Update on Battery mileage

[MetroDuck]

My wife and I took the Metro+ and Cruiser out on a paved rail/trail bike path. The battery capacity turned out to be pretty great. The trail is 21 miles long and we went out and back for a total of 43 miles. The elevation difference at each end is about 440 feet. However the peak gain at the highest point is probably about 750-800 feet. Being that it was a rail line at one time the climb is very steady in parts. We really had no idea how much we were climbing on the way out. On the way back we coasted for almost 30 minutes at 17-20 mph, about 9 miles. We rode mostly at PAS 1 all day. On the way back we rode at PAS 2 for several miles just because we wanted to go a little faster for fun. There are lots of smaller bridges and one very long trestle that is about 80' high and curved.

There is one very steep section of about 200-300 yards that is a 15% grade. Many were walking their bikes up and down but we were able to drop down into 1st and 2nd gear at PAS 6 and ride up with light/moderate effort. The hydraulic brakes were very helpful coming down.

So as for the battery results. I was a bit concerned about the mileage we would get as when I commute I average about 50 miles before the display is blinking at me. Several said we should be higher and they were correct. After 43 miles we both had 4 of 5 bars and a display voltage of 48.1 and 48.3. We are in decent shape but not great biking shape by any means. I'm guessing if we stayed with the PAS 1 except for the short 15% grade, we could make this trip twice. 75 miles would not give me great concern. The fact we could do 43 miles and still have 48.1 volts in the tank exceeded all my expectations. These are vary capable bikes for sure!

 

[DaveMatthews]

That sir is fantastic!
Nicely done.

 

[Ann M.]

MetroDuck, great observation on your mileage. That ending voltage is really the proof of the range. If you're not going to drain past the 50% point, those batteries will also last a lot longer. Best point; you addresses the biggest fear most new ebike riders have - Range Anxiety!

Please upload some images of your & wife's bikes along with where you're riding; we always enjoy that

 

[Figs]

That is great news! Sounds like a good ride, and it’s made even better when you can have confidence in the battery.

 

[Jake Nelwood]

I see that this is an old thread, but it is on-topic for some questions I have. We have two new magnums, a Ui6 and a Metro (the DW got the Metro, which made getting two bikes at once much easier). Other than fairly short trips about town I have done one 60mi round trip after a week of shakedown cruise, and am trying to understand my mileage (others have described this as range anxiety, but I think that overstates my case).

My trip was 30 miles one way, with a 900 ft elevation drop, then back the same route and elevation regain. Down was mostly PAS 0/1, back was PAS 1, with maybe 30-40% of flatish, hard concrete bike trail. I'm not much in a hurry to get anywhere, so max speed was around 12mph, when I can't do that mechanically I kick up the juice. When I was all done the display still showed two power bars remaining.

I'm projecting a possible 90 mile range on not very much evidence. My multi-meter showed 48.2V as the residual charge, probably off a 54.3V start, but what does that mean.

Does anyone have a sense of what one of the power bars means in terms of voltage?

 

[MetroDuck]

Good info. Interestingly my recollection is that our bike trail trip was 43 miles with about 900' elevation on the first leg and we finished with 48.2 volts also. My guess was we could have made the trip a second time and and been ok. It would have been close. That would have been 86 miles.

The power bars are not linear. I have learned to ignore them and focus on the voltage which is a much better indicator. Eventually they single bar will flash which make me thing the battery was going to shut off but it eventually stopped flashing and showed empty but was still going. I'll try to remember to check later but I think I was just under 42 volts when that happened. The battery should be able to drop to 40 volts with zero chance of damage but the bike controller may be programmed to shut off before that. The risk of damage from being too depleted is something like 37 to 38 volts I believe. I will need to check my research again to confirm that.

Has anyone determined at what voltage the Magnum bikes controller turns off?

 

[dch1450]

The Metro manual says 42.1 volts is 20% charge. On my last Metro+ ride I got down to 42 volts so I headed for home. Much to my surprise, the controller shut down shortly thereafter.
I easily get 50-60 miles on mostly flat paved trails. Now I just don’t push it when the voltage gets into the 42’s.

