Winter Riding Tips

This is also the time of year when we start dealing with a lot of troubleshooting issues related to the cold and wet weather, so here are a few tips:

• Lithium battery performance degrades a lot near freezing temperatures, resulting in 20-25% less capacity, and the battery BMS circuit can trip prematurely from additional voltage sag at these lower temperatures. If you can keep batteries indoor and warm until just prior to the ride, they'll deliver closer to full capacity.
• If you are parking the ebike for winter, be sure that the lithium battery is stored in an initially charged state and is unplugged from the controller. A lithium battery that is flat and then stored for several months is liable to self-discharge to the point that the cells are irrecoverably damaged.
• Water has a way of getting into even totally sealed hub motors and causing them to rust out on the inside. Usually the hub will run for weeks or even months with water in it before the corrosion builds up enough to have an effect, so we recommend opening up the motor on occasion to have a peak and let it dry out if necessary. We suspect that the primary avenue for water entry is through the inside of the wires, and so it's advisable to cover up the connector area.