Shimano Battery Life Poll

[joxelitor]

SO, if we had our time again, what motor battery combo/manufacturer would you go with?

Bosch although I have not much information about the internals on Gen IV. I don´t know if it´s fixable or not.
Brose could be another option, may be the prefered. It´s prone to fails due to water ingress but it can be serviced, fails are mechanical, clutch and drive belt. Electronics are separated from mechanics

 

[Madonas]

I have 9,856 km ( 6120 miles) on My BT -8020 and it holds at 86% , down 14% .

Degradation at this point has been about 1% /704 KM . or 1% per 437 miles

I never try to leave the battery fully charged ( L- ion batteries don't like being held at full charge ) over night but at 70 % and then charge it in the morning before the ride to full and then never try to completely discharge battery past 1 bar left.

 

[Janc]

Well, after a 32 mile ride and 3,200ft of climbing my Shimano 504Wh battery is down to reserve power (eco only) which gives a remaining range of maybe one mile

ls that good? l mainly used "trail" set to medium, and rode as fast as l could most of the time, using the full assistance on hills, which only happens if you put a decent amount of effort in yourself.

I'm 102kg without kit (not how I ride!) and I would expect close to that on mostly eco with trail only on tougher climbs. ie about 30 miles and 1,000m climbing. It is the climbing that really eats the battery. I can do 30 miles on 50% battery if I only do 300m climbing. So I figure about 1000m of climbing is the the figure rather than the distance although it's obviously a combination of both. I once tried doing 41 miles (66km) on a single battery with 1,028m of climbing but I had to use a lot of OFF to get home with 1 mile DTE and when I powered it off it wouldn't come back on.

 

[jpaulo.emtb]

Update on the bad quality of shimano batteries:


If we compare this situation with our cell phones, we would be saying that after 6 months of having a cell phone or our laptop, its battery would be 80% healthy (~1 cycle/day). Well, that doesn't even come close to reality.

Is anyone having these problems with the new ST-E8016 (630wh) batteries?

 

[lightning]

My BT-E8035 is at 79% after 60 charge cycles

 

[jpaulo.emtb]

We should have a joint position! For this problem to reach the specialty communication channels.
If the batteries degrade quickly, sooner or later we will have to change them! And at that point, it will be desirable that Shimano already has batteries in good condition. Let's not buy faulty batteries again!
We have to put more pressure on! Look at Specialized, they launched faulty engines, exchanged them and gave a 4 years warranty !!! If new ebike buyers know about Shimano battery problems, then they won't buy bikes with Shimano motors!

Is it an open letter or a petition? Joining complainants from this forum plus the German forum, let's get many complaints!
I think we have enough data for that!

 

[lightning]

l've bought a second battery so l can send mine back.

 

[Spiff]

l've bought a second battery so l can send mine back.

Did Shimano say that they would exchange the battery when they confirm that the Battery Health is below 80%, as you said?

 

[lightning]

Below 77% after less than 200 charge cycles

But the battery has another fault, at anything below three bars it can shut down without warning if you use "Turbo" and then it won't turn back on until you charge it.

 

[jimbob]

Just taken the bike in for a warranty job on the battery. Stunlocker was showing 86 cycles and 76%.

Their diagnostics show the battery is at 87% health, so no claim. Strangely, the battery happens to also have 87% charge in it. I questioned this coincidence, but they insisted it was definitely showing the degradation of the battery.

Shows up as 'remaining capacity' on the report if anyone has seen it before. No mention of state of charge on it.

So not overly happy.

 

[Spiff]

Just taken the bike in for a warranty job on the battery. Stunlocker was showing 86 cycles and 76%.

Their diagnostics show the battery is at 87% health, so no claim. Strangely, the battery happens to also have 87% charge in it. I questioned this coincidence, but they insisted it was definitely showing the degradation of the battery.

Shows up as 'remaining capacity' on the report if anyone has seen it before. No mention of state of charge on it.

So not overly happy.

