E-Bike Range non Scientific

[Deleted member 26715]

Just thought it might be good ,for those with ebikes to put some real world numbers down, each person is going to be different but it may give a clue to prospective buyers what they can expect & not what manufactures are telling you. I charged mine up overnight last Friday it's a Cube Acid with the Bosch hub motor with a 500W battery, comes in at 21.5Kgs & then add another 100Kgs for me. It ran out on my this morning 1.5 miles from home, (this was deliberate), but from the Friday charge I've done 10 rides, covers 75 miles & climbed 2500ft, with a traveling time of 6 hrs 30 mins. Mixture of surfaces, roads, hard shale, canal towpaths but some muddy stretches.

 

[fasteasyfree]

I think this is a harder task than you're envisioning. What assist level did you use? Was it the same throughout? Are you using factory programming, or have you customised the levels? What tyres are you running? What are their size and profile? At what pressure? Was the wind in your face the entire time, or did you have a tailwind? I suppose it even depends on how hot you are on gear changes. And let's not forget relative temperature either.

Not disparaging your efforts, something like this would be incredibly useful. I just don't see how you can get anything accurate without a massive number of participants and the data analytics to back it up. Anything else is purely anecdotal.

But going completely against what I just said: I rode from Cardiff bay to Pontypridd and back on my Fazua powered gravel bike (250wh battery) using mid level assist the entire way. 51km with 260m total elevation. Got back with about 15% left iirc. I weigh about 94kg. But that's not the strength of the bike, which is to only provide assistance when you need it; I was just feeling lazy that day.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I would also add that temperature makes a lot of difference
In winter I can go for 2 rides of just over 20 miles and I am starting to worry about charge by the time I get home
In summer I could probably do 3 rides like that and maybe have to ride the last mile or two without charge -
so 40 miles (plus a bit) in winter) and nearly 60 in summer

this is based on 300Wh battery on Bosch Active Line mid drive (Raleigh Motus) and mostly on canal paths in Eco mode

I also notice that another canal path ride I do tends to use more charge - I think this is because the paths are not paved and quite narrow and so I am riding only just above walking speed a lot of the time whereas on the normal "big" paths I go quite a bit faster if there are no walkers about (probably 7 mph v 12-15 mph
This makes a huge difference because the assist chart gives less help when you get closer to the cut off point
In addition - if you are constantly riding around the motor cut off then the time you spend about the cutoff is clearly "all you" so some routes on faster roads may use very little charge as the motor is not working at all for long stretches - and clearly the faster surface has less rolling resistance and so less effort required from the drive system (i.e. you and the motor)

It is still worth dong - and as you say it is non-scientific - but people need to be warned how in accurate it can be

so TLDR - use what people say as a guide - also use the Bosch tool thingy on the WWW as a guide (anyone got a link handy??) but you get used to your own bike after a while!

 

[Drago]

Temp makes a big a-roonie difference.

My Carrera Subway E I can get from 30 miles assistance to infinity, depending on how much/whether or not I'm using the battery. I've never run it 'flat' (I appreciate the BMS won't let it go totally flat to protect the cells, but youmknownwhere I'm at) but I think 30 is about the minimum I could drain it on mixed terrain, using mixed modes as required, and in warm weather. Knock an easy 25% off that in the cold.

My Trek as a little more batter capacity at 400 things, and could likely do 40-45 to infinity dependent on how much I'm engaging the assistance.

That's for me, big tall lad with the aerodynamics of a Steinway, 126kg.

Not yet found a hill that either bike couldn't assist me to the top of.

 

[Gwylan]

Well, my Cowboy S3 manages about 50km.
This is irrespective of terrain or whatever.
I'm 88kg.
The gearing or support is automatic. Tends to get to 24kph and that's it.
Only time you go faster is when gravity supplements my efforts
.
There are hills that it cannot handle.
When the battery is exhausted then you have the additional weight of the battery, in wheel motor and gearing to propel home.
Made me very cautious about setting off without a fully charged battery.

