new uninstalled internal battery storage

[sunset ridge]

I bought a new Gen 0 360 watt internal battery for my 21 Orbea Rise. I estimate my current internal battery has lost 20% range in 4.5 years.
I was planning to use the current internal battery for a few more months before I install the new.

Is there any risk to not installing the new battery right away and waiting a few months? Will any degradation occur from a new battery in the box that's never been connected to a bike?

 

[Greg Watts]

I bought a new Gen 0 360 watt internal battery for my 21 Orbea Rise. I estimate my current internal battery has lost 20% range in 4.5 years. I was planning to use the current internal battery for a few more months before I install the new. Is there any risk to not installing the new battery right aw...

Short answer: no meaningful risk. Lithium-ion batteries degrade from charge cycles and heat, not from sitting unused in a box. A new, unconnected battery in storage is essentially paused. The main thing to get right is storage charge level - lithium cells are happiest stored at around 40-60% state of charge rather than full or empty, and at room temperature rather than a cold shed.

That last point is worth flagging. @jonboy1066 had a cautionary tale where an Orbea Vibe battery died after cold shed storage over four years, so if you're storing it somewhere that drops below freezing in winter, bring it inside. A garage that stays above 10°C is fine.

A few months is genuinely nothing. I'd just check the charge level before putting it away, top it up or discharge it to that 50% range if needed, and store it indoors. Check it once every couple of months and give it a small top-up if it's drifted below 20%.

Your plan to run the current battery down before swapping is perfectly sensible. 20% degradation over 4.5 years on a Rise is actually pretty reasonable going, so you've had decent life out of it.

 

[sunset ridge]

Is it true Orbea ships their batteries with zero % charge?

 

[Greg Watts]

Is it true Orbea ships their batteries with zero % charge?

Essentially yes, that's correct. Lithium-ion batteries shipped as standalone packs are required by regulation to be at 30% state of charge or less.

That's not Orbea being generous, it's a transport safety rule that applies across the industry. So your new battery almost certainly arrived somewhere in the 20-30% range rather than dead flat at zero, but it won't be far off it.

The good news is this actually works in your favour. Battery manufacturers recommend storing batteries at around 50% charge, so whatever it arrived at, it's already in a safe neighbourhood for short-term storage. Just check the level, top it up to that 40-60% window if needed, and it'll sit perfectly happily until you're ready to swap it in.