Protecting & Maintaining Your Electric Bike Battery

Purchasing a Bakcou electric bike is an investment, similar to a car, camper, or ATV. Just like with a vehicle purchase, caring for and protecting your electric bike is vital to its function and longevity. One of the most important aspects to maintain on an electric bike is the battery. Bakcou electric bike batteries are composed of lithium-ion cells, optimizing for total weight and energy. These batteries have the best range and longevity compared to other battery options.  Bakcou uses them because of their high capacity. While we find them to be the best option for our electric bikes, it’s important to note that they require a certain level of maintenance and protection to maintain their longevity and function to keep you riding. 

Battery Life Sweet Spot

The easiest way to maintain your electric bike battery is to keep the charge within the sweet spot of 20-80% charge. When we talk about charging a lithium-ion battery, the two most stressful charging periods are charging from 0-20% and 80-100%. Completely discharging your battery (running it down to 0%) forces your battery to go through the most stressful charge periods. It also decreases the total number of charge cycles in the life of your battery.

We understand that there may be times when you’re pushing your electric bike and the battery to the limit to get the most out of the ride, and these infrequent occasions won’t have a drastic effect on your battery. When you’re able, we recommend partial charges and keeping your battery in the sweet spot to keep the battery’s capacity high. To go along with this, we recommend that users do not store the battery at a full 100% charge and remove their battery from the charger when it reaches a full charge. 

Maintaining Core Temperature

Another aspect of protecting your battery is maintaining the correct core temperature. The ideal core temperature for a lithium-ion battery is between 50°F and 75°F. The core temperature is vital when storing your lithium battery. Storage in very high or low temperatures can be detrimental to the life of your battery. Using the lithium-ion battery in less than ideal temperatures can impact your battery life and performance, specifically in harsh, cold temperatures. When you operate at colder temperatures, the temperature of the lithium-ion cells can vary, and there could be some cells at a high temperature and some that stay at a lower temp. The battery management system (BMS) sees this variation in temperatures as an internal issue and shuts the battery off to protect the cells.

At Bakcou, we know that riding your electric bike at cold temperatures is inevitable, especially if you’re using your bike for hunting, so we developed the Thermal Battery Jacket to wrap around your bike battery, like a jacket. The insulated battery jacket has an internal heating element that helps maintain an optimal core temperature of the lithium-ion cells. 

Avoid High Temps and Excess Moisture

We do have a few more tips to help maintain the longevity and performance of your electric bike’s lithium-ion battery. While a bit of a no-brainer, Bakcou recommends riders avoid salt and saltwater to avoid chances of corrosion. Along with that, Bakcou recommends that riders avoid submerging their lithium battery in large pools of water. Bakcou electric bikes have a waterproof rating of IP6. We still recommend avoiding deep creek crossings and puddles to avoid drowning the battery. Another tip for protecting your battery includes storing it in a dry, cool place. Some place that it will stay at room temperature as much as possible.

Finally, Bakcou recommends avoiding touching or allowing anything but the bike to touch the connection port on the battery. This helps to avoid damaging it or allowing debris to get in, both of which will affect the connection to the electric bike. 

Battery Lifespan

We are frequently asked by Bakcou customers what the lifespan of our lithium-ion electric bike batteries is. And we answer by saying that if you take care of the battery, the battery will take care of you. A well-maintained lithium battery could easily see 800-900 charges in its lifespan. That many charge cycles can add up to years worth of fun, with typical use, from one battery purchase. 

While we’re on the subject of batteries, we should probably mention that Bakcou has the largest electric bike battery available on the market. The extended distance 25ah Panasonic Lithium-ion 48v battery is a game changer! Upgrade your battery today to let your Bakcou electric bike take you farther on your next adventure. 

Have questions on the lithium-ion battery in your Bakcou bike? Send us an email at info@bakcou.com – we’d love to chat!