at all.

02:58 Like I've previously mentioned,

02:59 if the battery then dips below that safe level,

03:02 it will be completely toast

03:03 and it will not charge up again.

03:05 So do not store it close to empty.

03:07 Continuing along the vein of storage,

03:10 if you're able to leave your bike or just the battery

03:13 at an ambient room temperature,

03:15 then this is definitely a really good thing to do.

03:17 If a battery is left out in the cold,

03:19 then it will lose its charge

03:20 and the range would also drop considerably.

03:23 If you regularly ride in freezing conditions,

03:24 then I would recommend investing

03:26 in an insulating thermal jacket

03:28 to keep the battery at an optimal operating temperature.

03:31 Now you can find a link to one of these

03:32 down in the description down below.

03:34 So there we have it.

03:35 Those are my top tips for looking after your electric bike

03:38 and hopefully making it last for as long as possible.

03:41 Ultimately, a battery is an exhaustible item

03:43 and over time it will degrade.

03:46 So if your range has dropped so far below

03:48 what it was when you got it from new,

03:49 it may be that it needs replacement.

03:51 With my tips though,

03:52 you can make sure that it will last for as long as possible.

03:56 If you have any of your own tips

03:57 that you think are worthwhile sharing,

03:58 then drop them down in the comments.

04:00 If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like,

04:02 subscribe to the channel for more content

04:03 and I will see you again very soon.

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04:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]

04:24 (whooshing)

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