Aluminium v Steel hybrid Bike

[sean02ie]

Hi all, your opinion please.
I have hybrid bike 14 kg
Bafang 1000w
48v battery
I'm 82 kilos
I can manage 80- 90 Kms on level.
I'd like to get to 100kms
My question is if I change to a 10kg aluminium bike would it make a worthwhile increase in range.
I appreciate your suggestions
Sean
Ireland

 

[spinningmagnets]

I suspect that getting a bike where the frame is a few kilo's lighter would be nice for lifting over an obstacle, but...I doubt it will help your range any.

 

[neptronix]

It will be the difference of a couple pounds, unles the aluminum bike has lighter components on it also.

You should be aware that bikes without suspension ( "hybrid" bikes usually have no suspension ) with aluminum frames ride rougher than steel frames because they are many times more rigid.

Aerodynamics would help you more than anything else. Hybrid bikes tend to have poor aero because of their very upright position. The upright position mostly comes from the handlebar position, so you could move the handlebars forward and down in order to get in a better, more aerodynamic body position.

 

[DogDipstick]

Hi all, your opinion please.
I have hybrid bike 14 kg
Bafang 1000w
48v battery
I'm 82 kilos
I can manage 80- 90 Kms on level.
I'd like to get to 100kms
My question is if I change to a 10kg aluminium bike would it make a worthwhile increase in range.
I appreciate your suggestions
Sean
Ireland

You have to tell us the capacity of the battery, for us to make a solid response in numbers. Tell us the weight of you and the bikes, together and what kind of terrain you ride ( hills,).

I have an Aluminum bike with a 1000w motor ( hub). I tore the bike down for a rebuild yesterday, first day in three years everything has been removed from the frame. It is ridiculously light. It surprised me, how light the frame is. Kinda scared me, honestly,. I did not remember it being this light... and I had grown accustomed to the weight of 37kG, when the bike has its battery and motor, controller, fork installed.

It is literally 7kG, with the cables, shifter, tree, and bar/ crank in place... if i remove those things, bet it is 5kG. I can lift it with one finger, and I do love this bike. This bike has served me well. 10,000 miles of abuse. The bike is " high performance".. and that was my goal, and the Alu bike has served me well, personally. This is an Ironhorse, I also have an aluminum Banshee that is heavier. Much heavier. I enjoy a very light frame.

However, even so light with the frame, the battery and motor make it so heavy it is slow to pedal. I never pedal over 6-7mph, for the effort is to great still.

 

[E-HP]

Looks like on flat ground you may see a few extra feet in range. Probably better results if you add a couple of psi tire pressure.
https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?motor=MBBSHD&batt=B4816_GA&cont=C25&hp=0&axis=mph&frame=mountain&autothrot=false&throt=100&grade=0&mid=true&gear=1&mass=120&cont_b=C25&motor_b=MBBSHD&mid_b=true&gear_b=1&batt_b=B4816_GA&mass_b=116&hp_b=0&bopen=true

 

[SafeDiscDancing]

I build my ebikes out of mild steel and have my own welder.

From a DIY perspective steel is easiest.

But if you only plan to use an existing frame I think Aluminum is fine.

My most recent project uses an Aluminum frame because I broke the old Aluminum swingarm.

 

[sean02ie]

:thumb: Thank you all for your comments. You seem to agree that reducing the weight of bike by changing to Aluminium would not make a significant difference in range.
48v Perhaps the other option would be changing controller settings and percentage usage at each level??
At the moment I have 5 levels. I like level 2 for long rides, this with little wind and constant peddling I maximum speed about 25 kph, which is good if head wind or uphill I change to higher cadence and perhaps 20 kph. This seems to give me best range results. The rating for battery is 48v. 14.5 amp hr. Motor Bafang 1000w. Am I asking too much to try and achieve a range of 110 Kms??
Thanks for your patience and comments.
Sean

 

[SafeDiscDancing]

The rating for battery is 48v. 14.5 amp hr.

Am I asking too much to try and achieve a range of 110 Kms??

So 50v * 15ah = 750wh roughly.

Assuming 100km then that's 7.5 watts per km.

My "guess" is no... you will more than likely output double that if not more.

Instead let's assume 25 wh per km then you get 30km.

Overall I'd "guess" your range as 30km to 50km.

But if you go fully eco mode and pedal a lot you might stretch to close to 100km.

A battery closer to 1kwh is more likely to get you the full 100km.

But to reliably achieve the 100km I'm thinking you need more like 2kwh unless your efficiency is really good and you go really slow.

Speed kills range.

Plus, a flat ride loses mostly because of air resistance but hills can further shorten your range.