Charging Your EBike's Battery Best Practices For Long Life

March 15, 2021

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You have made the choice of the electric bike for your everyday trips or only once in a while. Due to its cost, it is essential to take care of it. Also, some simple actions and accessories specific to eBikes can extend the life of your electric bike, its battery, and charger. So how do you charge the battery of your electric bike efficiently? Above all, how to save the battery of your electric bike and extend the battery life? As part of our complete dossier on electric bikes, we are now focusing on an essential element: the battery of pedelecs.

How to charge an electric bicycle battery efficiently?

Charging an electric bicycle battery is not much more complicated than charging your phone. Just plug the power cable of your electric bike battery charger into the wall outlet. Then connect it to your battery. And here we go.

First of all, respect the order of connection: wall outlet first, battery last. Simply to avoid overloading. Then, preferably use the original charger of your bike. Or a charger of the same brand and a compatible model. Compatible chargers from other brands are also good at troubleshooting but they may be a little slower. And you really have to be sure of the compatibility, otherwise, you could damage the battery cells.

Next, monitor the battery charging temperature. Indeed, during charging, the ambient temperature will have an impact. Manufacturers advise charging the battery at a temperature between 10 and 20 degrees. The temperature of the battery itself should also be monitored. This is particularly the case when you come back from a walk and the outside temperature is extreme. Also be vigilant in winter, especially in negative temperatures or summer above 30 degrees. In these cases, it is better to wait until your battery has returned to an average temperature before charging it.

Do not leave your battery plugged into its charger when it is fully charged.

The manufacturers recommend charging and discharging the battery completely for the first use of the scooter or electric bicycle. For subsequent uses, however, you do not have to wait until the battery is completely empty.

When to remove the battery from your eBike?

Depending on the model, some batteries can be removed to be recharged and others are rechargeable directly on the eBike.

In general, for daily or weekly recharging, no need to remove the battery from the bike to recharge it. You can plug in directly to the bike. However, there are a few cases where it is better to remove the battery from the bike.

There are other cases where it is better to remove the battery, for example in winter. If you use your bike in cold months, but store it in a room below 5 degrees. In this case, remove your battery from the bike and take it home. Wait for it to warm up a bit. Then you can charge the battery of your eBike safely.

If you take a break for several weeks, preferably don't leave your battery on the bike. Charge it to about 60% and consider recharging it about once a month. It is advisable not to let the charge drop below 30% during long-term storage. If your battery has 5 indicator lights, then you'll want to keep it charged between 2 and 3 lights during long breaks. It is the non-use that slowly kills the battery of an eBike!

Before cleaning your eBike or when transporting it in the car, also remove the battery.

How to remove the battery from your electric bike?

And now, how to remove the battery from your electric bike? Before removing it for charging, make sure the battery and console are turned off. Then unlock it by turning the key in the lock located in different locations depending on the model of your pedelec.

If you need to remove the battery from its slot or from the luggage rack, handle it with care to avoid impact. Slide it out of the rack using the handle or pull it gently towards you if the battery is tucked on the seat tube or down tube.

Once the battery is charged and replaced in its holder, do not forget to lock it with a small turn of the key. We advise you when the battery is removed to leave the keys in the lock so as not to lose them.

The technique of removing and inserting a battery also depends on the model of eBike you have. Ideally, follow the steps detailed in the manual.

How to save the battery of your electric bike?

So that the performance of your battery does not melt like snow in the sun, take good habits:

Use specific VAE tires inflated to the correct pressure. A bicycle with under-inflated tires puts more strain on the battery. To inflate them to the correct pressure, refer to the information written on the sidewalls of your tires.

Get to know your bike, its speeds, and its range.

Store the battery of your electric bicycle in a dry place for long periods of non-use.

Protect it from the elements with a protective cover if your electric bike is parked outside.

Charge it efficiently by following our tips above.

Use your eBike regularly and run the battery to prevent it from wasting away ...

One of the questions that we ask ourselves to properly charge the eBike battery is often: up to what charge? Indeed, do you have to recharge the electric bike battery to full charge each time you use it? Good news: no! Newer batteries are lithium-ion batteries and have a built-in charge manager. We speak of a BSM, (Battery System Management). This small electronic chip manages the storage in the battery cells. There is no longer any “memory effect” on the batteries. There is no point in unloading them completely before reloading.

When you receive your electric bike, the battery is partially charged. You can also use it immediately. We still recommend that you charge the eBike battery to full capacity at least once. Subsequently, recharge it so as to conserve at least 30% of energy (or 2 lights out of 5). Manufacturers say they try to keep an average charge between 30 and 70%. Some people claim that it is best to charge the battery 100% with every charge. This is not recommended by the manufacturers. But this is also not advisable. You can therefore recharge to full capacity or not, depending on the time available.

In any case, first, check the instructions from the manufacturer of your eBike battery. They could be different!

Three questions about charging VAE batteries

To answer these questions, we notably interviewed an expert from Ausstech Bike, a company specializing in batteries for electric bikes.

We also conducted an interview with Ausstech on how to recycle or recondition your VAE battery .

Possible to recharge the battery of an eBike with a solar panel?

Some brands and sites offer solar panels to charge electric bikes. You will also need a converter and some knowledge of electricity and voltage. Your installation must deliver sufficient power to recharge your battery. So yes, it is possible but it is better to avoid homemade installations and we do not recommend them. Make sure that the installation is secure and that there are no defects that could damage the battery. Also, be patient because the charging time will be longer if the intensity of the solar panels is less important. A battery generally takes 5 hours to be charged when it is connected to the mains at A2.

So before any use and purchase, make sure with the manufacturer that such an installation does not damage your battery.

Can I charge the battery of my eBike while driving?

When you pedal on your electric bike, you are not recharging the battery. The battery is recharged using an electric bicycle battery charger plugged into a power outlet. You may be confused with bicycle lights activated by a dynamo.

However, there are auxiliary batteries, or range extender s, with which you can recharge your battery anywhere. Basically, they work the same as external batteries that we use to charge our smartphones. Models that are used while driving are extremely rare on the market. Usually, you can only use them to recharge your battery while it is idle in places without electricity.

How to recharge the battery of your electric bike in a motorhome?

Several solutions are available to you to recharge the battery of your VAE on your motorhome:

use a charger with a cigarette lighter socket, but this solution is not widely available on the market,

use an electricity converter,

plug into the 230V outlets of your motorhome, but beware: the electricity reserve may be quickly emptied.