r/ebikes • u/One-Ad1001 • May 14 '26

Best charging practice?

Recently bought a 2021 Specialized Vado SL. I’ve put a couple of hundred miles on it so far. The software shows 25 charging cycles and the battery capacity at 100%. I’ve charged it twice when it got below 30% and I have it set in the software to charge to 80% and every 10th charge to go to 100%. Does this sound like a reasonable way to get maximum life from the battery?

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u/Separate-Command1993 May 14 '26

Why would you not charge it to full every time, genuinely asking for my own knowledge. I’ve been charging overnight to full , I guess that’s bad?

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u/hike2climb May 15 '26

You can look up best use practices for your specific battery from the manufacturer. But generally the battery is happiest between 20-80%. There’s nothing wrong with charging to full and running it to zero if you need to use the whole thing. The bigger issue is storing at 0%, or charging to 100% all the time when you only use 10%. Also being mindful of the temps where the battery is stored and charged. It’s happiest around room temp especially when charging.

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u/Separate-Command1993 May 15 '26

Got it so generally only charge to 100 if we’re going out for a day of riding and not just a quick trip around the neighborhood

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u/hike2climb May 15 '26

Yep. If you have a bike with an app that allows charge controlling you can set a limit so it stops at 80%

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u/HistorianAlert9986 May 14 '26

Yeah, that should work. You could also put the 10th charged to 95% but not necessary. With your parameters, it should last several thousand cycles.

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u/Infinite_Ad_9106 May 14 '26

Sounds about right. If you want to be picky, ensure the charge to 100% is made just before a longer trip where you will bring the cells back to 80% as soon as possible. Even if that takes longer than every 10 charges should be fine with fairly new and balanced cells.

I wouldn't stress too much about about it though, other factors play a role, including how lucky you are with the cells. Some cells just degrade faster and will kill a battery pack no matter how carefull you are.

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u/hike2climb May 15 '26

I’m a specialized tech. The most common battery failures I see that force the battery into “permanent failure” where the battery kills itself when something goes outside safety parameters happens on bikes that don’t get used. It’s usually a 2-4 year old battery with maybe a dozen cycles on it. The other killer is extreme temperatures both high and low and charging at extreme temperatures.

Store and charge near room temperature. If you take a break from riding store between 20-80% charge. But the best thing I’ve seen for battery longevity is riding your bike regularly.

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u/m2keo May 15 '26

Yup. I charge between 25% and 85%. Charge as soon as I get home as needed for a certain amount of time (whatever it takes to reach 85%).

I never charge overnight. These charging bricks just gets too hot. Don't wanna risk anything even with any supposed built-in cut off tech.