Cold Weather Performance

[ebikemike]

Hey Cort, Should I expect less performance on very cold days?

 

[tomjasz]

Not Court, but yes.

 

[harryS]

I agree with Jayee. Compared with 80F, I get somewhere between 20-30% less range at 32F. Even the the added clothing is a small part of that as it increases the cross sectional area.

If my tires are low ... like down to 20 psi at 80F, they're down around 10 at 40F. The other day I took out my fat tire bike around the block in cold weather, and the tires were so low, the bike self-steered itself into a turn that was 8 feet wider than intended, Whew, no cars, as I crossed into oncoming.

 

[ebikemike]

Thanks for the information. It does not stay cold for long here, so I should be fine. I experienced 25-35% loss in 45 degree weather.

 

[Admin]

You guys are awesome @Thomas Jaszewski, @JayVee, and @harryS! Thanks for the real-world data... Yes, I've also experienced a big drop in range when batteries get cold. This goes for my cell phone as well as ebikes. Some companies even put out neoprene covers to help insulate packs, which might otherwise be exposed to cold wind on the downtube. Here's a post I made with some links and pictures about that as a solution

 

[ElevenAD]

You guys are awesome @Thomas Jaszewski, @JayVee, and @harryS! Thanks for the real-world data... Yes, I've also experienced a big drop in range when batteries get cold. This goes for my cell phone as well as ebikes. Some companies even put out neoprene covers to help insulate packs, which might otherwise be exposed to cold wind on the downtube. Here's a post I made with some links and pictures about that as a solution

those covers actually do help recover some cold weather range loss! i think they are a must for winter riding! any type of neoprene cover helps!