Battery life

[StrawHatMan]

Has anyone got experience of the battery life of electric bikes? I have a 500 Wh Bosch battery which place on charge after every use, which is about once or twice per week.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Has anyone got experience of the battery life of electric bikes? I have a 500 Wh Bosch battery which place on charge after every use, which is about once or twice per week.

There are so many different opinions here, its unlikely that you will get "help" that really "helps!"
I have my own methods, and up to now I have not "lost" an e-bike battery in 10 years, but the very second that I post what I do, some idiot, who is old enough to be my grandson, tells me in a rude manner, that I am wrong!
My best advice for you is to go to the Battery University, and read up there, as they usually know what they are talking about, when many here don't!!

Lithium-based Batteries Information

Learn about lithium-ion batteries and their different types. They have high energy density, relatively low self-discharge but they also have limitations.

batteryuniversity.com

Best of luck.
Andy

 

[vfr400]

Has anyone got experience of the battery life of electric bikes? I have a 500 Wh Bosch battery which place on charge after every use, which is about once or twice per week.

A lot of factors affect it: How deep you discharge it, temperatures, how much power you use, etc. If you use it every day, you'd probably start noticing a difference in range after 2 years, then the range gradually goes down. 2 to 5 years id what most people get.

 

[sjpt]

Has anyone got experience of the battery life of electric bikes? I have a 500 Wh Bosch battery which place on charge after every use, which is about once or twice per week.

We've got a 400W Bosch battery on a Motus. We bought it 2nd hand; it's now 4 years old and has done around 2500 miles, used most days but often only for short rides (we tend to use the tandem for longer ones, and those aren't that long). We usually let it get down to about 1/2 (15 to 20 miles on 'tour' setting) and then charge it to full. I think there has been some degradation over the years but we haven't been monitoring carefully, and never saw what it was like new. I'm anticipating needing to have it recelled in a year or so, but hoping it will hold out for a bit more ... all very much in line with what vfr400 said.

 

[Amoto65]

I used a Bosch battery from new for 2 years and 2500 miles , I charged it after every ride so it was ready for the next ride and never noticed any loss of power or range. I suggest you take advice from people who have owned and had experience with Bosch motors and batteries.

 

[vfr400]

I used a Bosch battery from new for 2 years and 2500 miles , I charged it after every ride so it was ready for the next ride and never noticed any loss of power or range. I suggest you take advice from people who have owned and had experience with Bosch motors and batteries.

Bosch use the same Samsung or Panasonic cells as any other battery. No clever case around them made by Bosch or their Chinese supplier can change how the cells work. Bosch charges them to 42v, the same as all the others.

Here's the data sheet for one of the cells they use, which shows a capacity reduction from 2900mah to 2350mah (80%) after 500 cycles. Bosch can't change that:

NCR18650PF Datasheet PDF - Panasonic

Lithium ion battery, Datasheet, equivalent, pinout, replacement, pdf, complementary.

datasheetspdf.com

 

[sjpt]

Here's the data sheet for one of the cells they use, which shows a capacity reduction from 2900mah to 2350mah (80%) after 500 cycles. Bosch can't change that:

Bosch claim part cycles count proportionally, though others dispute that. If it is true, and the battery is otherwise correctly maintained, 500 full cycles on a 400wH battery at low/moderate demand should give around 20,000 miles.

I guess that for most of us the limits will come from aging (of the battery and us) and misuse (even if minor) more than from usage.

 

[StrawHatMan]

Thank you all for those interesting and informative replies. Time now for me to do some reading!