How much battery do you need on your next emtb?

[33red]

Each to their own I guess. I weigh 114kg so an extra 500gms or so for extra wh's is worth it. I currently use both of my 378wh batteries on my Jam2, regularly. Most rides are around 50km with approx 850m (2788 feet for those of you living in the dark ages) of climbing. I usually have two bars left (out of five) on my second battery. Some rides are 65km with 1100M (3609 feet) of climbing and on those rides I start getting "range anxiety". I also do the odd 80km road ride with 1500m (4921 feet) of climbing with "bugger all" range left on the second battery. At not stage would another 500gms bother me, or in reality, make any difference to my ride, other than allowing me to extend it for more grinning. Would love to be one of you skinny light weight fella's where the 500gms would matter, but at 58 years old, that's just never gonna happen again. I don't reckon i'm the "exception to the rule" for ebike owners. I've had my bike nearly 10 months and will continue to churn out the km's with a huge grin on my face, with 3400km covered so far. Would I like the new Simplon Rapcon with 1125wh (using both batteries)? Hell yes!! but they aren't available yet and I can't afford one but still, Hell Yes!!!

It is sure my 60 K help me. I just have no clue where/how i could carry safely an extra. I would be afraid if a fall. What works for you?

 

[Macone]

It is sure my 60 K help me. I just have no clue where/how i could carry safely an extra. I would be afraid if a fall. What works for you?

A Focus Jam2, one internal battery and one external on the downtube.

 

[wepn]

700 that is air transportable & not nicad lol

 

[wildsau2]

i voted for 800+ because i do long rides. 100miles++, 160km++. actualy i have two 500 batteries (one spare in the backpack). can be improved by better/smaller batteries.

 

[Shifty]

In the future when we you a gazillion watt batteries a manufacturer will add another 1 watt and market it to you and convince you you really need it and couldn’t do without the extra watt.

 

[flash]

What I want is a battery that's 99.9wH. And I want 10 of them and I want them to be stackable in my downtube. And maybe an external holder as well.

Currently you can carry as many 99.9wH batteries on a plane, in hand luggage as you want but only 2 160wH batteries.

So you take a removable battery tube, say like the removable battery/motor on a Fazua bike. It's like a tube with contacts at the bottom, a spring loaded holder and you put in as many or as few batteries as you want for the day. Got an hour to ride. Put in two. All day epic? Put in 7. Travelling? Carry 10 in your hand luggage. All you'd need to do is tell an app how many *pods* you've put in your bike for range calculations and you're away.

It leaves the user in control of their bike's weight/range ratio. It solves the travelling with an eBike. It means you can carry just a couple of small spares in a back pack or go to the bike shop and buy a bunch for a big trip. It also keeps the weight as low on the bike for any battery configuration.

We've been stacking batteries in series or parallel for years to increase voltage or capacity. But we insist on these single, really expensive, heavy, un-transportable single batteries for our bikes.

The penalty is a small amount of weight for the casings and extra balancing boards. But it would be negligible.

I am surprised that none of the manufacturers have thought of this, especially the ones making custom batteries for their bikes.

Gordon

 

[Philpug]

Less. I have a 625w now. If I could knock 10lb off my bike with a smaller battery and lighter motor (10 MPH top speed), I would be happy.

 

[Akemtb]

500Wh works for me in the Summer, when snow flies added power becomes the norm and an extra 500Wh goes on my post rack. Snow really drags you down and the cold zaps power from your battery, a cover helps on the discharging battery to keep the heat generated with the battery.

Ride On!

 

[Labrador29]

And your point is?

Many want to do all day rides without having to carry a spare battery. I met a Dutch couple last summer that were touring the world and were limited by their battery range.
If you do 60-90 minute rides and are a smaler/lighter person then you could probably get away with a smaller battery. A buddy has a Focus with a 378Wh internal battery and a 378Wh external. He only ads the external when he is doing serious distances as at 78kg he gets a lot more distance than others he rides with.

So many factors come in to how many km/miles one will get out of a battery. Giant Trance e-mtb +1 pro. 500 Kw internal battery. Riding weight with a small back pack = 91 kg. In ideal conditions, I can get close to100 km before the red light comes on. Ideal conditions equals smooth flat tarseal road with a howling gale up my backside. How many times does one strike that!!!!
A month ago I rode a tough section of the Queen Charlotte track in the Marlborough Sounds, just under 30 km. I was into the red light by the time I reached my destination. And, I might add, at no time did I use 'turbo' power.
So, IMHO, there are too many variables to accurately work out how many km one is going to get out of a battery on any given day.
I don't know about other brands or e-mtbs, but the Giant is no easy task for a pensioner to pedal with a flat battery.

 

[Pan]

I dont think talking battery size without talking motor power makes sense. I run my Bosh on 75 nm setting to get more out of the 625 wh battery and it is more than what i need. My wifeks SL is good for her weight but not enough motor power for my 90kg (200 pds) Would gladly go to 500 wh with a 60nm motor and hopefully a bit lighter bike. My 2 cents better a smaller batt, a bit less power and to have an xtender for those longer rides.

