Battery capacity required?

[Tomtomato]

Hi,

I am looking for a bike to do around 45 miles using some mild assistance (mainly flat road/paths, apart from a couple of slopes). I am about 80kg.

I am interested in a bike which comes with either a 11.5 Ah battery, or a 14.5 Ah one.

Would the 11.5 Ah be sufficient?

The bike is also driven by a crank drive, which I believe would be a bit more efficient because of the gears, and also requiring actual pedaling anyway.

Thanks,
T.

 

[flecc]

For many people including me, the 11.5 Ah could be marginal for covering 45 miles, even in fairly easy conditions. Much depends on what you mean by light assistance of course.

It's also worth bearing in mind that capacity declines with battery age, so I'd recommend the 14.5 Ah option to also be sure longer term. It will also give you the benefit of a slightly better performance due to lower voltage drop under load.
.

 

[OldBob1]

Also a 14.5 Ah will give you a bit of lee way on those head wind and off days.

 

[Tomtomato]

I am going to go for a higher capacity battery, since 11.5Ah is a bit short, and there are other considerations.

For a Kalkhoff bike and battery, those are:

• Battery capacity will drop to at least 60% after 1,000 full charges (under perfect charging conditions)
• Battery is expected to lose 5% capacity per year while being stored (not used)

Therefore, if the bike is used 3 times per week, it would mean a battery capacity too low after a couple of years.