New ST-1: battery life?

[Steve Plattner]

Love my ST-1. I rode 15 miles, 650 ft. elevation gain. I weigh 225. At end of ride I had 34% of battery left. Guessing I could have gotten 21-22 miles out of it. I know I am a "load" but does that sound right? Got a small amount of juice back from braking.

Also, for someone my size: what would you recommend for tire inflation?

 

[5thumbs]

Seems a little low but if your battery is new, there could be a calibration involved. I weigh a more than you and ride 25 miles/day. If I ride half the distance at Tour and half the distance at Power I finish with about 37% of charge. However no matter what I do, when I charge the battery I never start with more than 92-95%, the initial loss of battery life on the gauge is rapid (from 95% to 70%), then it seems to slow (so the battery gauge does not seem to be linear with riding distance). Also, note that power can cut out anywhere from 7-10%. I have the larger 14.5 battery on an Elite and I have 2 of them and they both behave the same. So if you have the lower capacity battery, maybe it is about the same?!

I ride with 40PSI in front and 45 in back. I have tried to lower the PSI to 35 (front and back) and it is more comfortable, but got 2 flat tires within 100 miles and the flats occured on the inside of the tube, so I increased the PSI.

 

[arock]

Steve, my ST-1 Elite with stock battery gets similar battery life to what you describe, and my weight is similar to yours. I recently got a Platinum for my wife (who weighs about 100 lbs less than me), and we swapped batteries to even out our battery drain when we ride together. The larger battery definitely makes a difference.

Terrain of course makes a huge difference in battery drain. My work commute has sections of pretty significant climbs, and I increase the assistance during those sections.

For PSI, I personally prefer a firmer ride so I inflate to the upper end of the recommended range. A higher PSI will decrease the surface area of tire in contact with the ground, reducing rolling resistance and should help a bit with battery life.

 

[bluecat]

For PSI, I personally prefer a firmer ride so I inflate to the upper end of the recommended range. A higher PSI will decrease the surface area of tire in contact with the ground, reducing rolling resistance and should help a bit with battery life.

Once in move, rolling resistance at lower speed costs the majority of energy. At higher speed, air resistance is added. Weight does only matter on accelerating or climbing. To save battery, I recommend low sensor settings, acceleration in low gear and at climbing maintain speed above 15km/h.

 

[Steve Plattner]

Seems a little low but if your battery is new, there could be a calibration involved. I weigh a more than you and ride 25 miles/day. If I ride half the distance at Tour and half the distance at Power I finish with about 37% of charge. However no matter what I do, when I charge the battery I never start with more than 92-95%, the initial loss of battery life on the gauge is rapid (from 95% to 70%), then it seems to slow (so the battery gauge does not seem to be linear with riding distance). Also, note that power can cut out anywhere from 7-10%. I have the larger 14.5 battery on an Elite and I have 2 of them and they both behave the same. So if you have the lower capacity battery, maybe it is about the same?!

I ride with 40PSI in front and 45 in back. I have tried to lower the PSI to 35 (front and back) and it is more comfortable, but got 2 flat tires within 100 miles and the flats occured on the inside of the tube, so I increased the PSI.

Seems a little low but if your battery is new, there could be a calibration involved. I weigh a more than you and ride 25 miles/day. If I ride half the distance at Tour and half the distance at Power I finish with about 37% of charge. However no matter what I do, when I charge the battery I never start with more than 92-95%, the initial loss of battery life on the gauge is rapid (from 95% to 70%), then it seems to slow (so the battery gauge does not seem to be linear with riding distance). Also, note that power can cut out anywhere from 7-10%. I have the larger 14.5 battery on an Elite and I have 2 of them and they both behave the same. So if you have the lower capacity battery, maybe it is about the same?!

I ride with 40PSI in front and 45 in back. I have tried to lower the PSI to 35 (front and back) and it is more comfortable, but got 2 flat tires within 100 miles and the flats occured on the inside of the tube, so I increased the PSI.

Thanks, much appreciated. It's been raining nonstop for 3 days but hope to get out and keep riding this evening. Good to know to expect the battery to go dead at around 7-10%. I have the regular battery--actually, I have two of the regular batteries as Stromer is running a free 11.5 battery at the moment. I will try my second one tonight. With two, at least I can stick the second one in my back or strap it on my rack and double my range.

 

[stevenast]

Guessing I could have gotten 21-22 miles out of it.

my ST-1 Elite with stock battery gets similar battery life to what you describe

So, basic Stromer has just over 20 mile range... Good info.

 

[Steve Plattner]

So, basic Stromer has just over 20 mile range... Good info.

I just did two more rides in the past 24 hours--on one, I went 20.6 miles, with about 600 feet in elevation gain. Tried to limit myself to ECO and CITY power settings--only used POWER setting on a couple of very long, steep hills--and again the bike and I combined weigh 290 lbs. At the end I had 38% left on my 11.5 battery, so much better than before. Almost the exact route as my 14.5 mi. trip earlier, where I wound up with 37% left on the same battery--not sure why I was able to use a lot less power to go 40% farther, but I am glad I did. I'd say on a level paved bike trail. I could get 30 miles per charge. Will test that theory soon.

 

[Blue Bill]

Me 235lbs, 40psi, 14Ah battery, I can go over 100km on a charge on relatively level ground. Pedal sensitivity is set low and it's on Eco.

 

[PowerMe]

I don't ride a Stromer, but I think Eco mode is the key to getting the long range. If you can swap out the stock battery for a more powerful one, then that's the thing to do. I wish I had that option on my Easy Motion EVO. 12ah is the highest power available for my bike.

 

[opimax]

Today islet a record for my riding 44 miles @14+ mph. Don't usually go this speed ,surprised hoe much of a difference this made, maybe 27@ 18 mph?