 

[selenium]

625 is plenty for most 3-4 hr 25-mi. rides (20-30% remaining). 500Wh would usually be enough, except that you definitely don't want to run out.
800+ would be best for longer backcountry treks with lots of climbing.

 

[Ford Prefect]

I drained a TLevo on the test ride...
Not impressed with small batts.

I could run down my 1008 Wh in ~45 minutes by playing around a bit too much. The spare battery gets frequent use.

I would like to step to a 54 V battery instead of 48, to reduce Voltage sag on the battery & heat buildup on the motor; but for now it's fine.

By the time I buy another ebike for myself, I hope batteries will have finally improved a bit again.

... Actually, I hope I can just pack a thorium cell in with the battery to recharge it while at rest.

And maybe a manual clutch with regenerative braking fed into a bank of ultracapacitors between the motor & battery?

I think 36 KWh of battery & 1 KWh of caps, would be really nice on a lightweight ecycle. Just need some cheap storage with higher energy density than gasoline!

Seriously, don't look at me for a small battery.
I wanted to have cutting lasers & EMPs as a flagship hardware feature of our phones by now.

 

[Alexbn921]

I always use 100% of my 700 and would like 2000, but the weight would be too much. I think that 900-1200 is the sweet spot for full power bikes and long rides.
Lightweight bikes should have 500-600 and true 250watt outputs.

 

[fodmtb]

Less focus from manufactures on increased Wh and more technology evolution with reducing battery weight please..

 

[Binhill1]

Imagine 100 miles 2 long days or 3 shorter , one day perhaps.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Sorted

 

[Binhill1]

Sorted
View attachment 82765

Aye then you woke up.

 

[Binzer]

I’ve got a 500 turbo Levo, live in Switzerland so everything is a climb. After a while realised I wasn’t getting very far so bought a range extender. Just the 252 , makes riding that more interesting. And now I can decide whether I want want to have an eco day out or mad blast. Horses for courses I suppose.

 

[SteveRS]

I wish there was more range as well, but I can usually get 3500-4000 feet of fairly steep climbing from the 700 wh battery and by then I’m to tired to ride any more. That’s about three times the distance compared to when I was riding an analog bike. If I rode more cross country then a larger wh battery would be more beneficial. In time the batteries will improve and we can replace our existing battery with the new ones.

 

[Labrador29]

I always use 100% of my 700 and would like 2000, but the weight would be too much. I think that 900-1200 is the sweet spot for full power bikes and long rides.
Lightweight bikes should have 500-600 and true 250watt outputs.

Just bought a 2022 Giant Trance X +1 e-MTB to replace my 2019 Giant Trance +1 Pro e-mtb.
New Giant is fitted with a 750wh Battery with the option of a 250wh extender. I am excited because I can now enter the next Molesworth Muster MTB race which is roughly 80 km through rugged South Island high country, from Molesworth Station to a lovely little town called Hanmer. ( Covid permitting ).

 

[Binhill1]

I’ve got a 500 turbo Levo, live in Switzerland so everything is a climb. After a while realised I wasn’t getting very far so bought a range extender. Just the 252 , makes riding that more interesting. And now I can decide whether I want want to have an eco day out or mad blast. Horses for courses I suppose.

I have done 42 miles with 3000 ft of climbing a few times . A few routes I fancy I could do with some more though.Never new you got range extender for a levo have to check it out.

 

[R3Z3N]

Why the bias? I would hope for 200-300WHr batteries....

 

[Binhill1]

1000 whr would be great I could do 40 miles one day in to a bothie and 40 back another way the next day.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

I've got 625wh on the Scott, but im a complete turbo addict, so am considering buying the 500wh booster pack that fits onto the bottle cage mount for a whopping 1125wh range option.

If we are up at 750wh now on a single battery, I can see 1000wh in the near future, possibly even spread between two inbuilt batteries, much like the Riese & Muller Superdelite GT tourer

 

[Binhill1]

I've got 625wh on the Scott, but im a complete turbo addict, so am considering buying the 500wh booster back that fits onto the bottle cage mount for a whopping 1125wh range option.

If we are up at 750wh now on a single battery, I can see 1000wh in the near future, possibly even spread between two inbuilt batteries, much like the Riese & Muller Superdelite GT tourer

They need to hurry up I'm 66 now can't wait as long as the young team .

 

[Macone]

I always enjoyed my 750wh total on my Focus Jam2 and now have a Giant Reign E+2 with a 625wh. I am getting about the same range on the Giant as I do on the Focus(now my spare bike). For me its because having x5 power settings to choose from means I can get just the amount of assistance I need at any given time(harder to get right with the x3 settings on the Focus). I now have the new 800wh Giant battery on order and its due to arrive approx' week 30. On either of my bikes so far, I still find my rides limited by battery capacity sometimes (particularly in the winter, when 55km with 1000m climbing is a stretch), so am looking forward to being able to add a few kilometres to my rides on the days that I want to. I am an overweight 61 yr old though and am fully aware that I could add more range by losing some weight but enjoy my lifestyle of "Good Food, Good Beer and EMTBing".