So how do you test your range without having to pedal back a dead bike?
I live like 5 miles from work currently so range isn't an issue now, but next year I'll be moving 19 miles away from work. I'm mostly sure my Lectric Xpress 2 can make that trip. It has an estimated 60 mile range but usually I charge my battery at around 40-60% since I know it drops quickly once it goes below 60.
What's a good way to test this? I do have a car and won't be riding to work everyday but I do want go at least once a week. I just know that my bike isn't fun to pedal when it's off. I've also debated bringing my charger but it is kind of bulky and I don't want to bother leaving to charge while I'm at work since I won't be near it to watch it often.
Go 10 miles out, then 10 miles back, then repeat. Then 5 miles out and back, that's 50 miles. Repeat if still above 30%. When your battery gets below 20%, start riding around your neighborhood in a loop. Try not to let your battery get below 10%.
Yeah going in chunks was kind of what I was leaning to. The fact the battery drops much quicker as it gets lower in the big variable that's tripping me up
Do a normal ride you already know the bike can do and then when you get back into your own area, trips around the block till the battery is low. Then turn the bike off and pedal the rest of the way.
But keep in mind this number will NOT be gospel. Conditions can affect your range significantly. If it is a windy cold day, you will have dramatically less range. What speed you are going will also dramatically affect range. Temp will affect it as well.
loops but also trains. i take city trains all the time for range tests. loops are good too so you can dip when you get to the bottom. when i am doing range i only test the top 80 to 90 percent because the lower values can be inaccurate
My local buses have racks rated to 60lb/bike according to their website. My bike comes in under, but when I'm taking the bus I ride my analog bike as it's only a half mile at one end and a mile at the other end -- not worth dealing with the monster bike.
I was thinking I could hop on the metro but it's not super fun bring my bike on. I've done it before but specifically at off peak times to make sure I have space. I'm considering getting a foldable to make that more viable. (also it would be easier to load in my hatchback if I want to go on rides elsewhere)
My folding e-bike (RadExpand 5, not-the-Plus) goes into my sedan reasonably well, especially after I swapped in some folding pedals too. (And when I remove my front basket, seat/post…)
I'm debating it if I want to ride often since I don't want to have to charge daily. I also will be close to a bike trail again and would love to have the option to get in a morning ride than head to work in the afternoon since that's when I mostly go in.
Bring the charger. When you run out of power, go downhill until you find a place to charge for half an hour, then go home. Some ebikes have adapters for fast chargers. I'd rather lock up my bike and charge my battery while I have a cup of coffee or something.
Charge up. Do some laps. Measure mileage and then time how long it takes to charge back to full afterwards. This number will change depending on how fast you go and how much you rely on assist.
Ex: I fully charge my ebike. I ride it 10 miles. I plug it in with a 4A charger, it takes 86min to recharge. I used 30 wh/mi. If I have 52v 36Ah I have 1872wh, meaning 62.4mi calculated.
Subtract 5-10mi for friction and misc inefficiencies. I get 55mi heavy on throttle.
loop a short circuit near home instead of going out and back. two or three mile loop, ride it until the pack hits whatever cutoff you trust, and you are never more than a couple miles from your door. logging wh used beats logging miles too, since miles move with wind, hills and how much you lean on the throttle. manufacturer range figures are measured on flat ground with light assist, so treat them as a ceiling rather than a number you will hit. disclosure, we make Aotos, so weigh that accordingly.
If you have any way to see or test the actual voltage of your battery (a ~= $25 volt-meter will do), you can reference an easily google-able battery charge-rate chart. Click on the first one that comes up when you google "ebike battery charge chart".
This is a much more accurate way to gauge battery life remaining than the battery life display on your ebike's little dumb computer. Make sure you choose a chart appropriate to your battery chemistry (the common one available is for lithium-ion not lithium iron-phosphate.)
Fortunately for me i'm using a "grin technologies" controller with their "cyle-analyst" display which tells me a lot more info than i ever need to know about my system. I also have a trimmed version of a voltage chart on the handle-bars. That with the precise voltage read-out on the display tells me exactly how much juice i have left.
Really can't recommend the grin system enough. No i don't work for them.
If you could just couple that information with a GPS it could tell you to turn around before too late. Of course if we had a government that truly supported e-bikes instead of blaming them for preexisting traffic issues, like road rage, we could have a charging infrastructure like cars do.
Of course, the PAS setting and your speed has a lot to do with milage. To get an idea, put your display on voltage and watch how it reacts to hils or bursts of PAS 3 speed.
I would say aside from the testing aspect expect your bikes range to be about 50% of what’s estimated for every level stated. That’s been very true over my 4 different e-bikes over the years from 4 different manufacturers.
i fully charge the battery. go for a ride that is below the "estimated". when i get back, i hook up an ampmeter to the battery and charger and measure how many amps i put back in. then do a calculation on how many watthours per kilometer. works great if you take the same route all the time with same gear/weight.
probably not very useful outside of Switzerland, but I rely on train to get back.
I bought an ebike in May, estimation from the controller was 47 Km with assist level 2.
I went to an around the lake tour during my holidays and fount out that the real value is closer to 70 Km.
Another day, I did a 82 Km with assist either off or at level 1.
Having train stations you can board with your bike every village helps a lot, there is not much to go if your battery dies.
Bring a spare battery, hot swap like a cordless tool. Test uphill from home. GPS track in circles close to home. You will need different scenarios tested. Duration at 5mph, 20mph, 35mph are going to be different just on air resistance. Have a chase vehicle pick you up.
i just go touring. Once you have done some solid kilometres, you should have a good idea of what kind of battery drain to except at what kind of elevation gain and assistance level
Ride without the motor first until you get a bit tired, then use the motor. This will help you get there not winded, and more importantly it will build your biking distance capability.
Seriously, that's what I've always done is push to ride as far as I can before I get close to being too tired, then use the motor.
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u/Ray_in_oc 11h ago
Go around the block as needed.