How to get 100 mile range on a 500 wh battery !

[phoenixtoohot]

Yes, the title is somewhat clickbait, but I think it's worth sharing how I get 100 miles on my 500 wh battery. I'm still into biking mostly for exercise. My typical loop is 15 miles, half on a RtoT cinder trail and half back home on the highway shoulders. I am at PAS 0 for approximately 75% of the time. My bike is relatively easy to pedal with no assist. I do hate hills, so use the assist on grades, but zero the rest of the time. I live in Prescott, AZ which has a fair amount of hills.

The reason I bring this up, is I think many, if not most people, ignore the no assist pedaling ease in their purchase decision. I've asked Court to include that aspect in his reviews, and occasionally he does. I have a Ride1Up 500 which is relatively easy to pedal with no assist. I can comfortably pedal 18 mph on the flats with no assist.The easiest bike I have tried to pedal with no assist is the Aventon 350 and 500, which I think is almost as easy as a traditional bike. My guess is I could get 120 miles on that one.

 

[FlatSix911]

Given a PAS level of 0, you could achieve an unlimited range.

I agree it would be useful for Court to include comments on the motor drag at PAS level-0 in his reviews on EBR.

 

[phoenixtoohot]

That's true FlatSix, on the flats yes, and on some e-bikes, but I can't realistically do it with hills mixed in, or with most of the 65 pound plus e-bikes which pedal like tanks with no assist. That's really why I purchased e-bikes when I reached a point about 2 years ago (70 ish) where I began to hate hills.

 

[phoenixtoohot]

Okay Timpo, you made me smile, however, the post was really about the practical value, to some people, of easy pedaling with no assist on e-bikes, not a theoretical discussion.

 

[phoenixtoohot]

My wife has a Espin Flow, which is another relatively easy pedal with no assist (55 lbs and good, wide range gearing). It has a 672 wh battery, and she easily goes 100 plus miles on a charge, focusing on exercise with 75% or more at PAS level 0. Again, that's here in Prescott, AZ, which has a fair amount of hills.

 

[rich c]

Pretty sure it's a very small percentage of people on here that buy an eBike to pedal unassisted. Also considering the number that ask for a throttle, and those that want to go 30+mph, you might be in that magical 1%.

 

[phoenixtoohot]

Perhaps, but I think & hope it's a lot higher than 1% rich. I've been biking for 60 plus years, probably 90 % for exercise and 10% for just riding around. My wife and I were in Cortez, Co last year on our daily exercise route on Trek fitness bikes, and at the end, we almost simultaneously said ... "I hate hills". Sold all our 6 traditional bikes and went to the e-bikes. We still get good exercise, but just smile at the hills. For us, it has extended the utility of biking for probably another 10 years, maybe more.

As an aside, I got my need for speed and power satisfied through motorcycles for most of my life.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Riding without pedal assist is next to impossible on my Rad Rover and riding unassisted was not part of my buying equation. I guess I'm saying that for me anyway, I tend to agree with Rich C. I ride because it's fun to get out on a bike. I pedal all the time and almost never use the throttle. The throttle is nice to have on those rare occasions, but I could get by without it. So, I do get some exercise.

A 100 mile ride hasn't come up for me yet in two+ years of ebiking, although there are one or two 100+ mile rides I have in the back of my mind. I have one spare battery and I'd think about getting another one if I ever want to do 100 miles in a day. As it is, with two batteries, depending on terrain, etc., I'm very confident in getting 70 miles and might try 80. Anyway, the point is, getting 100 miles out of a battery is probably more of a theoretical issue than a real one for most people.

And yeah, even on a Rad Rover, if you want to pop a can of spinach, you can pedal the thing around the world with no battery -- if that's what you want to do.

That said, there are people who like to propel themselves and get that exercise but who don't want to or can't go full analog. That's great. There's no right or wrong here, but I expect more people who buy ebikes don't care how easy they are to pedal without e-power.

