How Can I Increase the Range of My E-bike?

If there is one common question most people ask about their new e-bikes it has to be: “What’s the range of this e-bike on a single charge?” You see, there’s a common misconception about electric vehicles that people tend to think that electric vehicles are just like gas-powered vehicles, just powered with electricity. Therefore, they have to have an exact range that’s labelled by the manufacturer. But the truth is even fuel-powered cars do not burn the same amount of gas as the manufacturer’s spec sheet.

When it comes to the mileage of your own car there are a few key points that affect your range such as;

• Weight carried by the car
• Road conditions (uphill, downhill or flat)
• Traffic conditions (the number of start/stops),
• Wind, rain, ice, etc.

Besides traffic and road conditions, most of us don’t really see the difference in fuel consumption of our cars, caused by other situations that much. The reason for this is that an average car weighs about 1814 kg (about 4000 lbs). So if you put an average-sized human in the car it doesn’t affect the overall oil consumption that much even if that said human is a little overweight.

However, when you look into electric bikes, which weigh significantly less than an average US car, every pound added will affect your overall range. From your own body weight, to what is in your backpack to the weight of the e-bike itself. It all affects how far you can ride on a certain-sized battery.

How to increase the range of your e-bike

Below are some of the reasons that will actually affect your range on your e-bike:

• Weight of the rider
• Overall load on the ebike (such as carrying groceries, bags etc.,)
• Road conditions (uphill, downhill or flat)
• Traffic conditions (number of starts/stops)
• Speed & riding behaviour (Using throttle or just pedal assist, pedal assist level, etc.,)

Above listed reasons will change the juice you’re getting out of a single charge drastically. So much so that, you can actually increase the range of your e-bike by almost 5 times if you use pedal assist on level 1 instead of cruising full throttle with the same load on it! So next time you’re planning a long trip with your e-bike try and utilise every bit of juice stored in your battery! And here are a few things you might want to consider before leaving home:

• Keep it light! Just take what you actually need with you.
• DO NOT use the throttle!
• While it’s a lot of fun to full throttle down the beach, opt for pedal assist (level 1). You’ll be surprised how much battery you can save by sticking to this level.
• Familiarize yourself with the route beforehand. If it’s a route that you’re taking for the first time, you might wanna check the traffic conditions on that road.
• Not only for staying away from stop-go-stops but also for your own safety.
• And finally, make sure you double-check that your battery is FULLY charged

I personally ride an SMLRO C6 1000W fat-tyre e-bike which I use literally every day (when it is not raining of course). Since I’m working very close to the office, my commute isn’t even 20 minutes. However, sometimes I do have to charge my bike 2-3 times a week. Where under normal circumstances it should be just once. The only reason is, I weigh 19 stone and I am 6′ 2″, plus I carry my work bag which usually has my laptop, iPad, a notebook and a gazillion unnecessary stuff which usually ends up weighing far too much. And sadly within that less than 20-minute commute, there are exactly 11 traffic lights and I usually end up stopping at each and every one of them. The reason I am telling you all this is because my own battery on my brand new SMLRO C6 1000W fat-tyre e-bike fluctuates all the time. One week it lasts all week, the next I might have to charge it more. Small variations in things means that not even I know how far my e-bike can go and I have tested it to hell and back.

So the short answer is just to be aware of your batteries limitations. Maybe only ride out until it hits half power, maybe turn back a bit before that, or do like I do and carry a spare battery just in case. Sure, it adds a lot more weight to my backpack, but for long rides 50miles+ it is a good option.