Look for a mate that has the box Shimano SM-PCE02, then use an older etube Version 4.0.3 that still has the Battery Health checking, print the report and send to Shimano together with the battery.

 

[jimbob]

Thanks Spiff. I've just spoken to the bike shop, and they're going to have a play on some of the other bikes in the shop to see what the number means. I get the impression the shop isn't all that clued up on it all.

 

[lightning]

How's the actual range of the battery, would you say it's dropped over 20% or nearer 10%?

My battery "health" is showing at 79% on Stunlocker but the actual range has definitely not dropped by that much.

l would say it's down more like 10%

l am getting 30 miles out of a full charge where l was initially achieving a bit more, maybe 33-35 miles

 

[jimbob]

How's the actual range of the battery, would you say it's dropped over 20% or nearer 10%?

My battery "health" is showing at 79% on Stunlocker but the actual range has definitely not dropped by that much.

l would say it's down more like 10%

l am getting 30 miles out of a full charge where l was initially achieving a bit more, maybe 33-35 miles

I believe its dropped by over 20%, so around 75-80% of original capacity remaining. Thats by measuring the energy taken to charge the battery, which may not be exact on the capacity value, but does give a relative indication of capacity degradation.

 

[lightning]

But how many miles can you ride on a full charge, compared to when the battery was new?

That's what really matters, you can quote any number of figures but the bottom line is, what's the range on the bike and is it a lot less than it was?

Mine isn't that much different despite the app telling me that the battery is at 79% capacity

 

[jimbob]

I would disagree. There are far too many variables with using the range of the bike to tell the state of the battery.

I would suggest there is only one figure which is relevant, and that is the capacity of the battery. That can either be measured by discharging it (which is difficult to do with the shimano system) or by the energy used to charge the battery.

But, yes, there is also a notable reduction in range. I can't quantify it though I'm afraid.

 

[lightning]

l've done the same ride that l did when l first got the bike, it's 30 miles and l got back with around 10% battery remaining.
I can still manage the same ride but it's borderline empty when l get home.

Speeds are similar, as a regular non-ebike MTB rider l am
fit enough to consistently ride the ebike at its assist limit speed.

There might be a few minor differences but the ride takes me a similar amount of time every time l do it.

 

[Zimmerframe]

l've done the same ride that l did when l first got the bike, it's 30 miles and l got back with around 10% battery remaining.
I can still manage the same ride but it's borderline empty when l get home.

Speeds are similar, as a regular non-ebike MTB rider l am
fit enough to consistently ride the ebike at its assist limit speed.

There might be a few minor differences but the ride takes me a similar amount of time every time l do it.

You don't think you've got fitter and more efficient ? (possibly better looking too ?? more handsome slimmer ? Muscles which have adapted from use ?) You ride features better, faster and more effectively ? You climb with your body and mind knowing the optimum cadence to get the most out of the motor ? I've always found with every bike/motor I've always got more range in comparison to reducing battery life just from the symbiotic relationship you build with the motor. Obviously that won't be the same for everyone. Some people will just get lazier and use a lower cadence and range will slowly drop each time they ride. But certainly with the Shimano I always felt you adjust to finding the optimum performance in most scenarios - if you get lazier, it just does bugger all.

 

[lightning]

Well, l've just bought a second battery so when it stops raining l will give it a go and see how it measures up.

l would hope l have got better since March. Although l ride more for fun than ultimate fitness.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Although l ride more for fun than ultimate fitness.

If you're having fun, invariably the rest follows to some degree ?

You didn't comment on better looking ?

 

[jimbob]

You didn't comment on better looking ?

I thought that was a given?

Or is an emtb like buying a sports car where everyone thinks you're compensating for something..?

 

[Pivot]

Delighted to report that I have 100% battery health after 5 cycles

I guess, it means that my average range is 128km per cycle, which should translate to full battery charge to empty.

 

[AZRickD]

Santa Cruz Heckler.
New February 2020
Bike is now in the shop getting “diagnosed” and on the charger. So I don’t have the model numbers handy.

