E-Bike Range non Scientific

[youngoldbloke]

It's obvious that no conclusions can be drawn from this unscientific survey other than the more assistance you use the shorter the range, and the more you can ride above the cut-off the less battery power you use - same thing really. I don't have the leg strength anymore to ride an unassisted bike more than 5 - 10 miles on the flat without great pain - even an 8kg carbon bike - hence my quite limited range and average speed on a very light e-road bike where I have to use some level of assistance most of the time, and yet others with stronger legs can attain a range of 100 miles + on very similar bikes to my Ribble SLe (with carbon wheels )

 

[Drago]

Indeed. Its a noble idea, but there are so many variables it's all a bit meaningless.

I mean, I don't eat biscuits very often so a pack lasts for ages. Mini D scoffs them by the handful, so the same pack lasts her a morning. Mrs D is on a perpetual diet and doesnt eat biscuits at all, so a pack lasts her indefinitely.

And so it is with ebikes. And thats before we start to concern ourselves with rider weight, terrain, type of riding, ambient temperature, and all the rest of it.

An ebike gives what an ebike gives, and what it gives me will be totally different to that which someone else receives from an identical machine.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

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.

View attachment 692711

That range seems low to me
the spec says the battery is 250Wh
my raleigh Motus has a Bosch has a 300Wh motor and range is around 60 miles (being optimistic) - I reckon I would get 40(ish) in summer if I jacked the assits level up to Turbo

also - the charge time is specified as 3 hours - mine is spec'd at 5-6 hours - but only 50Wh difference

I am wondering if the battery is different in some way

 

[gzoom]

That range seems low to me
the spec says the battery is 250Wh
my raleigh Motus has a Bosch has a 300Wh motor and range is around 60 miles (being optimistic)

It's all down to speed. This the kind of average speed I'm getting from my Boardman during commutes.

17mph average speed is quite achievable with leg power alone for me on a road bike, but on the Boardman manages this whilst having the aero dynamics of a brick, 20kg+ of bike/luggage weight, Marathon+ tires that weigh over 1kg alone.......and all this whilst in my work cloths arriving to work with nothing more than Zone 2 Hr (ie not sweating).....I'm 100% NOT putting out 250watts+ of leg power

Range isn't an issue for me during the commute and I actually have a charger at work. Range can be easily extended with more leg power too.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I was going to say that 17 mph is over the motor cutoff so you should be spending a lot of time with the motor dormant

however, I then remembered that my motor's cutoff is, according to the speedometer, a bit higher than the 15.5 mph
and I have heard a manufacturer comment that the actual cutoff speed has a 10% tolerance
so 17 mph average could well be bouncing around the cutoff speed - which is pretty much how I run on flat roads

anyway - if you know your own bike and usage then you are best situated to do what is best for you

 

[gzoom]

I was going to say that 17 mph is over the motor cutoff so you should be spending a lot of time with the motor dormant

Maybe /

 

[Mike_P]

Ft climbed is not neccessarily an easily comparable factor. What gradients are involved and hence the amount of draw on the battery. As an example my steeper route to town climbs less than the shallower route due to the latters undulating nature.

 

[Stul]

As per the above comments, far too many variables, including your own fitness. I have a Raliegh Motus with a Bosch Motor and belt drive. Advertised range was around 100 miles on a full charge, and I have achieved this (not on one ride). Equally there are 5 "bars" on the display and subject to terrain, wind, amount of assistance, my fitness et all, a bar can last either around 25 miles max or 14 miles minimum, so I just assume an average of around 16 / 18 miles per bar.
I have found the range calculator on the Bosh website to be pretty much bob on......

 

[Gwylan]

As per the above comments, far too many variables, including your own fitness. I have a Raliegh Motus with a Bosch Motor and belt drive. Advertised range was around 100 miles on a full charge, and I have achieved this (not on one ride). Equally there are 5 "bars" on the display and subject to terrain, wind, amount of assistance, my fitness et all, a bar can last either around 25 miles max or 14 miles minimum, so I just assume an average of around 16 / 18 miles per bar.
I have found the range calculator on the Bosh website to be pretty much bob on......

Interesting to hear that. 80 miles is a useful range.

 

[Stul]

..the range of the battery exceeds that of my interface with the saddle by a country mile....or two....

 

[Gwylan]

..the range of the battery exceeds that of my interface with the saddle by a country mile....or two....

The well known mis match of will and ability.
My ebike range at no more than 50km is just a touch short.

 

[numbnuts]

My range is governed by how much I use the throttle, hilly ride today and I got 14 miles per segment and I have 4 of those and that is on a 17ah battery, but the trike is in the heavy side.

 

[CXRAndy]

I get around 50 miles of range from my 840Whr battery. This is with full time assistance usually minimum level 1.

I find that using the power levels to maintain speed up gradients gives slightly better range than slowing and taking longer to get up the climbs.

 

[gbb]

Just piping in with not necessarily related thoughts but...
Driving regularly through Leicester this last week made me see just how many just eat / deliveroo ebike rides there are...loads, many with what loo,k ike 1000w motors and hulking great batteries, many seem to be twist and go, no pedalling.
I wonder idly when I see them, what range do they get , how long to charge them up, how much is a battery ?
The longer term costs with them must surely make them unviable to maintain, repair etc.

 

[gzoom]

The longer term costs with them must surely make them unviable to maintain, repair etc.

If that was true the delivery riders wouldn’t use them. There is a reason why Toyota Hybrids sell in their millions to Taxi firms. If you want the best value tech, look at what delivery/taxi firms are using.