Range on a New 500mAh Bosch

[Gubbins]

You never stated your speed, but given your in tour I'll guess 15-16mph. Try dropping it back around 12mph and keep it in eco, should be good for over 50miles on gentle terrain.
Faster you go more power is needed.

A good gauge is the power meter on the display. If I am on an economy run I try to keep it as low as possible for as long as possible. I do this by either backing off and riding slower in a lower gear but the best method is to pedal hard and go faster to push past the cuttoff.
Strangely and depending on terain I have used turbo to good effect as it allows me to rocket up the the cuttoff and stay above it much easier.
I Think my best ever economy runs were 35 miles and 3000+ feet and also 60 road miles with no hills on a Bosch classic with the 400w battery. I can't match that on the performance cx.. but I am now 6 years older.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

So, the higher you go, the less electric that you need?

That's true, but only in relation to going up-hill, though the air resistance will be a bit less up there too. From memory, weight goes down about 0.05% for each 1km of height. Also, you weight goes down as you travel south towards the equator because of the increased centripetal force.

Putting that all together, if you want a relaxing cycling holiday, go to somewhere south of where you live and as high above sea level as possible.

 

[Doomanic]

Everest here I come!

 

[Deleted member 22539]

Putting that all together, if you want a relaxing cycling holiday, go to somewhere south of where you live and as high above sea level as possible.

Only problem with that is the higher you go on your cycle ride the less oxygen your body can take in so you will need more power anyway , so in summary holiday anywhere lol

 

[soundwave]

well i got 16 miles out of my 2014 400w batt today in turbo with 1 bar left and 1 mile left on the display.

my 500w does about 23-25 miles in turbo so not bad for a 3 year old batt i hammer the crap out of.

 

[zakventis]

Erm... I have just read through this thread and I'm left wondering if some of you Bosch owners realise that even after you have charged your battery to full, the range still reflects what you were doing on your last ride.

However, if you switch to Range and hold the Reset button down for 3 seconds, it resets the capacity/range which should show (CX/500W version) something in the region of 31/37/51/102 miles.

 

[Gubbins]

All this talk about range has got me thinking.. so today I did something I have never done in the two years I have owned this bike.. I rode it in eco... not my usual moorland runs as that would9 be just too much but a ride up the valley like I do on the road bike and back part on the tow path.
After a couple of miles i got used to it and it became quite an easy ride but had to slow to single figures for the hills which I normally romp up at full speed..
Any way 1.5 hours of riding, 620 ft elevation gain and 19 miles on the clock (Strava says 18.2) and still have all 5 bars showing. (Normally first bar disappears between 4 and 6 miles).
Quite surprised by this...

 

[Doomanic]

Erm... I have just read through this thread and I'm left wondering if some of you Bosch owners realise that even after you have charged your battery to full, the range still reflects what you were doing on your last ride.

However, if you switch to Range and hold the Reset button down for 3 seconds, it resets the capacity/range which should show (CX/500W version) something in the region of 31/37/51/102 miles.

Why would I want to do that? Theoretical range is all well and good but I’m only interested in what the bike will do with me on it, doing the type of riding I enjoy.

 

[zakventis]

Why would I want to do that? Theoretical range is all well and good but I’m only interested in what the bike will do with me on it, doing the type of riding I enjoy.

It was a response to those who couldn't understand why, after charging their battery to full, the indicated range was still greatly reduced.

 

[Artstu]

All this talk about range has got me thinking.. so today I did something I have never done in the two years I have owned this bike.. I rode it in eco... not my usual moorland runs as that would9 be just too much but a ride up the valley like I do on the road bike and back part on the tow path.
After a couple of miles i got used to it and it became quite an easy ride but had to slow to single figures for the hills which I normally romp up at full speed..
Any way 1.5 hours of riding, 620 ft elevation gain and 19 miles on the clock (Strava says 18.2) and still have all 5 bars showing. (Normally first bar disappears between 4 and 6 miles).
Quite surprised by this...

was it fun? and perhaps more importantly can you do it faster on your ordinary bike?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Anybody can turn down their power. the only difference is that you go slower in a lower gear, which also means that your journey takes longer. I managed 44 miles on my heavy full-susp MTB before I put the power on, just to see if I could. I didn't have any problem on steep hills using the granny gear, but I think I was getting overtaken by pedestrians.

