How Often Do You Replace Your E-Bike Battery?

[Julianaa]

Hey everyone!
I was thinking about battery lifespans today and got curious — how often do most riders here end up replacing their e-bike batteries?
From what I’ve read, a typical lithium-ion battery can last around 500–1000 full charge cycles, depending on usage, charging habits, and overall care. Some people seem to get 3–5 years pretty easily, while others notice significant performance drops much sooner.
Personally, I’m pretty careful — I avoid fully draining my battery and try not to leave it at 100% for too long. Still, after about 3.5 years, I can tell it's not holding charge like it used to, especially on longer rides or uphill.
Curious —

• How long has your current battery lasted?
• Any tips you swear by to extend battery life?
• Has anyone here tried a full rebuild instead of buying new?

 

[fooferdoggie]

it depends on quality thats the biggest factor. I have 4 batteries between three bosch powered bikes. The first battery went 14 thousand miles in a little over two years till the motor rusted then got a trek bike Now that battery has 15 thousand miles on it in about 2.5 years Then they one our tandem came with the tandem has about 18 thousand miles on it. we swap the three smaller batteries on it so I would say the oldest has way over 18,000 miles on it. its getting weaker but still usable for short rides. so in about 6 years of daily riding the 4 batteries have about 45 thousand miles on them.

 

[PHXRDR]

Hi,
Bosch PowerTube 500 in a Gazelle Ultimate here.
The bike is currently at 16,300 miles (32 months old) and all calculated, I figure the full charge equivalence at just over 400. At about 28 months I purchased a second battery and now alternate their use every other day.
Both batteries show the same capacity at full charge and the only difference is that the older one discharges slightly quicker than the new (12 mi versus 17 dropping one bar on the meter on a typical outing).
A comment about the environment they enjoy: Desert, in-apartment garaging, best practice maintenance (self performed).
The riding style is 14 mph avg with an average cadence of 65 with frequent shifting in varied terrain including 150 avg elevation gain each ride. Being the desert, about 30% of the riding is in excess of 90°F (night time during summer).
Buy good stuff if you can. Use it or lose it.

 

[fooferdoggie]

a couple of mine may show 98% when I start but not every time.

 

[fexixav]

Hey everyone!
I was thinking about battery lifespans today and got curious — how often do most riders here end up replacing their e-bike batteries?
From what I’ve read, a typical lithium-ion battery can last around 500–1000 full charge cycles, depending on usage, charging habits, and overall care. Some people seem to get 3–5 years pretty easily, while others notice significant performance drops much sooner.
Personally, I’m pretty careful — I avoid fully draining my battery and try not to leave it at 100% for too long. Still, after about 3.5 years, I can tell it's not holding charge like it used to, especially on longer rides or uphill.
Curious —

• How long has your current battery lasted?
• Any tips you swear by to extend battery life?
• Has anyone here tried a full rebuild instead of buying new with the help of notes ai?

Most lithium-ion batteries have between 500 and 800 charge cycles, depending on the make and model of the battery. Remember that a charge cycle is from fully charged to fully depleted, and when you receive your order for an e-bike, the first thing to do is to fully charge it. Naturally, we want our bike batteries to last as long as possible. After all, e-bike batteries aren't cheap. For example, my OKAI STRIDE bike, it uses LG 13s2p, which has the characteristics of high energy, long cycle life, good safety, excellent high and low-temperature performance, light and portable battery, and good consistency, and environmental protection. Also, if you haven't used your e-bike for a few months, be sure to partially charge the battery before riding. This is because it will self-discharge a bit and will not be at the same charge level as the last time you rode the bike

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hey everyone!
I was thinking about battery lifespans today and got curious — how often do most riders here end up replacing their e-bike batteries?
From what I’ve read, a typical lithium-ion battery can last around 500–1000 full charge cycles, depending on usage, charging habits, and overall care. Some people seem to get 3–5 years pretty easily, while others notice significant performance drops much sooner.
Personally, I’m pretty careful — I avoid fully draining my battery and try not to leave it at 100% for too long. Still, after about 3.5 years, I can tell it's not holding charge like it used to, especially on longer rides or uphill.
Curious —

• How long has your current battery lasted?
• Any tips you swear by to extend battery life?
• Has anyone here tried a full rebuild instead of buying new?

I have owned three batteries for my Vado 5.0/6.0, the main battery and four Range Extenders for my Vado SL, and I ride from 8,000 to 11,000 km a year all year long, so I think I could share some insight.

The original Vado 5.0 battery was built in 2017 and was activated in 2019. It got shot after 4.5 years of use. The protection system refused to re-charge the battery, and there was a very warm spot in some place. I left that battery at an e-bike battery rebuilding centre for disposal (the company refused rebuilding my battery on the grounds it was "proprietary"). The two other batteries have lost 25% of their "health" or usable charge over some 4 years since the purchase.

The Vado SL main and range extender batteries now keep 90% of their original capacity after 4 years. The SL system offers approximately half the assistance of the other e-bike, so the degradation is less pronounced.

