Battery range

Callumrayb

Finding my (electric) wheels
Mar 19, 2020
9
-1
Hi, so I recently got my first proper ebike,
An e-movement Thunder, and the range on the battery was only around 11 miles at PAS 4-5 so I got a warranty replacement but it seems after 2 battery cycles I'm only getting around 15-17 miles. I know it's meant to be around 30-40 so I'm really confused! Any help would be appreciated
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,668
2,673
Winchester
Range varies hugely depending how you use the bike. If they quote 'up to' that means on the flat in good weather on low assist. That is usually around 3 times more than 'typical' distance on medium assist with some hills, and a lot less that that if you use full assist.

https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/ will give a good idea how different variables/settings affect range. Even if you don't have a Bosch it shows the variation. It's easy to get it to give 100 mile range, change a few details and it will very quickly drop below 30.
 
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Callumrayb

Finding my (electric) wheels
Mar 19, 2020
9
-1
Range varies hugely depending how you use the bike. If they quote 'up to' that means on the flat in good weather on low assist. That is usually around 3 times more than 'typical' distance on medium assist with some hills, and a lot less that that if you use full assist.

https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/ will give a good idea how different variables/settings affect range. Even if you don't have a Bosch it shows the variation. It's easy to get it to give 100 mile range, change a few details and it will very quickly drop below 30.
Yeah but 15 miles? I thought if I were using it conservatively I could get at least 30 miles.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,986
Basildon
Yeah but 15 miles? I thought if I were using it conservatively I could get at least 30 miles.
It depends how hard you were pedalling. If air pedalling, 15 miles would be about right. With medium pedalling you should get around 30 miles. Lift each wheel off the ground and check that they spin freely in the forward direction.
 
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WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
1,660
916
Hi, so I recently got my first proper ebike,
An e-movement Thunder, and the range on the battery was only around 11 miles at PAS 4-5 so I got a warranty replacement but it seems after 2 battery cycles I'm only getting around 15-17 miles. I know it's meant to be around 30-40 so I'm really confused! Any help would be appreciated
What voltage and how many Ah is the battery pack? How heavy are you? What's your terrain like? Lots of hills? What sort of riding are you doing? Mainly start/stop with rapid acceleration in traffic, or cruising for long periods on the flat? How windy is it? Are you riding upright or leaning over the handlebars? Is your LCD set up properly for your wheel size - ie are you actually going faster than 25 kph? What temperature are you riding in? Less than 10 Deg C?

As you can see lots of things affect range. If you still think range is not right after considering the above, you could do some basic checks to see if the battery is charging properly.
 

gsm.terra

Pedelecer
Aug 3, 2020
157
79
Edinburgh
What voltage and how many Ah is the battery pack? How heavy are you? What's your terrain like? Lots of hills? What sort of riding are you doing? Mainly start/stop with rapid acceleration in traffic, or cruising for long periods on the flat? How windy is it? Are you riding upright or leaning over the handlebars? Is your LCD set up properly for your wheel size - ie are you actually going faster than 25 kph? What temperature are you riding in? Less than 10 Deg C?

As you can see lots of things affect range. If you still think range is not right after considering the above, you could do some basic checks to see if the battery is charging properly.
18.6 MPH according to the specs!

 
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WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
1,660
916
18.6 MPH according to the specs!

With those big fat tyres and that battery, I think you'd be very lucky to get 30 miles unless you are doing most of the work yourself. Throw in a hill or two, a bit of wind and probably 20 miles is good.
 

pichipedals

Pedelecer
Jan 7, 2016
44
13
56
Well from their webpage I’m not too sure what you’ve got. The images show a 8ah frame sticker, the specs say 10Ah. They talk about 18.6mph and then 25km/h speeds, the latter being uk law. Their quoted range is the stuff of fairy tales, no matter which battery capacity. There are things to check which might improve your range..

tyre pressures - make sure they are suitable for the rider and cargo weight, that doesn’t mean inflate to the maxpressure indicated on the side wall, just that they are not under inflated and creating more resistance than they already do by design

throttle - kills range

power levels - obvious but the more help you get from the motor the less range, so keep levels as low as you can and pedal more

coasting - slow acceleration to speed, then coasting for a while, then accelerating again is generally efficient, but perhaps not great for a time constrained commute

brake rub - spin the wheels and check for brake rub, rotors often are not flat or distort.

weight - only carry what you need for the ride/day.

temperature - current uk temps of 5’c morning/evening and 14’c midday aren’t too bad but will give less range than a 20-25’c summer day.


 
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WheezyRider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 20, 2020
1,660
916
Well it definitely does above 15.5 mph. I've had it at 19.5 before.

The LCD is probably set up for the wrong wheel size. Putting fat tyres on a bike not only makes things wider, but also increases circumference. So the wheel goes further per revolution compared to a "normal" tyre.
 

RoadieRoger

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2010
720
196
Callum I have a Fat Tyre E Bike and using the top 2 assists only get 25 miles on a mix of hilly lanes and main roads . I inflate the 20X4 Kenda on the rear to about 29 psi and the front Chaoyang Sand/Road profile tyre to 25 psi . On the same routes with a Quartz 20 in. Folder I can reach nearer 30 miles and somewhere in-between with a Pro Rider Flare crank drive . On more main roads the mileage can be improved . All my batteries are 10-11 Ah .
 
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ToVo

Finding my (electric) wheels
Dec 17, 2019
17
2
top left hand corner of Wales
I have just bought an E-Movement Thor. 250w bafang rear hub motor, 36v 10.4AH battery. Did a 12 mile circuit of my home yesterday as my first trip out. Setting 3 for most of the time, 4 on the hilly clips and 5 on the hard uphill back to the house. With sensible use of the gears, and being frugal on the throttle, I came back with around 40% remaining, so would expect another 4-5 miles in the terrain around here [hilly N Wales, not Snowdonia] before getting off to push. The bike is heavy- like around 25kg as am I [100kg] so this sort of milage is acceptable for a 10AH battery. I believe e-movement are looking at a bigger battery later this year.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,112
8,219
60
West Sx RH
Any quoted range has to be taken with pinch of salt or even a large spoon full, lowest assist and no wind on flat terrain and one might get nearer the quoted.
 
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