knightmb
100 kW
This experiment was to test the range of the 48V NiMH battery pack using my current road e-bike.
Test Conducted 5/8/2006 @ 11:15AM
Environment Stats
Rider Stats
Bike Stats
Summary:
Pinkterton Park is the ideal place to test electric bicycles. It has an exact 1 mile loop around the park, the track is a flawless condition pavement that is very well maintained. Very low pedestrian traffic to worry about and very flat sections to ride along with one slight hill and one average hill to climb. This very well simulates an open road yet ideal testing conditions to see how far the batteries will take you.
First, I made sure the speedometer was tuned perfectly to the wheel circumference to make sure I get the exact distance the batteries are able to go. Next, I wore regular jeans, t-shirt and jacket. Since I won't be getting any exercise this round, I didn't want to freeze myself. Plus, this added more air drag to simulate the casual person going back and forth to work.
I started at the 1 mile mark, reset the speedometer's distance, max speed, time, etc. I then pedal the bike up to 6 MPH to kick in the motor and away I go. During the long ride, I tried to maintain the park speed limit of 15 MPH the entire time. Going down straight rides, passing people who were jogging and people out walking their dogs. I would maintain 15MPH on the level parts and gun it a little to 18 MPH to make it up the first hill, then sometimes up to 20MPH for the final hill because it was a much better incline.
An hour into the ride, my butt really started to feel sore. My arms were getting tired too, all this riding and no exercise was really getting to me. The good thing about the park design, there are many places to stop along the track to rest. After the first hour and 15 miles, I stopped at the park bench for a 5 minute break so my butt could recover. Good thing, the speedometer on the bike only runs when the wheel is spinning, so a 5 minute break wouldn't hurt anything for our experiment. After the break, I got back on the bike, got it back up to 6 MPH and I was off again for more miles of coasting on the electric bike.
Another hour into the ride and again my body was aching from the non-activity of just sitting there and driving around. I took another 5 minute break on the bench and off again I rode to see how much longer these batteries were going to last.
Finally, about mile 33, I started to notice that the bike was losing power. It was having trouble getting up the hills to a point I actually noticed. On the straight-a-ways and levels, I didn't notice much difference. But... I knew that the batteries were finally getting tired. After two and a half hours of riding, the battery power fell to a level that I could not make it up the final hill in the track. This was a good stopping point for me. I could have probably squeezed a few more miles out of the batteries on the level parts if I pedal up the two hills, but for me the batteries were depleted enough to stop the experiment.
I pedal up the last hill and let the batteries take me the rest of the way home. It was a much longer ride than I expected and with good results. I had purchased NiMH batteries last year in hopes of getting better range and much higher top-end speed with awesome acceleration. A year and many thousands of miles later, the batteries are still in top notch form for me. Below I made a summary of the final results of my real world simulating experiment. I've also attached pictures of the place so others can get an idea of what it was like to make 36 laps around this place.
Final Results
Test Conducted 5/8/2006 @ 11:15AM
Environment Stats
- Weather: Mostly Cloudy
- Winds: Calm with NE 1-6 MPH Gust on Occasion
- Temperature: 63 F
- Humidity: 59%
- Barometer: 29.96
Rider Stats
- Gender: Male
- Weight: 172 lbs
Bike Stats
- Bike Weight: 70 lbs
- Tire Pressure: 68 PSI both Front and Rear Tires
- Batteries: (2) 24V @ 12 AH - NiMH Battery Packs, Full Charge
- Battery Age: Purchased 3/24/2005, they are now over a year old and have gone through about 250 charge cycles
- Motor: BL36 (400 Watt) Brushless Electric Motor using Pedal First Controller from Wilderness Energy in CA
- Bike Design: Marin San Anselmo 700C Bicycle
Summary:
Pinkterton Park is the ideal place to test electric bicycles. It has an exact 1 mile loop around the park, the track is a flawless condition pavement that is very well maintained. Very low pedestrian traffic to worry about and very flat sections to ride along with one slight hill and one average hill to climb. This very well simulates an open road yet ideal testing conditions to see how far the batteries will take you.
First, I made sure the speedometer was tuned perfectly to the wheel circumference to make sure I get the exact distance the batteries are able to go. Next, I wore regular jeans, t-shirt and jacket. Since I won't be getting any exercise this round, I didn't want to freeze myself. Plus, this added more air drag to simulate the casual person going back and forth to work.
I started at the 1 mile mark, reset the speedometer's distance, max speed, time, etc. I then pedal the bike up to 6 MPH to kick in the motor and away I go. During the long ride, I tried to maintain the park speed limit of 15 MPH the entire time. Going down straight rides, passing people who were jogging and people out walking their dogs. I would maintain 15MPH on the level parts and gun it a little to 18 MPH to make it up the first hill, then sometimes up to 20MPH for the final hill because it was a much better incline.
An hour into the ride, my butt really started to feel sore. My arms were getting tired too, all this riding and no exercise was really getting to me. The good thing about the park design, there are many places to stop along the track to rest. After the first hour and 15 miles, I stopped at the park bench for a 5 minute break so my butt could recover. Good thing, the speedometer on the bike only runs when the wheel is spinning, so a 5 minute break wouldn't hurt anything for our experiment. After the break, I got back on the bike, got it back up to 6 MPH and I was off again for more miles of coasting on the electric bike.
Another hour into the ride and again my body was aching from the non-activity of just sitting there and driving around. I took another 5 minute break on the bench and off again I rode to see how much longer these batteries were going to last.
Finally, about mile 33, I started to notice that the bike was losing power. It was having trouble getting up the hills to a point I actually noticed. On the straight-a-ways and levels, I didn't notice much difference. But... I knew that the batteries were finally getting tired. After two and a half hours of riding, the battery power fell to a level that I could not make it up the final hill in the track. This was a good stopping point for me. I could have probably squeezed a few more miles out of the batteries on the level parts if I pedal up the two hills, but for me the batteries were depleted enough to stop the experiment.
I pedal up the last hill and let the batteries take me the rest of the way home. It was a much longer ride than I expected and with good results. I had purchased NiMH batteries last year in hopes of getting better range and much higher top-end speed with awesome acceleration. A year and many thousands of miles later, the batteries are still in top notch form for me. Below I made a summary of the final results of my real world simulating experiment. I've also attached pictures of the place so others can get an idea of what it was like to make 36 laps around this place.
Final Results
- Total Miles: 36 (57.9 Kilometers)
- Total Ride Time: 2 Hours 38 Minutes
- Max Speed: 21.6 MPH (34.8 KPH)
- Average Speed: 13.7 MPH (22 KPH)
