Ebike Battery Care Guide
As the colder months set in, it can be important for ebike owners to take a little bit of extra care to ensure their ebike battery is kept in optimal condition. An ebike battery in cold weather can be susceptible to losing capacity, regardless of brand, but the good news is this doesn't mean you can't ride your ebike in the winter! To keep your eRoad bike, eMTB, electric gravel bike or e-hybrid running in tip top condition, check our easy ebike battery cold weather tips below.
Ebike batteries are designed to work in temperatures upwards of around 5°C and batteries being kept in temperatures lower than this can struggle to charge to their full capacity. If they've been stored at that temperature, they can also discharge more quickly than usual too. The simple solution to this is to bring your battery inside during colder periods to store, and when using your ebike battery charger. There is no need to bring the whole bike inside as the motor will be unaffected, and only re-attach the battery to the ebike when you plan to use it, to ensure it is kept within the recommended temperature range.
It is always advised not to use a pressure washer when cleaning an ebike, but this is more important during colder months. Water can be forced into places where it shouldn't really be, and can affect the electrical components, but in colder periods residual water can also freeze and expand, causing damage. Using a standard hose or even e-bike focused solutions such as Muc-Off waterless wash or Silca Ultimate Ceramic waterless wash, is the way to go here.
If you suspect that your battery may be damaged, it is important not to try and perform ebike battery repair yourself. Not only will this invalidate any warranties, but can be potentially dangerous. Any reputable ebike retailer should be able to perform a diagnostic procedure on the battery to see what kind of condition it is in, and in a worst case scenario source you a replacement ebike battery.
Another precaution some riders choose to take is to use neoprene ebike battery covers for cold weather, to help keep water ingress to a minimum and to help keep cold out.