Does anyone suffer from battery range anxiety like people do with electric vehicles?

I hoped to ride to festivals & concerts, 60 miles round trip, with a 17.5 ah battery. It will not happen. 35 miles range with many hills of southern Indiana. A spare battery could be stolen while I was inside the venue of a concert or festival. My main battery is secured with 26 screws, some of which have been loosened while shopping. Elastic stop nuts are a PITA to wannabe thieves.
 
On a more serious note, the only times I've had any "range anxiety" was when I wasn't able to fully charge (or sufficiently charge) the night before. One time was at a campground on Vancouver Island where the power got shut off overnight for some reason, and I started a long-ish (90km) day with about 40% charge. The other time was a similar situation where I had about 60% charge but I knew I had a long, hot, mostly uphill day with strong headwinds and relatively few places to charge. Managed to pull into a store on my last electrons (the bike literally shut down in the parking lot) and charged up enough to make it the rest of the day.

With three 480wh batteries I'm pretty confident that 240km (150 miles) is easily doable in reasonable terrain and road surfaces. But the ergonomics of my bike limit me more than those battery packs do.
 
Mr. Coffee said:
On a more serious note, the only times I've had any "range anxiety" was when I wasn't able to fully charge (or sufficiently charge) the night before....

With three 480wh batteries I'm pretty confident that 240km (150 miles) is easily doable in reasonable terrain and road surfaces. But the ergonomics of my bike limit me more than those battery packs do.
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Then there are the mental lapses — like the 2 times I forgot to charge up the night before a scheduled ride with a friend. Then it's also range embarrassment.

When I do remember to charge it — usually up to 80% at most — my 960 Wh battery outlasts my butt every time.
 
With EVs on road trips: heck yes!

With e-bikes: heck no! (caveat below)

Since I put in effort, my bike does around 60-70 miles with ease, so range anxiety isn't there. Maybe if it were used for bikepacking. I want a lighter bike next time (less battery).
The caveat is I do not want my e-bike to sit at 100% SoC all the time. So I charge before use. About an hour of charge covers 60-90 minutes of riding.

Come to think of it, I bet a portable solar array could charge a lightweight e-bike like a Creo (340 wh), thus enabling bike packing in certain areas.
 
I just took delivery of a Zen Photon about 2 months ago and have absolutely no "range anxiety". Their SINGLE (not additional add-on) 20Ah battery is included in the base model and gets incredible range. I rode 70+ miles in assist levels 1-2 and still had 25% battery life left!

The only trade-off I can see with the larger battery is weight, but I'll gladly add 5-6 extra pounds to overall weight of the bike, if I don't have to purchase ($$$) and mount/carry a whole second battery.

Check out my full review of this bike in the Zen Forum:

forums.electricbikereview.com

Recreational rider's first 100 miles on the Zen Photon – a detailed review

FYI: Presented as a combination of my own collective research and personal experience riding a Photon, this is meant to be a detailed review of a primarily direct-to-consumer ebike that has only been on the market for a few months. If you're looking for a belt-driven, low step-thru ebike, with...
forums.electricbikereview.com forums.electricbikereview.com
 
on our tandem our range drops a lot when we are tired even though we often have the same level of assistance. I think its because cruise around 18.5 mph right at the point the motor cuts off so we are not using that much power. when tired we are going slower and I guess use more power. but if I load a rout into the bikes computer it lets me know if I have enough batery for the trip.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
My longest e-bike ride for a day was 208 km (129 mi), and I had three batteries total for my e-bike. If I had to ride it again in good conditions, I could make it with 2 batteries but why take a risk? Well, I did a lot to make my butt feel comfortable for long distance rides but it is against the "I need my ride position be more upright" camp :)
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129 miles. That's pretty impressive. 62 was my longest on a warmish summer day. I was planning a 92 mile ride but massive flooding in the area put the kibosh on those plans for this year.

against the "I need my ride position be more upright" camp
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Upright is easier on the butt I find, but one of my best "upgrades" was this cheapskate special on Amazon. I don't have high hopes for longevity at this price point, but my female riding companion and I agree that this saddle is super comfortable.

