Range issue?

[King Friday]

I have a Lectric Xpedition 2.0 with 329 miles on it.
It has a single 48V 13Ah battery.
The bike weighs 85 lbs. with the one battery in it.
Myself plus the paniers, hardened steel chain and cylinder lock weighs on at 260, which is a liberal estimate.
The bike is rated for a 450 lb. cargo capacity.

When the battery is full charged, it's 55 Volts. After a full charge I have 47.1 Volts left after 23 miles.
The bike is advertised at 60 mile range and I realize that those kinds of estimates a wildly idealized.

Does this sound like a good range? I think 20% charge would leave me with 44.36 Volts.
So, what would be a reasonable expectation for range left? 10 miles?

 

[RunForTheHills]

The range depends a lot on how much you contribute by pedaling and if there are any hills, how long and steep they are. I think it is typical to use 20-25 wh/mile. But it depends and manufacturers lie about how many ah/wh their batteries have. If you can identify the motor on the bike, you can put it into the Grin motor simulator:

Motor Simulator - Web Tools - Resources

 

[King Friday]

The range depends a lot on how much you contribute by pedaling and if there are any hills, how long and steep they are. I think it is typical to use 20-25 wh/mile. But it depends and manufacturers lie about how many ah/wh their batteries have. If you can identify the motor on the bike, you can put it into the Grin motor simulator:

Motor Simulator - Web Tools - Resources

No such luck. It's a proprietary motor designed by Lectric.
I did see a rating on the bike and it's among with worst as far as range goes.
90% of my routes are to 2 destinations. Fairly level sidewalk/pavement.
Headwind on the way there, tailwind on the way back.
So for my riding habits, I don't need a crazy amount of range.

:-(

 

[E-HP]

No such luck. It's a proprietary motor designed by Lectric.
I did see a rating on the bike and it's among with worst as far as range goes.
90% of my routes are to 2 destinations. Fairly level sidewalk/pavement.
Headwind on the way there, tailwind on the way back.
So for my riding habits, I don't need a crazy amount of range.

:-(

The only way to determine range is to ride the bike, the way you ride the bike and see what your actual range is. Learn your bike, based on your own riding habits. Usually, with 329 miles under your belt, you should have some idea already.

 

[King Friday]

Well, I do know it's not even half of the advertised range.

 

[E-HP]

Well, I do know it's not even half of the advertised range.

Just have fun riding it. Seems like it gets you where you want to go.

 

[King Friday]

Just have fun riding it. Seems like it gets you where you want to go.

I do enjoy it. No long adventures though.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Your battery is nominally rated for 48V X 13AH or 624WH. Let's say you don't pedal much and you use 25WH / mile on flat land. Then you can expect a range of about 25 miles from the battery assuming the manufacturer is telling the truth and it is really 13AH. An option for extending your range is to carry a second battery.

Now let's say that you pedal and contribute 150w (an average person does 100-150w while a fit cyclist can average over 200w) while pedaling bringing down your battery usage to 18WH / mile. You can now get a 35 mile range for the same battery. I think the 60 mile range is exaggerated based on the assumption of the rider contributing more than the casual cyclist would. To get 60 miles out of a 624WH battery, you would need to average 10WH / mile. Something a fit cyclist would do, maybe using the motor to level the hills and doing most of the work himself on the flats.

 

[King Friday]

Your battery is nominally rated for 48V X 13AH or 624WH. Let's say you don't pedal much and you use 25WH / mile on flat land. Then you can expect a range of about 25 miles from the battery assuming the manufacturer is telling the truth and it is really 13AH. An option for extending your range is to carry a second battery.

Now let's say that you pedal and contribute 150w (an average person does 100-150w while a fit cyclist can average over 200w) while pedaling bringing down your battery usage to 18WH / mile. You can now get a 35 mile range for the same battery. I think the 60 mile range is exaggerated based on the assumption of the rider contributing more than the casual cyclist would. To get 60 miles out of a 624WH battery, you would need to average 10WH / mile. Something a fit cyclist would do, maybe using the motor to level the hills and doing most of the work himself on the flats.

As for a second battery, there is a second battery rack so I could have them both connected at once. I don't know how these controllers work but I'm guessing the load is spread across the two batteries evenly, not draining one battery at a time. Not sure what the difference in range would be between the two.

I pedal all the time. The only time I throttle is to get me moving from a full stop to cross a busy intersection and that's just a momentary thing.

 

[RunForTheHills]

You can also extend your range by getting a more aerodynamic position on the bike. Over a certain speed, wind resistance becomes the biggest force you have to overcome on flat ground.

 

[King Friday]

You can also extend your range by getting a more aerodynamic position on the bike. Over a certain speed, wind resistance becomes the biggest force you have to overcome on flat ground.

That's going to be very uncomfortable considering the handlebar height.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Yes, with two batteries connected in parallel, the load would be spread across both batteries. It has nothing to do with the controller.

 

[RunForTheHills]

That's going to be very uncomfortable considering the handlebar height.

