Villagers swap their cars for electric bikes

[eclectic_bike]

Will be interesting to see how this works out: BBC News - Villagers swap their cars for electric bikes

 

[JuicyBike]

Great stuff, really good, but I do wish unrealistic statements weren't so freely broadcast. 50 miles on 10ah? What our industry needs is a little realism. Customer disappointment following such exaggerated claims is inevitable, and reflects badly on all manufacturers. But those making the cheekiest claims seem to attract the most coverage.

 

[Tim]

50 miles on a 10Ah battery with a Panasonic motor is not unreasonable. Not every Kalkhoff owner in every region has achieved that, but some certainly have. It's a very efficient way to power an electric bike.

 

[10mph]

Great stuff, really good, but I do wish unrealistic statements weren't so freely broadcast. 50 miles on 10ah? What our industry needs is a little realism. Customer disappointment following such exaggerated claims is inevitable, and reflects badly on all manufacturers. But those making the cheekiest claims seem to attract the most coverage.

The battery in the film appeared to have a sticker on it saying 12Ah not 10, so that will give a bit more range.

I agree with Tim, I dont think the range is really that much exaggerated for reasonably flat conditions. Judging by my Agattu (3 speed) with a 18Ah battery I achieved 84 miles (mostly fairly flat <2% but with the odd bit steeper and using on the lowest assist mode throughout), which would be equivalent to 56 miles for a 12Ah battery. As we are often told, these crank drives can be very efficient. For me range was an important reason for choosing my bike and battery.

 

[eclectic_bike]

Great stuff, really good, but I do wish unrealistic statements weren't so freely broadcast. 50 miles on 10ah? What our industry needs is a little realism. Customer disappointment following such exaggerated claims is inevitable, and reflects badly on all manufacturers. But those making the cheekiest claims seem to attract the most coverage.

The close up of the battery (about 40 seconds in) shows a 12Ah battery with 90km (56 miles) range, but that will probably be on eco-mode.

Just noticed 10mph said the same thing above.

 

[JuicyBike]

Oh right. Caveats, exclusions, averages, special modes, plus or minus 2 degrees and so on.

My point is this: Electric Bikes are brilliant at getting people from A to B with ease.

What is the point of telling people via the BBC that they will get you from A to C with caveats, provisos, exclusions and small print?
A to B done brilliantly and without question and certainly no fear of disappointment is a much healthier promotional statement than A to C with a strong likelihood of failure for Mr and Mrs Average on a normal day.

I only meant to make a small point by the way - the exposure for the e-bike industry is excellent and I applaud the efforts made.

 

[flecc]

About 30 miles from 10 Ah is the norm for new users of e-bikes and often permanently for many, regardless of system, and this forum's posts over time have shown that. With care and experience the crank drive systems can give much more, but the extra is achieved via a greater rider contribution, sometimes assisted by the ability to switch the motor off at the handlebars when the going is easy.

I agree that exaggeration is the worst possible way of promoting e-bikes. We face enough obstacles to acceptance like battery life and cost without creating possible disappointments.

 

[lemmy]

Anyone wishing to build a long term business knows to manage expectation.

If you can get 35 miles from a battery, a customer told 30 miles will be happy. Tell them 40 miles, they will be unhappy.

There is so much feel good electro-babble now that that it will be difficult for anyone to tell the truth until they've all been found out and are forced to.

Electric bike people are much less guilty than the car makers and motoring journalists, though.

 

[PennyFarthing]

Will be interesting to see how this works out: BBC News - Villagers swap their cars for electric bikes

thanks for the heads up - I hope the result is positive! It should be. Less cars on the road and more cycle lanes - well one day perhaps...