I always charge the batteries to 100% post each ride because I don't know what might happen on the next day (now, e-bikes are my only means of daily and recreational transportation).

Can a battery be rebuilt? If this is a proprietary battery from a big brand, the chance to rebuild the battery are slim. Battery rebuilding services usually cannot handle the proprietary electronics.

An important remark: You will almost never be able to learn about the real state of your batteries; the decreasing range is often the only way to determine how degraded the battery is. If a rider with a great mileage says his battery is "98% healthy" then I can only laugh. I am in the unique position to be able to read the internal information on my batteries.

 

[indianajo]

My luna battery has 7 years and ~12000 miles. Still fine. Maybe 840 charges. I fully charge twice a year, rest of time 85-90% max. I use a timer to shut off charger early.

 

[DDBB]

Same, use a timer to shut off the charge no higher than 90% . A couple times each year I do a full 100% balance charge My one ebike battery is 4 years old now with no signs of degradation, at least that I can tell. about 4,000mi.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I've never replaced a battery because of failure or too much loss of capacity. My original 500wh Giant battery from 2018 is still going strong with a new owner.

 

[mschwett]

I've never replaced a battery because of failure or too much loss of capacity. My original 500wh Giant battery from 2018 is still going strong with a new owner.

same, many quality lithium ion batteries go way more cycles than promised.

 

[Bicyclista]

The original Yamaha battery in my 2016 Haibike AllMtn is still going strong after nearly 20,000 miles and nine years. It seems to have lost 10% of its capacity. The original Bosch batteries (two installed; the software automatically alternates between the two) in my 2022 Yuba Spicy Curry have not lost capacity in three years of use and about 6,000 miles. These are merely my observations from riding, not measurements with instruments.

The standard advice for longevity is to keep your batteries between 20 and 80% of charge, and to fully charge them every few months to balance the cells. I follow that advice by seldom riding so far that I end the ride below 20%, and by using a timer that cuts power when the necessary charge is reached. One hour gives me about 40% charge on the Yamaha battery, 20% on the two Bosch batteries (which also alternate when charging).

I have never had a battery rebuilt.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

I’ve had my 2021 Ride1Up 700 for almost 4 years now. I usually charge to near 100% (54.3v). I never let the battery rest for long like that. I ride the next day. If I have to charge after Fridays commute home, I’ll charge Sunday afternoon. I don’t ride fast. I charge when I see about 50 volts. Below that is the range that I can’t make it to and from work without charging. I drive for work and can’t be there to charge my bike.

The 13S4P battery has Samsung 35E cells. I don’t think I can find a ready built battery that is better. I’ll probably order a new battery from @Jenny Mao when the time comes. I haven’t noticed any loss of capacity, so it may be a while longer before I look to purchase a new battery. She has lots of solid recommendations.

 

[6zfshdb]

I have 7 batteries, 4 of which were purchased in 2018. all are still in use and have over 90% of their original capacity.
My maintenance strategy is pretty generic and similar to what has already been posted:

Store at 40 to 60%. with temps between 50 and 80 degrees F.
Never charge below 40F or above 80F.
Charge to 100% just before a ride. If I can afford the loss of range, I'll charge to 80%
Rarely discharge below 20%.
Rotate the batteries to minimize the number of charge cycles on each.
Carry two batteries and partially discharge each to the 40 to 60% storage range. That way, neither has to be recharged for storage after a ride.

I might consider a rebuild by a competent repair shop when it becomes necessary. I'm hoping newer technology will be available by then and will simply replace & recycle the old.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your bike!

 

[stompandgo]

My bike uses the Bosch Gen4 motor, PowerTube and Power Pack batteries, and a 4A charger. As I understand it, the charger is smart, in that it talks to the head unit and batteries in order to charge them at an appropriate rate for safety and battery life. Is a timer really necessary to maximize battery life with a system like this? I can see it on a built bike or a no name brand bike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My bike uses the Bosch Gen4 motor, PowerTube and Power Pack batteries, and a 4A charger. As I understand it, the charger is smart, in that it talks to the head unit and batteries in order to charge them at an appropriate rate for safety and battery life. Is a timer really necessary to maximize battery life with a system like this? I can see it on a built bike or a no name brand bike.

Unless you can instruct your charger to stop at 80% then the charger is not that smart

 

[Chazmo]

Unless you can instruct your charger to stop at 80% then the charger is not that smart

Yeah, this is an excellent point! If you don’t need a full charge to complete your rides, your best bet with Li-ion is to charge below 80%. Also, try not to drain below 20%. And, if you’re storing for any length of time, you want the battery at around 50%. Also, the rest of 6zfshdb’s advice is right on.

My bike uses the Bosch Gen4 motor, PowerTube and Power Pack batteries, and a 4A charger. As I understand it, the charger is smart, in that it talks to the head unit and batteries in order to charge them at an appropriate rate for safety and battery life. Is a timer really necessary to maximize battery life with a system like this? I can see it on a built bike or a no name brand bike.

