How much does weight affect performance

[Old Timer]

I have a second battery on my Aurora ( 15Amp)to be able to get a decent range from the higher powered motor. Add that to the tool kit and rear panniers plus the original battery and the heavier rear hub plus the largish frame and I`m starting to wonder that when you add a decent sized second battery plus the extras that go with it what sort of affect does that extra weight have on performance, how much of that extra battery power is eaten up with the extra weight?

I was thinking last night that a good exercise might be to remove the front wheel Alien kit from my Evans MTB and refit the original wheel, remove the rear battery and all acc`s. Now fit the 350Watt Aurora rear wheel and use the under crossbar Oxygen Polymer battery to drive it plus the Aurora controller of course. That would give me a very light bike as a starter, a fairly light 13Amp battery under the crossbar to balance the weight. I then went and had a lie down and thought better of it but I bet that would make a very nippy easy to handle lightweight package that would really get the benefit of that motor!
Gonna have a shifty around to see what front wheel motors of decent power might be worth considering.

BTW
After trying to live with no suspension and a solid seat post on the Evans my old damaged lower back just wont stand for it. It`s hard enough to find a replacement seat tube for the Evans( 25.8mm) let alone a suspension tube at that size but as luck would have it I found a company selling brand new old stock at a knock out price below £10 inc P&P

 

[Synthman]

A few kilos of battery shouldn't make any noticeable difference at all to the speed or the range. I don't think the performance would be eaten up at all. You could do your own experiment, like carrying extra weight to simulate a battery, and see if it makes any difference.

 

[flecc]

Only in hill climbing and to a very small extent, acceleration. As long as you use the stored kinetic energy going downhills and avoid wasting it with braking, hilly territory will only make a small difference though.

The great bulk of an e-bike's weight is sat on the saddle!
.

 

[Old Timer]

All understood. I reckon that the front panniers don`t help as far as wind resistance as well plus my sit bolt upright riding position (not from choice) can`t help.

 

[Barry Heaven]

Only in hill climbing and to a very small extent, acceleration. As long as you use the stored kinetic energy going downhills and avoid wasting it with braking, hilly territory will only make a small difference though.

The great bulk of an e-bike's weight is sat on the saddle!
.

It certainly does. A couple of years ago whilst recovering from a knee operation I managed to put on 13kg. It took me 6 months of gruelling dieting to lose that. When I started cycling again it occurred to me that it was the same as, pre-diet, riding a weightless bike (my Dawes, not an e-bike).

 

[RoadieRoger]

Weight or Bulk ?

As pointed out by Flecc , the obstacle is the person on the saddle . I ride a 1982 Suzuki Roadie 50cc Scooter regularly which is limited to 30 mph , but will do 35mph downhill .When going into wind or up a slope the speed falls off and when no one is around I duck down and very soon the speed is up by 3 or 4 mph ! I wouldn`t want to explain to a passing policeman why I have done it .I haven`t tried it on my Wife`s Batribike Quartz yet !