Range experience?

[MinnBobber]

Hi, what are you finding regarding range ?
I usually ride at my max level and Stromer max level of assist on ST2-S.
I do have the big blue 983 battery.

Just rode a 72 mile ride and only used 42% of battery. Battery at 58%
That extrapolates to 170 mile range.

I was pretty impressed.

What are you seeing for miles totals on one charge?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

983 Wh in a fully charged battery. 42% makes 412 Wh used, that is 5.72 Wh/mile or 3.55 Wh/km. At the full assist? How come?
A lightweight Specialized Turbo Vado SL with a 240 W motor has a similar battery consumption at 55% assistance and the motor power capped at 132 W. While Stromer ST2 S has a 750 W motor! Was the 72 miles downhill and with tailwind?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Ok, how much elevation gain over that distance? what was the temperature? what was the road surface? what kind of tires?

All of those things matter a lot.

I can easily imagine that range in gentle terrain on good pavement on a day in the 70s (F).

Also, forty miles dead flat will use much less battery in all conditions than forty miles with a twenty mile 4000 foot climb and a twenty mile 4000 foot descent.

 

[AHicks]

Ok, how much elevation gain over that distance? what was the temperature? what was the road surface? what kind of tires?

All of those things matter a lot.

I can easily imagine that range in gentle terrain on good pavement on a day in the 70s (F).

Also, forty miles dead flat will use much less battery in all conditions than forty miles with a twenty mile 4000 foot climb and a twenty mile 4000 foot descent.

Especially on a cold (sub 40's) windy day!!

 

[Gionnirocket]

Especially on a cold (sub 40's) windy day!!

Then add I've gotten 5.5wh/mi to 8.5wh/mi on the same bike and same 25 mi ride.
Weather conditions as well as my physical condition of the day (tired, arthritic vs froggy and ready to roll) make this a discussion in....

 

[DavidRvR]

Oh I was thinking Range in a totally different Term... My beast went 7 miles through hills and flat at Zion national park.. Towing the 2 grand kids and only used 10% of the battery.. I thought it did pretty good for all the junk in the cart with the kids .. Probably another 30lbs so total was about 275lbs approx.

 

[MinnBobber]

I was merely expressing my shock and amazement at the range I got when riding in assist level 2 of 3 and at a more moderate pace.
Not full / max assist!
Ride average speed was 17 mph.

I usually ride in assist level 3/3 and average much faster.
The range really surprised me as that is much bigger range than Stromer even states.

It was an interesting experiment but max assist is just so damn fun, hard to settle for less.

 

[DavidRvR]

My wife loves her Stromer.. We have a st1.. Great bike with plenty of power.. Wish they made a full suspension bike.

She swaps between it and the Frey CC.. She is getting used to the Frey and learning how to drive the midrive .. Its a little learning curve.. From the stromer

 

[tomjasz]

My new 36V 21700 cell 20Ah battery has considerably increased mileage. No hard numbers yet but I'll soon finish a build with a CA3 and along with my Satiators I'll have real data.

 

[6zfshdb]

Hi, what are you finding regarding range ?
I usually ride at my max level and Stromer max level of assist on ST2-S.
I do have the big blue 983 battery.

Just rode a 72 mile ride and only used 42% of battery. Battery at 58%
That extrapolates to 170 mile range.

I was pretty impressed.

What are you seeing for miles totals on one charge?

Keep in mind the percentage gauges on most ebikes are based on voltage and are not linear. The first 50% of charge contains considerably more energy than the second. When your gauge reads 42% used, in reality, it's likely more than 50%. Also, the BMS on most bikes cuts out at between 10 and 20%. That unused energy shouldn't be included in your extrapolated range estimate.

As others have said, there are many factors that can affect range. My best so far is 52 miles with a 52V, 15 AH battery. That was a two way ride using PAS 2, averaging 12 MPH with a gentle slope, no wind and on a semi smooth surface. The total weight of bike, rider and gear was 350#.

I find I get the best range using cruise control set under 12 MPH instead of with PAS. I pedal to assist the bike rather than it assisting me. This eliminates wasteful current spikes with the PAS system which are caused by uneven pedal effort.

I'm certain the modest result above could be improved while riding with less weight on a smooth level surface using the cruise control method. I may do some experimenting in the future but for now, I'd rather carry a spare battery, enjoy the ride and not worry about range.

 

[Bobber]

I just rode 63.0 miles today. I have a specialized Crosstrail with the Bafang 52V mid-drive and the big Whale Shark battery. I usually keep it in PAS 3 (out of 9) and am always pedaling. My battery display was showing red when I got home so that's just about it. I live at the top of a super steep hill which hits 18% grade right at the top. I have a digital level that does percent of grade fwiw. The display showed a drop of 3 volts on that last block

 

[K PierreR]

I just shake my head at these mileages. When I first built my bike 6 years ago I was getting around 6 Wh per mile with everything tuned just right. On the same route I now find it hard to stay under 11 Wh per mile. I have a 63 mile route I do about once every two weeks that I use about 1.100 Wh to do or just over 17 Wh per mile. I went to a job yesterday with my tools and trailer for a total of 15.8 miles and used 460 Wh or just under 30 Wh per mile. When I tour I use between 18 and 27 Wh per mile.
Keep in mind that I have an electric fat bike with high rolling resistance knobby tires, a ton of windage, a dog, often camping gear or tools with a fair amount of climbing. My speeds seldom exceed 20 mph. Light for me and my rig is 300 lbs and heavy is 435 lbs with a loaded trailer.
My longest one day miles was a bit over 170 miles and used. 4,028 Wh.
Now keep in mind that I seldom use throttle, I always pedal but the longer the ride, the worse the mileage as I give out in energy.

