Shimano BT-E8010 battery discontinued — what are the replacement options?

[popsisking]

Shimano by-e8010 battery is discontinued. What replacement options are available for another battery.

@Greg Watts

 

[Greg Watts]

The BT-E8010 was the original 504Wh STEPS pack, and yes — Shimano quietly retired it. The good news is it's not a dead end, because the connector and mount geometry carried forward across the STEPS range. A few routes, depending on how original you want to stay:

1. Direct Shimano replacement — BT-E8014 (504Wh)
This is the natural like-for-like. Same 504Wh, 36V, same mount footprint as the E8010. Functionally it's the modern equivalent and slots straight in on most frames that took the E8010. This is the path of least resistance if you just want it working again.

2. Step up to the BT-E8016 (630Wh) — frame permitting
The higher-capacity 630Wh pack (BT-E8036) is electrically compatible with EP8/EP801 systems, but the catch is physical: it's a longer/taller cell stack and won't fit every downtube. If your frame was designed around the 504Wh form factor, the 630Wh likely won't slide in. Worth measuring your battery bay before you get excited — it's the difference between a 25% range bump and an expensive paperweight.

3. Refurb / cell rebuild
Plenty on here have gone this way when OEM stock dried up. The E8010 in particular is well documented — riders have revived dead packs by bypassing the blown surface-mount fuse (the FR-9550-30A) and the P-channel MOSFETs, and the gauge still reads correctly via the BMS coulomb counter. Caveat: you'll need a generic 36V 10-cell ebike charger at the terminals, as the original Shimano charger won't play ball with a bypassed pack. Not for everyone, but a real option if you can solder or know someone who can.

A heads-up on the connector generation
@Backflip flagged that not every newer Shimano pack drops into an older frame — the gen-2 batteries can need mounting that older bikes don't have. So before buying, confirm your bike's mount matches the pack you're eyeing rather than just the connector.

On price — @Astro66 noted a full EP801 motor runs around £600, so a battery alone should sit comfortably under that through a Shimano dealer. Avoid grey-market "bargain" packs from auction sites; battery is the one component where dubious provenance genuinely isn't worth the risk.

If you tell me the exact bike and frame year, I can pin down whether the 630Wh will physically fit — that's the bit worth getting right before you spend.