TT

 

[Amishman]

I use my Pace 500 to PA up to 15+ mph and keep the PA at 0 and throttle it to keep it at 15+, only using real pedal assist on hills. I think you could get quite a good distance on that , though not 100 mph. However, it’s aspirational.

 

[FlatSix911]

I use my Pace 500 to PA up to 15+ mph and keep the PA at 0 and throttle it to keep it at 15+, only using real pedal assist on hills.
I think you could get quite a good distance on that , though not 100 mph. However, it’s aspirational.

As my favorite Physics professor reminded us... check your units!

 

[reed scott]

Kyle has a recent you tube video on Bolton's you tube site with suggestions for increasing your range.

 

[reed scott]

Perhaps, but I think & hope it's a lot higher than 1% rich. I've been biking for 60 plus years, probably 90 % for exercise and 10% for just riding around. My wife and I were in Cortez, Co last year on our daily exercise route on Trek fitness bikes, and at the end, we almost simultaneously said ... "I hate hills". Sold all our 6 traditional bikes and went to the e-bikes. We still get good exercise, but just smile at the hills. For us, it has extended the utility of biking for probably another 10 years, maybe more.

As an aside, I got my need for speed and power satisfied through motorcycles for most of my life.

Yep. Same here. And half the guys I used to ride with either hit a deer, were hit my a deer or cracked up some other way. This can happen on an ebike as well but the consequences at 20mph will be far less than at 50.

 

[phoenixtoohot]

I use my Pace 500 to PA up to 15+ mph and keep the PA at 0 and throttle it to keep it at 15+, only using real pedal assist on hills. I think you could get quite a good distance on that , though not 100 mph. However, it’s aspirational.

I own a Ride1up 500, Espin Flow and Ecotric Hammer. I have tested Trek Powerfly 4, Rad Rover, Rad City, and Rad Mini. The Pace 500 and 350 are the easiest to pedal with no assistance than any other bike I have tried. Almost like a light weight, non-electric bike. I like this because I bike mostly for fitness.

 

[vincent]

i think this is a good thing to know and agree court should add that to the reviews

 

[harryS]

All but one of our ebikes started as regular bicycles. Add a motor and a battery and I got an ebike. The weight gain varies from my lightest kit at 8 pounds to as high as 16 pounds. The bikes pedal about as well as they did when they were unpowered. The one commercial ebike in my garage is an Ecotric 20" fat tire folder. Nominally 500W with a 36V 12AH pack It has heavy steel rims, so it takes more power to spin up those wheels. I can pedal it OK because I have smooth tread tires.

I do log mileage and battery usage. At 12 mph, in the summer, with our skinny tire bikes, I use 10 WH/mile. My wife uses 6 WH/mile. I'm sure we could pull 50 and 80 miles on a 500WH pack, all under full time assist.

There was a time when I would ride out with the motor off, and come back under power. Don't do that any more.

 

[Captain Slow]

I was on a group ride once with friends and set my Creo to Smart Control so the motor would only come on when my HR hit 135 bpm. It was a slow day, no one wanted to ride fast, so my HR was low most of the day. I rode 70 km's that day and used 42 wh of battery. So with my stock 320 wh battery that is an extrapolated range of around 400 km's! As Flat 6 says, I could probably get unlimited range. The Creo is light enough that I can ride up hills of about 6-8%, it's work no doubt but I can ride up those hills with the motor off. Once hills gets above 10% I really want that motor on!

 

[Karm]

10 mph will get you more than 100 miles

 

[memex5606]

My other ride is a Prius.. after owning two over the years I've learned much about the technics used to get beyond the advertised MPH of 51/50, city/ highway. I can often squeeze out an impressive 65 to 75 MPH regularly without pissing off the tractor trailer behind me!! Point to make here is technic, whether in a car or an ebike, I have little doubt that under the right conditions we ebikers can easily extend the manufacture's suggested range.. and yes, 100 miles. Phoenixtoohot, don't let the nay sayers convince you otherwise. You can be sure they've got their throttles pegged.. while burning few calories!!