How long do electric bike batteries last?
Sep 13, 2021
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Like the battery in your car, an electric bike’s battery has a useful lifespan that only lasts so long before its performance begins to deteriorate.
So how long will your electric bike’s battery last? In most cases, a good rule of thumb is 2-4 years — though maintenance, storage and how often you use the battery will have a direct effect on your e-bike battery’s useful lifespan.
Though thinking of a battery’s lifespan in terms of years makes sense to most people, time is not really the most accurate metric. Instead, battery life is more accurately described in charge cycles, or the number of times an e-bike battery can be depleted and then fully recharged before it begins to lose efficiency.
A Bosch PowerPack 500 battery on the Tern HSD S11.
Most lithium ion batteries you find on e-bikes today are good for about 500 to 1,000 charge cycles, depending on the make and model of the battery. Keep in mind that one charge cycle is from full charge to full depletion, so if you deplete your battery to 50 percent on a ride and recharge it from there, that counts for half a charge cycle — so 500 to 1,000 cycles realistically goes a long way for most riders.
But knowing your battery’s charge cycle rating will only take you so far, how you take care of your battery, store it and how often you ride it are all factors that will have an outsized impact on how long your e-bike’s battery will last.
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How to make your e-bike battery last longer
The first piece of good battery hygiene is to always store your batteries in a cool dry place. Extreme temperature shifts — especially high heat — are not your battery’s friend, so try to store the battery in a place that’s dry and consistently at room temperature.
Avoiding storage at extreme temperatures is a good rule of thumb for your entire e-bike, not just the battery. All your componentry will last longer and perform better if stored properly.
Always use the manufacturer-provided charger, no matter what. Many e-bike chargers are proprietary to the battery they charge, so the odds are high that your battery won’t play nicely with just any charger. Mixing and matching batteries and charges doesn’t just run the risk of overcharging or short circuiting, it can actually pose a fire danger.
Don’t leave your battery plugged in for long periods of time. This is another crucial one to protect your battery’s longevity, as most batteries will gradually discharge a certain amount of energy during prolonged storage. If it’s still connected to the charger, the charger does it’s job, tops off the battery and the cycle begins again. Over a long period of time, this repetition of bad charging cycles can degrade the battery.
Timers or power strips with an automatic shutoff are your friend in helping you remember to disconnect your battery from the charger. We’ve heard horror stories of people leaving their bikes on the charger over a winter, only to discover the next summer that they’d fried their battery.
If you’re planning to leave your bike for the season, don’t store the battery empty. Conventional wisdom is that storing your battery at 40 percent to 70 percent capacity is best, though guidance on this varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Lastly, avoid running your battery completely dead. Lithium Ion batteries prefer short charge cycles, and frequent use until depletion can actually reduce the battery’s capacity quicker. So charge your battery frequently and keep an eye on your battery levels.
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Excellent reporting on how to maintain your ebike battery. All ebikers realize that of all the components on an ebike, the durability and power of their battery is of upmost importance. Electric Bike Report should start running battery tests to provide new buyers with durability and length of life reports.
Nice battery report. LEVA trained E-Bike Technicians who have the Advanced LEVA Tool and Test Kit have the capability of measuring the capacity of batteries.
The only bummer is cost ,batteries need to be priced much lower or buy reconditioned batteries because when it goes you better have money to buy another, otherwise the e bike is worthless to me this is one bad reason not to buy an e bike but what I hope is cost will drop in the future
What does leva stand for and can you list companies that rebuild batteries
Nice report. Thank you. I live in a city that isb80-90% humidity. I have no idea what to do to store my bike’s battery during winter. Any sugestiones? Thanks
In winter months l bring me battery in side and give it a charge once a month for about 20min.
At Orbit City Bikes we have 8 years of eBike experience. Your advice is good and should be followed. The best batteries we have seen in operation are Bosch. We have sold Bosch powered eBikes for 7 years and have yet to replace a battery even though it is now our #1 seller. We have replaced numerous batteries from Reention, Hi-Power, and numerous others over the years. A Bosch powered eBike costs considerably more than eBikes with these other batteries and this is just my experience.
WELL GOOD REPORT, NOW I OWN A RAD CITY E-BIKE WITH SAMSUNG CELLS, SINCE 2018 I HAVE RIDDEN BIKE AT LEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK FOR LAST 3 YEARS, IT IS STORED IN A TEMP. CONTROLLED SHED. AS OF TODAY IT STILL HAS PLENTY OF LIFE LEFT IN IT EVEN AFTER 10000 MILES, I NEVER FULLY DEPLETE IT, IT STAYS PLUGGED IN UNTIL NEXT RIDE, I WILL SAY THAT RAD POWER BIKES BUILDS A SOLID ELECTRONIC SET UP ON THIS BIKE, 5 STARS, ITS NOT BOSCH MOTOR BUT A 750 WATT REGENERATIVE MOTOR WHICH I AM SURE IS ONE REASON THAT THE BATTERY IS HOLDING UP WELL, RAD WERE IS MY DIFFERENT COLOR IN THIS BIKE OTHER THAN BLACK THAT IS NOT A STEP THRU, WONT ANOTHER NOW BUT DIFFERENT COLOR. TAKE CARE OF IT AND IT WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
All these tips help me, thanks. I also have a rad bike it seems to be a very good electrical system and the battery is only 1 year old it sounds like it should last awhile yet. Thanks again.
NO PROBLEM, IT IS A SOLID E BIKE