What with all the ascents over here I have to be relatively careful about how far I go on a trip. I did 70kms the other day with up to about 1500ms in ascents and still had just about enough juice to still feel comfortable on my return. I guess about 80kms would be about the limit with my current usage of the motor. Anyone got any tips for getting the most out of the battery - other than the obvious use the motor less or go somewhere flat?
How to squeeze the most of the battery?
- Thread starter M. Tartiflette
- Start date
I feel that a second battery is the best move, with my bike there are 3 power sizes/weights, (all physically the same dimensions), and one can fit into a pannier....but I do not leave it there if I need to park.....I have a bag that goes over my shoulder for that reason.
My second battery is the smallest "power" version, and the cheapest!!
I find economising on power is simply boring!! I just want to ride!!
But each to his own!!
regards
Andy
Are you riding alone or with friends? If your with friends then each of you take a turn at the front and the others draft, its surprising how much energy is saved by drafting. If your on your own then you still might be able to draft other cyclists, not all riders like you doing this though.
A general rule for me on any bike is to ride out against the wind, homeward with a tailwind. If the battery does go, at least you wont have as much resistance.
The one thing I have found when pushing a battery to the limit, once I get to say 10% remaining, the rest falls off a cliff and it depletes quite fast, that with an approximately year old Philion battery fitted to a Carrera E bike.
The one thing I have found when pushing a battery to the limit, once I get to say 10% remaining, the rest falls off a cliff and it depletes quite fast, that with an approximately year old Philion battery fitted to a Carrera E bike.
Try and work out your typical wh/m rate to give you an idea of range.
This week managed 49.5 miles with over 1100m of ascent riding out from West Sx to East Sx/Kent Boarders on 417wh, this equated to 8.43wh/m my best usage of recent.
Use no assist on level terrain and downhill, saving assist just for inclines.
This week managed 49.5 miles with over 1100m of ascent riding out from West Sx to East Sx/Kent Boarders on 417wh, this equated to 8.43wh/m my best usage of recent.
Use no assist on level terrain and downhill, saving assist just for inclines.
Well I have a 100km charity Sportive tomorrow with 1500m of ascents so I will be doing a lot a battery sheperding to make it.
My plan is no motor on flat or downhill and to take uphill sections slowly and using the least assist that will get up without maxing out my heart rate.
I'll let you all know how it goes...
In theory all that should really matter, if you are prepared not to use the battery on the flat, are the ascents. 500W/hr should be good for 1500m I think.
My plan is no motor on flat or downhill and to take uphill sections slowly and using the least assist that will get up without maxing out my heart rate.
I'll let you all know how it goes...
In theory all that should really matter, if you are prepared not to use the battery on the flat, are the ascents. 500W/hr should be good for 1500m I think.
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Thanks all for your suggestions. Look forward to hearing how you get on Andy. I've been restricting myself to assistance only on ascents too when I'm on long trips.
I reckon ideally, round here where you can easily clock up 1500m of ascents, I could do with a 600w battery. Although, if I had one of those I'd probably be hankering after another 100w. I might get another battery in time but for now I'd prefer to be travelling without the additional weight - not too mention the £500 outlay to buy one.
Nev - I'm on my own at the moment and there aren't really opportunities to slip in behind other riders. I stick to little frequented country roads of which there are plenty round here. And when there are bicyclists around most have non-electric road bikes and are either going faster (downhill/flat) or slower (uphill) than me.
One thing I wondered is what is the most efficient way to use the motor (I have the Bosch Active Line Plus) - would going up a hill at a faster pace in a higher gear on Tour (not Sports or Turbo as they clearly consume much more power) be better than taking longer in a lower gear on Eco?
I reckon ideally, round here where you can easily clock up 1500m of ascents, I could do with a 600w battery. Although, if I had one of those I'd probably be hankering after another 100w. I might get another battery in time but for now I'd prefer to be travelling without the additional weight - not too mention the £500 outlay to buy one.
Nev - I'm on my own at the moment and there aren't really opportunities to slip in behind other riders. I stick to little frequented country roads of which there are plenty round here. And when there are bicyclists around most have non-electric road bikes and are either going faster (downhill/flat) or slower (uphill) than me.
One thing I wondered is what is the most efficient way to use the motor (I have the Bosch Active Line Plus) - would going up a hill at a faster pace in a higher gear on Tour (not Sports or Turbo as they clearly consume much more power) be better than taking longer in a lower gear on Eco?
assuming that it's not a competition, you will need about 1,100WH of energy to complete the ride. If you have a 500WH battery, then the balance will have to come from your own pedaling. 1500m of ascent over 100km is not much (1.5% on average), so air resistance will be an important factor. Out of 1100WH, about 300W are needed for the climb, 800WH for the rest.
Wearing a skinsuit should reduce the overall power requirement to about 800WH.
If you are near Southend, I can lend you a Karoo with 17AH battery, it should do the run with about 15AH.
I've had my Kalkhoff Pro Connect for nearly 10 years: bought from 50-Cycles in Loughborough about August 2009. I also bought a spare battery at the same time.
The bike is a leisure rather than commuting bike, and I tend to use it only between April and October. I estimate that I use it about 60 days a year, doing at least 30 miles on each of those days. My "bread and butter" rides are in the Derbyshire Peak District; hills included, not just the flatter ex-railway trails.
I always aim to fully discharge the "working" battery by the end of the ride. (I nearly always carry the other battery as a just-in-case back-up.)
I fully recharge the discharged battery on my return home and also recharge the other if I've had to use it.
On the next ride I use the latter battery and repeat the process, thus cycling their use.
Generally, I try to use the lowest assist as much as possible, particularly in the first half of the ride. I use the two higher assist modes for steeper hills and when I'm kn******d.
To get to the point: the batteries still provide me with plenty of charge after 10 years. I (hopefully) attach a recent, slightly shorter than usual route that I did using a bit less than one full battery charge; deliberately running the battery down on higher assist on the return up the Manifold Trail.
p.s. The bike is showing its age now. I don't bother locking it up when I pop into a cafe, shop or pub; just make sure I have any valuables, including the car keys and battery key!
The bike is a leisure rather than commuting bike, and I tend to use it only between April and October. I estimate that I use it about 60 days a year, doing at least 30 miles on each of those days. My "bread and butter" rides are in the Derbyshire Peak District; hills included, not just the flatter ex-railway trails.
I always aim to fully discharge the "working" battery by the end of the ride. (I nearly always carry the other battery as a just-in-case back-up.)
I fully recharge the discharged battery on my return home and also recharge the other if I've had to use it.
On the next ride I use the latter battery and repeat the process, thus cycling their use.
Generally, I try to use the lowest assist as much as possible, particularly in the first half of the ride. I use the two higher assist modes for steeper hills and when I'm kn******d.
To get to the point: the batteries still provide me with plenty of charge after 10 years. I (hopefully) attach a recent, slightly shorter than usual route that I did using a bit less than one full battery charge; deliberately running the battery down on higher assist on the return up the Manifold Trail.
p.s. The bike is showing its age now. I don't bother locking it up when I pop into a cafe, shop or pub; just make sure I have any valuables, including the car keys and battery key!
Forgot to add...the batteries are still the original Panasonic, each 260 Wh original capacity.
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