Real Life Range

[Gubbins]

Your right, but I have to do that hill every day, sometimes at 4am and sometimes at 7am after a 12 hr shift at work, rain or shine.

When I have to work at a different branch I have to do this ride just to get to work..

Not criticising in any way, just pointing out how the battery range question cant have a definitive answer..

 

[Doomanic]

My last ride’s elevation;

 

[Doomanic]

And the one before;

The flat section between 7 and 10 miles is actually the red trail and is most definitely not flat...

 

[anotherkiwi]

Bear what are the percentages?

 

[The Bear]

W

Bear what are the percentages?

What do you mean?

 

[Gubbins]

W


What do you mean?

If you look at the hills on your Strava route and move the curser along it will show you the gradient as a percentage.

 

[anotherkiwi]

The average percentage on the steep climb of your graph is 4.26% over about 2 miles - 450 ft / 10560 ft. There will surely be spots a bit steeper of course. I do quite often a 5.74% average climb out of Behobie and 2.3 km up to 132 m. Google gradients says that there is a section that goes 2% downhill on that climb but look as I might I haven't spotted it yet... The first ramp is 7.6% with a spot at 13%. 6% to 7.5% or so is the usual average of the mountain passes around here:

https://www.cols-cyclisme.com/pyrenees-ouest/france/col-de-saint-ignace-depuis-ascain-c1483.htm

Click on the "A Proximité" link to see my playground and its various passes, at the moment there is a bit too much weather to go out. My goal this year, before it snows (...), with the motor on the trike, is this 3576 ft climb (I will be starting from sea level):

https://www.cols-cyclisme.com/pyrenees-ouest/espagne/pico-gorramakil-depuis-dancharia-c1558.htm

I am not looking forward to coming back down, the gravel is pretty loose in places, I have already slipped and fallen over walking down...

 

[Gubbins]

The hills around me are shorter but steeper with many getting near 20% with hairpin bends to make things intersting. One of the hills I like to trundle down in excess of 40MPH has a maximum of 23% which is probably why I have brake fade issues and wear the pads out quick. I have only ridden up it twice as it isnt as much fun as going down.

 

[Gubbins]

W


What do you mean?

Like this.... Which shows the steepest point at 24.7% which is quite a drop by anyones standards..

 

[anotherkiwi]

I'm really glad to know I am not the only one braking on slopes like that You can imagine it on a trike sitting cm from the ground and watching the scenery ripping past at 70+ km/h

 

[Gubbins]

I'm really glad to know I am not the only one braking on slopes like that You can imagine it on a trike sitting cm from the ground and watching the scenery ripping past at 70+ km/h

Yes but it's good fun isn't it. On one of my downhill runs my hr tops 150 on the scary bits which was a surprise as I arnt actually doing anything. I tend to drag the rear brake a bit rather than risk a lot of front... does your trike have a sort of leaning pivot system for the turns, if there is such a thing?

 

[anotherkiwi]

Nope. On the Danish cargo one I linked to there is but on a sports trikes you lean out on the corners, reminds me of the good old days when I was monkey in my mates side car - home built in ply attached to a 250 cc Suzuki kitted to 350 cc.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I found a very interesting Australian site on gradients:

Extract:

• 0%: A flat road
• 1-3%: Slightly uphill but not particularly challenging. A bit like riding into the wind.
• 4-6%: A manageable gradient that can cause fatigue over long periods.
• 7-9%: Starting to become uncomfortable for seasoned riders, and very challenging for new climbers.
• 10%-15%: A painful gradient, especially if maintained for any length of time
• 16%+: Very challenging for riders of all abilities. Maintaining this sort of incline for any length of time is very painful.

 

[Gubbins]

I found a very interesting Australian site on gradients:

Extract:

• 0%: A flat road
• 1-3%: Slightly uphill but not particularly challenging. A bit like riding into the wind.
• 4-6%: A manageable gradient that can cause fatigue over long periods.
• 7-9%: Starting to become uncomfortable for seasoned riders, and very challenging for new climbers.
• 10%-15%: A painful gradient, especially if maintained for any length of time
• 16%+: Very challenging for riders of all abilities. Maintaining this sort of incline for any length of time is very painful.

What does it say about 25%'ers.. Get an e-bike?

 

[anotherkiwi]

What does it say about 25%'ers.. Get an e-bike?

There is a page on power required for climbing at 20 km/h: 17% = about 800 W so doable with a 17 A controller and a 36v battery.

 

[Gubbins]

There is a page on power required for climbing at 20 km/h: 17% = about 800 W so doable with a 17 A controller and a 36v battery.

I have a couple at peak at 23 to 25% (according to Strava) and can get up them with the Bosch CX MTB with reasonable effort.
When I had the older Bosch Classic it was much much harder but I think that was mostly down to the bike having higher gearing and I needed to keep the speed above at least 7mph to keep the cadence up.

 

[anotherkiwi]

IIRC the Bosch is 650 W peak so you must be providing 150-200 W and I guess you aren't at 20 km/h on those gradients.

I am still mulling the conversion to 10 speed 50-34 and 46-11. The low end is slightly better than the current 48-32 and 40-11 but the Rohloff wins hands down for hill climbing those 15% + gradients.

 

[oyster]

I found a very interesting Australian site on gradients:

Extract:

• 0%: A flat road
• 1-3%: Slightly uphill but not particularly challenging. A bit like riding into the wind.
• 4-6%: A manageable gradient that can cause fatigue over long periods.
• 7-9%: Starting to become uncomfortable for seasoned riders, and very challenging for new climbers.
• 10%-15%: A painful gradient, especially if maintained for any length of time
• 16%+: Very challenging for riders of all abilities. Maintaining this sort of incline for any length of time is very painful.

Just what gets you first? Legs or lungs?

 

[anotherkiwi]

Me? Lungs, I'm asthmatic. I have kiwi farmers legs, 25% is the easy slopes

 

[Gubbins]

For me it's a bit of both and depends on how I feel on the day. On a good day my legs will outdo my lungs but On a bad day they won't. When my lungs tell me stop or die I can rest then carry on but when my legs call time then that's it..