45 Mile Commute, possible on a eBike?

[row]

this one is 500 cx http://www.damianharriscycles.co.uk/prod/ele_0142_cz/cube-reaction-hybrid-hpa-pro-500-27.5-black-2016-electric-bike

this is the same, cheaper, but sold out http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-Reaction-Hybrid-HPA-Pro-500-27-5-2016-Electric-Bike_85111.htm#

or get higher spec fittings etc in sales coming

 

[chris_n]

Just over 40 miles with 4500 ft of climbing in the Alps at an average speed of 15.5mph on a Yamaha motored Haibike with a 400wh battery. This was with maxxis minion dhf tyres which are not known for low rolling resistance. While the bike is derestricted I was only using low power levels where that made any difference at all. Given slick tyres and less climbing anything is possible depending how much you put in. I am confident with a change of tyres I could be over 70 miles on the road without too much trouble. Crank the speed up and watch the power drain quickly though.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Those Bosch bikes can do 45 miles on a single charge in normal riding. When you're commuting a long way, you want to go fast. You're not going to do the 45 miles and go fast. If you dongle it and travel at 20 mph, you'll be using at least 10 amps, which will give a range of about 20 miles.

As others have said, you can get more speed and range from an efficient bike, which means one with 25mm or less wide 700c wheels and streamlined forks. If you want to stick with a legal (dongled or not) ready-made bike, a FS MTB with wide knobbly tyres is not going to work. Something like this, but youll get covered in muck every time it rains:

 

[soundwave]

you not seen my bike then

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Just over 40 miles with 4500 ft of climbing in the Alps at an average speed of 15.5mph on a Yamaha motored Haibike with a 400wh battery.

Some people would do the same without even switching on the motor. Your average Joe would struggle for 15 miles range at an average speed of 10 mph on a 4500ft climb on the same bike.

 

[row]

If you are on relative flat, a 500w/600£ battery on a dongle is not going to run out from only one hour use at 20 mph, in this scenario factor in also that 10 per cent or so of the journey is momentum with the battery not being used

 

[soundwave]

yes you will get more range if you keep it around 20 but if you have the gears you can flatten one in a bit over an hour and hit 30 on the flat.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

It's very easy to calculate. On the flat with no wind, it takes about 250w to go 15 mph and 350w to go 20 mph.

The journey would take 3 hours. The battery has say 500wh, so it would be able to provide an average of 166 watts of input power, which means about 120 watts of output power (65% total system efficiency). To do the complete journey in three hours, the rider would have to provide about 130w, which is about equivalent to a normally fit rider pedalling steadily without exerting himself. That would be OK for a commute, but it doesn't allow for wind or hills

At 20 mph, the journey would take 2.25 hours, so the battery could give up its charge at no more than 222w, which would be 145w of output power. The rider would then have to provide 205w to maintain the 20 mph. That's equivalent to a reasonably fit person pedalling continuously with a bit of effort. It would make you sweat a bit. Again, that's in perfect conditions. A hilly ride could double that, likewise if you had a breeze against you. Once you go over 200w for an hour, you're starting to talk about a work-out, not a commute.

If you only had 400wh in your battery, you'd have to increase your effort by about 30w above what's calculated above.

IMHO, it's not viable to go at 20 mph, and fairly hard work at 15 mph except in ideal conditions.

 

[row]

Apologies if there is cross over talk on my part but for the OP, who is doing 22.5 miles then recharge, there would be battery capacity left over.

 

[anotherkiwi]

That is about the distance from here to S. Sebastian, I do that in just over an hour and a half on a normal pedelec. There are a couple of serious hills. What kills my average speed is the cycle paths where the speed is limited.

I can do that once or twice a week. I thought about getting an s-pedelec for that route and imagine that it could be done in about an hour.

I don't know if I would do it every day, maybe with a velomobile or even a trike and some kind of weather protection.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Apologies if there is cross over talk on my part but for the OP, who is doing 22.5 miles then recharge, there would be battery capacity left over.

Is recharging at work feasible? I don't know what it's like where you work, but I wasn't allowed to plug anything in that wasn't PAT tested. My charger wouldn't pass the PAT test because it didn't have the double insulation symbol on the label.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

A velomobile would be perfect for that commute:

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/10/electric-velomobiles.html

It has the added advantage that they can't see when you're not pedalling!

I keep looking at this one and my finger hovers over the "Buy it now" button:

http://dutchbikes.nl/home/

 

[signwave]

Is recharging at work feasible?

The OP told us it was...

It will be a cycle to work and I can put it on charge through out the day and then a 22.5 mile cycle home.

