Originally Posted by
greatscott
All you do is recharge your batteries after every use regardless how little it was used, if you wait and don't charge for several rides the deeper discharged cycles shorten the life expectancy of those batteries a lot. This is true for any rechargeable battery in any thing you use, even tools, this did not apply to the old NiCad bats.
The above is incorrect. In fact, NiCad batteries DO suffer from voltage depression, but it's reversible. Li-Ion batteries, as used in Cygolite taillights, can be charged at any point with no effect on battery charge or longevity.
Originally Posted by
culgukga
I think you are confusing Ni{Cd,Mh} and LiIon batteries. Ni{Cd,Mh} batteries are probably the worst offenders as far as memory effect is concerned and if you partially top these up often, the total capacity will degrade rapidly. On the other hand, LiIon are only affected by the number of cycles. So if you recharge a LiIon that is 90% full 10 times in a row, or one that is 0% full once (although technically LiIon can't be fully drained or they're done for); it will all amount to one cycle in either case. Topping up LiIon batteries after each use is not harmful to them.
Above is correct.