How frequently are you charging your bike?

[Husky430]

A cycle is considered a 0 to 100% charge. So if you ride to 50% and then charge to full that's only half a cycle. Your battery will be rated to give either 500 or a 1000 cycles and still be able to give 60% of it's as new capacity.

I'm not so sure about how the bike measures health. I had a battery drop to 93% after about 4 rides (2 cycles) but then it stayed at 93% for a year.

Gordon

Thanks for that Gordon, yeah like I said, can't really complain and the battery has lasted far better than the motor which just decided to stop for no apparent reason at about 3500km.
Still replacing it was far cheaper than a new bike and even if I have to replace the battery down the track a bit, the $2000 for the motor and $1000 for a battery is still way cheaper than $8000 - $14000 for another well specked bike, IF YOU CAN EVEN GET ONE!!!

 

[Beekeeper]

Always charge to 50-60% after every ride and top up to 100% just before going out on next ride usually using a timer

 

[EMTBSEAN]

There must be some kind of gizmo out there that will charge a battery to 60% and switch off automatically, chances are it’ll cost an arm and a leg to buy, alternatively I suppose we could use our displays and switch off the charger when it gets to 3 blocks out of the full 5 blocks (Bosch Purion) display

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

There must be some kind of gizmo out there that will charge a battery to 60% and switch off automatically, chances are it’ll cost an arm and a leg to buy, alternatively I suppose we could use our displays and switch off the charger when it gets to 3 blocks out of the full 5 blocks (Bosch Purion) display

Giant do it already. Came with my Reign demo. Smart charger and has a 60% charge mode option.

SMART CHARGER

The Smart charger is the fastest way to charge your EnergyPak and is compatible with our newest systems. It takes 2.2 hours to charge 80 percent with an EnergyPak Smart 625. The Smart charger also helps extend battery life. When the EnergyPak is charged more than 500 cycles, this charger uses a lower voltage, so the cells are used in a less energetic way. Battery life is extended while total charging times becomes slightly longer. Switching between full charge and 60% storage mode can be done with the simple press of a button.

EnergyPak Chargers | Giant Bicycles Official site

Fast & Smart Battery Chargers for your Giant Electric Bikes

www.giant-bicycles.com

 

[EMTBSEAN]

Giant do it already. Came with my Reign demo. Smart charger and has a 60% charge mode option.

SMART CHARGER

The Smart charger is the fastest way to charge your EnergyPak and is compatible with our newest systems. It takes 2.2 hours to charge 80 percent with an EnergyPak Smart 625. The Smart charger also helps extend battery life. When the EnergyPak is charged more than 500 cycles, this charger uses a lower voltage, so the cells are used in a less energetic way. Battery life is extended while total charging times becomes slightly longer. Switching between full charge and 60% storage mode can be done with the simple press of a button.

EnergyPak Chargers | Giant Bicycles Official site

Fast & Smart Battery Chargers for your Giant Electric Bikes

www.giant-bicycles.com

Thanks for that info Rob, question is does it work on other bikes too, I have a 625 Watt hour battery on my bike but does have a Bosch type plug on the end please

 

[Hamina]

Are we sure that the 100% capacity is the technical maximum capacity of the battery? Would be a little surprising if the manufacturers wouldn't had thought this.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Thanks for that info Rob, question is does it work on other bikes too, I have a 625 Watt hour battery on my bike but does have a Bosch type plug on the end please

No. It would only work with the Giant batteries. The charger would have to talk to the BMS to know the charge state/number of charges. It wouldn't even work with other Yamaha batteries as Giant use proprietary communications.

 

[Planemo]

There must be some kind of gizmo out there that will charge a battery to 60% and switch off automatically, chances are it’ll cost an arm and a leg to buy,

When needed, I'll just use an old school mechanical timer plug. Given that a suitable storage range is between 30% and say 70%, you don't need to be exact. I usually work on around an hour per 25%, given it's normally 4 ish hours from empty (using stock Bosch 4A charger).

But usually I return from a ride with no less than 2 bars (Purion) anyway. So it's stored at that until I am due to ride again.

If you're feeling flush, you could always shove it up a notch and use a bluetooth/WiFi plug to control on/off if away from the house via your phone.

Both options are far less cost than another charger and both will do the job. Marginally more hassle than simply pressing a '60%' button though I admit.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

This would work well. I actually have one but have not used it as I just find it too much hassle to think about charging rates / storage.

