How to charge your e-bike
E-bikes are super-popular right now, taking the effort out of pedalling to work or giving you a quick battery-powered boost to help you go further for longer when you run out of steam.
Here’s a quick guide designed to make sure you’re charging your e-bike in the correct way.
Get charging
IMPORTANT: only use the charger that has been provided with your e-bike, or a replacement that has come directly from the manufacturer. Using a cheap alternative or non-branded charger poses a potential risk to both yourself and the battery.
If you’ve just bought a new e-bike, you’ll need to give it a full charge before riding. Although it may be tempting to ride it straight away if it has a little bit of juice in the battery, it’s best to give it a full 24-hour charge before taking it out on the road. It won’t take this long every time (3 – 8 hours for a normal charge depending on your e-bike battery capacity), but you won’t run the risk of undercharging by giving it enough time attached to the socket.
How to look after your e-bike battery
Although you’ll be using your e-bike outside, we’d recommend charging it indoors. Water and electricity don’t mix well and you could end up reducing the power capacity of the battery by charging in the cold.
If you’re going to be using your e-bike regularly, we’d also recommend not letting the battery charge level go below 25%. It’s best to recharge within 24 hours rather than let the battery run totally flat. If you don’t maintain your e-bike’s charge level, you could end up affecting your e-bike warranty.
How to store your e-bike battery when not in use
If you’re not going to use your bike for a while, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for storage and maintenance guidance. We recommend you remove the battery from the bike and check it at least once a month to ensure no signs of damage and try to keep the charge above 60%. And remember, only use the charger that came with the bike. Should your charger start to show signs of wear and tear, make sure you buy an official replacement charger from a reputable seller.
If you have any e-bike questions or want to find out more about charging your e-bike battery, then contact us or go into your local Halfords store and one of our bike experts will be able to help!
Check out our full e-bike range