Can I use Mission Control to control battery usage to make sure I will be able to finish my ride?

[ROJA]

I'd like to try my longest ride ever on Thursday. 44 miles (flat). I have a 2016 Turbo X (250W motor) with an upgraded 691 Wh battery.

Say I want to use no more than 90% of the battery and it starts at 96%. That means I can use 86% of 691 Wh = 594 Wh. Over 44 miles, that averages out to about 13.5 Wh / mile. Since each 1% of my battery is 6.91 Wh, I should know if I'm on track if I see 2% of the battery go down for every mile that I ride (2%/mi * 44 mi = 88% used). If I'm using more than that, I have a bailout option but I need to know in time. First off, does my math look right? Am I missing anything?

I was just planning to go for it using the Eco30 setting and trying to keep my cadence high and my speeds a little slower than the usual full blitz.

Should I instead be using Mission Control to control the motor's output to make sure I get there? Has anyone used MC for something like this and does it work? I would rather not experiment with it for the first time in this situation unless you guys are confident that it can actually do this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rich c]

Can't you ride with the motor turned off? You are implying you'll be stuck if the battery runs out.

 

[Douglas Ruby]

ROJA, as I said elsewhere, I have tended to just "estimate" my distance based on experience. I would suggest a different approach. I know that if I were planning a 44 mi ride with my base Turbo, I would start at Eco50, use full Turbo for steep hills, and then switch back to Eco50 anywhere else. After 10% or 20% battery consumption, I would look at my distance. If I have completed more than 10% or 20% of my ride, I would keep everything as is. If I am under-consuming, I might crank up the Eco level. If I am am over consuming, I might crank down the Eco level. Conversely, at the 11 mile mark (1/4 of trip), I would expect the battery to be at or above 73.5% (96% - 1/4*90%).

Normally, I keep mental track of each 10% of battery consumed during a ride and how far I have gone. I do a quick calculation to estimate consumption per mile based on that.

 

[ROJA]

@Douglas Ruby thanks as always - you are a great resource and I always appreciate your thoughts and input.

So I am pretty confident based on my time so far with the Turbo (albeit much of it with the smaller battery) that I cannot go 44 miles in Eco50 mode using my typical riding style. I think the fact that my range is shorter is likely based on one or both of these factors: (1) my more powerful 250W motor is more of a "gas guzzler" and (2) perhaps I push harder, which in turn makes the motor push harder (I typically cruise at 24-26 mph, although my Strava average is typically more like 21 with lights, etc.).

I think doing it in Eco40 is possible, Eco30 more likely, and Eco20 hopefully a sure bet. However, I'm wondering if Eco20 will mean I'm no faster than my non-e (regular) bike, in which case why bother with the extra weight and hassle of the Turbo?

I am planning to try this on Thursday and will report back!

(and @rich c - that's a good point and you are right that it's possible but this is a heavy and clumsy bike to ride without any juice and I think my speeds would be slow, so this would definitely be a last resort)