How To Unlock Extra Range From Your Electric Bike
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.