Although it is great that Bosch now has larger battery 400wh. Hopefully this will be more in the future but we have found this meets most people's needs. Although there are other good choices for people who want more!
KTM Macina Cross going cheap.
- Thread starter Blew it
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Or at a later date upgrade for 400wh battery. We tend to half claimed range when we talk to people as this is more realistic but as we are aware it is dependant on the assistance level, terrain etc.
^^ divide it by 5-8 for what you can use with max power (which "most people" need) in proper hilly areas depending on motor efficiency. A sensible claimed range is 180km - 250km for a worthwhile range on a bike of 30+ miles for hilly areas especially with coastal gales to contend with in addition. Let's be honest, 15 miles isn't that far in real terms especially in rural areas and you can't expect to find charging points frequently. So you need another 15 miles back in the afternoon without needing a charging point en route
"Most people" would most likely find 15Ah - 20Ah out of a Li-Ion the minimum realistic useful battery capacity for a 36V 250W bike to go further than the next village, beach or valley and back without having to find a place to stop in the middle of nowhere for 4 hours to recharge or turn their power down when they need it to get home up that killer ascent. Imho (!).
That unfortunately is at the outside limit of what the market supplies (at a very high price range on the whole) and comes with a weight disadvantage overall - but rather that powered than run out of juice or have to ride the hills unpowered with a couple of kg shed off the "stated weight".
"Most people" would most likely find 15Ah - 20Ah out of a Li-Ion the minimum realistic useful battery capacity for a 36V 250W bike to go further than the next village, beach or valley and back without having to find a place to stop in the middle of nowhere for 4 hours to recharge or turn their power down when they need it to get home up that killer ascent. Imho (!).
That unfortunately is at the outside limit of what the market supplies (at a very high price range on the whole) and comes with a weight disadvantage overall - but rather that powered than run out of juice or have to ride the hills unpowered with a couple of kg shed off the "stated weight".
I thought I'd try a ride on the Sport setting which is the 2nd highest setting, to see if I could extend the range. I wasn't feeling too good so thought I'd ease off a bit and take in the scenery. As usual for this area it was a hilly one, well the battery called time at just under 16 miles, luckily I was just cresting the last climb.
When I recover I'll hopefully ride the route again in Turbo to see if I do better.
When I recover I'll hopefully ride the route again in Turbo to see if I do better.
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I had a short ride to a friends house today, I'd have taken the car before, so I'm pleased to say that it also works well as a mobility aid when my energy is really low, even putting about 20% effort in allows me to make good progress on the bike, and it goes a lot faster than a mobility scooter ever would.
D
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Interesting data. It just shows what a difference steep hills make to range. With that type of terrain, you nedd a 20aH battery. Then you can use turbo mode all the time. It should be easy enough to fit one on a rack and run the wires to where the Bosch battery fits.
That's something I'm seriously considering, I've not looked into it yet, do you have any pointers to suitable batteries and a source for a suitable plug, not sure what the 4-pins are, 2 positive, and 2 negative?
I did 23 miles on an 8ah battery - 2400 ft of ascent. That was only using the max assistance when needed to make the ride pleasant rather than a real effort. I am quite cycling fit and that has to be taken into account. On that basis I would expect to get around 58 miles from the 20ah battery. At around £350 from BMS I think that's a good solution.
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That's quite good, I think that last ride was about 900 metres of climbing, I'll have to see if the calculator works in miles and feet. My input varies greatly, one day it can be very high, the next it can be as low as 20%, I'm beginning to realise it makes a big difference, but I'd never go that far when I've only got 20% to give anyway.
I find mine does that, I have had a minus mileage and still got home with a bit to spare.
The wife wasn't very happy.
I've been getting an awful lot of creaks and groans from my Bosch motor lately, I was close to opening it up to do a bit of grease redistribution. I know that having the right chain tension makes a huge difference.
I've not been keen on the idea of having to keep moving the wheel back in the alloy frame, I'd also got to the point of needing to remove a link with the axle now at the very rear of the slot.
I bought a tensioner a while ago, but it isn't set up for horizontal drop outs. I was going to cut the slot locating tab off and weld it back on in the right place. Currently I'm trying it with the tab removed. Hopefully it will work just fine like that.
The motor is nice and smooth again, so fingers crossed I don't have to pull it all to bits.
The tensioner is a bit crude really, not exactly what I had expected, but if it does the job then all is well, it is fixed at the pivot point, so adjustment is made there, I had thought it would have been a sprung tensioner.
I've not been keen on the idea of having to keep moving the wheel back in the alloy frame, I'd also got to the point of needing to remove a link with the axle now at the very rear of the slot.
I bought a tensioner a while ago, but it isn't set up for horizontal drop outs. I was going to cut the slot locating tab off and weld it back on in the right place. Currently I'm trying it with the tab removed. Hopefully it will work just fine like that.
The motor is nice and smooth again, so fingers crossed I don't have to pull it all to bits.
The tensioner is a bit crude really, not exactly what I had expected, but if it does the job then all is well, it is fixed at the pivot point, so adjustment is made there, I had thought it would have been a sprung tensioner.
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Rather than going to the expense of going 11-speed at around £450 at the best prices I'm going to try a smaller sprocket first. I've just ordered a 19-tooth sprocket, that's down from the standard 21-tooth. Hopefully I'll still be able to drag the bike up the steep bits.
You may have a pointWont go up the Rake with that high gearing
When I tackle the Rake I may have to change the gearing specially for that hill, hopefully one day I'll find out
The 2-tooth drop seems to have had the desired effect, I've only had a brief ride, 1st still seems low enough and top has gained about 3 mph. Although a fault in 8th gear has got worse, it briefly losses drive, I'm having a play with the adjustment first, but it doesn't half knock your confidence to give it the beans in top when you could end up in neutral.
The brakes are half worn on my Magura rim brakes, the lever adjuster only moves one side, so one pad has to be almost touching the rim and the other a mile away, rather than mess with the position I'm going to stick one new pad in on that side, so when the other half is worn out, the then half worn pad can take its place and a new pad be added, hopefully that will work perfectly.
I have the new KMC X1 chain now, I might squeeze a bit more life out of the original chain first, I must buy another chain gauge (I have one somewhere but can't find it)
The brakes are half worn on my Magura rim brakes, the lever adjuster only moves one side, so one pad has to be almost touching the rim and the other a mile away, rather than mess with the position I'm going to stick one new pad in on that side, so when the other half is worn out, the then half worn pad can take its place and a new pad be added, hopefully that will work perfectly.
I have the new KMC X1 chain now, I might squeeze a bit more life out of the original chain first, I must buy another chain gauge (I have one somewhere but can't find it)
No the wheel positions are fine, both front and rear are exactly the same, it's just how these Magura brakes seem to work, I'm not entirely sure why only one side moves when using the lever adjuster. If I moved the caliper piston unit in by repositioning it in its housing I'd have to move it back out again when I fit new blocks.
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