Personally, I can’t be bothered to worry about storage charges and cycles. I just charge when I need to and whenever I remember. Should still last years!

Home | LiON Smart Charger | Electronics | Germany

The First Smart Fast Charger for e-bike and e-scooter. Compact, Lightweight, Smart and Fast. Power Electronics

www.lionsmartcharger.com

 

[Alexbn921]

Are we sure that the 100% capacity is the technical maximum capacity of the battery? Would be a little surprising if the manufacturers wouldn't had thought this.

Specialized charges their batteries to 4.16-4.18 volts per cell which is a 96-99% full charge. And they discharge down to 3.2-3.3 range.

Yes you are using 100% of the capacity of your battery with nothing hidden to extend range or hide degradation. The battery "health" report in the app is a joke and does not represent a true indication of battery life.

 

[Jimbo Vills]

This thread reminded me yesterday I’d run the bike empty before new year and I’d forgotten to ‘top up’ the battery...

This thread has also just reminded me I forgot to check circa 60% and unplug. And now my bike is still on charge ready to burst into flames and burn my house down

 

[aarfeldt]

If the BMS has any value, it will hide the lower and upper part, as in any electrical car.
So when we see 100%, it's actually less.
And in the lower part too.
So we will never run it out of juice and can never charge to real 100%.

A good example is the range extender on the Rise.
It will start deflating the extender, and when this is flat the internal battery will take over.
So when the extender is used, it will go to 0% every time....and it will get destryed very quickly, which is not the case.

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

I tend to leave between 20-80%. I find very little loss/drain on the battery over time.

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

This thread reminded me yesterday I’d run the bike empty before new year and I’d forgotten to ‘top up’ the battery...

This thread has also just reminded me I forgot to check circa 60% and unplug. And now my bike is still on charge ready to burst into flames and burn my house down

I am on my third house now

 

[Jimbo Vills]

I am on my third house now

Cheaper than Levo’s

 

[flash]

Are we sure that the 100% capacity is the technical maximum capacity of the battery? Would be a little surprising if the manufacturers wouldn't had thought this.

This could vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Shimano quote 1000 cycles so it's possible they're undercharging the batteries to acheive that, which also might explain their apparent lack of efficiency compared to some other brands. But without testing cells individually it's not super easy to tell. And the brands certainly aren't advertising it.

Gordon

 

[Growmac]

Shimano quote 1000 cycles so it's possible they're undercharging the batteries to acheive that, which also might explain their apparent lack of efficiency compared to some other brands.

That's certainly not true of their E8035 batteries. Their health falls off a cliff no matter how nice you are to them. My first battery is at 79% health after 60 cycles. Apparently they are not interested unless it's below 73% at this stage. My local shop are kindly pursuing this for me, but it's looking ever more likely I'll have to go back to the supplying dealer in the small claims. Depressing. I'd never buy a Shimano bike again, their support has been woeful, whereas my Bosch-equipped mates have had great service when they've had issues.

 

[pmcdonald]

Yes I think some of these manufacturer claims are so theoretical to be farcical.

Giant claim 80% capacity after 800 cycles. Mine on my commuter is doing well at 95% and 5200km/70 cycles, but no way a) it'll get to 80% @ 800, or the more practical point b) I'll ride enough to do 800 cycles (hence the 'charge, ride, repeat' motto). That'd be 17 years of riding and 60k by the time I get to prove them right or wrong! We'll all be driving flying cars to work by then.

My previous 2015 Ebike managed about 60% capacity after 6 years of use, which is what I'd expect from older lithium cells.

 

[flash]

That's certainly not true of their E8035 batteries. Their health falls off a cliff no matter how nice you are to them. My first battery is at 79% health after 60 cycles. Apparently they are not interested unless it's below 73% at this stage. My local shop are kindly pursuing this for me, but it's looking ever more likely I'll have to go back to the supplying dealer in the small claims. Depressing. I'd never buy a Shimano bike again, their support has been woeful, whereas my Bosch-equipped mates have had great service when they've had issues.

Has the range dropped noticeably? I have two of the older externals with wildly different *health*. I can't see much, if any range differences between them. I'm not sure how it's reported but I don't give much credit to the reported number.

Gordon

 

[Growmac]

Has the range dropped noticeably? I have two of the older externals with wildly different *health*. I can't see much, if any range differences between them. I'm not sure how it's reported but I don't give much credit to the reported number.

