E-Bike Battery Care & Maintenance Tips!

Lithium batteries are often the battery of choice for many e-bike manufacturers because these high-tech batteries are compact, high-capacity and reliable so a great reliable choice for most EMTBs, but maintaining them can sometimes be a challenge if you're not sure where to start. Chris Smith is here to run you through some simple steps to ensure you get the most from your EMTB battery!

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
0:00 - intro
0:18 - How long do E-bike batteries last?
1:20 - How often should you charge an E-bike?
2:06 - Where can you charge an E-bike?
2:50 - E-bike Lithium battery storage
3:20 - EMTB Battery usage tips
4:02 - Transporting lithium batteries safely
5:00 - EMTB battery chargers
6:13 - EMTB battery cleaning
7:16 - EMTB updates/apps
7:57 - Disposing of lithium batteries safely

Useful Links:

Do you have any battery care tips & tricks to share with our community? Share them down below! 👇

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[VadikRamm]

I wish there was a recycling program that would incentivize people to recycle their old batteries in exchange for extra credits that people can use towards purchasing a brand new battery.

[seakayak]

Every now and then this channel actually gives sensible advice, I have experienced battery degradation due to charging straight after cold winter rides, definitely get them to room temp first or at least not 5c or so

[jevgeniardassov]

Specialized gives you instructions on the battery itself. Charge at least once in 30 days at room temperature, do not use at below -25 or above 40 C. Store at 50-60% charge. Since my second boy was born I am unable to ride as much as I did and I do need to store my battery from time to time. Very helpful, thanks Specialized.

[Magoo]

It's still strange seeing Chris on the channel when we all know he's gone! Hope he turns up soon as I've come to really enjoy his commentary and bike riding...!

[CMZPICTURES]

Ooooh, I've been charging mine up at the end of every ride. This is great info. Thanks!

[silviu.filipescu]

I generally charge my eMTB battery just before the ride to 100%. After the ride it remains generally to 10-40% with state of charge for few days or weeks till next ride. I also keep 20-25% state of charge over the winter for 3 months. I rarely discharge the battery to 0% on a ride. This happened 4 or 5 times in 2 years of use. Now the battery have 45 charging cycles and I do not feel a drop of autonomy. I store my bike with battery installed in a shady place on the balcony where the temperature is maxim 40 C degrees in the midday of summer and minimum 10 C degrees in winter.

[J-Po-ttze]

Hi, please can you recommend any fire proof bags / boxes for home use? Recent news of batteries going up in smoke makes you think.

[flowjov]

Chris delivers as always. I wish you all the best for your future and miss your appearance on the channel already. It is simply not the same with out you.

[doepicchet]

If charging in your home I would charge in a fireproof battery bag. Also great for storage.

[Whoadayson]

So, tell me what all your opinions are on this situation: I bought an ebike for a great price, it arrived with the Shimano battery 100% completely dead, NOT BMS protection dead, but fully dead, zero volts, no sign of life dead, and when I went to charge it, it did not take a charge, beside a watt or two (I was using an inline power meter) but finally about an hour after plugging it in, it started a slow ramp up to full 80 watt charging. It was due to take 6ish hrs to charge a fully dead battery to 100%, mine was still charging at full 80watts after 7hrs and my meter was showing 580wh already pushed into my 504wh pack, but the pack wasnt bulging and I didnt see any heat on flir or by feel so I let it go, in about 5 more mins it started to ramp down and in 5 more mins it was showing fully charged. At charge completion it showed 585wh total. A partially charged pack even if shut off for storage or the BMS going into protection mode wouldnt allow more than 400wh in before full, so I know this was dead as a door nail.

Now, what Im worried about is when will this pack start its delayed but inevitable exponential decay in capacity that most lithium cells face a few yrs after its left at 0 volts for extended amounts of time (on my pack, I figure several weeks at min!) and will it fall in or outside of Shimanos 2 yr warranty, and will that warranty even apply to me if its above 60% cap at that 2yr mark, which it may well be since Im a light user (estimated 100 charge cycles over its 2yrs-far from the 1000 cycles they claim-my point is, my own use wont be as much a factor in the evolution of this packs decline, which may hurt the chances of it reaching <60% cap by 2yr).

Im also conflicted on how to treat this pack, as Im usually a battery care maniac as it has treated me well for years with most packs lasting in the 8-10yr range with 10-20% cap loss, but with this pack, I dont know if I want to extend the timeframe before it falls of the cliff as it will inevitably do since it came to me severely wounded...

The shop I bought it from says to take it to a Shimano shop and get the battery tested but my understanding is these sort of abuses on a new battery wont show themsleves until later in its its life, but I suppose a test is still a good thing? Thats if they give me the results or if those stay internal to Shimano, and we all know how proprietary they like to keep things.

My biggest worry in all of this is trusting that Shimano will do right by me when this pack starts to die off, but with my light use, I worry that Ill not be close to that 60% cap at the 2 yr mark, but by yr 3 that pack will be toast. Im not even sure I trust Shimano to warranty it within the 2yrs as its easy to say user abuse or whatever else. I just wish I could start with a pack that wasnt abused in its infancy as I intended to treat this pack very well and have it last for at least 5yrs being useable for my light use needs! I guess every abused battery needs a good home...


Thanks for anyone who read all this, your a champ, but I doubt anyone will. Im not sure I wouldve. Good video though!

[davidmacdonald]

Any good tips on whether you should protect the connection terminals on the bike when transporting the bike after the battery has been removed? On a towbar rack, for example, there is going to be a lot of water spray and crud flying around that area when driving at any speed. Are covers available, or any tips about making A DIY cover? Thanks.

[ian]

Hi, there was some great tips on caring for removeable batteries, any help for bikes with fixed batteries? Thanks!

[nickfitzhugh]

You can extend your battery life (ie number of charge cycles) by up to 2x by only charging it to 90%, or even up to 3x by limiting charging to 80%. I think the 1000 charge cycles estimate is improbable, more like 300-500 depending on the cells used in the battery, although obviously this depends on what your definition of end of battery life is (IMO 60% capacity is pretty unusable!). For someone who rides twice a week that would mean only 3 to 5 years of usable battery life. If you're doing shorter rides that don't require a full battery, best to only charge to 80-90% to extend the usable battery lifespan.

[twistedsfastu]

Nice video, i have a question.. what if you find yourself with a charged battery and you cant ride for what ever reason? how do you discharge it for storage? thanks

[Destide]

Great tip about the dielectric grease, so many people smother contacts with, it's for insulating water ingress. Just my opinion and not factual at all, but for the contacts isopropyl to clean and acf50 to stop corrosion use an insulating soft brush, wire wool not recommended :D.

[precisionlaser]

Can you charge your ebike from a ups while riding to help maintain level?

[porroco]

I have shimano ep8 with 630wh, but hope the come with a ballancing on their firmware app. Sometimes you fully charge your ebike, but for some reason could not ride for weeks and batt keeps fully charged

[RallyTeam]

Hmm what do you recommend with a 2023 Mondraker Crafty RR as battery cannot be removed.

[ripprjak]

My battery has an on and off switch.

But what I’m concerned about is. Should I turn the battery ON! When I’m charging it?

Or should I keep it off? Then charge it so I’m confused

[GG-yecj]

Thanks for the video. I would like to plan a roadtrip in sctoland with an ebike, do you think it's easy to charge the batteries in bars, restaurants or campings ?