Long time biker, "new" ebiker, looking to extend my range
Posted by footsnax@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 23 comments
I say "new" in quotes because while I've only used an ebike for about 18 months, it's already got 2k miles and I've replaced the bikes and tires twice.
Anyway, I've been a long distance biker for as long as I could ride. The minute my parents let me leave the block I was headed to the next town over, after I was ungrounded I went two towns over so I could get the most out of it. That was 30 years ago, I've done RAGBRAI eight times, I make little "next town hops" about once a week just for the love of the ride.
But oh man I have put my entry-level Jasion to its limits and I really want to go about twice as far. Maybe head over to the nearest state park and do a bike camp, but that's about 50 miles and there's no way that thing can make it. It's legitimately easier to cover that ground on one of my old road bikes but I'd rather it be an after lunch ride than an afternoon ride, just going five or six MPH faster with PAS makes those day rides so much more appealing and I crave the horizon.
So my asks are these:
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I'm mostly looking for anything that is capable of extended (at least more than "commuter" level) range
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Something with decent quality parts (hydraulic brakes would be nice but not necessary)
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Something notably comfortable over time. I'm quite tall so I've already potentially ruled out that Deepower chopper-looking thing just for that but the style and dual batteries are kinda exactly what I really want. If that had adjustable seat height and readily replaceable handlebars I wouldn't be making this post.
My current solution has been strapping a Bluetti power bank onto my rack and stopping every couple hours for a picnic while it recharges. This is actually really pleasant, but that only gets about 20% charge before I'm itching to get back in motion and beat the sun to the next town.
Cosmetics and amenities are optional. My favorite distance bike doesn't even have a kickstand, I'm Spartan as hell. I just want to add a dozen more small towns to my weekday afternoon rides and make a weekend bike camping trip a more practical option.
unseenmover@reddit
i can squeeze out about 30+ miles on my orbea kemen with a 540wh battery. I think that maybe with the $500 250wh extender you should be able to go further..
My next feat on this is to travel some 30+ miles across the Ca delta on levies, gravel roads, old RR ROWs from the Bay Area to Sacramento. Closer to home i ride to the local ST for my jollies..
JG-at-Prime@reddit
What you need is a big frame, and a lot of batteries. (the bigger the better)
It’s not safe to just connect two lithium batteries together. Luckily Dual and triple battery adapters are available.
Example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/177947202039
(use the little pull down menu, all the way at the bottom, the triple 40 amp.)
A battery adapter will allow you to drain all of the batteries together or you can switch them on and off and use one at a time.
The adapters are basically high speed switches that preferentially choose the battery with the highest voltage. The switch is seamless for the rider.
The batteries all have to be the same nominal voltage (36v or 48v or whatever) but the capacity can be different.
So the 48v triangle frame battery will play nicely with the 48v rear rack battery and the 48v tank battery.
If you have the option to attach the battery lower or higher on the frame, choose lower. The bike will handle much better.
You can even consider a single wheel trailer with a small generator. You could charge as you rode.
Be sure to wear a helmet. A heavy bike is a liability in a crash. Maybe a full face helmet.
You’ll also want a grinder resistant lock. Maybe more than one.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
Yeah I really need a bigger frame, that's key. I was just noodling with my buddy's bike last night, he's got a road bike from the 70s that was clearly designed for a smaller person. He kept complaining about how he can't find a seat height that works, I told him that style usually rides with a really tall seat but he didn't like that either.
Finally got my ass on it last night and oh boy, he was so right. The frame is only a couple inches too short, but it feels like a foot. My knees were basically knocking my hands off the grips. No seat setting would fix how uncomfortable that was, I hurt me to admit he was right to his face.
JG-at-Prime@reddit
Give this a try before scrapping it. (mind the diameter, it’s important to match the bike’s seat post diameter)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DCG7C89T
It will move the seat back by about 3 or 4 inches.
(Scroll down) There’s a few other options there as well. Some only move the seat an inch or so.
Some seat post suspension models will set the seat back a little bit as well.
catboy519@reddit
Hey. I speak from both theory and experience.
First of all: with only 2k miles you needed to replace the tires? TWICE? My ebikehas schwalbe energizer 40mm tires and after about 12000 miles they got replaced for the first time. Something seems off about the quality of your tires or your riding style/terrain/conditions ir both.
Range advice for choosing a bike.
Here are some things to think about: * battery capacity size , dual/triple battery rack/holder setup system * the charging speed in watts * the ebikes electrical efficiency (and middrive vs wheeldrive) * type of bike, road/MTB/city or other * how efficient does it pedal with zero assist? Testride.
Range advice for a bike you already have:
Understand that: * air resistance SQUARES with the speed betweennyou and the air so going 2x or 3x as fast = 4x or 9x the energy lost to air resistance, over the same distance so going slower can get you much further. * Understand motorefficiency: keeop both the RPM and the power or load or torque at normal levels. Dont touch the limit but also dont go microscopically small with it. * Use the big battery or else 2 slightly lesserbigger batteries. * be good at math and Understand the power ratio or distribution between your: legs/motor/total * using the right gears becomes especially important if you have a middrivemotor. *
Hope this helps! DM for any possible questions.
rvralph803@reddit
Small point of contention: air resistance scales with V^(2), but the watts of power to overcome it scales with V^(3) because power = F*V so it's even worse than you say.
catboy519@reddit
Yes but time duration of a ride also rerrduces as you ride faster so that v³ becomes v² again in terms of range.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
Yeah, the stock tires were pretty shotty. The first two both had slow leaks on the tube seams within about a hundred miles, the replacement tubes are still going but the front tire had a catastrophic incident with broken glass (thankfully saving my face from the same fate) and the back one was just worn to the tube so I ended up swapping both to something a little more rugged.
