Help! Carrera Crossfuse Battery Range

[StevenMT]

Recently bought a Crossfuse & due to the snow/icy weather finally got round to getting out on it, had 2 rides of approx 20 mile rides on it. Amazing is the initial reaction. Phenomonal in fact. I do need to get out & use it more often, loved the fact it was easy enough to ride on flat/downhill with zero assistance required and cycling at 15-20mph for free, so really only used the battery for about 5 miles of the cycle (in Eco/Tour mode only) up the hills and near the end of my trip when tired.

My query, and I know it is very early and I haven't used it very much , is re the display range. When I switched it on fully charged, in Eco mode it said the range was 34 miles, way short of the amazing ranges I see others claiming. Is this what others get, will it adapt/change/learn over time if i use it more or is there potentially an issue with display/battery? I know I need to get out, stick it in Eco mode & keep cycling to see what happens with the display reducing & the light indicators on the battery too but thought I would see if any reassuring advice here from more experienced people. Any feedback appreciated.

 

[matthewslack]

Is ths bike new, if not does the display tell you the total distance covered? What is the battery capacity in either Ah or Wh?

 

[StevenMT]

Thanks for the reply...

"The Crossfuse features a 400Wh Bosch Powerpack with an average 30-35 miles (max 80 miles) of ride time."

All is relatively good, more just a worry (without using it much & going very far!) that the remaining range displayed is nowhere near what it should be. Online people regularly say they get well over 60 in Eco mode. Maybe I am worrying about nothing & was hoping another owner could clarify how it is for them.

 

[ArthurG]

I've done about 1600 miles on a Crossfuse in just over a year. Range depends a bit how fit you are, how many hills there are and how much ebiking you've done. My range improved greatly when I had been cycling a month or so, not having cycled for 40 years or so due to our steep terrain in North Wales. Now I run on Eco by default, and run down the gears before upping the assistance level (only needed when while climbing). Nonetheless, on some rides over 40 miles with lots of climbing (4-5000 feet), I was getting close to running the battery out. I did lash out and buy a used 500wh battery which reduced my range-anxiety a lot. Longest run I've done was 52 miles. Now the limiting factor is my behind, rather than the battery!

 

[StevenMT]

I've done about 1600 miles on a Crossfuse in just over a year. Range depends a bit how fit you are, how many hills there are and how much ebiking you've done. My range improved greatly when I had been cycling a month or so, not having cycled for 40 years or so due to our steep terrain in North Wales. Now I run on Eco by default, and run down the gears before upping the assistance level (only needed when while climbing). Nonetheless, on some rides over 40 miles with lots of climbing (4-5000 feet), I was getting close to running the battery out. I did lash out and buy a used 500wh battery which reduced my range-anxiety a lot. Longest run I've done was 52 miles. Now the limiting factor is my behind, rather than the battery!

Appreciate your reply, thanks for getting back. I am not exactly overly fit but used to cycling, used to do 20-25 miles ok on a normal hybrid (non e-bike) bike so comfortable cycling etc. On Crossfuse I am using the gears & going in to lower gears in Eco mode rather than in a higher gear in Tour/Sport mode so was expecting way higher range than mid 30s in Eco mode on non hilly routes eg last 21 mile cycle was 800 feet elevation, mainly towards the last few miles. My display range starting off as 36 worries me as I was expecting it to be much higher & I could understand it reducing when I was making less effort and/or using greater assistance. When you are using your bike, getting '52 miles range' as an example, does this include when you are pedalling greater than 15mph & motor stops assisting? And what does your display Range show as left when you are going? (Sorry for all the Qs but I can't find decent real info online so invaluable to speak to another owner - and I haven't used the bike very much so need to use it more).

 

[soundwave]

the display try's to guess how far is left depending how much effort is being used and in what mode so it is not very good as it goes way out of wack if you use a dongle.



i have a kiox display now so can see the batt in 1-100%

Bosch Kiox Retrofit Kit

<p>Bosch kiox retrofit kit, includes kiox display and holder, mounting plate, 1.5 metre drive unit cable and a control unit</p> <p>All parts come pre-assembled</p> <h4>Motor compatibility:</h4> <ul> <li>Gen 2</li> <ul> <li>Activ

winstanleysbikes.co.uk

 

[StevenMT]

the display try's to guess how far is left depending how much effort is being used and in what mode so it is not very good as it goes way out of wack if you use a dongle.

