GizmoSL
Member
I just bought an electric vehicle, a car that is, and one of the things I learned from the dealer was to never charge your battery to 100%, unless you were going on a long trip. The battery would last longer and give you better overall performance in the long run if you charged it to 80% capacity. You can actually set your vehicle to stop charging when it reaches 80%. This is a general rule of thumb for all Lithium based batteries, evidently. Well, it started me thinking about ebike charging. I think most of us have charged our bike's batteries to the limit every time, to get the maximum range from the battery, but like driving the electric automobile around town, most rides aren't long enough to fully drain the battery.
I started a ride with 80% charge yesterday, rode 24 typical miles on mixed terrain (climbs descents, singletrack, etc.) and had 40% battery life remaining. I kept the motor in turbo mode the entire time to make it a little more demanding. Makers of lithium based batteries recommend applying the 40-80 rule for their products, that is, keep the charge between 40 and 80 percent. Everytime we charge a lithium based battery, the performance is degraded, by the heat that the charge creates, and the charging that takes place between 80 and 100% takes longer percentage-wise. Anyway, just throwing all this out there as food for thought. We do spend a lot of time thinking and talking about our batteries. And all this info is accurate as far as I can tell, but if anyone can offer contradictory info, please weigh in.
I started a ride with 80% charge yesterday, rode 24 typical miles on mixed terrain (climbs descents, singletrack, etc.) and had 40% battery life remaining. I kept the motor in turbo mode the entire time to make it a little more demanding. Makers of lithium based batteries recommend applying the 40-80 rule for their products, that is, keep the charge between 40 and 80 percent. Everytime we charge a lithium based battery, the performance is degraded, by the heat that the charge creates, and the charging that takes place between 80 and 100% takes longer percentage-wise. Anyway, just throwing all this out there as food for thought. We do spend a lot of time thinking and talking about our batteries. And all this info is accurate as far as I can tell, but if anyone can offer contradictory info, please weigh in.