What size battery do you REALLY need?

[Big Tom]

In looking at the e-bike market and how they can be used I'm wondering if we are wasting money on these big batteries?? Is the typical ride more then 15 miles? While looking at e-bikes as transportation and not recreation I'm wondering if the batteries over 10ah are worth the investment. If you are only going ten miles round trip you can get away with a 6ah battery with juice to spare. So why do you need the weight and expense of a larger battery? If you plan on going on a longer trip then get a back up battery to use as a spare.
For e-bikes to become common place they have to be affordable. The batteries are a HUGE part of the cost. To bring the cost down why not use smaller batteries that match a riders typical distance?

 

[indianajo]

It's harvest festival and concert season, I want to go. I don't want to ride in a rental car with air bags. I have great ears, the better to listen to music with, the whole bandwidth. A typical gig is 50 miles away. One accident with air bags, your hearing might be 7000 hz? Broken cilia do not heal up again.
At festivals and outdoor concerts the police are all busy with preventing cars plowing into crowds etc ( see Madison IN last year). Storing a second battery on the bike is a great way to lose $400. I look strange enough already (I'm short & multi-ethnic) without carrying a metal cylinder in my pocket. Would they even allow me into a concert with a 7 pound metal cylinder in my cargo pocket? I'd have to buy new pants, Dickies don't come with pockets that big.
I just bought a 17 AH battery, and will crank the pedals myself 20 miles if that runs down. Pedalling in the low wind direction definitely, wind can be vicious this time of year if it is in your face. 9 mph headwind added 40% to my 30 mile commute two weeks ago, and totally wore me out too. On with the electricity. Battery shipped Monday from California, source of all ebike retailers with a reputation.

 

[mrgold35]

I only have a 11.6 ah battery with a max range of 40 miles if I take it easy and keep my speed down. I usually average around 27-30 mile range in normal riding near max 17-20 mph speed. My normal commute is only 13-14 miles if I don't take any detours and up to 35 miles in a day if I take fun ride detours (top off at work when I arrive in the morning). Nice to have that range available when the urge hits.

It might also come in handy for battery longevity with higher ah batteries. I could get away with charging every other day with my 11.6 ah battery or probably once a week with a 21 ah battery. I would have 2X the charging cycles if I had a 6 ah battery.

 

[Calicoskies]

My two cents, yes if you plan to ride shorter distance than yes smaller battery does make sense to save money. I am not a fan of two batteries because you likely will need to manage them very carefully to make them both last as long as you can. I will not get into how to charge because we have many posts on that. My thinking is get the larger battery and just complete two or three rides before charging. It is how many charging cycles that count. That day you decide to do a 60 mile run you will be happy to have it also.

 

[Nova Haibike]

In looking at the e-bike market and how they can be used I'm wondering if we are wasting money on these big batteries?? Is the typical ride more then 15 miles? While looking at e-bikes as transportation and not recreation I'm wondering if the batteries over 10ah are worth the investment. If you are only going ten miles round trip you can get away with a 6ah battery with juice to spare.

I read somewhere (here?) that most people won't ride more than 2.5 miles when using a bicycle for transportation. Given that, why bother with the expense and weight of a motor and battery at all?

So why do you need the weight and expense of a larger battery? If you plan on going on a longer trip then get a back up battery to use as a spare.

Well, If I have to buy a back-up for the possibility of a longer trip, I have not saved money, but spent more.

For e-bikes to become common place they have to be affordable. The batteries are a HUGE part of the cost. To bring the cost down why not use smaller batteries that match a riders typical distance?

As far as Americans go, we always want more. More powerful motors, more battery, more suspension, biger tires. While a lot if not most people would be better served with simpler bikes, just like cars, instead of driving around in an econobox, most everyone wants to buy an SUV or a truck. People tend to dream about what a bike (or vehicle) can do even if they never or rarely use it to its fullest.

FWIW, I only ride for fun. I typically ride 20-30 miles, but sometimes more. My bike came with the smaller 400Wh battery. I would love to have had the option to pay the difference for the larger 500Wh battery, because on a few occasions I hav run it down to within a few percent of completely drained.

 

[AHicks]

My first bike would go well over 50 miles on a charge. I figure my butt is only good for 20. The question then became, why am I dragging all that extra capacity around with me when at most, I only need half of that. Second bike has a considerably smaller battery and will still go 30+ miles (14ah vs. 21ah). Bonus is the new bike has a lighter feel.

 

[larry-new]

I sprung for a spare battery for that day the road beckons. We should ride according to our needs.

 

[Big Tom]

I read somewhere (here?) that most people won't ride more than 2.5 miles when using a bicycle for transportation. Given that, why bother with the expense and weight of a motor and battery at all?



