How well does your E-bike work at -30 celcius?

[Affliction]

We've had a cold snap and I am one of the crazy fools who still rides in this weather
I've had components freeze and all the roads are black ice
Share your experience if you are as nuts as I am

 

[Anonymous]

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[swade]

Road in -30, -44 with wind chill (not including my added wind chill) in December. 30 minute commute by ebike vs 2 hours for my buddies that live by me who drove their cars.
- full on face gear - goggles face mask, warm clothes, snow pants, heater packs for feet and hands
- froze the front of my leg where my pants meet my boots, went all blistery and now have a big red patch there

As for the bike:
- rear derailleur wouldn't really shift, had to do it by hand
- motor ran fine
- the NIMH 13ah lost a lot of its range, felt like it was cut in half, I should have backpacked it instead of mounting it on my triangle
- studded tires performed well, would have preferred front wheel drive to get through the snow

 

[biohazardman]

I dunno I walked the first two days but that got old fast. I left the e-bike home in the snow and ice and rode something a bit lighter and balanced a bit better. Just a stripped down Schwinn MTB pretty much the same as the electric but only one gear and no weight. People could not believe I was riding the bike on the icy roads I got lots of funny looks. The walk to over 30 minutes the ride less than ten. I would have been injured on the e-bike for sure. I'm just trying to heal up from the last injury so had to be careful.

 

[Zoot Katz]

Froze my dick at -13F, once only. Sheepskin stuffed in your shorts works great.
Vancouver's snow was serious this year and there was lots of salt to make a sticky corrosive electrolyte substance all over the roads for weeks. I rode the SS MTB with DIY studs for my normal errands except when it was easier to walk. Took two buses just to remind myself how much that sux.
Ideas for a second ebike started to percolate in my head.
Coldest here this season has been about -10 C. The roads were clear so I rode. The NiMH batteries didn't seen to mind working between warm resting points. After they'd sat in the cold for a few hours they weren't as happy.

 

[SamSpeed]

That's way too cold.

But I went for a ride in Oregon just before Christmas, and it was down to about -6 and icy. The front wheel drive, well two wheel drive actually if you count the pedals, worked very well. Did a lot of sliding but managed to control it well.

But I killed my controller! Bike is a bl36 and the motor started to run real rough and lost power like a vw missing a plug wire. Inside, is a small board that is not secured but is covered on both sides with very sticky tape. Opened it, and saw a piece of that tape had fallen off and the board (guess it's the microcontroller) was resting against the power circuits. Must have fried something. Think the cold affected the adhesive, made it stiff and not sticky.

The good news is that WE made good on their warranty.

 

[nomad85]

I've ridden in -25 temps with wind chill, I use ski goggles and a balaclava, a light marmot shell jacket and pants, and some nice mittens, and was ok, feet and hands got pretty cold, but my body was fine.
My bike is doing fine, I took the chain off, my Ping battery doesn't seem to mind the cold very much, my efficiency is down a bit, the ampedbikes rear motor is going strong as well. I am looking forward to the spring though...

 

[Doctorbass]

Mine worked pretty well at -23Celsius on winter 2008

Alot of Fun!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gFRpSOlzso

Doc

 

[swade]

Forgot to mention one thing. At that temperature, all of the packed snow on the paths was really grippy. Felt like riding on solid styrofoam.

 

[Anonymous]

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[Affliction]

Ouch ... just had my first wipeout after 3626 km crash free riding ...

That sucks! I ride daily on the same streets you do nutsandvolts and I have not had one single incident this winter. And I ride everywhere at 40 kph! even this morning!
You have studded tires? Yuergen at Acclivity still has some for sale. I love my Schwalbe Marathon winters I would have surely crashed without studded tires on black ice when it was -32!
On a side note, I left my bike outside Canadian Tire for 20 minutes and when I came back to it both my U-lock and my front hub motor were frozen solid!
used hot water from the washroom in a washer jug to defrost them so I could go home
My rear hub was unaffected for some reason. The cold does vastly affect battery performance as I have experienced firsthand.
Ben...

 

[Lock]

Does -20C count? Is -30C so much... worse?
Just that I've ducked most -30C for some decades but -20Cs yah. Don't think yer mentioning ambient temps in "absolute" terms w/out thinking of what else
-30C means to pavement conditions and volumes of foot and vehicle traffic around you?
On the plus side average commute times improve for me as sidewalk/pedestrian traffic tends to disappear more in favour of the buses or ride sharing or whatever. Emptier pavements make for faster commutes.
On the neg side it usually means "snow" that's grey salty glue that sticks to wheels etc. Best case the scoot needs a swish with kettles of hot water to get off frozen crap. Bitter cold steel/alum bits (like most pedal bicycle frames and running bits) seem like magnets to winter slush. Worst case it makes footing (foot/feet on the scoot) less "fixed". Brakes sieze up and slip more than usual <hehe>
(BTW does anyone know why brakes seize "up" and not "down"?)

