Teros eBike Battery Use & Care
Summary
Your lithium-ion battery reliably and safely stores and supplies electricity to the motor. It is also the single most expensive part of an eBike and has some vulnerabilities. To keep your battery in great condition and to get the most life out of it, follow these simple tips.- Store the battery between 0-20°C in a dry location.
- Make sure to charge a flat battery within a few days. Never store the battery with an empty charge.
- If you're not riding for a few weeks or longer, store the battery with 30-60% charge.
- If you're not riding for three months or longer, organise to have the battery charged to 30-60% charge every three months.
- Always remove the battery when transporting your eBike.
- Only use a charger compatible with your specific battery. Other chargers can overheat or destroy your battery.
- Charge your battery (either on or off the bike) in a dry place with a smoke alarm and away from flammable materials.
- It’s ok to charge overnight but do not leave the battery on a charger for days at a time as this will degrade it.
- Before riding, make sure the rain cover is over the charging socket to protect it against wet weather and water.
To clean the battery, we recommend removing it and using a damp cloth to wipe it down. The battery terminals on the bike should be cleaned occasionally and lightly greased. To protect the electronic components, don't spray water on the battery.
Bosch Batteries
Bosch uses PowerPack and PowerTube batteries to power their Active Line, Cargo Line, Performance Line and Performance Line CX eBike drive systems. They have produced a useful guide on how to determine their range, optimise their efficiency and maximise their service life. Download the Bosch eBike Battery Guide pdf document.
Charging a Battery
Batteries are recharged by a charger specifically made for that battery. Using a charger from another brand could damage or destroy their battery.Most batteries can be charged both on and off the bike — but must be charged in a dry place with a smoke alarm and away from flammable materials. The state of charge of the battery is often displayed on the battery or can be checked on the handlebar display. Most batteries will charge within 5 hours from empty and range from 3 to 8 hours. The time is determined by the capacity of the battery, how empty the battery is and the charging rate of the charger (from 2A to 6A). Charging runs at maximum current when the battery is below half charge and progressively slows to a trickle above 95% charge.
It’s ok to charge overnight but you should not leave the charger on for days at a time. The charger will continue pushing tiny amounts of charge into the battery and this will degrade the battery over time. There’s also a rare risk of overheating and fire. A lithium ion battery will last for 600 - 700 complete charge cycles. If a battery is half full and then charged to full, this would be 0.5 of a charge cycle.
For most people, a 400 Wh battery will last 3 - 5 years, a 500 Wh for 4 - 7 years and a 625 Wh for 5 - 9 years. The larger the capacity, the longer the battery life. Batteries will also degrade slowly with time, so even if there is minimal use, it is unlikely for a lithium ion battery to last longer than ten years.
Storing a Battery
Lithium ion batteries will degrade faster when they are fully charged and left unused. You will get a significantly longer battery life if you minimise the time the battery is stored at 100% charge. If the battery is not going to be used for longer than a month, it’s best to store it at 30 to 60% charge status — or two to three bars on the battery indicator. Every 3 months, charge the battery to 50 - 60%. If the battery won’t be used only for a few weeks, it’s still best to keep below full charge — between 20 - 80% works well.
Store in a cool, dry place where temperatures stay between 0 and 25°C.
Types of Battery Mounting
There are four general positions for mounting an eBike battery. Each has some benefits.
Down-tube - inside the frame: Better protects the battery from knocks and temperature changes. Centrally mounting the battery on the down-tube improves stability and bike handling remains very similar to a normal bike.
Down-tube - sitting on the frame: Makes it easier to take the battery on and off the bike. As above maintains stable handling.
Behind or in front of the seat post: Keeps battery low and even more central than down-tube batteries. Best suited for upright riding bike frames.
On the rear rack: Keeps the battery out of the way and allows for a standard bike frame.
On almost all of our bikes, the battery is locked to the bike to prevent theft. The only battery brand without a lock is the Pendix conversion kit battery.
Some brands change their battery case designs every few years trying to set or follow a trend. Their older designs become obsolete leaving customers stranded when they need a battery replacement. Teros chooses brands committed to maintaining battery design and availability for at least ten years.
Lithium-ion Batteries
Teros only stocks ebikes that use lithium ion batteries. These are ideal for eBikes because they offer a much higher energy density and are lighter than other batteries. However, lithium is a volatile element and when damaged or when poorly built, it can generate high temperatures and cause fires.
The safest lithium batteries contain cells made under strict quality controls by four toptier brands: Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG. Teros only sells ebikes with batteries from these four brands. We don’t stock any generic lithium batteries from China or elsewhere.
Capacity & Range
All Teros lithium ion batteries put out 36 volts and come in different capacities
Battery capacity determines running time and travel distance and is measured in either amp hours (Ah) or watt hours (Wh). These are used interchangeably and are related by the formula Watt Hours = Amp Hours X Battery Voltage.
If you are interested in knowing how far you could go on your bike based on your individual needs, try the Bosch eBike Range Calculator.
While the range predictor tool is based on the Bosch motor, you can extrapolate to other motors. Most other mid-drives provide slightly fewer kilometres (5-10% less). Hub motors generally provide 50 to 60% of this range. Also worth noting is that motors with higher torque outputs will deplete the battery faster. So the range of the 40 Nm Bosch Active Line is over 10% greater than on the 85Nm Performance Line CX.