The Relationship Between Battery Cycle Life and Mileage

A battery can easily outlast the vehicle it is in. Let’s assume you own an electric car.
If your car can travel 300 miles per charge and you can recharge it 1000 times, that battery pack will last 300,000 miles. Also, after the 100 cycles, the battery is not dead, it just means that it’s now at 70% of its initial capacity. So that after 300,000 miles your car is still going 220 miles on a charge instead of 300 miles.

The truth is that batteries actually outlast cars and that’s with only a 1,000 cycle life battery. A 2,000-cycle battery has a 600,000 mile range. That’s why batteries in delivery vehicles are becoming so intriguing for UPS, because they can last a million miles and can pay for the upfront cost after 80,000 to 100,000 miles of driving, at which point the battery pack is paid for in terms of gasoline costs.

It’s the same with a battery for a bicycle. At Optibike, our batteries are rated at up to 1,000 cycles. So if you can ride 50 miles on a charge in “eco-mode,” then that battery is good for 50,000 miles. That’s a lot of miles, and that’s only at 70% of battery capacity.