How long do e-bike batteries last on one charge

The battery is one of any electric bike’s most essential and expensive parts. Therefore, it automatically becomes the responsibility of the e-bike rider to maintain it properly to maximize its lifespan. Charging any e-bike properly with the help of a manufacturer charger helps charge the battery with improved power quality and required voltage. When I purchased my very first e-bike a couple of years ago, I wasn’t aware of all these proper guidelines for proper battery health maintenance, so eventually, I did a lot of shitty things with my e-bike battery, like always charging to 100 percent, leaving my e-bike outside in the warmer temperatures, charging my e-bike with alternative charger and many wrong activities which you shouldn’t do.

First, Let’s Understand E-Bike Batteries:

First, let me explain a simple calculation of the battery’s power. It is straightforward: The battery’s voltage is multiplied by the charge current, and the formula is

 P = V*I,

where I is the total current supplied to the motor.

So, I will give an example to give you a rough idea. For example, if you have a 36-volt battery and your e-bike controller, which has a 10-amp controller, you have 36 volts times the 10 amp, which equals 360 Watts.

So, let’s pragmatically understand the correlation between all these scientifically. More power or wattage helps the e-bike move very quickly against motion. The better your wattage, the better the e-bike will overcome resistance, such as the rolling resistance of the tires when riding through sand.

More considerable resistance like air resistance, when you accelerate your e-bike, you need to push the incoming air out of the way or the resistance that we are most probably most familiar with, which is resisting the force of gravity when you are climbing uphill, in this case, the e-bike is not only to go forward but to it has to lift the e-bike uphill and fight with the gravity. The more power in your e-bike, the better you can overcome the resistance to motion.

PLEASE NOTE:

• An e-bike with a lower power can’t fly uphill as quickly as a higher-power e-bike because it has more power to overcome the resistance.
• You can visit this link if you want specific information about e-bike uphill climbing.

Factors that affect E-Bike battery on a single charge:

Many factors will decrease the battery’s life, and many will prolong its lifespan. Let’s talk about the factors that will decrease its longevity.

• Storing the e-bike in direct sunlight will increase the battery’s temperature and drain it quickly.
• Try to keep your E-bike batteries isolated, dry, shaded, and stored in a cool place (storage temperature around 20 degrees) with low humidity, which also prevents corrosion.
•  Also, please read your e-bike manufacturer’s manual and determine the battery levels in the red and green zones.
• Keep your battery levels around 30 to 70 percent instead of at 100 percent always because it’s good for your battery health.

Charging Methods of E-Bike Battery:

The time your e-bike battery charges 100 percent depends upon several factors. You must ensure that the battery and charging kit you get when purchasing your brand-new e-bike work properly, especially when planning more extended trips.

• First and foremost, the charging speed depends upon the size of the battery pack that you are charging.
• Second is the charger you use to charge that battery pack.
• As a rough idea, I would like to share my experience with you all that my standard bosch standard charger when charging my 500-watt-hour battery from zero to 100 percent in just under 5 hours.
• If you are in a hurry and want to charge it faster, you can charge your battery pack much quicker using a turbo or fast charger.
• If the battery takes 5 hours to charge fully, the turbo or fast charger cuts down hours and charges it under 3 hours.
• There are different methods for charging your e-bike battery. Most manufacturers allow you to charge your battery pack anywhere by unmounting it.
• Unmounting or removing the battery facility helps you charge it in the hotel, living room, cafeteria, or elsewhere.
• Now, the newer models of e-bikes have an integrated or removable battery fitted so that no one can tell there is a battery in it.
• Batteries are primarily fitted in the down tube and accessed via an Allen key, which the e-bike manufacturers will provide at the time of purchase.
• Riders can purchase a range or battery extender in the manufacturer’s accessories section.
• Range extenders are mounted on the bottle cage or sometimes in the downtube of an e-bike, and they are helpful for longer trips.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Some e-bikes require a lot of mechanical work to remove that battery pack from the e-bike, so that’s what you must be aware of.
• Unmounting the e-bike battery using the Allen key is the most common method to unmount the battery packs.

Range to expect on a single charge:

All e-bike Manufacturers continually advertise that their e-bikes will give a range of x or y, but believe me, they continually advertise very high. They use marketing gimmicks to attract their customers. 

The number of miles or ranges that we usually see advertised are the ones that are tested on plain, pitched, flat ground against no winds or e-bike commuting on 100 percent of all aspects of perfect conditions, which in the real world never really happens.

Now, an excellent way to get a rough idea or realistic expectations is to take that total range or mileage and cut it in half. I am saying this because most of the time, you will not be riding on that level one pedal assist setting, the lowest pedal assist in which you get the maximum range because it takes minimum power from the battery.

You will probably ride in its power mode for a big chunk of the ride because, on the maximum pedal assist level, it’s always more fun to ride.

Another thing to consider is that if your electric bike features a thumb-throttle system, you must be more careful about the range the e-bike manufacturers advertise.

It’s never reachable to the advertised range level because it uses the maximum power from the motor to achieve instant acceleration, but in this case, battery levels drop very quickly.

So, if you are trying to ride the e-bike long distances while using only throttle and no pedal assist, please expect that range to be even lower than half what the manufacturer is advertising.

Now, the best practice you should follow to properly care for your e-bike battery, which I will try to say here, is to please go on to some forums and see firsthand experiences from e-bike riders. Try to read the forum articles and comments; this will help you get realistic, rough ideas about the actual range you can get with the particular e-bike models you are looking for.

WITH LOVE,
Please ride safely and take care