Touring with electric bike

[mellingford]

OK most of us electric bike owners have confirmed that they are great for short or medium dedicated journeys,for getting us from A to B with the least exersion great for the hills and getting us to our destination without needing a shower and feeling fairly relaxed.What about touring on a electric bike what would be the problems you would face,ie charging for a start,this would be a camping holiday.What distances would be practical to travel everyday,10,20,30 mls.What would be the pros and cons of charging the battery every day,would you go to the nearest boozer or cafe and while you are sampling the fare sneakily plug your battery and charger into the nearest socket and make the meal or drink last as long as can,before being rumbled only joking,do you think the camp site owners would accommadate you asking if you can charge your battery at the nearest socket and do you think you should offer to pay considering it only costs a few pence.Is this where the electric bike meets its nemmisis.
Regards

 

[Geebee]

If you intend running Pedelec mode it should be relatively easy to attain a 100km range without recharging, especially if you are into DIY packs.
My new folder would require, dependent upon terrain 15 to 20 ah at 24 volts, around $150~$200 aud for LiPo packs.
My recumbent trike would need a similar sized pack to do 100km in moderately hilly terrain.
Both would be without the camping load.

Perhaps ring ahead an check if the camp sites will allow charging, and yes I would tell them the kw required and offer to pay.

 

[funkylyn]

There is a post a few weeks back from member scarrabri who went camping with his Tonaro Bighit towing a trailer and did decent mileage and had a great time by all accounts.....might be an idea to do a search for his post and PM him about where he charged his battery,..... although I have to say I have never come across a campsite or pub who has refused me over the years.

Now of course we have the help of
CycleCharge | Charge on the move
to point us in the direction of chargepoints who have agreed to welcome us to re charge our batteries.
If there arent any in your area perhaps you would like to join us and try to get some convenient places interested.

Oh, and BTW......30 miles should be easy peasy on most bikes


Lynda

 

[eddieo]

if you are fit enough to even consider a touring holiday, a spare battery/trailer and being economical with the battery use should get you where you want I should think.......

 

[neptune]

I would say that charging "on the fly" is all about diplomacy, and it probably helps, if, like me you have a degree in BS. I would offer to pay £1 per full charge, pointing out that this is probably ten times the cost of the electricity. If you can charge at a camp site whilst sleeping, great. If not, plan other activities whilst your battery charges, such as walking or pedalling into town. Fly charging adds to the challenge.

 

[gerryscott]

I've toured a few times with my kalkhoff 18 ah battery which is ideal for touring. I've only used campites and luckily most of them had campers kitchens so I just plugged in last thing at night.A couple of times i had to ask if i could charge battery in reception area if there were no suitable charging points and they were very obliging, said they charge campers mobile phones all the time,but I wont be like this all the time.The best thing if you are camping is to check if they have a campers kitchen before you go.

 

[20ston]

i have just done a 7 day offroad tour on my haibike.
ranging from 30 the 45 miles all offroad on b/w's, we started in the southern yorkshire dales and travelled to the north yorkshire moors.
i carried a spare battery and charged them overnight.

 

[neptune]

@20ston. That sounds like one very interesting achievement. I am sure we would all like to hear a lot more detail. Where did you sleep? What and where did you eat? What sights did you see, who did you speak to? What problems did you face , and how did you solve them? To me, and I would think many others, !Road Trip" stories are the best stories of all.

 

[eddieo]

would like a little more detail as well, camping or B&B and how about charging? 2 chargers I guess? Oh sorry no need, you have a Bosch!

 

[20ston]

we stayed in yha at kettlewell, grinton, osmotherley and whitby. the other 2 nights, goathland and sinnington, we stayed in bnb.
i took 1 charger, charge time is only 90mins from flat, so it was no problem.
on 2 days in the nym i all but used both batteries to flat. but we did hardly no road sections.