Even the best of e-bikes with the most powerful of motors is useless without the addition of a strong battery. Magicycle owners, for example, are proud to have a 52 volt battery. Other brands often provide only 48 volt batteries, or even less, but power is important.

The motor on an e-bike can run more efficiently with a 52 volt battery. If two identical motors perform identical tasks, one powered by a 48 volt battery and the other by a 52 volt battery, the difference becomes obvious. The motor using the 52 volt battery can perform the same work while drawing significantly less power (amps) from its battery. This is important because drawing less power allows the motor to run cooler, which extends the life of the motor.

When it is needed, a motor energized by a 52 volt battery can produce more power. When you encounter the occasional steep hill, you’ll be glad you have all that power at your disposal. That extra power also gives you faster starts. Imagine you’re needing to cross a busy intersection in heavy traffic. There’s no time for a leisurely takeoff! The 52 volt battery helps your motor spin faster, giving you the speed you need for safety.

Every Magicycle battery is made by the same company that supplies batteries for Tesla, so you know you are getting nothing but the best! With proper care, you can expect to recharge your battery 950 times or more, and that’s a lot of riding. No other competitively priced e-bike brand matches the quality and reliability of Magicycle! And now, the upgrade to a 52 volt battery makes Magicycle the obvious choice for your new ride.

A powerful, top-quality battery is essential to your enjoyment of e-bike riding. As you might expect, quality batteries are not inexpensive. You definitely want your battery to have a long life and give you great service. This is why a proper charging routine is so important. With only a few precautions, you can extend the life of your battery and get the most enjoyment from your e-bike investment.

Tips for Battery Charging

Store Charged

Try to avoid leaving your battery sitting around in a discharged condition. If you won’t be using it for a few days, charge it to approximately 90%–your battery will be in great shape when you return to use it again.

Don’t Overcharge

Many e-bike companies provide their customers with a smart charger. The smart charger will intelligently prevent you from charging your battery to a dangerous level. But there’s more to it than only relying on a smart charger–even a great charger like the one Magicycle provides for all owners.

Every time you recharge your battery, try to stop the charging process at no more than 90-95%. The exception is if you have a new unused battery. For the first 4 or 5 charges on a new battery, go all the way to 100%. After that, routinely charge it to 90-95%. This prevents the electrical process of charging from doing any damage to your battery. It is a precaution that will add many months of battery life. However, develop a once-a-month habit to do just one recharge to 100%. To make it easy to remember, try doing the 100% charge for your first ride of each month.

There are 3 methods available to you for to easily keep your charge under 95%.

• Watch the time carefully and manually unplug the charger. For example, if you know it usually takes 4 hours to fully charge your battery, stop the charging after 3.5 hours.
• Purchase a plug-in timer. These digital timers plug into your electrical outlet, and then your charger pugs into the timer. Set your timer for the needed amount of charging, and it will automatically stop the charging at the correct time.
• Purchase a voltage limiting device. It works similarly to the plug-in timer, but stops the charging at a specific voltage set by the user.

Don’t Over-Discharge

As much as possible, avoid discharging your battery to less than a 20% charge. Over-discharging stimulates oxidation inside your battery. In most cases, this is not necessary, and it will shorten the life of your battery. Also, regularly over-discharging will gradually reduce the capacity of your battery, forcing you into shorter rides.

Let Your Battery Cool

All batteries develop heat during use. They also develop heat during the charging process. It is important to never begin charging immediately after returning from a ride. Your battery already contains heat from the ride, and it needs to cool for at least 30 minutes before you begin charging.

Monitor the Charging Process

It is never safe to leave your battery unattended during the charging process. You may have seen or read horror stories about batteries overheating during charging. The result can tragically be a serious fire, explosion, or both. Check on your battery intermittently while it is charging. If you simply cannot monitor the charging, then consider doing your charging outside and nowhere near anything that could be harmed in an explosion or fire.

Avoid Temperature Extremes

Never leave your battery where it could be exposed to extreme cold for more than a few minutes…temperatures at freezing or less. As you might expect, you’ll want to also avoid hot temperatures. Don’t store your battery for more than a few minutes where the temperature exceeds 85 degrees F. Both temperature extremes will damage your battery and result in a shorter lifespan.

It’s o.k. to ride your e-bike in temperatures below freezing or above 85 degrees F, but it is not o.k. to store your battery at those temperatures for more than a few minutes.

Long-Term Storage

There are a number of reasons why e-bike owners might need to store the battery unused for an extended period of time–winter weather, for one reason. If this is the case for you, do your battery a favor and store it with approximately a 75% charge. All batteries gradually discharge while in storage, so once every 60-90 days, put your battery back on the charger and bring it up to 75% again.

These are a few things you can do to achieve a maximum lifespan for your battery, as well as maintain safety. We all recognize that the battery is a very important e-bike component, so it is definitely worth the extra effort to take good care of it. Get the most value for your dollar by extending the lifespan of your battery.