Hibernation tips: The right way to store your e-bike battery

Why the right way to store your bike battery matters

Imagine it’s springtime: After the long, cold winter, you’re looking forward to getting back on your e-bike and whizzing through the countryside. Sure, the tires need to be inflated and the chain might need a little care, but why can’t the battery be charged properly anymore? The cause might be a deep discharge. This can occur if the battery is stored incorrectly for a long time. To prevent this from happening, follow these simple rules when storing your e-bike battery, particularly during the winter months:

Where to store your e-bike battery pack

Like any battery, e-bike batteries do not like high heat or very low temperatures. The ADFC recommends storage at temperatures between ten and fifteen degrees Celsius (“centigrade”). In any case, the temperature at which you store the battery should not be below freezing (zero degrees Celsius). The garage where you park your e-bike might be too cold in the winter months, so you should remove the battery pack for the winter and store it separately. A mildly heated storage room with low humidity is suitable. Be sure to keep your battery in a place where it is not exposed to humidity, dust or flammable materials.

The perfect charging level

Drain the battery and then put it in the storage room for the next few months? That’s not a good idea, because the battery gradually discharges automatically during longer storage periods. This means that if the battery is already empty at the beginning of winter, there is a risk of deep discharge, which means the end for your e-bike battery’s life. On the other hand, it should not be fully charged either. A medium charge level between 30 and 70 percent is suitable. Caution: don’t keep your battery connected to the charger permanently because this consumes power all the time and increases the risk of a defective battery catching fire.

How long can an e-bike battery be stored?

If the winter is long and cold and you do not use your e-bike at all during this period, you can store the battery for several months in a suitable place. However, be sure to check the charge level from time to time and charge the battery slightly if necessary to keep it at the right charge level. This way, your e-bike battery will get through the cold months unscathed.

Short-term storage

Your e-bike doesn’t take a winter break because you keep riding your pedal-assist company bike in all weathers? Even then, you should take the battery with you when you’re not out cycling in the cold months. Make sure that it is always well charged because chances are that its performance and, therefore, the range of your e-bike, will be lower in the cold. Read our other blog posts to learn what other measures you can use to winterize your bike and what else there is to consider when cycling in winter.

Life span of e-bike batteries

You have done everything right when storing your e-bike battery and are now wondering what lifespan you can expect? The answer to this depends on how often and how intensively you use your e-bike, because the decisive factor for the lifespan is the number of charging cycles. Although your e-bike battery will age even if you don't use it at all, the more often you charge and discharge the battery, the faster you will reach the lifespan of 1,000 charging cycles specified by many manufacturers, after which the capacity of the e-bike battery will decrease significantly.  
The right replacement: What to do if the battery has been stored incorrectly or has exceeded its lifespan? 

What if the battery wasn’t stored properly?

If your battery is defective because you stored it in winter in freezing temperatures, for instance, or it is damaged for some other reason, you should only replace it with an identical battery. You can get one such a replacement e.g. from the bicycle dealer where you received your e-bike. Company bike users can play it safe at the time of acquisition, because a replacement battery is one of the accessories that you can simply lease. Our Bikeleasing accessories interactive infographic shows you which accessories you can include in the lease.