Well, If I have to buy a back-up for the possibility of a longer trip, I have not saved money, but spent more.



As far as Americans go, we always want more. More powerful motors, more battery, more suspension, biger tires. While a lot if not most people would be better served with simpler bikes, just like cars, instead of driving around in an econobox, most everyone wants to buy an SUV or a truck. People tend to dream about what a bike (or vehicle) can do even if they never or rarely use it to its fullest.

FWIW, I only ride for fun. I typically ride 20-30 miles, but sometimes more. My bike came with the smaller 400Wh battery. I would love to have had the option to pay the difference for the larger 500Wh battery, because on a few occasions I hav run it down to within a few percent of completely drained.

The challenge with promoting e-bikes is the connection to recreation and sweat. This is what needs to disappear, I have gone 4 miles to my local Community College on a hot, sticky Maryland day and arrived fresh. Because I could park next to the building I probably sweated less then if I would have driven and parked 1/4 mile away in the student lot. This is what we need to show people. E-bikes are for transportation, not just recreation.

We need to attract young people to show them there is an alternative to cars. The advantages of the E-Bike to a young professional could be life changing. Think how much money you would save if you didn't need a car.. That money would easily pay for a nice e-bike very quickly.
The guys that do the long commutes shouldn't be the typical e-bike user. The typical e-bike user should look at an e-bike as cheap transportation, not for exercise. That will only happen when prices drop. Matching the battery to the anticipated distance seems like a logical way to lower the overall cost of an entry e-bike .

As a FYI I can buy a nice used bike for under $100, install a decent 500W power rear hub using a kit, buy a decent 8ah battery and charger from China, and it will cost around $450 total. That is affordable to a lot more people then the $1200 minimum needed for a new e-bike.

 

[christob]

I hope to start using my bike for “transport” more... I need to change my mindset and habits, such as grocery runs.
Currently I commute to work on it whenever the morning isn’t raining (afternoon rain is ok). I also ride extra long routes home (and long rides on weekends) as a form of (enjoyable, repeatable) exercise. So I appreciate having the capacity to let me do say, a 40-50 mile day, knowing I can get home still, if I’m totally wiped.
48v 10.4ah

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Everybody is different and everybody is likely to have a different use pattern.

For me, a typical days ride with errands &c is about 25 miles, and a smaller batter would leave me walking up a hot, shadeless hill. Plus I also like to do bicycle travel and often ride 50-60 miles per day and sometimes more.

 

[PaD]

Our reasons for getting an e-bike vary. Some people only use their bike for commuting and others may just do recreational riding.
If you know you’re only going to ride 15miles then of course it may seem like wasted money with a battery larger than 300Wh.
I don’t commute longer distances but I want to be able to go far on my recreational rides. My bike has a 504Wh battery and I would have upgraded to the 604Wh if it had been an option. But it wasn’t. Specialized just offer to sell you the larger battery for $1000.
Even with EU speed limited bikes, 25km/h, you can go at lot of miles in a day.
What we need from e-bike manufacturers is some honesty about range and the option to choose the battery we want.
I think I need or would like a battery that can support me for 75-80 miles.

 

[Big Tom]

I hope to start using my bike for “transport” more... I need to change my mindset and habits, such as grocery runs.
Currently I commute to work on it whenever the morning isn’t raining (afternoon rain is ok). I also ride extra long routes home (and long rides on weekends) as a form of (enjoyable, repeatable) exercise. So I appreciate having the capacity to let me do say, a 40-50 mile day, knowing I can get home still, if I’m totally wiped.
48v 10.4ah

Check out Rain Capes. They are designed for riding a bike in the rain and do a good job of keeping you dry. The poncho type design allows a lot of circulation so you don't get wet from sweat.

 

[Big Tom]

Our reasons for getting an e-bike vary. Some people only use their bike for commuting and others may just do recreational riding.
If you know you’re only going to ride 15miles then of course it may seem like wasted money with a battery larger than 300Wh.
I don’t commute longer distances but I want to be able to go far on my recreational rides. My bike has a 504Wh battery and I would have upgraded to the 604Wh if it had been an option. But it wasn’t. Specialized just offer to sell you the larger battery for $1000.
Even with EU speed limited bikes, 25km/h, you can go at lot of miles in a day.
What we need from e-bike manufacturers is some honesty about range and the option to choose the battery we want.

Wondering if you got the bike for transportation or recreation?

 

[PaD]

Wondering if you got the bike for transportation or recreation?

Recreation. I love being out on my bike.
I used my regular bike a lot for transportation in Stockholm but I don’t need an e-bike for that ( even if I now use my e-bike for shorter trips) and also used it a lot for recreational riding.
I bought the e-bike to see if I could go longer more often.