When is it time to replace the battery?

[Tony-S]

I've had my original Lectrix XP for about 1-1/2 years and put over 1400 miles on it. It is still running about as good as it did when new. I want to know when will I need a new battery and what are the symptoms of a battery that needs to be replaced.

Is there a gradual degradation of battery power or is it more like a sudden death?

 

[Johny Rocket]

Gradual degradation. For best performance store 48v battery at 46-48v and fully charge (54v + or -) just before use. I use a smart plug and set it to start charging at about 5 hours prior to when I know I'm going to ride long distance. Otherwise, for short rides I just take off if I have 47v + or -
Not a big deal if you leave it fully charged a day or two if something comes up but try to avoid. I get about 1000 charging cycles on quality cells like the Lectric battery before I start thinking about replacing....

 

[harryS]

I'd suggest you wait til the need comes up. Although it's a slow process, batteries will age just sitting there, and you have to take some care in storing them, so it's probably better to let the seller worry about keeping a fresh stock.

A typical battery claim is that it will have 60% of original capacity after 600 charge cycles or two years. You get variations on that. Unless you recharge every day, you should have a lot of riding left in your battery. I've got two batteries from 2015 that I might have recharged 30x a year, and both will longer than my butt on a ride., and both at least 60% of original capacity, That's how most batteries shpuld age, gracefully.

A few will die, seemingly overnight. Internal failure. Nothing to do but replace them. In a factory bike from someone like LEctric, this is not common.

 

[rich c]

You have plenty of time to worry. I'm riding a 2016 model year Haibike Trekking with Bosch electronics, 6,300 miles on the original battery. Never worry about the charging it to 100% every time, just don't charge it until the day before in the dead of winter when it might sit for a couple weeks. I do ride year round, but won't ride when it gets below 25 degree F or winter precip.

 

[john peck]

You have plenty of time to worry. I'm riding a 2016 model year Haibike Trekking with Bosch electronics, 6,300 miles on the original battery. Never worry about the charging it to 100% every time, just don't charge it until the day before in the dead of winter when it might sit for a couple weeks. I do ride year round, but won't ride when it gets below 25 degree F or winter precip.

Yup, cold definitely diminishes battery power. I notice some loss even below 45 F.

 

[fooferdoggie]

You have plenty of time to worry. I'm riding a 2016 model year Haibike Trekking with Bosch electronics, 6,300 miles on the original battery. Never worry about the charging it to 100% every time, just don't charge it until the day before in the dead of winter when it might sit for a couple weeks. I do ride year round, but won't ride when it gets below 25 degree F or winter precip.

well a bosch bike battery will last longer then most batteries. I have 12k on mine in less then 2 years.

 

[Tony-S]

Thanks everyone! I'm amazed at how well my Lectric bike has held up (knock on wood). I think It's a really well built bike.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Thanks everyone!

but remember that battery may not be available in a year or two electric is not going to support older bikes.

 

[Tony-S]

but remember that battery may not be available in a year or two electric is not going to support older bikes.

Thanks! Good to know.

 

[PedalUma]

It will start to sag. The last 20% will be whippy. You will feel it. Also the range will diminish. It is like asking when do you need a new razor blade. You could use it a few more times but a fresh one is so much nicer. I like non-proprietary batteries. So I am not stuck with an unsupported bike.

 

[rich c]

Thanks everyone! I'm amazed at how well my Lectric bike has held up (knock on wood). I think It's a really well built bike.

Every eBike should be reliable with only 1,400 miles on it. Even my $500 Sondors didn't fail until 1,600 miles.

 

[harryS]

The Lectric XP model 1 is another chinese factory ebike, put together per the Lectric specs. With all the money they nade selling model 1, their model 2 update may have some features other generic sellers couldn't afford, but the first version surely uses your typical inframe battery battery pack, much like the Hailongs, dolphins, and silverfish packs for other legacy choiese ebikes, . I googled the battery and two third party aliexpress sellers popped up carrying them.

 

[ki11a]

My XP battery has started to lose range/degrade after around 5000 miles or so of just throttle operation. It fully charges and tops out at around 54v - 53.8v.

I just recently went for the purchase of a 14AH Samsung celled battery that will fit the Lectric frame from aliexpress for around 370, including shipping. The buyer I purchased from has some good reviews and a decent return policy too. Still waiting for the delivery though.