504 WH battery
Probably the slow charger
Info via STunlocler (which I have used since March of 2020):
62 cycles
79% Battery Health.

Getting about 4-5 miles per bar for about 24-miles with modest (1200 feet) of climb. Weight 192.

I set my power very low. 15NM in Eco which I use predominantly, and 25NM in Trail which I use only occasionally, and 45NM for Boost which I almost never use. Essentially, the same power as a Levo SL.

I used to get 8-10 miles per bar with modest climbs, and we’ll into the 40 mile range. No longer.

Also, my system recently (about a month+ ago) began throwing e010 error codes and shutting down assist. Totally intermittant. It could start after 7 miles, or after 2/3rds mile. One ride it started after six miles. I rebooted and it and assistance lasted for 2 to 3 miles and de-assist again with e010. It shut down about six times that ride. But then it kept running for six miles before shutting down on last time about a mile from the trucks.

The next dayI went to turn it on. The display would light and then shut down. It took about five attempts to stay on.

I was able to show this to the bike shop.

And when I went to charge it, the normally solid amber light started blinking. Then it shut down. I re-plugged the charger and it went solid amber. I came back several hours later to find the amber light off (which usually means full charge). I turned on the bike and found it had only charged another 20 points. I had to re-plug it a few more times to get it to 100%. After that next ride, I couldn’t get it to charge.

I took it to the bike shop. They updated the software (I did not request this) because it was “two updates behind.”

I want them to submit a warranty request to Santa Cruz because their literature claims that they bend over backward to keep people riding. The LBS is resisting doing this.

 

[lightning]

Well, my battery is exactly the same as yours. After 61 charges it's now at 79%

However l am sure the range hasn't dropped by 20%

I've just done a 15 mile ride which used just over 40% of battery

The elevation gain was just over 1,600ft and average speed 14.1mph

 

[AZRickD]

14/.60 = 25 mile range.
Your vertical is about half again more than my typical rides.

So, Yours is similar to mine, but I used my “Eco-Minus-Minus” 15NM reduced power setting.

 

[lightning]

l would expect to
do the same ride again without recharging and be able to get home with range to spare. So that would be 30 miles with a little in reserve.

l will make sure my next ride is the same route, and see what happens.

l am mainly in "Trail" set at 90% and 70Nm but using "Eco" on flat sections

l am not cruising !! Although there's a temptation to select "Turbo" when l am tired and let the bike do all the work!

l generally ride at the limit of my abilities so l am putting in as much effort as l can without overdoing it, and letting the motor add power so increasing my speed.

Which is why my average speed is close to 15 mph.

 

[AZRickD]

I came back to the shop today.
The battery was fully charged using their charger (no surprise, my charger might have done the same).

I took it out for a ride around their shop to see if I could get it to throw another e010 error code.
Their hope was that since they had updated the software, that would fix the error code.

2.75 miles into the ride, the assist went off and I looked down at the display to find another e010 fault code.

Their eByke tech will be in tomorrow.

So, I have a battery that won't get me very far.
I have a charger that *might* have an issue.
And I have a motor with a likely torque sensor problem.

 

[lightning]

That's not great, l hope they manage to sort it out.

Something is definitely wrong through, if you are only getting 4-5 miles per bar on those assist settings.

Mine's mostly in "Trail" set to medium which is 90% assist and 70Nm torque, and l get around 6 miles per bar.

And my battery isn't great, it's showing 79% in fact l've just packed it to send back under warranty.

Fortunately l was able to purchase a spare battery, so l will have a bike while l wait for the battery to be looked at.

 

[jpaulo.emtb]

Delighted to report that I have 100% battery health after 5 cycles

View attachment 78007

I guess, it means that my average range is 128km per cycle, which should translate to full battery charge to empty.

Great, a 630wh battery! I think that is the first in the SHIMANO BATTERY LIFE POLL. Keep us update.

 

[lightning]

Mine was 100% until it had 10 charge cycles and then it suddenly dropped to 90%