Radwagon Range?

[Smittydc]

What kind of range are people getting with their Radwagons? I've been riding about 5 miles each way to/from work on PA2/3, most of the time on mostly flat ground (except for a couple short hills). By the time I get home it seems to be down to 1 or 2 bars. I know I have some power left, but this doesn't seem anywhere near the 20-30 mile range mentioned in the RadWagon online FAQ.

Thoughts?

 

[vincent]

i dont know about the wagon, but my mini and rover do much better than that

like 40 miles a battery or a little more

my minis brakes were dragging when i first got it and the range was awful, the bike shop that i had put it together i guess did not check them, but once that was adjusted great mileage now

not sure if that helps any

 

[mrgold35]

How much wattage is being used on average during the 10-mile round trip? Is there a lot of stop/go along the way? Every-time I have to stop or slow down, the Radrover will apply up to max power until I reach the set PAS level. I know that yo-yo acceleration is killing my battery range.

I'm usually 2 bars when I get home; but, I sometimes was down to 1 bar if it was windy or if I had to yo-yo my speed more because of traffic or pedestrians. I ended up getting a second charger to leave at work to top off the battery for my 13 mile round trip commute.

I've seen the battery bar readings go down to 1 bar during long power usage and bounce back up to full bars after a few minutes. I'm also 270lbs+62lbs of bike+30lbs of gear & accessories. That is also zapping my range a bit.

 

[Smittydc]

I finally busted out the voltmeter. I think it's simply a matter of how the bars vary during load, and how they recover afterwards. I'm also using the motor less as I get in better shape.

 

[BVC]

I did roughly 20 miles, mostly throttle only, on my RadRover before needing a "eh I should probably" charge. I had (IIRC) two bars left. I was going to max out the battery but I was camping and it was going to storm following day so I had to run the generator that day for 4 hours to charge the battery back up for the remaining days of my trip.

Needless to say - that was roughly 20 miles of roaming around the camp area (roughly 30 camp sites), back and forth trips to the public restroom (lots of beer), trips to the beach to brush my teeth enjoying the view and most of all - LOTS of sand riding on the beach Tires set to 20 psi

So I think your battery is pretty close to normal. you're doing 10 miles and only down 1 or two bars on PAS2/3? The bike is putting forth more effort than you it sounds like..


Here's a video of beach riding, in case anyone cares. (Mostly footage of my GF on the beast)

 

[John49]

I fully charged the Radwagon and rode it until I got the blinking warning. I went 24 miles using pedal assist 3 and occasionally level 4 on hills. I would say about 90% of the riding was PAS 3. I also used the twist throttle to get moving from a dead stop about 6-8 times. It went quite a distance with one bar showing which leads me to believe the display errs on the side of caution.

Just for info, I am 280 lbs and extra weight on the wagon is cloud 9 seat, Suntour seat post, pannier bags with about 10 lbs weight in them.

Update: Today I rode mostly in PA 2 keeping the watts at about 180. Did 26 miles and probably had another 4 or 5 miles left.

 

[mrgold35]

I fully charged the Radwagon and rode it until I got the blinking warning. I went 24 miles using pedal assist 3 and occasionally level 4 on hills. I would say about 90% of the riding was PAS 3. I also used the twist throttle to get moving from a dead stop about 6-8 times. It went quite a distance with one bar showing which leads me to believe the display errs on the side of caution.

Just for info, I am 280 lbs and extra weight on the wagon is cloud 9 seat, Suntour seat post, pannier bags with about 10 lbs weight in them.

After riding my Radrover for few months, I think the battery display might being showing double function. At rest, it shows your battery %. When riding, it shows the current battery % minus the motor draw. It goes back to when the battery meter drops 1-3 bars in the first few minutes of riding PAS 4 and bounces back up to full bars at the first stop.

I'm about the same range as you when riding (I can go a long ways with 1 bar showing). I've only gone a few times at my avg range when the battery started blinking and full power in my selected PAS was reduced. Those are usually windy days.

 

[windmill]

After riding my Radrover for few months, I think the battery display might being showing double function. At rest, it shows your battery %. When riding, it shows the current battery % minus the motor draw. It goes back to when the battery meter drops 1-3 bars in the first few minutes of riding PAS 4 and bounces back up to full bars at the first stop.

I'm about the same range as you when riding (I can go a long ways with 1 bar showing). I've only gone a few times at my avg range when the battery started blinking and full power in my selected PAS was reduced. Those are usually windy days.

I think your observations about the battery gauge is correct.

I commute 16 miles a day in extremely hilly terrain using PAS 3 to 5, and usually have 2 bars left at rest when I get home. When riding, it drops to 2 bars within my first mile on a 20% hill, but bounces back to 5 bars at the first stop a short distance after the crest of the hill.

 

[ga_radwagon]

I know the battery gauge drops to 1 bar as it was a lower-priced display (saves on cost for the bike, but just one of those trade-offs that i think they made a great call).
If you always know that during draw, the meter isn't accurate, then reading at standstill is fine.