Really cold temps usually mean pavements are "worse cleared" of snow and ice than usual. Once there are drifts and blowing snow that fill in the "cuts" made by the sidewalk plows... well, I can break trails through 1-2" of fresh powder but more than a few inches of snow really overpower the 12" tires and 400W I am familiar with. I expect 16"/600W driven front tire w/aggressive tread "chain"/studs/whatever will "chew" better through smaller drifts. Remains to be seen.

-30C's (-20s really) also suck lead acid life in half very fast w/the uninsulated little SLA "packs" I know. I have leaned more on electric public transit in the winters, I admit. Pretty sure that LiFePO4 prices now are more than compensated for w/much better low ambient temps performance (distances per pack weight/volume where packs are chilled near ambients.)
tks
locck

 

[Lock]

Ouch ... just had my first wipeout after 3626 km crash free riding ...

Ya mean "EV-enabled"kms... correct?

2) Brake cables need regular adjustment in the winter, very regular.

I prefer my EVs have no (cooling/brake/whatever) fluids to leak anytime on to pavements...
But the "mechanical" brakes that are flex wire cables that are push/pulled in their "casings"... are a good argument for hydraulics instead?
Assuming there are hydraulic fluids that are drinkable OK do hydraulics circumvent low temp problems w/frozen brake cables?
tks
Looc

 

[Anonymous]

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[Lock]

 

[Mathurin]

Bike works ok tho it's still on wide slicks with only a front brake, possibly the worst combo I've tried so far for winter riding. Thing is this bike is an extracycle chop job, and I couldn't be arsed to change the tires so the front is a wide 2.0 slick and the rear is an absurdly huge 2.35, so even with a light dusting it's riding on top the snow instead of sinking into solid stuff, and being slicks they don't have much traction on snow or hardpack. So the bike is quite a slow ride everywhere except when I can hit a patch of clear pavement, but the rider's not been functioning that well for the past 8 months-ish, can't put out much continuous power so the bike don't really pickup that much speed on clear pavement, and altho I quickly regained enough peak torque for short steep hills, but then it's the rear end that slips. Single front brake isn't as bad as it sounds because it mostly goes slowpoke, but still I'll have learnt how to use a front brake in bad conditions come spring, and it's kinda neat to skid the front wheel. Otherwise everything is stiffer as expected, rear derailleur stopped working a long time ago but the freewheel is OK. Also the front light was on plastic mounting hardware so it snapped off as soon as it got cold out, shoulda seen that one coming. Overall, rather perfectible, first bike was still the most satisfactory of the bunch. Could be made loads better if I put studs or at least narrower knobbies on it, but not likely gonna do any maintenance before spring.

Also if one of your buddies is drunk and wants to ride your bike and give you a lift, say no.

 

[astroman]

My LiFePo4 batteries are rated to -20*C, which coincidentally is my low temp ride limit too, and I've slept outside in -40. Like others I wear a balaclava and ski goggs when out that cold. Otherwise a scarf around my mouth and the goggs. From my moped riding days, I sometimes lay a clean cotton sock flat inside my underpants, then longjohns, then cords, then rain pants. Make sure your feet are warm and dry, boots not tight. Waterproof your boots with silicone or mink oil. Sheepskin saddle covers help the tush. Mitts are warmer than gloves. There are even electric grip heaters http://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=165572 that you can put on just for winter. Warm batts work better than cold ones but even so, don't expect summer performance or range.

Working bright lights and a reflective vest are vital for darkness and drivers not expecting a winter rider. I run solid tires (flatfreetire.ca) that work fine, plus ice and snow won't stick to them. Rims are steel wooled and cleaned regularly as are brake pads. The bike is wiped down after each ride to remove salt and gunk as I store it inside. Generally I only ride when it is dry and cold, not warm and slushy. Roads are narrower and paths are often unplowed concealing hidden ice, so take it easy and enjoy a winter ride.

 

[mvadventure]

Now I got a good imagination and it's been well used. In my youth when all I had was a motorcycle I have ridden in rain, snow, slush and ice and in temperatures below freezing. My youth however was a LONG time ago and I've lived in either Florida or Georgia for 44 years in an effort to avoid reliving those earlier experiences. But...it does get cold here, this week we had a frost and the temperature was hovering in the mid 30's for a couple of hours in the morning. Because I'm older, have learned a lot of common sense and understand my body better than I did when I was twenty, I did not ride my bike. I had another cup of coffee and caught a ride with someone in a car.

Oh well, call me chicken but make sure it's a warm chicken.

Mike

 

[snowcrow]

Well...I live in Vermont so I'm no stranger to cold and frost-bite Just last week, here in Inland Pond it was -42 degrees F, before windchill

Can't say I'd venture to far on a bike in that kind of cold, maybe a 1/2 mile at best Going any distance on a bike in sub-zero temps. can be crazy dangerous!! The cold can numb the mind as well as the body, making you take changes you wouldn't normally take :| I've lost a few good friends that way

BE SAFE 8)

Blessings, Snow Crow