Well, the force of the wind resistance will be a lot less at 10 mph than 20-25mph. The wind resistance increases proportionally to the square of your speed.

This graph says it was for a standard bike. I am not sure what standard is (drop bar or mountain bike?).

 

[MattyFlipTV]

I have a Lectric Xpedition 2.0 with 329 miles on it.
It has a single 48V 13Ah battery.
The bike weighs 85 lbs. with the one battery in it.
Myself plus the paniers, hardened steel chain and cylinder lock weighs on at 260, which is a liberal estimate.
The bike is rated for a 450 lb. cargo capacity.

When the battery is full charged, it's 55 Volts. After a full charge I have 47.1 Volts left after 23 miles.
The bike is advertised at 60 mile range and I realize that those kinds of estimates a wildly idealized.

Does this sound like a good range? I think 20% charge would leave me with 44.36 Volts.
So, what would be a reasonable expectation for range left? 10 miles?View attachment 388380

I have a Lectric Xpedition 2.0 with 329 miles on it.
It has a single 48V 13Ah battery.
The bike weighs 85 lbs. with the one battery in it.
Myself plus the paniers, hardened steel chain and cylinder lock weighs on at 260, which is a liberal estimate.
The bike is rated for a 450 lb. cargo capacity.

When the battery is full charged, it's 55 Volts. After a full charge I have 47.1 Volts left after 23 miles.
The bike is advertised at 60 mile range and I realize that those kinds of estimates a wildly idealized.

Does this sound like a good range? I think 20% charge would leave me with 44.36 Volts.
So, what would be a reasonable expectation for range left? 10 miles?View attachment 388380

Greetings! Im kind of new here but I would like to mention that there are a lot more factors that should be considered when calculating accurate the range your e-bike has. Sure, you can get an idea by knowing your battery voltage and amp hours. However, you also need to account for the weight of the bike, rider and cargo, elevation, wind speed, tire pressure and tire type. Even the temperature outside can affect your range.

I have been working on a web app (not in app stores yet) for the last 3 weeks that allows you to use ALL of these metrics when planning your route. After entering your route and bike info, it will tell you how much battery you will have remaining by the end of your trip! it has a lot more features than just that but it may be a help for you if you are curious about finding out how much "true range" you have.

As I mentioned, It is a very new app that I've have funded and created myself and any constructive criticism you have would be greatley appreciated!

Ride safe my friend!

 

[gromike]

I know from experience that a capable ebike that has a throttle sucks the juice. It's just too easy to twist the throttle and go 30+mph. The cheapest and easiest way to improve range is to ditch the throttle.

 

[King Friday]

I know from experience that a capable ebike that has a throttle sucks the juice. It's just too easy to twist the throttle and go 30+mph. The cheapest and easiest way to improve range is to ditch the throttle.

I pedal constantly and the only time I use the throttle is to start moving to cross an intersection from a dead stop.

 

[yooper2001]

Wind speed is by far the BIGGEST factor where I live. I can go from 18wh/mile to 35wh/mile on the same route the same speed...the same temp. Just due to the wind here on the great plains of Montana.
If the temp is less than 40 degrees F. I do see a 10 percent gain in usage... And of course speed. I've found the most economical speed for my 500w battery heavy bike is 11mph....and 16mph for my aluminum 1000w 26 inch bike.

 

[OlderGiantFan]

No such luck. It's a proprietary motor designed by Lectric.
I did see a rating on the bike and it's among with worst as far as range goes.

Add this to your other post and it seems like you bought a lemon. There is a lot of crap out there, far far too much. Bicycles are simple affairs, they shouldn't be so screwed up but many are. The Cheap China phenomena.

 

[King Friday]

Add this to your other post and it seems like you bought a lemon. There is a lot of crap out there, far far too much. Bicycles are simple affairs, they shouldn't be so screwed up but many are. The Cheap China phenomena.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a lemon. They have very good customer service and the range, although sub-optimal, gets me anywhere I need to go. =not lemon
as for my chain issue, they sent me a new one, even though by Park Tool Chain Checker 3.2 the chain is not stretched and by measuring with a ruler, it's not stretched. So the bike shop was wrong, for whatever reason. Lectric is still sending me a new chain, ($30 value) and it'll be here Saturday.
Prior to the Bike shop report, they were offering up to $50 for a tune-up. This is not the behavior of a Lemon company.

 

[Apartunis]

Ebike range is so completely dictated by factors other than battery capacity that manufacturers can claim just about any range they want. It would be plausible to back up almost any wildly optimistic range claim by testing at reduced speed and adding pedal power.

 

[King Friday]

Ebike range is so completely dictated by factors other than battery capacity that manufacturers can claim just about any range they want. It would be plausible to back up almost any wildly optimistic range claim by testing at reduced speed and adding pedal power.

I've described how and where I ride many times. it is what it is.
I realize range claims are to be ignored as it's impossible to hold them to anything as they invariably make the, "your mileage may vary" claim. Estimates are meaningless.