 

[Gubbins]

Yes I enjoyed the ride but not as much as my moorland trips and to climb up the valley side in low power seems totally at odds with the idea of owning an ebike.
It was a nice sunny morning with no wind but any sort of hill will soon remind me why I have a battery on it.
I no longer have an unpowered bike and don't think I would be over keen to ride one if I did. I think for me those days have quietly slipped away when I wasn't looking...

was it fun? and perhaps more importantly can you do it faster on your ordinary bike?

 

[Gubbins]

Did they offer any encouragement?

Anybody can turn down their power. the only difference is that you go slower in a lower gear, which also means that your journey takes longer. I managed 44 miles on my heavy full-susp MTB before I put the power on, just to see if I could. I didn't have any problem on steep hills using the granny gear, but I think I was getting overtaken by pedestrians.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I have an assistance level button! And I can change between assistance levels on the fly!!! Which means that most of the time I am in assistance level 2 of 5 and occasionally on steeper sections in level 5 of 5.

The difference between riding on the road and riding off-road is probably the main factor in range you can get from a battery, despite my roads having slopes often equivalent to those you find off-road. Tyre slippage is a thing and I don't get much of that.

 

[Gubbins]

I don't get much tyre slippage.. but, I do have a good belt...

I have an assistance level button! And I can change between assistance levels on the fly!!! Which means that most of the time I am in assistance level 2 of 5 and occasionally on steeper sections in level 5 of 5.

The difference between riding on the road and riding off-road is probably the main factor in range you can get from a battery, despite my roads having slopes often equivalent to those you find off-road. Tyre slippage is a thing and I don't get much of that.

 

[Gubbins]

Anybody can turn down their power. the only difference is that you go slower in a lower gear, which also means that your journey takes longer. I managed 44 miles on my heavy full-susp MTB before I put the power on, just to see if I could. I didn't have any problem on steep hills using the granny gear, but I think I was getting overtaken by pedestrians.

This reminds me of an amusing ride I had with my son. He loves hills and we went on a particularly hilly ride which ended with a really steep cobbled climb into Heptonstall.. He was barely beating a group of pedestrians when I passed him still sat in the saddle and they all started cheering him on shouting come on if the old man can do it so can you...

 

[georgehenry]

My Yamaha 400Wh battery has entered its fourth year and has covered 9022 miles since I bought the bike.

Comparing off road with on road can be interesting.

I rode mostly off road to work yesterday completing 14 miles and using 28% of my battery giving a theoretical range of 50 miles.

The 10 mile road trip home used 32% of my battery giving a range of 31 miles.

As a shift worker on lates at the moment I am going to work in the afternoon and getting some exercise and having fun and use only eco, even for some steep off road hills and off for some level sections as well as off for steeper downhills. I know my route really well and know the gradients to allow me to manage my battery usage.

Going home late at night on the road I am more tired and although I still enjoy the ride want to complete those 10 miles in around 30 minutes at an average speed of around 20mph.

I still use eco for all the level slightly up slightly down sections and off for steep downhills but use the higher standard levels to maintain a higher speed up the steeper hills and over the crests of longer hills where I am starting to flag.

On the off road route in yesterday I pass a lake and took this photograph.

 

[Nev]

Nice pic George.

 

[Gubbins]

Another fine morning so set off with the intention of seeing just how many miles I can squeeze out of my battery .. But changed my mind, switched to full power and headed for the hills.. YIPPEE!
For me at least my short experiment shows that after two years and 2600 miles my battery is still in good condition and my 4 to 6 miles per segment is purely down to rider and terrain.
As an afterthought I wonder why bike shops give newbies the impression they can ride for such long distances.

 

[Doomanic]

4-6 miles per segment on boost?