 

[Dadam]

As said, too many variables really but FWIW:

Orbea Gain D40, 91 kg rider, over 6 ft and not very aero and from a full charge:
Hilly 31 miles mainly offroad ride (gravel plus a lot of rocky, muddy bridle paths), 25% charge remaining
Very hilly 35 miles road ride, 22% charge remaining.
Very flat 60 miles road ride, 78% remaining! I rode the majority with assist at level zero and most of the time with assist on was over the cutoff speed anyway.
248 wh battery and I think the bike without bits weighs about 14.5kg

Biggest differentiators are weight (bike plus rider), hills and assist level.

I haven't ridden my Cube Reaction that much yet so the only data point here is:
34 miles 90% offroad, plenty of mud and rocks, a few hills. Used about 60% of a 625wh battery. Bike weighs 24kg

In daily use I don't charge beyond 80% or let it drop below 20%. I only give them a full charge if going on a long ride.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Other thing I find is time
If I rode. For 20 miles
Then ride the same again th next day then I will get far more out of it than if I leave it a week before the second ride

 

[wiggydiggy]

Nice idea

I've been trying to work this out roughly for my bike, I've run the battery from fully charged to flat (almost) and am getting around 60-65 miles.

Its a Raleigh Motus Tour 2021, couple of stats:

• Motor: Bosch Active Line plus
• Battery: Bosch Power Pack Frame Mount 400Wh, 36V
• Approximate Weight: 24.5kg + Me at 100kg (ish!)

Though it is hilly around me what goes up does come down so I find it all evens out pretty well, I run mostly in Eco (lowest) but up the power for hills and when I'm carrying shopping. Its not modified in any way electrically, I did change the tyres but their pretty similar to the originals so no difference there I feel.

Its not a light bike, and the battery is the smallest wattage for the weight it takes up. I'm planning on using this for a few years and buying another better lighter e-bike, probably a hardtail MTB type but with fittings for panniers, guards etc.

I did use the Bosch eBike Range Calculator and that reckons 76 miles for me so I think I'm getting what I should.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Ribble SLe. Mahle hub motor, 250Wh battery. Self 60 kg, bike around 13Kg. I estimate on an average ride to use (very approximately) around 2.2% of charge per mile, so 5.5 Wh per mile. I use as little assistance as possible but given my lack of leg strength, using most of the time. I use a range extender which allows rides up to around 65 miles without worry of empty batteries.

 

[CXRAndy]

What speed are you traveling at, above the cutoff speed?

 

[youngoldbloke]

What speed are you traveling at, above the cutoff speed?

Tonight just a short ride 11.47miles, 14.6mph average, so quite a lot of the ride over cut-off - that is fast for me, usually average around 13.5 mph. Consumption better if speed hovers around cut-off - on a club ride for example, but suffers if hilly.

 

[Jenkins]

Ribble Hybrid Al-e
I'm averaging 200+ miles from a charge, but I guess I'm not the average e-bike rider. Its been used almost exclusively for commuting in Urban mode (the middle of 3) and the lowest level of assistance for ease around town and a little help into head winds. Elsewhere I like to challenge myself to keep above the cut-off speed whenever possible. This is riding from fully charged to putting it on to charge as soon as the top tube light goes red (under 25% carge left).

The bike arrived almost fully charged in September and I've done charges at 195, 410, 681, 986 & 1209 miles.

 

[gzoom]

Boardman 8.9e - Commuter bike.

Fazua motor and 250wh battery
20kg with luggage+lock

Range 20 miles, always ridden with max support, and in work cloth. Average speed for my urban commute is similar to urban average speed of using my car for the commute.

Used essentially as a car replacement tool.

 

[gzoom]

Specialized Creo - Gravel/Road eBike.

Specialized own motor- 320Wh battery
12.7kg with pedals and OEM aluminium wheelset.

Range is 100 miles+ over rolling terrain. Devastatingly fast on leg power alone, as quick as the Boardman with motor support.

The Creo is my favourite bike I've owned/ridden. The frameset deserves some better deep section carbon rims to really make it come to life. Wireless shifting is on the cards too, as is carbon bars. 12kg weight should be achievable with some extra £££

Amazing bike.

 

[Jameshow]

I had a client with an electric wheel chair who went to town in his new chariot, I then got a call saying I'm out if charge!

He hadn't factored in his 150kg Vs the 50kg lady in the brochure!

Volvo to the rescue - it was dam heavy!!