Gordon

The reported range in Eco at full charge has dropped proportionally to the alleged health. In real life the difference is dramatic, the 79% battery has probably a little more than half the real range of the newer one.

 

[Terry Brook]

I have had electric mountain bikes for the last 3 years now, at first i used to run the battery down to as low as 5%, going out of my way to depleate it.
I bought in march 2021 a new cube slt hdc 625 battery,
On talking to the main guy at JJ james Emb center, about draining my battery b4 recharging.
He told me i was doing it an injustice, He told me to always keep it charged up ( ie after every ride ) the other advice was to take the battery in the house in the cold weather. so after every ride it goes on charge, i leave it over night, the next day the charger and bike is switched off and fully charged. Bike on 700 mile 100% battery 9Which is now in a warm place in house.

 

[Just gan]

I have had electric mountain bikes for the last 3 years now, at first i used to run the battery down to as low as 5%, going out of my way to depleate it.
I bought in march 2021 a new cube slt hdc 625 battery,
On talking to the main guy at JJ james Emb center, about draining my battery b4 recharging.
He told me i was doing it an injustice, He told me to always keep it charged up ( ie after every ride ) the other advice was to take the battery in the house in the cold weather. so after every ride it goes on charge, i leave it over night, the next day the charger and bike is switched off and fully charged. Bike on 700 mile 100% battery 9Which is now in a warm place in house.

Same here thats what i do. Plus if it did get stolen its nor got a battery.

 

[seamarsh]

I leave it in cold shed.. connected to charger all the time… 2 years working fine… people worry about bike batteries like they are special, I treat it the same way I treat my mikita power tools batteries or my iPhone battery etc.. this thread is scary, it’s like a mental health check;}

 

[1oldfart]

Hi folks, I'm interested to hear from others what your charging strategy is in the instance that you don't completely drain the bike's battery. Thanks!

I never completely empty it. I do not have a car so i ride 350 days each year. Now in our winter in Quebec Canada i often ride 2 Hrs in the morning, charge, eat and ride an extra 90 minutes, and recharge. Maybe in the summer i will start a day with 75% charge if i know it is plenty but basicaly if i rode 1 hr or more i charge. My mid day charge might not reach 100% but enough for my need. My short answer = ounce or twice a day.

 

[Seraye]

Always charge to 50-60% after every ride and top up to 100% just before going out on next ride usually using a timer

This is also my strategy.

 

[Seraye]

My first Bosch ebike (with 500 WH battery) - I rode over 6,000 miles on it - never drained the battery to empty, charged up full after every ride (because I rode every day) and I barely noticed a depletion in battery capacity - my subjective observation was that maybe it lost 15-20% capacity? I could still confidently ride 30 on eco/tour with a little sport and a little less turbo here and there as desired, and I could squeeze out 40 miles being a little more conservative.

 

[Farmernz]

I leave mine plugged in sitting in a metal oven dish after a big ride until I next use it, but also if it’s above 3/4 I’ll leave it in the bike for just grab and go stuff near home. Battery health and run time I find a little odd as I have a 500 size battery and the lights on the bike display used to go down slowly, after an app update the lights drop much quicker from full to half but I still get the same range on the same ride and don’t run out. I haven’t noticed any lack of battery performance for my typical rides in two years of use. I use drones a lot and often leave batteries on smart charger too and haven’t had any problems using this method 5 plus years.

 

[Jimbo Vills]

I leave mine plugged in sitting in a metal oven dish after a big ride until I next use it

Erm, why?

 

[Labrador29]

Hi folks, I'm interested to hear from others what your charging strategy is in the instance that you don't completely drain the bike's battery. Thanks!

I've read my Giant manual. ( Giant Trance +1 Pro) I ride with a geriatric bunch three times a week, so I charge my battery after I have washed
( lightly) and dried and WD40'd moving parts. If I don't charge after every ride, I am inclined to forget!!! As per manual, I completely drain my battery once every 3 months. We ride all year round, so don't alter the procedure in Winter. Am just about to turn over 11,000 kilometres, and according to my Ride Control One ap, the battery is about 1/4 through its life cycle. I will be dead before the battery is. Lol. Hope that is some small help to you, although I would add to read the manual.

 

[Farmernz]

Erm, why?

Safety Habit from using drone batteries, had a racing drones lipo battery ignite once luckily on concrete, they burn up ferociously.