Aapex: Capable of Mt. Shasta 100 Mile Ride on One Battery?

Mike leroy

Active Member
The motivation is Amtrak extended weekend vacations from SF Bay Area. A Google Sheet for Shasta Century ride. 47 miles are downhill, which will regenerate the battery. So, the bike needs to power 53 uphill miles. The bike has climbed 82 miles of Oregon trails with 10% battery to spare. My goal is maintain a minimum speed of 10mph, regardless of hill steepness. I do not care how fast I go.

I spent over an hour discussing the Polaris Apex with Mike Tumulty, 978-910-0008 x10, [email protected] . We believe the 100 mile Shasta ride is possible on one battery with careful planning. You might get a deal on some of the Fleet bikes available to the public. The Fleet bikes are enhanced Aapex bikes for Police in all black color. Zero to 25mph in 5 seconds.

I learned to pay most attention to the battery in the electrical system. Details matter because batteries are the most limited resource. The weakest link principle applies to batteries. If any cell fails, the entire system is vunerable. Supporting the performance is each cell greatly enhances the entire electrical system. The Polaris system enhances battery performance with a Battery Management System for each cell, rather than a single BMS for all cells.

The battery chemistry and architecture is fundamental to overall performance. 48V provides power. 6Amps is low power consumption. LMO is the chemistry, manufactured by Samsung.

Incomplete: Ragone Chart from Polaris has not yet arrived.

Ratone Chart BU:
"All power sources have limitations and the energy drawn must be harnessed carefully so as not to exceed the permitted loading. An analogy is a bicycle rider who chooses the best gear ratio to transfer energy into propulsion. On a flat road a high gear provides fast movement with moderate pedal action, and this can be compared to high voltage. Climbing a hill with the same pedaling action increases the torque, and in our analogy this corresponds to high current. The pedal force the rider exerts relates to power in watt (W); the endurance before exhaustion defines energy in watt/hours (Wh)."


Planning and strategy greatly overcome battery limitations. Fitness minimizes battery demands. Polaris Active Trail allows fit individuals to turn off battery consumption, except when pedaling uphill. A huge energy savings. Any regeneration strategy is helpful. Half of the Mt. Shasta ride is downhill. Careful planning may allow 15% or more energy replenishment on the Shasta route. The battery can also be recharged during the lunch break.

The manner in which energy is consumed is important. Polaris optimizes power consumption for each gear. The low gears generate torque. The two mid gears are most energy efficient. The three highest gears are designed for speed. Use the gears with respect to energy consumption.

Technology making 100 mile on a single battery possible for me. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 185 pounds. I run or hike at least 30 miles each week. The assumptions are:
  1. Active Trail - only using power when going uphill.
  2. Gear Speed Technology - like motorcycle downshifting for climbing, rather than speed.
  3. Full Generation - expecting to recharge 15-30% of the battery
  4. Lithium ion manganese oxide battery chemistry - each battery, rather than entire pack, has a battery management system. Protects against weakest link in power system.
 
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Mt. Shasta Century Ride. The steepest and longest uphill section is roughly 6% grade for 7 miles. The steepness only starts towards the very end of the ride, around 6,000 feet elevation (see topo map below).

I will fill out the Spreadsheet with actual data suggested by George:

The company has a LOT to prove. It's a very small battery. The regen stuff is hard to make work. They say you can capture 100w into the battery on flat terrain. A very fit rider would be slowed by 4-6 mph doing this. This needs some field testing and verification.

They are offering only about 250 wh with a 6AH battery. I think for 100 miles about 3,000 watt hours would make the motor a real partner. The best model might be to take the total climb and figure how many watts the motor may need to supply, at some specific speed. Suppose you say 7,000 feet of climb at 12mph. Maybe the motor supplies 500w and you supply 200 watts, an athletic effort. If you climb, say, fixed 8% grades, that's spread out over 15 miles (400 feet per mile). So at 12 miles an hour, it's 1.25 hours of climbing at 500 watts. That takes 18 amp hours. (500w / 36v) x 1.25 hours) So the battery discharge should be 18AH x 36 volts, about 700 wh. This is if you only use the battery to climb. Basically, Polaris is saying you will put about 500 watt hours back into the system, starting with 250 wh, to get up the hills. They can change any parameter they want, but we can still roughly estimate an energy equation.

I think they need to get someone like Court to test all these claims out. It's almost like they are saying "Wow, we are Polaris so we have to change the whole industry". If regeneration can be a serious technology, no one has made much of it, up to this point. It's all about watt hours. If you can charge while pedaling and not make riding an ordeal, that's a big advance. If...

They should be willing to set you up with a serious test ride. Nail this stuff down. Challenge all marketing claims. Do and understand the math. After doing these numbers, I think maybe a fit rider could get by with a 15 AH battery, but it's still a serious distance. So I'd want 30 AH. Well, I'd want 50. .


(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)


Shasta Topo Map
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Notes from conversation: @ 25W/hr in ActiveTrail Mode:

1st - 3rd gear, 19.5 mi., 10mph, 2hr, 50W
4th - 5th gear, 13 mi. 20mph, 45m, 35W
6th - 8th gear, 15.3 mi., 25mph, 30m, 15W
100W / 44V ~ 2A for 3 hr ~ 6Ah
15% regeneration ~ 1Ah


1% @ 12 mi
2% @ 3.3 mi.
3% @ 13 mi
4% @ 11.5 mi
6% @ 8mi
 
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I would also like to bike 176 miles from Klamath Falls to Eugene, OR in two days. Much of the route is located along the Pacific Crest Trail. Amtrak stations are located in both places. I plan to sleep in a bed in both directions.
 
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