Do you top up your battery before rides?

[shredjim]

I have read that ebike batteries count charge cycles in the battery health metrics. I normally place my bike (M10) on charge a few hours after I ride it the same day I ride it - and let it charge until the light turns green. Then the next time just before I ride it, I put it on charge to make sure I have every bit of charge available - since the battery is not that big, and I have ran it out one time and have had the red light on 3 times. My top up timeframe usually is 5 - 10 minutes. I often ride with guys with fat bikes with bigger batteries, so I need to be conscious of these things and want to begin every ride with a full battery. What is the opinion on this, is it best for battery to top up, or not? Does the top up count as a charge cycle?

 

[Gyre]

In terms of the cycle count managed by the Bosch firmware, it supposedly accounts for partial charge/discharge cycles so whether you top up or not, it shouldn't change how quickly you accumulate cycles either way. For a Shimano EP8 RS, I don't know how it counts cycles, but I would hope it's smart enough to do the same.

In terms of battery chemistry, the battery will last a little longer if you avoid deep discharges or max charges. Floating in the 20%-80% range and storing it at ~50% is generally a good rule of thumb. That said, you bought it to ride it and the battery will ultimately degrade over time regardless of how carefully you baby it.

 

[Olof Bike Adventures]

Agree with storing the battery at around 50%, the battery aging accelerates if it is discharged or fully charged. Charge it the night before you plan to ride.

Fun fact - some batteries (in drones for example) have an automatic discharge function (to half full) that is engaged if they are not used for around a week to prevent aging.