View attachment 50104

i have a kiox display now so can see the batt in 1-100%

Bosch Kiox Retrofit Kit

<p>Bosch kiox retrofit kit, includes kiox display and holder, mounting plate, 1.5 metre drive unit cable and a control unit</p> <p>All parts come pre-assembled</p> <h4>Motor compatibility:</h4> <ul> <li>Gen 2</li> <ul> <li>Activ

winstanleysbikes.co.uk

I'm kind of hoping the battery light indicators (ie a rough % of battery usage) may almost be a better indication than the guesstimated Range until I get more miles & rides in.

 

[soundwave]

its in 20% /5 bars but you need to charge the batt a few times to get the best capacity out of it from new.

if you get a kiox display then you can also have the app on ur phone and record ride data and link it to stravia or koomot

 

[matthewslack]

30 to 35 miles in eco is about right for 400Wh. Your Bosch sounds like it rep8rts quite differently to my Shimano, which every cold switch on forgets your riding history and starts in very optimistic mode!

A new Shimano 418Wh battery on my e5000 bike fully charged will report 150km range in eco/level 1 before I turn a pedal, but as soon as I have ridden a few miles it learns my actual consumption and adjusts severely downwards. Very roughly divide by 3 for real world range.

I reliably get 35 miles from a full battery, and running it flat would probably get 40. Any more would mean riding unassisted.

 

[sjpt]

The Bosch range on the bike display is very erratic as it is based on a very short history; maybe a couple of miles or less.

My Bosch (Raleigh Motus hub) with a 6 year old 400wH battery manages around 30 miles in tour mode, less in winter. A little hilly but nothing serious around here (Winchester). That matches the Bosch Range Assistant (https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant). The on-bike range quotes around 50 miles in eco when it says 30 miles in tour.

However, due to the silly erratic on-bike range estimate, go to the top of the hills here and the estimated range will drop to under 20 miles in a couple of miles not very steep hill, but get back to near 30 by the time I am back down at home.

... agrees with PH's post at https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?p=1751316#p1751316

 

[matthewslack]

Coincidentally I charged my 18 month, roughly 3,000 miles usage battery at work today, and full these days it says 130km, so about 13% down on new.

When I got home, which is only 4km, but hilly, it was saying 69km left in eco /level 1.

 

[StevenMT]

Thanks all for getting back to me, everything you say is what I had heard/read before buying it. Maybe I should just shut up, get in some cycling & then see how it plays out. I was just worried re the displayed estimated Range left on the bike but it sounds like it maybe isn't overly accurate. I will get some rides in & get a better feel for it. Aiming for a cycle tomorrow morning & it is 9 degrees, almost tropical compared to my last ride!!

 

[soundwave]

 

[sjpt]

I was just worried re the displayed estimated Range left on the bike but it sounds like it maybe isn't overly accurate. I will get some rides in & get a better feel for it.

Estimated range is an estimate, impossible to get right, difficult to make sensible. Bosch don't manage either. Get the rides in, not only will you get a better feel for it as you say; you'll feel better for the rides.

Enjoy.

 

[matthewslack]

Your get out of jail free card is to carry a charger with you.

Even better is to buy a faster charger and carry that. With Bosch you have the option of both 4 amp and 6 amp chargers. An hour lunch stop in a cafe with 6A going into your battery is half a batteries worth!

 

[StevenMT]

Update after a successful cycle earlier! Instead of constantly switching assistance off I kept it on Eco. Most of the time once I got going after stopping at junctions etc then I got up past the 15.5mph so it just cut out anyway. Range was then up in the 50s which was brilliant to see. Last 5 miles was uphill and in to a wind so I used Tour mode to help get me home. Battery at start of journey was showing 4/5 after my weekend cycle and hadn't recharged from. About a mile from home today it dropped down to be 3/5 so could easily have some more cycling journeys out of it before another charge. All feels better now, loving the bike and maybe just starting to understand it better etc.