 
Doggyman1202 said:
Upright is easier on the butt
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I cannot agree with you on this point. The upright riding position squeezes most of your body weight into the saddle (via the butt). With the sporty forward riding position, it is doable to distribute the weight among your arms, legs, and relieve the butt to a great extent. If you watch, for instance, road cycling stage races, do not think these people must suffer terrible pain in the butt, and they ride narrow, firm saddles!
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I cannot agree with you on this point. The upright riding position squeezes most of your body weight into the saddle (via the butt). With the sporty forward riding position, it is doable to distribute the weight among your arms, legs, and relieve the butt to a great extent. If you watch, for instance, road cycling stage races, do not think these people must suffer terrible pain in the butt, and they ride narrow, firm saddles!
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I was speaking with a tech guy at Evelo this summer, and he was making the case that a firmer saddle is better suited for long rides. The subject came up because I commented that the relatively firm and narrow stock saddle on my Omega seemed incongruous with the aesthetics and upright comfort design of the bike. He disagreed, and since he's an intelligent, knowledgeable guy I take what he said seriously. With that said, my average ride is less than 25 miles and for those rides I still prefer the plush, keister-coddling seat.
 
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I am getting anywhere from 35 to 40 miles I can put on my e-bike before I am in trouble. However, like a lot of you have been saying, it's my butt and/or knees that tell me different. My longest ride has been around 30 miles and it is usually one of those two issues that make me stop. I did install a Brookes saddle on my e-bike; it takes a while to break it in but seems like a good choice. I still find that about every 10 miles, I need to make a brief stop so I can lose that "tuning fork" sensation in my nether region.
 
Doggyman1202 said:
I was speaking with a tech guy at Evelo this summer, and he was making the case that a firmer saddle is better suited for long rides. The subject came up because I commented that the relatively firm and narrow stock saddle on my Omega seemed incongruous with the aesthetics and upright comfort design of the bike. He disagreed, and since he's an intelligent, knowledgeable guy I take what he said seriously.
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Spoken by a tech guy probably in his 30's with a "normal' amount of fat on his hips. After the fat melts away in his sixties, talk to him again. Fat on the belly is forever; fat on the legs, arms, hips, face, melt away with age.
I've had 7 saddles on my bodaboda and none was comfortable from age 68 to 73. No, I couldn't try cloud9, the seat post is non-standard diameter.
I bought a used Trek 4300 MTB at my brother's last week to do some riding down there. It had a "normal" 3" wide saddle. I got ~10 miles before my hips started paining me. When I was the age of the tech guy, I was working too hard (60-70 hours/week) to do much bicycle riding. The seat in my Ford Fairlane was quite comfortable.
 
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indianajo said:
Spoken by a tech guy probably in his 30's with a "normal' amount of fat on his hips. After the fat melts away in his sixties, talk to him again. Fat on the belly is forever; fat on the legs, arms, hips, face, melt away with age.
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I regret taking his words out of context, which were not soft saddles=bad and hard saddles=good. With that said, I prefer a nicely padded mid-width saddle. The stock saddle on the Priority Current (Selle Royale) fits that description, and I never felt a need to upgrade that after three years of riding. Fortunately, saddles are about the easiest bike accessory to upgrade. First time buyers should focus more on the thread header. I didn't think range was much of a factor when I first purchased an ebike. Now it's the first spec I look at.
 
I have never had much of a worry about range, because my knee dictates my range. I have found that 26 miles (a "marathon"), or an hour out, an hour back, is a good distance. I don't get wiped out, but after I stop riding, I feel that indeed, I have gotten a fair bit of exercise. My BH had a 605 wh battery, while my current Ride1Up Prodigy has a 500wh battery. That is cutting it tight, but if I really want more range, I can buy a spare battery.
 
It's fascinating to hear about your experiences with ebikes and battery range! It seems like you've put a lot of thought into optimizing your rides. Having multiple batteries certainly sounds like a game-changer for extending your range and enjoying your adventures without worrying about running out of power.
On a different note, if anyone here is struggling with substance abuse or knows someone who is, there are resources available like the Substance Abuse 08 hotline. Trained professionals can offer support and guidance to those in need. You can learn more at https://nationalrehabhotline.org/substance-abuse-hotline/ .
Keep enjoying those rides and exploring new trails!
 
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