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

00:00Looking after your battery should be one of your main priorities because it does have

00:09the ability to degrade over time, but to what extent can be determined by how you treat

00:15it. Here are my top tips to ensure that it lasts for as long as possible.

00:18First up, if you've got a lithium-ion battery, which most e-bikes do, then don't allow your

00:23battery to get all the way to zero. You do have what's called a BMS, or battery management

00:28system. That's there to ensure that the battery never actually gets to zero, and it will cut

00:32the charge off to make sure that there's a little bit of residual power in there. Should

00:36you ever actually get to zero, then the cells will never recharge again, and it will be

00:41absolutely toast. The best practice is to ensure you never let your battery get near

00:46that level and to charge it regularly. A question that often comes up is, will I

00:51damage my battery if I charge it up to 100%? Well, no you won't, but you may get fewer

00:56charge cycles. Now, a charge cycle is a full discharge and recharge. A normal e-bike battery

01:02would be expected to get between 800 to 1,000 charge cycles. If you charge to 100% all the

01:09time, then you may be looking towards the lower side of that bracket. If, however, you

01:13charge to 90%, you could be looking towards the higher side of that bracket.

01:18The trade-off is though that you might be left with slightly less range to use when

01:21you're out riding. The good thing is though that the BMS will ensure that when you get

01:26to 100%, it will cut off the charge and protect the battery, so it is very hard to do long-term

01:30damage. Balancing a battery is some pretty nerdy e-bike

01:34knowledge, but bear with me here. As we already know, the BMS will protect the battery so

01:40that the level won't get so low that it damages itself, and it will also mean that

01:44when we get to 100%, it will also cut off the charge. However, if you don't charge

01:49the battery to 100% on occasion, then it won't have a chance to balance itself, and this

01:54means that the overall range of the battery will slowly decrease over time.

01:58So, if you do want to maximise the number of charge cycles you get by charging to 90%,

02:03do ensure that on occasion you charge to 100% to allow the battery to balance itself so

02:08that you ensure that you maintain the amount of range that the battery is capable of delivering.

02:13This may mean that you have to closely monitor the battery level whilst charging, which for

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

02:21For some winter time when perhaps you've stabled the pony but you want to ensure that

02:24you're still looking after it properly, there are a couple of things you can do to

02:27make sure it doesn't damage itself. So, if you're planning on leaving your bike

02:31stationary for anywhere up to a month, it's absolutely fine to leave it at 100%. If you're

02:36going to be storing it for over a month and longer, then I'd recommend leaving it at

02:4070% and also dismounting the battery from the bike and leaving it at an ambient room

02:45temperature. Some manufacturers recommend charging every

02:48six months to ensure good battery health if you're really putting it into some long

02:52term storage. It should go without saying, but definitely don't leave it without any

02:57battery at all. Like I've previously mentioned, if the battery then dips below that safe level,

03:02it will be completely toast and it will not charge up again. So, do not store it close

03:06to empty. Continuing along the vein of storage, if you're

03:11able to leave your bike or just the battery at an ambient room temperature, then this

03:15is definitely a really good thing to do. If a battery is left out in the cold, then

03:19it will lose its charge and the range would also drop considerably. If you regularly ride

03:23in freezing conditions, then I would recommend investing in an insulating thermal jacket

03:28to keep the battery at an optimal operating temperature. Now, you can find a link to one

03:32of these down in the description down below. So, there we have it. Those are my top tips

03:36for looking after your electric bike and hopefully making it last for as long as possible. Ultimately,

03:41a battery is an exhaustible item and over time it will degrade. So, if your range has

03:46dropped so far below what it was when you got it from you, it may be that it needs replacement.

03:51With my tips though, you can make sure that it will last for as long as possible.

03:56If you have any of your own tips that you think are worthwhile sharing, then drop them

03:59down in the comments. If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for

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

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