Best range fpr an e-bike

[Stubod]

I undertand there are lots of variables to take into account, but just out of interest what is the best range somebody has got out of their e-bike, and what bike / motor combo is it?

 

[vfr400]

Any answer you get will be meaningless. It's just a question of how hard people pedal on their bikes. Some switch the power off completely.

As a general rule, for a not too fit rider on a ride with a moderate amount of hills, you get about 30 miles from a 36v 10Ah battery.

Range is directly proportional to battery capacity. The motor system has very little influence on range, except that some make you pedal harder, so you go further but get more knackered.

The type of bike does make a bit of difference. A light-weight bike with a small frontal area takes a lot less energy to propel than an upright MTB with knobbly tyres.

 

[flecc]

I undertand there are lots of variables to take into account, but just out of interest what is the best range somebody has got out of their e-bike, and what bike / motor combo is it?

We used to take range surveys among members in the form of watt/hours per mile , but as vfr400 indicates, it told us nothing.

The differences were huge ranging from the most economical at 5.1 w/h per mile, to the greediest two models consuming 24 w/h per mile with some riders. So nearly 5 to 1 difference.
.

 

[WheezyRider]

If you want long range, don't neglect your tyres. At lower speeds before aerodynamic drag dominates, they can make quite a difference. Chose low rolling resistance tyres, like the Schwalbe Almotion:

Touring Bike Tire Test: Schwalbe Marathon Almotion (OneStar)

Rolling resistance and puncture resistance review of a Schwalbe Marathon Almotion (OneStar) touring bike tire. Also includes detailed weight and size measurements

www.bicyclerollingresistance.com

 

[WheezyRider]

We used to take range surveys among members in the form of watt/hours per mile , but as vfr400 indicates, it told us nothing.

The differences were huge ranging from the most economical at 5.1 w/h per mile, to the greediest two models consuming 24 w/h per mile with some riders. So nearly 5 to 1 difference.
.

As Flecc says, there many variables, hence range can vary enormously from one person to the next and from one bike to the next.

If you are trying to figure out what might be possible, this may be helpful to make estimations of power required and from that you can work out energy use:

An interactive model-based calculator of cycling power vs. speed

An interactive calculator that lets you explore the relationship between cycling power and speed.

www.gribble.org

 

[sjpt]

I undertand there are lots of variables to take into account, but just out of interest what is the best range somebody has got out of their e-bike, and what bike / motor combo is it?

I agree with the answers above, especially about the variability.
To get a good idea of variability visit https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/ and play with variables. That is for Bosch bikes, but applies to most sensible designs with a little interpretation of battery capacity (just linear), motor type (not too important compared to other variables) and riding mode.

You'll easily see figures above 100 miles on a 400wh battery, and reduce them to not much more than 30 even on Tour mode with hills etc, and way below 30 if you push it.

 

[Stubod]

Hi SJ, and thanks for the link, I put in all the relevant variables and pretty much bang on what I actually get!