 

[anotherkiwi]

A velomobile would be perfect for that commute:

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2012/10/electric-velomobiles.html

It has the added advantage that they can't see when you're not pedalling!

I keep looking at this one and my finger hovers over the "Buy it now" button:

http://dutchbikes.nl/home/

I am guessing you wouldn't be using the 24 V motor they sell...

 

[derf]

Those Bosch bikes can do 45 miles on a single charge in normal riding. When you're commuting a long way, you want to go fast. You're not going to do the 45 miles and go fast. If you dongle it and travel at 20 mph, you'll be using at least 10 amps, which will give a range of about 20 miles.

As others have said, you can get more speed and range from an efficient bike, which means one with 25mm or less wide 700c wheels and streamlined forks. If you want to stick with a legal (dongled or not) ready-made bike, a FS MTB with wide knobbly tyres is not going to work. Something like this, but youll get covered in muck every time it rains:

in the real world - in a wet dark winter in the uk on roads with more broken glass and deeper potholes than anywhere else I've been, including much of Africa - I definitely wouldn't go for 70-0c or narrow tyres. I'd accept recharging at work (i.e. a 25 mile range), bear in mind fat tyres don't have (at higher pressure say around 85PSI which is what I often inflate 70PSI marathon plus' to) such a significant higher rolling resistance than narrow ones.
you will get punctures - many - on narrow tyres - pinch punctures and glass. it wont only be inconvenient, it will likely kill you - a 22.5 mile commute will include fast shoulder less b road in the uk. a flat on that in the dark at say 7pm could leave one in deep ****.
I also wouldn't go for a velomobile, practical as that may be ito wind resistance. The UK, primitive little shithole that it is, doesn't have many cycle paths, being able to hug the side of a shoulder less road there is frequently all that prevents one from becoming road kill for a big dump truck. Also - as the owner of a hase tagun - I can say with some confidence you'll be pelted with eggs or worse. For some reason the natives respond badly to anything that doesn't fit in with very conservative preconceptions.

 

[LeighPing]

This chap 'David' (aged 82) did 26 miles and reportedly had 52 miles worth of charge left in the battery. So, getting on for 80 miles worth of range on his KTM bike. I'm not sure what the model is? It cost him £2k a couple of years ago.

Listen to the discussion at the 2 minute point in the video. A 45 mile commute seems to be easily do-able on that bike.

 

[derf]

This chap 'David' (aged 82) did 26 miles and reportedly had 52 miles worth of charge left in the battery. So, getting on for 80 miles worth of range on his KTM bike. I'm not sure what the model is? It cost him £2k a couple of years ago.

Listen to the discussion at the 2 minute point in the video. A 45 mile commute seems to be easily do-able on that bike.

a very great deal depends on your terrain and level of fitness: I'm not very fit (a bit more so than before nowadays, but not much). but I had an electric bike in the UK mainly because of hills. if your commute is hilly (say the chilterns or bath or similar), a pedelec it will have to be, and it wont be easy (hills in my experience eats brakes and gear systems, and cause much maintenance).
extremely and entirely hypothetically, if you're the kind of lucky soul who lives in a place with say Rotterdam's geography, and long straight level fast clean civilised cycle paths, there is another option. something (bear with me even if you don't agree) non electric - perhaps a light titanium road bike like a 7.5 kg lightspeed (one can pick them up on ebay for 1k euro). keeping one of them breezing along at 20mph on the level takes minimal energy, and one can skip all the complexity fo a pedelec.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

a very great deal depends on your terrain and level of fitness.

Don't forget speed. On my last charge cycle, I got something like 167 miles, but if I had turned the power up to do 20 mph, it would have been be closer to 15 miles.

You can get any range you want out of your battery, but we know that an average rider of average weight over average terrain pedalling below the level that makes him/her sweat will get about 40 miles from a 400wh battery. That would be at average speed of about 14 mph.

I really hate it when people come on here making statements about their range, but don't mention their atypical circumstances. It's very misleading to those that need information to make their choices.

 

[btcc2000]

Is recharging at work feasible? I don't know what it's like where you work, but I wasn't allowed to plug anything in that wasn't PAT tested. My charger wouldn't pass the PAT test because it didn't have the double insulation symbol on the label.

Charging at work is not going to be an issue

 

[trex]

don't forget the impact of voltage sag when choosing a bike for long distance commuting. You will of course be interested in high speed capability of the bike to save time but be careful when choosing the combination of battery and motor. Voltage sag can make the bike unpleasant to ride when you have less than 30% left in the tank.