E-bike in colder weather
Posted by Leonus25@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 17 comments
I have been wondering about this. I have a Rad power bike. Online it says the recommended temperature for riding is 40-100F. Where I live it’s been around the mid 30’s. If I ride my bike in this weather, will it damage the battery if left at the lowest 30 degrees? Any advice would be helpful.
maxpower1956@reddit
Check the Rad site for recommendations.
Looks like they claim it’s good to -4F on the discharge side.
Other than that, I’d treat it like any other big old battery and let it warm up to room temp before charging, and avoid storing outside.
Have fun! Watch for ice!
firelephant@reddit
I’ve got a biktrix. Manual says batteries good to ride to -20 C. Done it and works fine, although less range at that temp. Always let the battery warm up to room temp before charging
davpad12@reddit
Everybody's saying keep and charge batteries inside. Is nobody worried about burning down their house? I have quality bikes with quality batteries and I won't charge them in the house.
pterencephalon@reddit
If you're not charging them in the house, where are you charging them?
And no, I don't worry about my bikes burning down my house. I don't have a garage, so the bikes live in the basement and charge there. Our bikes are from Trek and Specialized, so they're quality batteries, too. I don't know what other realistic precautions you'd want to take or why this feels particularly riskier than a lot of other things we operate daily. I guess it just doesn't feel like a high risk activity to me.
davpad12@reddit
I keep my bikes in a shed outside, I never removed the batteries. I have a Cannondale with a Bosch system and a DIY with a very expensive Samsung battery. I use the DIY to commute to work and usually charge it once a week on the warmest point. I live in New York so it gets quite cold in the winter. I try not to leave them fully charged or empty. Living outside New York City I've heard many horror stories on the local news. Enough not to ever bring them in my house. But I suppose if I didn't have anywhere outside to keep them I'd have to.
-Victoria-_@reddit
I've had an e bike for about 600 miles now, just rode it through about 6 inches of snow on my way to work a week ago. Still fine, although in colder weather the battery life is noticeably shorter.
CrashTestPhoto@reddit
I ride my bike regularly in temperatures down to -15c(5f) and I haven't had any major issues because of it. Other than severely decreased battery life/range.
Just bring your battery inside with you when parking up at night and you'll be fine.
Leonus25@reddit (OP)
Do you notice a severe decrease in battery life at 30F?
gladfelter@reddit
30F: maybe 10-15% reduced range. That could be from a number of factors, including battery, but also including:
It doesn't affect battery life permanently unless you try to charge it when the battery's internal temp is below freezing. I wrap my battery in a neoprene sleeve when in the 20's or below.
You can ride just about any ebike down to -5F. That's around the minimum of lithium ion batteries' operating temperature range specs and when some lubricants on bikes gum up too much. I guess there might be a crappy bike out there whose LCD screen isn't rated for extreme cold. My display is cozy inside of my left bar mitt when the temp could be that cold.
O2C@reddit
I've see a range decrease of around 10%. The biggest thing is make sure the battery is at close to room temperature before charging. You can discharge cells at "normal" cold weather riding temps but charging them at too low of a temp can damage the chemistry inside.
Leonus25@reddit (OP)
Ohh that is a good point! Bringing the battery inside
chuckwolf@reddit
it won't hurt it but it will perform sluggishly compared to warmer temperatures. with a bit less range. but it goes back to normal when temperatures warm up
circumcisingaban@reddit
there will be shrinkage
Makerbot2000@reddit
I was in the pool!
wiggywiggywiggy@reddit
Look up lithium operating temps They have different ranges on charging vs discharging.
I think for discharging the range way wider
Def bring batt inside for security and cell life
Away-Revolution2816@reddit
I use a battery wrap which seems to help. I do also always keep the batteries inside.
abagofcells@reddit
Make sure the battery isn't below freezing when you charge it, or it will degrade the capacity, or at worst, catch fire. For discharging, low temperatures are fine. The battery performs worse, but regain their capacity when the weather gets warmer. For my bikes, it seem they loose around 20-30% capacity in cold weather, with the bike, that uses the most power taking the biggest hit.