 

[bluetex]

Someone said Lectric will not support there bikes in a few years, so is it recommend to buy an extra battery now? How long will the battery be good for if it is an extra and not used? This is my first e-bike and not familiar with these batteries.

 

[PedalUma]

Someone said Lectric will not support there bikes in a few years, so is it recommend to buy an extra battery now? How long will the battery be good for if it is an extra and not used? This is my first e-bike and not familiar with these batteries.

If you get a second battery put them into rotation. Do not let a battery sit unused or it will atrophy. Think of it as a living muscle. Work it.

 

[indianajo]

My luna battery is 3 3/4 years old, has about 220 charge cycles on it. I haven't noticed any deterioration, but the motor I use now is more efficient than the one I bought in 12/17. I charge to ~85% except 3 times a year to full charge. It ran to red light & shutoff on the last hill the first 2 1/2 years but the replacement mac motor only uses 60% of capacity on my commute.
If you live in LA, Ohio, Florida, Colorado, you can drive a used battery to a rebuilder. You can't ship a used battery. I wouldn't buy a battery and not use it; it would probably inactivate or something.

 

[ki11a]

Yeah I think I am going to have to take my stock XP battery to a battery repair pro to salvage it. Ive tried balancing the cells doing a few deep discharges and extended charges but the battery is still having the same issues. The battery voltage tops out around 54v, when doing rides it seems the range and drawing current seems diminished. I used to get 25miles of throttle only use when I first got the battery, now I can only do around 5-10 miles and it starts dying because of voltage sag. I want to save the battery so I can use it still so I think I will try to get it to a repair tech to check out.

It looks like the aliexpress shop just shipped my battery, I think they may have shipped it a bit late due to National China week where businesses had off. Heres hoping to a quick shipping transit!

 

[razz]

My luna battery is 3 3/4 years old, has about 220 charge cycles on it. I haven't noticed any deterioration, but the motor I use now is more efficient than the one I bought in 12/17. I charge to ~85% except 3 times a year to full charge. It ran to red light & shutoff on the last hill the first 2 1/2 years but the replacement mac motor only uses 60% of capacity on my commute.
If you live in LA, Ohio, Florida, Colorado, you can drive a used battery to a rebuilder. You can't ship a used battery. I wouldn't buy a battery and not use it; it would probably inactivate or something.

How do you keep track of charge cycles? I mean I know how much I've ridded on my bike in km, but how would that translate to charge cycles?

 

[Gionnirocket]

How do you keep track of charge cycles? I mean I know how much I've ridded on my bike in km, but how would that translate to charge cycles?

Really not important information as there are so many variables that can affect battery life.
You'll notice when performance diminishes.

 

[m@Robertson]

Really not important information as there are so many variables that can affect battery life.
You'll notice when performance diminishes.

^^^ this. Before I more or less retired it, I had a Luna 17.5ah 52v pack with almost 4000 cycles on it. That came from twice-daily charging (commute and charge at home and office) where I religiously charged to 80%, did not discharge below about 40% and performed monthly 100% balance charges. It was also using Samsung 25R cells which laugh at heavy loads, and since it was a single battery in a 2-battery 2wd bike, it didn't get beat on that hard. The pack is still alive and well. So, if you treat a pack right the 800 cycles you hear about are meaningless. You can get less than 400 too if you treat the pack wrong, or its made by chimps.

Insofar as being able to determine battery wear: Your battery will still charge to its full capacity as it did on Day 1. However, when it starts to wear down you will see that voltage 'flash off' until it drops to a lower level, and that is you actual voltage capacity. I can do a better job of explaining this with an example:

I have a battery that is a 52v battery. aka a '14S' pack. A 14S pack's actual peak voltage is 58.8v (just like a 48v battery is really 54.6v when full). So on this worn battery, I can charge it to 100%: 58.8v. Almost before I get down my driveway (which is about 20 feet) my voltage drops to 56.5v. From 56.5v on down, the pack slowly discharges as I'd expect it to.

To be able to spot this sort of thing, you have to have your screen display set to show you voltage and not percentage or worse.. a battery graphic with bars.

This is the most popular page on my site by a long shot:

Li-Ion Ebike Battery Charge Charts

Whats an 80% charge on a 48v battery? These charts give answers to questions like this on common ebike battery voltages: 36v, 48v, 52v, 60v and 72v.

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