How many charge cycles will an electric bike battery have?

If you ride an electric bike, you're asking yourself how many times you can recharge your batteries before they get affected by a lack of functionality and performance. We can't give you a unique answer, especially because it mainly depends on the quality of the battery pack and cells.

The producer, generally, will write down in the tech sheet how many charge circles you can do before the battery starts to lose a part of the total capacity. Cheap products' batteries can last around 500 or less ciles, while high grade products can do more than 1.000 ciles, more than double!

So you have to consider that the retail price of the ebike will influence the quality of the battery. In fact, to keep a low price, some battery packs are assembled with cheaper cells and they will have for sure less performance and a shorter life span.

On the other hand, if you buy a good quality electric bike, you will find great quality cells that will offer a higher reliability and lasting performance, for a longer battery life.

We can mention some of the most famous and appreciated cells that come from: Samsung, LG, Sanyo, Panasonic and some more. Those cells are famous to be reliable, safe and long lasting. So, first of all you want a battery pack with high grades, you should point to those brands.

To ensure a long life you will also need to take care about your battery, to avoid premature damages and lack of performances. So, we are going to give you some tips to keep your battery in a perfect shape.

How to properly charge the battery 

Let's start from the most simple and essential thing that's, how to correctly charge a battery.

Every battery pack has a certain total capacity or voltage, that in the ebike market can be for example 36 Volts or 48 V. Every voltage has to use the proper dedicated battery charger, so don't switch it with a random one, and charge the battery accordingly with the specs needed.

Some battery cells are meant to be charged with a certain "speed", that's represented by the power output in Ampere (A), so if you use a "faster" charger you will ruin your battery for sure after many cycles.

If you use a different Voltage charger it can cause a malfunction or even a deadly short circuit, that will put K.O. you're a battery pack. So, don't do it!

If you have loosen your battery charger, we recommend firstley to buy an original spare charger, or an alternative with the same exact voltage and power output. If you have no idea about it, please ask the bike producer or seller, to get the right advice.

While you charge the battery try to supervise it, and disconnect the battery charger while the battery pack looks full. The battery over charge must be kept far from humidity sources, water, extreme heat and protected from the direct sunlight.

Lithium batteries fears cold

Modern battery packs have improved their reliability and performances, but lithium still suffers from very low temperatures that you can have during winter or in northern countries.

The cold will drop away a part of the total capacity, so the battery will last less than usual. Luckily it's a temporary performance drop, that will be restored with warmer temperatures.

If you leave the battery outside in a cold environment, it will lose part of the capacity, while instead if you charge and store it indoors in a warm environment, it will not lose any capacity.

So, during the winter we advise you to keep and charge the battery indoors, and clamp it in the ebike while you are leaving home. Once you ride in the cold it will not be a problem, because the battery tends to heat up a bit while the motor drains energy, so it will keep itself warm enough.

The lack of performances will occur while you leave the bike in the cold for prolonged time.

The perfect battery charge

To obtain a "perfect" battery charge that will ensure the long lasting life that you expect to get out, you need to be careful and patient. We write below the full recipe..

As we said, use only the original battery charger or a 100% compatible model, it will avoid a premature decrease of performances.

Charge the battery indoors and supervise the process as much as possible, and while the battery is fully charged disconnect the charger.

The battery gives best performance with a balanced temperature that's around 68 Farenhight, and gets a decrease of performance under 50F (for a prolonged time).

Avoid any source of extreme heat or direct sunlight, and keep the battery away from humidity and water.

With those measures, you will ensure a long lasting life to your battery pack. Ride safe and have fun!

Still looking for your first electric bike? We have something for you! Look at those brand new Meebike Gallop, performing ebikes with high grade Samsung batteries capable of giving you a long range and tons of fun.