Hello everyone,
Since owning my Bearprint Electric bike from last October I have been cycling to work always with the highest level of powered assistance - level 3.
This has worked very well and I now have over 5400 miles of commuting completed.
My regular work commute is 26 miles and more recently, especially when there are strong headwinds to contend with of perhaps 20mph across the Somerset levels, sometimes my 36V 16AH battery occasionally cuts out towards the end of the return journey.
As an experiment when coming home last night I thought I would try going a bit more slowly and selected middle level assistance or level 2.
Instead of an average speed of 15 to 16mph and with just 1 battery strength light showing towards the end of the return journey level 2 meant my speed was 11 to 12mph and with 3 or 2 lights still showing for the battery.
On high assist I usually use 6th (top) or 5th gear on level or slightly uphill roads, on medium assist I was dropping down to 4th gear mostly to correspond to the slower average speed of the electric assist.
This seems to lead to more input from me as the pedal cadence is faster meaning my legs are assisting the battery more often over the same distance. On the steeper hills I was able to augment the medium assist with the throttle to break the back of the more difficult climbs.
I was pleasantly surprised to see 4 lights for most of the early part of the return trip despite the strong headwinds.
The draw back is the slower overall pace and the longer time it takes to get home.
I do not mind this and hope that this new procedure with allow my battery to assist me for many more miles as I move into the second year of ownership of my Ebike.
It is logical I suppose that the battery does not have to work as hard when covering the same distance at a slower speed than when it is straining to keep propelling you along at 15 or 16mph average speed.
So from now on I may prefer to be a Tortoise rather than a Hare!
Best wishes to all.
Barry.
Since owning my Bearprint Electric bike from last October I have been cycling to work always with the highest level of powered assistance - level 3.
This has worked very well and I now have over 5400 miles of commuting completed.
My regular work commute is 26 miles and more recently, especially when there are strong headwinds to contend with of perhaps 20mph across the Somerset levels, sometimes my 36V 16AH battery occasionally cuts out towards the end of the return journey.
As an experiment when coming home last night I thought I would try going a bit more slowly and selected middle level assistance or level 2.
Instead of an average speed of 15 to 16mph and with just 1 battery strength light showing towards the end of the return journey level 2 meant my speed was 11 to 12mph and with 3 or 2 lights still showing for the battery.
On high assist I usually use 6th (top) or 5th gear on level or slightly uphill roads, on medium assist I was dropping down to 4th gear mostly to correspond to the slower average speed of the electric assist.
This seems to lead to more input from me as the pedal cadence is faster meaning my legs are assisting the battery more often over the same distance. On the steeper hills I was able to augment the medium assist with the throttle to break the back of the more difficult climbs.
I was pleasantly surprised to see 4 lights for most of the early part of the return trip despite the strong headwinds.
The draw back is the slower overall pace and the longer time it takes to get home.
I do not mind this and hope that this new procedure with allow my battery to assist me for many more miles as I move into the second year of ownership of my Ebike.
It is logical I suppose that the battery does not have to work as hard when covering the same distance at a slower speed than when it is straining to keep propelling you along at 15 or 16mph average speed.
So from now on I may prefer to be a Tortoise rather than a Hare!
Best wishes to all.
Barry.
