Battery Maintenance
If you have an e-bike, you might want one of these. E-bikes are so new to folks in our area that there is a lot about batteries you may not know.
Up to now, the main conversation has been around the voltage or size of battery a person needs. The more knowledgeable talk about whether two smaller batteries are better than one large (they are).
You should know that your battery is sealed and can be used in any weather. If storing your bike for more than a week or two, run the battery down to about 80% before storage. When carrying your bike on a bike rack it should be removed. Never charge a battery until it returns to room temperature and don’t leave your battery out more than a few hours idle in sub-freezing temperatures.
Most don’t know how to optimize their batteries. We all want our batteries ready to go the distance at any time, but that isn’t always best for our batteries.That little tool can be a big help!
Lithium batteries don’t like to be run too low, too often. They also don’t last as long if constantly topped off by being left on a charger hours longer than necessary. Don’t get me wrong, any battery I sell has a management system that won’t let you over charge. Your charger will be limited as well. You really only need to top it off completely a couple times per year (this is called balancing the cells).
Using a simple timer like this one, you can charge your battery just as much as the last ride you took. That should keep you around 70-90% while you figure out how long to charge your particular battery. It could extend the 3-5 year life expectancy of your battery another two years! $20 at Ruby’s Beers, Bikes & Brats.