That's partially what inspired me to make this post, it feels pointless to put money into a starter bike when it was purchased as exactly that. I figured I'd give it a year or a thousand miles, whichever came first, to give me enough experience to know what I really wanted.
Distance and comfort. Everything else about the experience so far has been top notch, I just want an easier, more stable platform.
Salmundo@reddit
Editorial comment: the Deepower thing you reference is classified as a motorcycle in the US. Would need license and insurance to ride on public roads.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
That's a huge bummer but I get it. Legit looks like a hog, if I'm gonna do that I might as well just get a Triumph and leathers.
KI6WBH@reddit
I do two things first I have two sets of batteries one active on the bike and one active in the bike extended battery pack and two in reserve. The other thing I do is I have 160 watt hour power pack with two 40 watt solar panels that way anywhere I stop for longer than an hour I will plug the charger for the batteries into the power pack. I haven't been needing to charge in my daily commute in 3 months doing this.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I do have a spare but I'm just reluctant to hot swap. It makes me feel like it's in case of emergency and once it's gone I need to go home and I just don't like having that lingering in the back of my head. I don't mind stopping for a snack while I recharge, I just want to do it every hundred miles instead of every 50 :D
KI6WBH@reddit
I have a rad runner Plus with the battery extender upgrade and have 2 standard mount and 2 extended batteries. What I can do is use the power from the extended which is always connected until it drains then swap it out and plug it into the power pack to charge strapped to the top of my panteneer with my foldable solar panels plugged in to the power pack. If it isn't done charging by the time the second extended battery drains I'll flip the key on the standard battery (the built-in key on the battery means it's not connected all the time)
So with my ride style I can get 180mi on 3 batteries with the fourth in reserve. And it depends on the sun and power pack I could get up to an additional 120mi from solar charging as I ride and park.
dianas_pool_boy@reddit
You need to try singletrack. Seriously mountain biking is fantastic fun and will scratch your itch to ride. The minute I started riding in the woods, the smells of the North side of the forest was different than the South side. I could smell the herbs, trees, loam. It was great riding through the woods and having challenges along the way.
Then I tried DH MTB and I was hooked. Be safe, wear protection but go have fun!
footsnax@reddit (OP)
As an avid backpacker and retired skydiver, I have definitely tried mountain biking much to the joy of my brother in law who is obsessed with it. But my love of the ride comes mostly from long peaceful stretches and stopping randomly to greet wildlife or pick up trash or get that one log out of the path :)
yaboi_ahab@reddit
Something like a Ride1Up Roadster with an extra battery or two to carry and swap in on long trips might work well for you. If you get a super light and properly fitting one, it's not even that bad to just pedal once the batteries run out, either.
One other decent-looking option for really long range on a reasonable budget (not sure what your budget is though) is the Eahora Juliet. Nearly 3kWh battery and it'd go even further if you swapped in some more road-optimized tires.
I can't think of any that really have the moped/cafe racer style build while also having an adjustable and not too-wide-for-pedaling seat. Maybe you could find/build a dirtbike/stealth bomber style one with the kind of specs you want? If that suits your fancy at all. Those sometimes have a real bicycle seat.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
Those are looking appealing and super affordable, thanks for the recs!
This is a big point for me as well. I don't mind pedaling, but the rig I have now is so damn bulky it makes unassisted pedaling an absolute chore. It feels like there's a limiter built in even without PAS, but I'm not sure if that's an actual feature or if the bike is just that heavy that it feels like a boat.
In a perfect world I'll find a hundred miles with PAS that I don't mind the last 20 fully on manual.
Exciting-Peak70@reddit
Old engineer chiming in. When I wanted to extend my bikes I just bought a second battery and connected it in with a battery blender (for safety and its better for range than swapping batteries).
footsnax@reddit (OP)
I need to try that. I don't like hot swapping just on some deep seeded principle that my therapist still hasn't fully figured out, but I wouldn't mind wiring my backup battery into the rig just for peace of mind.
Thanks for the tip!
Jeff_Pagu@reddit
The new Aventon level 4 adv has a max range of 110 which could be met with eco mode and/or turning off assist completely. You can also get an extra battery or range extender if you look at bosch mid drives. EBike packing trip, people typically plan the routes and their stays to be able to access a charger. I suppose you can continue bringing a power station and a solar panel but sounds like you want to be able to go without it?
footsnax@reddit (OP)
I can't resist a Cannondale :D Thanks for the recs!
Yeah, I have a Bluetti bank addiction that I'm trying to break. It's huge and heavy, while it charges as fast as plugging into a wall I just want to redesign my entire experience. More comfort, more confidence.
Rogue_Wraith@reddit
Pedal more, even with the motor off.
I've hit over 50 miles with my Union 2 before. It just takes some PADS/battery management.
footsnax@reddit (OP)
I primarily pedal on low PAS, I only really throttle to get started or cross busy roads.
The longest single ride I've got off a charge was about 60 miles plus in-town wiggling around but I was running on fumes at the end. I'm hoping to find something that'll get me over a hundred without worrying about the last ten.