BBSHD gearing and range

[Electrd]

I have a 52V BBSHD on a full suspension mountain bike. PAS is disconnected and I rarely pedal due to bad knees. Tires are 26x3.00" knobbies. Most of my riding is fast woods riding and my gearing is great for that. The chainring is a 36T and my homemade cassette stack has only 3 gears available...a 22T singlespeed cog (for deep mud), a Shimano singlespeed 18T cog, and an 11T cassette cog. My question refers strictly to medium speed flat road riding though, when I'm riding from home to the woods and back. For a given moderate cruising speed, say 25-30km/hr, with zero pedalling and gentle throttle application to get moving, would it be more efficient to shift to the 11T cog, or should I just leave it on the 18T cog? The shifting isn't exactly smooth with this cassette stack, so if I'm not gaining any range by shifting to the 11T, I'll stop doing it. Part of me thinks it may be just physics and maybe it's the same amount of energy either way, but I thought I'd ask the pros here. Thanks!

 

[Gionnirocket]

I have a 52V BBSHD on a full suspension mountain bike. PAS is disconnected and I rarely pedal due to bad knees. Tires are 26x3.00" knobbies. Most of my riding is fast woods riding and that gearing is great for that. The chainring is a 36T and my homemade cassette stack only has only 3 gears available...a 22T singlespeed cog (for deep mud), a Shimano singlespeed 18T cog, and an 11T cassette cog. My question refers strictly to medium speed flat road riding though, when I'm riding from home to the woods and back. For a given moderate cruising speed, say 25-30km/hr, with zero pedalling and gentle throttle application to get moving, would it be more efficient to shift to the 11T cog, or should I just leave it on the 18T cog? The shifting isn't exactly smooth with this cassette stack, so if I'm not gaining any range by shifting to the 11T, I'll stop doing it. Part of me thinks it may be just physics and maybe it's the same amount of energy either way, but I thought I'd ask the pros here. Thanks!

I think that the best way to answer that would be to measure voltage at departure and then at arival for each cog to see which yields the least drop in voltage. Maintaining a constant speed for each run would make the test more accurate.
My guess would be unless you're returning home near empty... use which is more fun.

 

[Electrd]

Ok thanks, that's a good idea. I carry my battery in my backpack, but maybe I'll consider installing a voltmeter.