What do you call a big ride?

[Janc]

Depends on fitness and age and time you've got i wouldn't want to or couldn't peddle mine without motor .

I can pedal unassisted on the flat but not uphill without going to 50t? And then it's slower than walking and tough. So very much agree. Downhills okay. My 40 mile ride drained me and was a real challenge for my fitness level. But even 15 years ago 30 miles off road on an analogue bike was tough. I used eco only about 40 % of the time the rest was OFF!

 

[Janc]

Anything under 60 miles on an ebike, I wouldn’t consider a big ride. I guess it depends how much you use the power. I used to to 60-70 mile bike rides on my regular mtb a few years ago, now they were big rides!

i did 38 miles on Monday, and 28 yesterday on it, neither wore me out, my back just ached, as I’m still getting back into it.

When I read about range on here, I wonder if people are leaving them turned on the whole time, as I leave mine off, unless I get to the hilly sections, so could easily do 100 miles on a single charge?

Only on pretty flat terrain. FYI at one point I had 90 miles of range going down a very gentle section

 

[Zimmerframe]

When I read about range on here, I wonder if people are leaving them turned on the whole time, as I leave mine off, unless I get to the hilly sections

You turn it on for the hilly sections ? Do other people do that ? I normally only have mine on when transiting on easy ground. I always worry that with it on going up a hill it will increase transmission wear and probably break, not to mention flatten the battery. It's a shame replacement batteries are so expensive, things would be a lot better if you could exchange them or charge them or something.

 

[Binhill1]

I can pedal unassisted on the flat but not uphill without going to 50t? And then it's slower than walking and tough. So very much agree. Downhills okay. My 40 mile ride drained me and was a real challenge for my fitness level. But even 15 years ago 30 miles off road on an analogue bike was tough. I used eco only about 40 % of the time the rest was OFF!

Agree i had one i did on my Nicolai 37 miles in to Loch Ossian stayed the night in hostel I was well worn out. Then same milage next day different route via Loch Pattick and Ardverikie house back to Dalwhinnie was intending doing it on Ebike this summer taking charger with me so heres hoping.

 

[Binhill1]

You turn it on for the hilly sections ? Do other people do that ? I normally only have mine on when transiting on easy ground. I always worry that with it on going up a hill it will increase transmission wear and probably break, not to mention flatten the battery. It's a shame replacement batteries are so expensive, things would be a lot better if you could exchange them or charge them or something.

Just leave the battery at home it's a lot easier .

 

[Gary]

probably break

Probabilty = 1

 

[Binhill1]

Probabilty = 1

Some tough mothers on bikes though I have to admit and envy, my mate did Everesting on Cairngorms ski road up and down 134 miles i think it took 19 hours. So he's definitely got the blackest cat ok. But he's a young loon only 62 haha

 

[Zimmerframe]

Just leave the battery at home it's a lot easier .

I only bought the thing because I thought you could use it to go for a ride and charge the battery at the same time. I spent weeks looking for all the home lighting kits to run off the battery and couldn't find a thing. I still don't get what the point is.

 

[EebStrider]

Depends on fitness and age and time you've got i wouldn't want to or couldn't peddle mine without motor .

If I’m out with my wife on her normal bike, I don’t turn it on at all. She’s slow up the hills, so it’s not an issue!

 

[EebStrider]

You turn it on for the hilly sections ? Do other people do that ? I normally only have mine on when transiting on easy ground. I always worry that with it on going up a hill it will increase transmission wear and probably break, not to mention flatten the battery. It's a shame replacement batteries are so expensive, things would be a lot better if you could exchange them or charge them or something.

Yep. I can’t see how that could do any harm, correct me if I’m wrong though.

 

[Binhill1]

If I’m out with my wife on her normal bike, I don’t turn it on at all. She’s slow up the hills, so it’s not an issue!

My wife only does road so I have a Dawes tourer she would not be happy doing more than 30 miles . As long as we're all enjoying cycling whatever the level.

 

[Gary]

Some tough mothers on bikes though I have to admit and envy, my mate did Everesting on Cairngorms ski road up and down 134 miles i think it took 19 hours. So he's definitely got the blackest cat ok. But he's a young loon only 62 haha

Yeah. a few years back when I still rode with my local road club a clubmate everested using just the one hill from his home town in Duns (Scottish borders) took him 16 hours and I think 53 ascents. He had company from clubmates for varous legs of the ride and had to swap garmins at one point as the first one ran out of battery.
funniest thing was afterwards when loads of clubmates were telling him they could stick the two GPS files together for his Strava and Andy (the Everestee) said he didn't care.
another guy I know Keith from round here has done the west highland way and back on an mtb in 24 hours and the WHW and great glen in under 24hrs. He's also won the strathpuffer 24hour race, regarded as one of the hardest off road 24hr races due to the conditions and lack of light.
both around early 50s

sure makes you reconsider your 20mile Ebike epic, eh?