 

[fooferdoggie]

on our tandem we get the nest milage either going slow and not needing assistance ir going 18.5 mph right at the motor cutoff and using maybe 9wh per mile.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I was on a metric century ride on my Vado 5.0 with two batteries yesterday, and made the battery consumption measurement on each of them.
Battery #1: Average speed 24.0 km/h (14.9 mph). Battery consumption was 9.06 Wh/km (14.58 Wh/mi).
Battery #2: Average speed 21.0 km/h (13.0 mph). Battery consumption was 6.81 Wh/km (11.00 Wh/mi).

Same assistance level for both tests. The battery #1 of actual charge of 533 Wh was good for 76 km (47.2 mi).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Ya, I'm a disabled person. Still, I ghost-pedalled for four and half hours.
The assistance was 45/45%, Vado 5.0. (1.44 W of mechanical motor power per 1 W of the cyclist leg power, capped at 234 W).

Meanwhile you were not riding/pedalling at all.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Ya, I'm a disabled person. Still, I ghost-pedalled for four and half hours.
The assistance was 45/45%, Vado 5.0. (1.44 W of mechanical motor power per 1 W of the cyclist leg power, capped at 234 W).

Meanwhile you were not riding/pedalling at all.

At those kw/mi... You're on a moped.
I'm contacting the Polish Police... are you sure you don't have a throttle?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

At those kw/mi...

Wh/mi.

You're on a moped.

My Vado is registered as a moped.

I'm contacting the Polish Police... are you sure you don't have a throttle?

The pedals are my throttle.
Demo ride a Specialized Vado because I feel you've never tried a real e-bike.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Wh/mi.

Sorry typo... pre_coffee

My Vado is registered as a moped.

and I can understand why when you are being taken for a ride.

The pedals are my throttle.
Demo ride a Specialized Vado because I feel you've never tried a real e-bike.

na... My Bafang BBS seems to do a much better job of "assisting" a rider.
Perhaps you should demo a Bafang and try an ebike and not a registered moped because you are either going for a battery ride and/or your Vado is one inefficient p o s.

 

[K PierreR]

I was on a metric century ride on my Vado 5.0 with two batteries yesterday, and made the battery consumption measurement on each of them.
Battery #1: Average speed 24.0 km/h (14.9 mph). Battery consumption was 9.06 Wh/km (14.58 Wh/mi).
Battery #2: Average speed 21.0 km/h (13.0 mph). Battery consumption was 6.81 Wh/km (11.00 Wh/mi).

Same assistance level for both tests. The battery #1 of actual charge of 533 Wh was good for 76 km (47.2 mi).

I think your numbers illustrate what I was talking about with more Wh/km the longer you ride. I assume the first 3/4 of your ride was on battery one. That included the time you were fresh with energy. By the time you started on battery two, you were fading in energy levels, a bit slower and using more Wh/km

Ghost pedaling? Is that even possible on a torque sensed bike? With a big heavy rig like mine and torque sensing, I don't know as I would make it up some of the hills near the end of a long ride. When the hills get steep, my bike is often more efficient ghost pedaling than putting my effort in. I have seen the time when I was pulling 1,450 watts from the battery plus my pathetic effort and going 4.5 mph (7.2kph). Dropping to a lower gear and ghost pedaling where the chainring spins at 120 rpm+ got me 6mph (9.6kph) at the same 1,450 watts battery draw.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I think your numbers illustrate what I was talking about with more Wh/km the longer you ride. I assume the first 3/4 of your ride was on battery one. That included the time you were fresh with energy. By the time you started on battery two, you were fading in energy levels, a bit slower and using more Wh/km

Ghost pedaling? Is that even possible on a torque sensed bike? With a big heavy rig like mine and torque sensing, I don't know as I would make it up some of the hills near the end of a long ride. When the hills get steep, my bike is often more efficient ghost pedaling than putting my effort in. I have seen the time when I was pulling 1,450 watts from the battery plus my pathetic effort and going 4.5 mph (7.2kph). Dropping to a lower gear and ghost pedaling where the chainring spins at 120 rpm+ got me 6mph (9.6kph) at the same 1,450 watts battery draw.

Gionni is a troll Ignore that part please.

The latest ride was quite unusual. It started with a nice tailwind, and I wanted to reach my destination fast. The battery use was above the normal.

On the return way, the headwind turned out to be mild. That part was really recreational and I pedalled slowly. Far lower battery consumption, which was unusual!