Chris, on the subject of batteries, I recommend that you keep spares around if you can. My manufacturer went out of business, so I am unable to get any new ones anymore. Of course, this probably isn’t an issue with Cannondale, but it’s always good to have replacements in case of failure, and you may get to the point when you’re carrying an extra battery for long rides… which you will NO DOUBT be doing on Cape Cod. Wonderful!

 

[Catalyzt]

Funny this topic came up just at this moment. With a bike and battery I bought in March of 2021, tariffs happening, social security and retirement funds at greater risk, I was wondering: Should I get a new battery? Even if it cost me $500 now, that price could be $800 or more in a couple of years if the economy breaks bad.

If my battery life was degrading significantly, I should probably buy a new battery immediately.

The short version:

With a four-year old bike with 1,800 miles on the odometer-- call it 41 or 42 cycles-- the battery's loss of capacity is virtually undetectable over 900 miles and three years. The number of miles is not that impressive, sure. The fact that this is over the course of three years surprised me. I'd figure that there would be at some noticeable battery degradation just from the chemicals aging, even if I wasn't using the battery at all.

What's really shocking, though, is how much elevation I likely racked up over that time. My back-of-the-envelope is about 175,000 feet of vertical-- and we all know how much heavy climbs at high assist typically impact battery life.

The reason for this has to be the fact that the bike is so light (46.5 pounds), the motor puts out so little torque (40nm) and the charger is so slow. It takes about six hours to charge the 418Wh BT-E6010 with the tortoise-speed 32-volt EC-E6002.

Here's how I figured this: I know from my post here in 2022 what range the bike was getting in July of that year:

<< Maximum range came in at 44.4 miles with 4,900 feet of vertical just as I hit the reserve. Remaining indicated range was: High=0 range, Norm=2 miles range, Eco=2 miles range... call that 45 miles of range with 5,000 feet of vertical. Average speed was slow, about 10.2 MPH, but hey, there were a lot of hills. >>

Terrain has been the same, so...

Time for a range check! A little trickier than it seems, as the bike's calibration-- number of bars shown and remaining miles indicated-- seemed to be way off over the last few months. The first time it hit the road, about four or five months ago, after being ridden only sparingly for six months, the bike shut off completely when the display indicated I still had two bars of power! Charged it to full, but balancing and calibration was still off, this time in the opposite direction-- a couple of weeks ago, it dropped to one bar faster than it should have, and range crashed from about 7 miles to zero over the course of two miles of light riding. Usually, the bike will go into reserve when the range gets low-- where first I lose high assist, and then I lose medium, then I've got a couple of miles of eco until the display starts flashing, and I'm down to my last mile or two. (That's only happened once.) It was really weird to be staring at 0 miles range left... and then ride for miles with High assist still available!

So I charged it to full again, ran the bike down to under 20% and charged it to 100% a second time. Display then seemed way more accurate, or at least predictable, more like it was out of the box. (We all know range indicators suck, we only ask that they suck predictably, in the same way more or less for every ride.)

At the end of yesterday's ride, I had 37.8 miles on the trip odometer, and I was about two miles into my last bar of charge. The bike displayed 7 miles of range in high, 9 miles in norm, and 14 miles in eco. This translates to real-world range of about 7 miles in these hills, no matter what I'm doing. On my Shimano display, with a balanced battery and a calibrated system, the bars are very accurate-- even the last bar, which usually is optimistic on most systems. Assuming similar terrain, that means about 9 miles per bar, or around 45 miles. I would estimate my riding included well over 4,000 feet of vertical, because the first ride was up to the Hollywood sign and back, which is roughly 2,400 feet both ways just in the first 14 miles or so. It's not possible, around here, that I did less than 2,000 feet of vertical over the course of the next 23 miles.

The battery is pretty much like new after four years.

Moral of story: There's a lot to be said for choosing a fitness bike with low power output, 32 volts, and a slow charger. From what I've been reading, it seems like low-torque motors tend to last longer as well.

So no need for a new battery for this bike! I may pack it in well before it does!

 

[DDBB]

There's no doubt low load and slow charging greatly improves battery longevity. I fly RC with lithium polymer batteries and although they can be charged at 5C as per the manufacturer, they last a lot longer if charged at 1C. My planes with very powerful electric motors are harder on the batteries than the low powered gliders I have

 

[6zfshdb]

So no need for a new battery for this bike! I may pack it in well before it does!

I agree. A couple of my 8 year-old batteries have lost around 10% of capacity and I compensate by carrying a spare. For most rides, it's just a small 4AH, usually a cordless tool battery. As capacity diminishes further, I'll carry 2 spares etc. They're small, fairly light and easy to carry. I'm hoping for new technology to emerge by the time replacement is necessary or as you say, I give up the sport.

 

[Chazmo]

I agree. A couple of my 8 year-old batteries have lost around 10% of capacity and I compensate by carrying a spare. For most rides, it's just a small 4AH, usually a cordless tool battery. As capacity diminishes further, I'll carry 2 spares etc. They're small, fairly light and easy to carry. I'm hoping for new technology to emerge by the time replacement is necessary or as you say, I give up the sport.

I think it’s probable that we’ll see solid state replace lithium ion in the next 3-5 years. Not taking any bets though.