 

[Binhill1]

Yeah. a few years back when I still rode with my local road club a clubmate everested using just the one hill from his home town in Duns (Scottish borders) took him 16 hours and I think 53 ascents. He had company from clubmates for varous legs of the ride and had to swap garmins at one point as the first one ran out of battery.
funniest thing was afterwards when loads of clubmates were telling him they could stick the two GPS files together for his Strava and Andy (the Everestee) said he didn't care.
another guy I know Keith from round here has done the west highland way and back on an mtb in 24 hours and the WHW and great glen in under 24hrs. He's also won the strathpuffer 24hour race, regarded as one of the hardest off road 24hr races due to the conditions and lack of light.
both around early 50s

sure makes you reconsider your 20mile Ebike epic, eh?

Exactly Gary , loud Jenny as we called her was in same mountaineering club as us remember she cycled round world 110 days or something probably only been cycling 10 years max amazing . Hardy Bessie as we say up here

 

[Janc]

Just leave the battery at home it's a lot easier .

Good point, less weight..

 

[Janc]

You turn it on for the hilly sections ? Do other people do that ? I normally only have mine on when transiting on easy ground. I always worry that with it on going up a hill it will increase transmission wear and probably break, not to mention flatten the battery. It's a shame replacement batteries are so expensive, things would be a lot better if you could exchange them or charge them or something.

How many batteries have you used so far?

 

[Zimmerframe]

How many batteries have you used so far?

I'm on the second one in 2000k. I think I was a bit exuberant with the first one and probably used it way more than I should have. I'm going to use this one much more frugally!

 

[Stuart569]

Yeah mine is on all the time. I'm pissed off if I get home with any charge left!

 

[Binhill1]

I'm on the second one in 2000k. I think I was a bit exuberant with the first one and probably used it way more than I should have. I'm going to use this one much more frugally!

Do you think it will last any longer if used mainly on eco. I find i am charging full again as weather has been bone dry for weeks now and if not doing 40 miles i use other modes to get battery down. Also is it better to run 100 down to 30 percent for example or 70 down to 10 percent.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Do you think it will last any longer if used mainly on eco. I find i am charging full again as weather has been bone dry for weeks now and if not doing 40 miles i use other modes to get battery down. Also is it better to run 100 down to 30 percent for example or 70 down to 10 percent.

Charging ? You can charge them ? Oh why oh why didn't I read the manual. I thought the fancy plug in box was an inverter to power your house from the bike. Feck..

 

[EebStrider]

Good point, less weight..

Yeah, a hell of a lot less weight! I took the battery out when I cleaned the bike the other day, and it must weigh around 10kg!

I might try going for a ride without it one day, to see what the difference feels like.

 

[Janc]

I'm on the second one in 2000k. I think I was a bit exuberant with the first one and probably used it way more than I should have. I'm going to use this one much more frugally!

2000k is better that Tesla

 

[Janc]

Yeah, a hell of a lot less weight! I took the battery out when I cleaned the bike the other day, and it must weigh around 10kg!

I might try going for a ride without it one day, to see what the difference feels like.

@Zimmerframe does it volt free reularly by all accounts.

 

[Akiwi]

I have a spare battery - charged the bike at the restaurant at noon - In The Alps they all welcome bikers - and eMTBs are everywhere

We also had a van carrying our batteries, spare parts, tyres and bags.
Then if needed I could change to the spare battery at noon.

I don't think You could this with only one battery, as it takes more than a lunch break to charge fully.

Bosch has also made their own "Tesla network" of charging points

Link to Powerstations

View attachment 28848

I did a Transalp last year, 555km and 1200 vertical. Did it alone with my son (No support vehicle, so clothes and supplies spares etc in a backpack) and with 1 battery each. We always chose a lunch break spot where we could top up our batteries, but if you are fit enough it isn't a problem. First day we did 110 km and 900 vertical on 1 battery without loading it. You just have to train well beforehand and use your legs. loads of time with the motor off, or only eco. That was with the old Bosch motor that had quite a drag when it was run with the motor off.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Do you think it will last any longer if used mainly on eco. I find i am charging full again as weather has been bone dry for weeks now and if not doing 40 miles i use other modes to get battery down. Also is it better to run 100 down to 30 percent for example or 70 down to 10 percent.

