Riding an electric bike is all fun and games until the battery dies on you mid-travel. Unexpected battery drainage leaves you in a stressful situation, especially when you expect a power-boosted ride for the whole journey. It leaves you to complete your trip the manual way. A dead e-bike becomes a hassle for people commuting to work or school who aren’t appropriately dressed for the impromptu physical activity. Here is a look into three reasons why your e-bike battery drains too fast and how to avoid mid-journey standstills.
Regular Uphill Travels
Natural physics applies a lot of force against your bike when you travel uphill. Inclines require your e-bike to use more power to overcome gravity and get over the crest of the hill. Constantly going up inclines and throttling your bike’s power takes up a lot of energy and puts your battery under stress. It wears the battery down, causing it to lose its ability to hold and provide an efficient power supply. Even when you don’t put the bike on throttle, the excessive force and sudden surge of power input demand a lot from the battery.
Extreme Temperature Exposures
Extreme temperatures drain your e-bike’s battery in different ways. Exposing your bike to low temperatures forces it to use more energy to power up and warm itself. Heat exposure, on the other hand, causes the battery to shut down in an attempt to cool itself. Bringing your bike indoors, storing it in a temperature-regulated space, or finding other means to maintain temperature moderation prevent the bike’s battery from acting up.
Constantly Running the Battery to Zero
Another set of extremes that hinders your battery life is constantly letting it drop to zero and powering it back up to 100 percent. The sudden high demand for a lot of power puts your battery into overdrive. Just as we fuel up on sugar, a sudden surge of energy eventually leads to a crash as the battery works harder to manage the incoming power. Keeping your battery level in the sweet spot—higher than 30 and below 80 percent—reduces the risks of overworking your e-bike’s battery.
Understanding what causes your e-bike battery to drain quickly helps you find the best solutions to avoid it from occurring. Many other tips and tricks to caring for your e-bike preserve the battery’s life, keeping it in top condition. Avoid overworking your e-bike’s battery and properly care for it to ride without the fear of losing power halfway down the road.