Riding at 10 degrees Fahrenheit

[EdC]

Does riding my ebike ,with a Bosch active line plus motor, below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, shorten the life of the Bosch motor? Ed

 

[Rick53]

Does riding my ebike ,with a Bosch active line plus motor, below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, shorten the life of the Bosch motor? Ed

From anything I have ever read about Batteries in general. Heat is far worse then Cold. The engine has nothing to do with Battery life.

Doesn't the Owners Manual discuss battery Maintenance ?

 

[rich c]

My opinion is as long as the motor was warm when you started out, it's fine. If the bearings were at 10 deg. F when you start, the bearings aren't going to have a fun time with that stiff grease.

 

[EdC]

My opinion is as long as the motor was warm when you started out, it's fine. If the bearings were at 10 deg. F when you start, the bearings aren't going to have a fun time with that stiff grease.

I keep the battery in the house but I keep my bike in an unheated garage. If 10 degrees is too cold, what would be the lowest safe temperature? Ed

 

[FlatSix911]

One additional issue to consider... Li-ion batteries do not perform well in cold temperatures and the discharge capacity is reduced.

Discharging at High and Low Temperatures

Watch for limitations when using a battery at adverse temperatures and how to overcome the effects

batteryuniversity.com

 

[rich c]

I keep the battery in the house but I keep my bike in an unheated garage. If 10 degrees is too cold, what would be the lowest safe temperature? Ed

Not a matter of safe or unsafe. It's a matter of wear on the bearings until it warms up a bit. I have no idea of when you cross the line. I store in my walk-out basement all year. Pretty easy to build a little insulated enclosure in the garage sized just so the bike fits in and keep an incandescent light bulb on inside the box when it gets that cold.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, shorten the life of the Bosch motor

I have ridden the bike at 0F and it was fine but that is something I generally avoid.
Motor will have no problem riding at 10F but keeping them at 10F for extended period and then riding may not be the best case scenario.

This is one of the images of Bosch motor innards:
The white Nylon gear you see below works fine but subjecting it to 10F for extended periods and then riding it creates a temperature gradient. When you start pedaling, due to friction, the temperature of these gears go up.
Unlike cars, E-bikes don't have radiator, anti-freeze coolant etc to maintain certain temperature.
So, while the motor will work fine, subjecting it to thermal cycling may not be ideal. But, it should work fine until 0F.

For me, 10F below is not a cycling condition.

 

[PDXzap]

The Bosch published (2017) temperature range for the Active Line motor is -5 to 40c (23 to 104f).

https://www.r-m.de/media/filer_public/0e/68/0e68a9ce-63ff-4529-b4d5-78ec67163f30/rum_ba_bosch_2017_en_160628_download.pdf

 

[EdC]

Not a matter of safe or unsafe. It's a matter of wear on the bearings until it warms up a bit. I have no idea of when you cross the line. I store in my walk-out basement all year. Pretty easy to build a little insulated enclosure in the garage sized just so the bike fits in and keep an incandescent light bulb on inside the box when it gets that cold.

Never thought of that(light bulb heater). Very clever. Ed

 

[EdC]

The Bosch published (2017) temperature range for the Active Line motor is -5 to 40c (23 to 104f).

https://www.r-m.de/media/filer_public/0e/68/0e68a9ce-63ff-4529-b4d5-78ec67163f30/rum_ba_bosch_2017_en_160628_download.pdf

That’s the info I needed. Thanks a lot. Ed

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Never thought of that(light bulb heater). Very clever. Ed

'Back in the day' we used to place 100 watt bulbs in the car engine compartment overnight so they'd be slightly warmer to start anytime temps got to be sub zero. Lol. Of course, many people in Minnesota are quite familiar with factory built in engine block heaters, and parking lots that have outlets at a number of spaces, as you get closer to International Falls, the 'icebox' of our nation most winters.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Never thought of that(light bulb heater). Very clever. Ed

make sure it's incandescent not LED.

 

[harryS]

Back in the day, guys would go out in winter every two hours on the coldest night of the year to start the car and let it warm up, not knowing that 10 minutes at idle couldn't replace the energy needed to crank the engine for 10 seconds at -5F. Two or three of these moves, and the car was dead at dawn.