So in the real world - still on the original battery, which had "technical issues" when new .. but seems ok now.

Difficult to say for sure. There's so many factors which potentially influence battery life. I think ultimately, it's an e-bike. Just use the mode that suits your need/mood at the time -feck the rest - enjoy it . Trying different usage techniques will probably have little overall influence on life span in the scheme of things. Even when you run it "flat" they're designed so they're not actually "flat". The main thing is just not leaving it fully charged if it's going to sit for any reasonable length of time.

In general I just fully charge after every ride, but then it's normally flat or nearly flat.

With lockdown, my rides out are none existent or severely limited. I had been experimenting with riding slower for longer ranges, which works - but is pretty boring - for me anyway.

Other than some plodding on and off trail clearing (when the battery seems to last forever), most lockdown use has been in my new mini bike park, so rides are generally between 6k and 10k but at 100% full intensity going up and down as fast as possible - all in Trail or Turbo. 6k takes about 20 minutes if I stop for a quick drink glug after a few runs and uses about 30% battery. So I'm generally charging to full every 2 rides or it's almost flat anyway.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Yeah, a hell of a lot less weight! I took the battery out when I cleaned the bike the other day, and it must weigh around 10kg!

I might try going for a ride without it one day, to see what the difference feels like.

I'm considering ditching the motor, pedals, cranks, chain, bin the cassette. Battery, switches, levers, dropper post.

I'm thinking zip tie the saddle to the top of the frame. Zip tie a balsa wood stick through the motor mounts, so you have a foot rest for downhill and just captain caveman paddle the bike along the flats and up the hills. I think once I've got the technique sorted, times should be comparable to the heavier bike with the power off. The next issue will be which shoes to go with this technique ..

 

[Janc]

I'm considering ditching the motor, pedals, cranks, chain, bin the cassette. Battery, switches, levers, dropper post.

I'm thinking zip tie the saddle to the top of the frame. Zip tie a balsa wood stick through the motor mounts, so you have a foot rest for downhill and just captain caveman paddle the bike along the flats and up the hills. I think once I've got the technique sorted, times should be comparable to the heavier bike with the power off. The next issue will be which shoes to go with this technique ..

The next issue will be which shoes to go with this technique ..
I'd go with clips

 

[Binhill1]

So in the real world - still on the original battery, which had "technical issues" when new .. but seems ok now.

Difficult to say for sure. There's so many factors which potentially influence battery life. I think ultimately, it's an e-bike. Just use the mode that suits your need/mood at the time -feck the rest - enjoy it . Trying different usage techniques will probably have little overall influence on life span in the scheme of things. Even when you run it "flat" they're designed so they're not actually "flat". The main thing is just not leaving it fully charged if it's going to sit for any reasonable length of time.

In general I just fully charge after every ride, but then it's normally flat or nearly flat.

With lockdown, my rides out are none existent or severely limited. I had been experimenting with riding slower for longer ranges, which works - but is pretty boring - for me anyway.

Other than some plodding on and off trail clearing (when the battery seems to last forever), most lockdown use has been in my new mini bike park, so rides are generally between 6k and 10k but at 100% full intensity going up and down as fast as possible - all in Trail or Turbo. 6k takes about 20 minutes if I stop for a quick drink glug after a few runs and uses about 30% battery. So I'm generally charging to full every 2 rides or it's almost flat anyway.

We’re ruralish here I seen 20 people max yesterday thirty five miles along beach and woods I’m lucky.

 

[Janc]

We’re ruralish here I seen 20 people max yesterday thirty five miles along beach and woods I’m lucky.

You are in Scotland? @Zimmerframe is on much stricter lockdown in France

 

[Binhill1]

You are in Scotland? @Zimmerframe is on much stricter lockdown in France

Yes going to shop here worst place but many years of getting wrong stuff or forgetting things has paid off I can’t be trusted to go

 

[EebStrider]

I'm considering ditching the motor, pedals, cranks, chain, bin the cassette. Battery, switches, levers, dropper post.

I'm thinking zip tie the saddle to the top of the frame. Zip tie a balsa wood stick through the motor mounts, so you have a foot rest for downhill and just captain caveman paddle the bike along the flats and up the hills. I think once I've got the technique sorted, times should be comparable to the heavier bike with the power off. The next issue will be which shoes to go with this technique ..

Good plan. Let us know how that goes for you. Meanwhile I'll try just riding up and down our road without a battery.