Carrera Crossfuse Battery Range

[SteveMT]

Recently bought a Crossfuse & due to the snow/icy weather finally got round to getting out on it, had 2 rides of approx 20 mile rides on it. Amazing is the initial reaction. Phenomonal in fact. I do need to get out & use it more often, loved the fact it was easy enough to ride on flat/downhill with zero assistance required and cycling at 15-20mph for free, so really only used the battery for about 5 miles of the cycle (in Eco/Tour mode only) up the hills and near the end of my trip when tired.

My query, and I know it is very early and I haven't used it very much , is re the display range. When I switched it on fully charged, in Eco mode it said the range was 34 miles, way short of the amazing ranges I see others claiming. Is this what others get, will it adapt/change/learn over time if i use it more or is there potentially an issue with display/battery? I know I need to get out, stick it in Eco mode & keep cycling to see what happens with the display reducing & the light indicators on the battery too but thought I would see if any reassuring advice here from more experienced people. Any feedback appreciated.

 

[Gwylan]

I'll pull a chair and see how this goes.

Wait for the "I cycled to the moon and back on one charge" posts.

I have an ebike. Claimed 70km, currently cannot get beyond 50. In dispute with the supplier

 

[gbb]

You simply won't (or are unlikely ever) to achieve the claimed figures.
I liken it to car stats, (this is my theory but it bears out for me) my Mazda claims 60mpg extra urban. It does not achieve that because that figure does not include start, accelerate, slow down, accelerate etc, accelerating uses a LOT of power/fuel. Mine will do 50 mpg easily in the summer but thats start to finish of the trip. Lots of fuel is used getting up to speed.

If however i reset the computer while i am already driving at say 60 mph and let the computer do its thing on the trip, i will achieve 60mpg. In essense, the heaviest load / fuel consumption is not included in that headline claimed figure.

The same is likely to apply to ebikes.

My Crossfire never ever made the claimed figures.

 

[fossyant]

It's also cold at the minute, batteries don't last as long. Work on about half the quoted range in normal use and you'll be reet. The 'upto' is in optimal conditions on something totally flat, warm weather, light rider, pumped up tyres, good surface. Real life is different.

 

[Gwylan]

So, were in VW territory. Manufacturer choose a figure that suits your marketing and then blague it.

 

[fossyant]

So, were in VW territory. Manufacturer choose a figure that suits your marketing and then blague it.

Yup, all manufacturers do it, you'll get no-where arguing with them over range. It's 'Up-to' ! Many retailers do quote expected range.

Same with any battery operated appliance. It varies.

 

[CXRAndy]

That's why I bought far bigger battery for my wife's conversion. Having read all the comments about range, I opted for a 740Whr battery compared to 400-500Whr that most suppliers were offering.

My bike I bought 2 batteries of 840Whr being a far more beefy machine

 

[Dadam]

What you get and what is claimed are likely to differ as said. But what the bike itself says is the range remaining "in the tank" as it were, is only a guide. It will be based on battery charge level (a known measurable quantity) and a basic mileage rate it's programmed with that is just multiplied by the remaining charge level. Depending on how smart the software is, it may or may not adjust this as it "learns" how many miles you get from a charge. The actual amount you get will depend on how heavy you are, how hilly your rides are, how much luggage if any you're carrying, assistance level, how cold it is... etc .... etc.
As you ride it, keep records of the miles you do and the charge level you start and finish with. Over time you'll see if this tallies with what the bike software tells you.

 

[All uphill]

My son has a Crossfuse and tells me he gets anything from 10 miles to 60 miles on a charge depending on hills, effort, enthusiasm, speed, load, weather and more. His advice is to know approximately how far you want to go and use the battery accordingly.

His had a nasty habit of throwing the chain off the crankset until I replaces the stamped metal one with a decent narrow wide one.

 

[SteveMT]

Update after a successful cycle earlier! Instead of constantly switching assistance off I kept it on Eco. Most of the time once I got going after stopping at junctions etc then I got up past the 15.5mph so it just cut out anyway. Range was then up in the 50s which was brilliant to see. Last 5 miles was uphill and in to a wind so I used Tour mode to help get me home. Battery at start of journey was showing 4/5 after my weekend cycle and hadn't recharged from. About a mile from home today it dropped down to be 3/5 so could easily have some more cycling journeys out of it before another charge. All feels better now, loving the bike and maybe just starting to understand it better etc.

 

[Espresso vecchio]

What does "a decent narrow wide one" mean?!

 

[CXRAndy]

What does "a decent narrow wide one" mean?!

The teeth in the chainring are alternately wide in width, then narrow in width. It's seems to keep the chain from jumping off when riding over rough terrain. Similar idea with clutch on the rear derailleur to apply tension to the chain and reduce chain slap

 

[gbb]

Yup, all manufacturers do it, you'll get no-where arguing with them over range. It's 'Up-to' ! Many retailers do quote expected range.

Same with any battery operated appliance. It varies.

As up post, i suspect the headline figures are 'if you are already travelling at X mph (equate that to extra urban, city etc etc) and maintain that speed , you may reasonably expect X mpg'
I certainly find under those rules, you ( i ) do achieve manufacturers claims...consistently

However, , if you start the car, engine is cold, you accelerate hard, deal with several stop starts, accelerate hard etc etc etc...you will absolutely NOT get the manufacturers claimed mpg. This is where i think everyone goes wrong.

 

[SteveMT]

And imagine switching the car engine off as you freewheel down a long long hill, the car computer at that point has no idea you sure travelling down that hill using up no petrol so isn't going to tell you anything different.

I'm happy with what I saw last time on the bike and will use it slightly different now. But big positive for me is the range is much higher than my first 2 experiences.

Blame the user every time aka Me!

 

[Dadam]

Clearly when turning it "off" it's not logging your miles, as you've just surmised.

As up post, i suspect the headline figures are 'if you are already travelling at X mph (equate that to extra urban, city etc etc) and maintain that speed , you may reasonably expect X mpg'
I certainly find under those rules, you ( i ) do achieve manufacturers claims...consistently

However, , if you start the car, engine is cold, you accelerate hard, deal with several stop starts, accelerate hard etc etc etc...you will absolutely NOT get the manufacturers claimed mpg. This is where i think everyone goes wrong.

The mpg claims for ICE vehicles are for standardised tests which include starting up, and a mix of different speeds. There's an "urban cycle" (lots of stop start, lower max speeds) an "extra urban cycle" with less stop start and more cruising at a set speed to represent a longer drive across A roads and motorway. They are all done inside on a rolling road for consistency. They're only useful for comparison i.e. if car A claims 50mpg on the combined cycle and car B claims 55mpg you can be reasonably sure that car B is slightly better on fuel. Unless they've fiddled it. What you can't say is you will get those figures in real world use.

The instantaneous figure your trip computer reports is only helpful to understand when you're driving economically and when you don't. It's quite easy to make it show ridiculously high mpg by backing off the throttle slightly.

EDIT: it seems the tests have changed a few years ago so you can't directly compare new figures with old. https://www.parkers.co.uk/what-is/wltp-worldwide-harmonised-light-vehicle-test-procedure/