 

[Jake Nelwood]

One of our kids lives in Aspen, 42 miles from one of the greatest hotsprings pools in the world at Glenwood, connected by the Rio Grande bike trail with epic scenery, and we can recharge at the pool. That's the good news. The bad news is the last 3 miles on the way back have a pretty continuous at least 15% grade if we miscalculate range.

 

[gonyere]

I just got a Metro LS a couple of weeks ago and have been putting it through its paces but am definitely at the stage of trying to figuring out exactly how far I can truly go. Yesterday I rode around 18 miles with a good 1400+ feet of climbing and today did another 12 miles and 1100+ feet of climbing, and by the time I got home the last square for battery was blinking, though I think it was still reading around 44-45+ volts.

I've been riding mostly in PAS 3 and 2, with some 1 thrown in here and there... around the first 1.2 miles of my ride is on a dirt/gravel road and around 200' of climbing. Riding regular bikes, it was/is always the hardest part of riding around here - just getting out of our road. Getting back home is still a little over a mile of dirt road but (mostly) downhill, aside from the final giant hill. In any case, I'm looking forward to my longest ride yet tomorrow, as I attempt to ride into the nearest city - just over 21 miles each way, and a total of around 1350' of climbing (round trip) or so says Google I'm nervous but excited... I'm thinking about trying to lower my power setting down to Eco before I go as well.

 

[tomjasz]

Good info. Interestingly my recollection is that our bike trail trip was 43 miles with about 900' elevation on the first leg and we finished with 48.2 volts also. My guess was we could have made the trip a second time and and been ok. It would have been close. That would have been 86 miles.

The power bars are not linear. I have learned to ignore them and focus on the voltage which is a much better indicator. Eventually they single bar will flash which make me thing the battery was going to shut off but it eventually stopped flashing and showed empty but was still going. I'll try to remember to check later but I think I was just under 42 volts when that happened. The battery should be able to drop to 40 volts with zero chance of damage but the bike controller may be programmed to shut off before that. The risk of damage from being too depleted is something like 37 to 38 volts I believe. I will need to check my research again to confirm that.

Has anyone determined at what voltage the Magnum bikes controller turns off?

Updates?

 

[Bungee Sue]

My wife and I took the Metro+ and Cruiser out on a paved rail/trail bike path. The battery capacity turned out to be pretty great. The trail is 21 miles long and we went out and back for a total of 43 miles. The elevation difference at each end is about 440 feet. However the peak gain at the highest point is probably about 750-800 feet. Being that it was a rail line at one time the climb is very steady in parts. We really had no idea how much we were climbing on the way out. On the way back we coasted for almost 30 minutes at 17-20 mph, about 9 miles. We rode mostly at PAS 1 all day. On the way back we rode at PAS 2 for several miles just because we wanted to go a little faster for fun. There are lots of smaller bridges and one very long trestle that is about 80' high and curved.

There is one very steep section of about 200-300 yards that is a 15% grade. Many were walking their bikes up and down but we were able to drop down into 1st and 2nd gear at PAS 6 and ride up with light/moderate effort. The hydraulic brakes were very helpful coming down.

So as for the battery results. I was a bit concerned about the mileage we would get as when I commute I average about 50 miles before the display is blinking at me. Several said we should be higher and they were correct. After 43 miles we both had 4 of 5 bars and a display voltage of 48.1 and 48.3. We are in decent shape but not great biking shape by any means. I'm guessing if we stayed with the PAS 1 except for the short 15% grade, we could make this trip twice. 75 miles would not give me great concern. The fact we could do 43 miles and still have 48.1 volts in the tank exceeded all my expectations. These are vary capable bikes for sure!

I love my Metro+ and actually find that I can often pedal with no assist. Sometimes, I put it on pas 1 just to get started, then shut it off and I can even pass other people on my ride.