I understand what you are saying matty, but I generally go out on my bike twice a week, so as I understand what you have said that shouldn't be a problem
What you seem to be saying is not to leave them fully charged for a long period of time......which is now understood.
Sorry, but you haven’t quite understood my point. It is the total time spent at elevated charge that matters - the longer that is, the more the anode degradation occurs. Let’s compare your example with an alternative charging regime for the same pattern of usage:
Your example: Let’s assume you do a 3hr ride twice a week to fully discharged, then recharge immediately when you get home (which for most 500Wh bikes seems to take about 4hrs). That means your time at full charge per week is approximately (24x7)-(2x7)=154 hours per week, or just under 92% of the time. If you do more rides this % will decrease slightly, but less rides (such as can often occur in the depths of winter) will increase it. Either way the battery is spending the huge majority of it’s life at elevated SOC where internal degradation occurs at the fastest rate.
Alternative example: Now let’s look at another option for the same two 3hr rides; charging the night before. If we put the battery on at 5pm it should be fully charged by 9pm. Let’s go worst case and assume the ride on average will start at 2pm the next day. That means the battery will spend 2x17=34hrs per week at full charge, or roughly 20% of the time. Again if you miss a ride this % will obviously increase, but it won’t get anywhere near the 92% number from the previous example unless you charge then don’t ride for a week. Over an extended period this charging regimen would put substantially less stress on the battery, increasing cycle life and reducing the rate at which capacity is lost compared to charging back to full straight away.
Caveat - It’s not a good idea to leave your pack at fully discharged for any significant length of time either. The easiest way to address that is to stick your battery on charge for say 30-60 mins on your return if you do fully drain it on a ride.
Alternative 2 - If you don’t generally drain your battery fully every ride there is an option which should marry the convenience of the first example with the improved battery life of the second. Buy a timer plug and set it to give you a charge between 70-75% of a full charge, then charge back up to that straight after your last ride. This means you will be ready for your “standard” ride all the time; if you want to do a longer ride you’ll need to top up for an hour or so beforehand. This is a great option for most people, but probably not if you have a bike with a smaller capacity pack like the Focus’ or upcoming EZesty where most rides will fully drain the pack.
