Keeping the battery charged while ebike touring / bikepacking
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 июн 2024
- By far the most common question I get asked when cycle touring by bike is how I keep the battery charged. Most people assume it's hard to do so unless you stop in a hotel or B&B every night. But in fact I've gone as long as 8 days without an overnight stay with a roof over my head so here I talk about some of the other places you can recharge. I also talk about what sort of range you can expect on an e-bike in actual practise - I regularly get over 100km per battery but some conditions will knock that down to 80km.
The video is recorded on Skye, about 9 days into my month long bikepacking tour of the islands and highlands, see the channel for lots of videos from that tour.
When this video had over 20,000 views I recorded an additional video covering what I had learned since including the use of custom assist modes to greatly extend battery range. You can view that video at • Extend eBike touring r... 
Наука
Oh, I'm so happy I found your channel, BY FAR the best for e-bikepacking content, & you've answered a lot of my questions just in this 1 video, I already subbed & put a few more videos on my Playlist right now.
Awesome, thank you!
Interesting video, I hope the rest of your channel is similar, and terrific scenery
Very helpful guidance here. Many thanks.
My primary focus in building an ebike was an ebike with a truly extended range. I had already decided a mid-drive motor and a Rohloff Speedhub would make the best possible touring ebike. I also wanted a suspended frame that often causes a problem with battery placement and size. What good is a long-range ebike if it's torture to ride for 10 hours? I found the perfect frame for a touring ebike in the Tout Terrain Panamericana, suspended, steel, 26" X 2.5" wheels, and with an integral rack. I wanted the largest possible 58.8V battery that would mount in the frame triangle which has ended up being a pair of 35Ah (2058Wh) triangle lithium packs. A single pack can get anywhere from 60 to 120 miles depending on the bike load, trailer, and terrain. Charging becomes exponentially more difficult the further you ride from access to 120V/220V infrastructure. The best option is to stop for the night somewhere with access to power and charge while you sleep... not an option when the idea is to get away from civilization. The only time I ever use a B&B or motel is when I want to take an hour-long shower and wash clothes. Sitting and waiting at some gas station or a kind homeowner's yard for 4 hours in the middle of the day to recharge isn't optimal. After a year of riding around like a Gypsey on dialysis looking for an outlet, I invested in a 300W folding solar panel. The bike was assembled in 2016 and has averaged 6K miles a year for over 48K miles now. My record is also 8 days, 500+ miles of riding without ever seeing another human. It would have been longer but I couldn't catch a fish to save my life and ran out of food so I headed for the closest grocery store to resupply and head out again. When I got an EV charger adapter it gave me access to another growing number of possibilities to charge. My power options are 120V, 220V, or solar charging. - photos.app.goo.gl/wP8vs7T5hLpNjSBX8
Quite a setup - Ive started to think more about trailer based recharging because I’ve a growing sense I’d like to do a big Africa tour and in some places (deserts) it can be 300km or more between electricity points on the sort you of rough sandy roads that reduce battery range
@@Ebiketouringlife Pulling a trailer changes everything, not just for the better.
Ah! Been looking for *this* part for a couple years!
I cycled up to there back in 1985 from Arbroath. I loved it up in Skye. I would love to do the trip again some time but age is against me lol but I have an ebike now...
Suspect you’d find it a lot less pleasant due to the huge volume of traffic the bridge permits. The Broadford to Portree road is particularly bad
At some point I'm going to buy an electric bike but right now I'm touring with the regular one. That's my question too is the charging a problem.
Had an endurance ebike, but due to range anxiety, replaced it with a Kona Sutra touring bike with a wide gear range , getting up hills slower but easily and a Recumbent trike with an even wider gear range of 1100%
With the ebike I went up hills twice as fast, but as I ride for leasure , in no hurry so a bike or trike with low enough gears is fine for me, the trike can use as low gears as you like as wont fall over if too slow.
theres definitely a benefit to a unassisted bike having a range limited only by the amount of food and water you can carry. I'm fairly confident I can get a 220km range in my usage which is more than enough for my likely future plans but if for instance I intended to cross Africa I might go back to mechanical
What a beautiful background.
And not pre planned - I’d hit a dead end and on the way back out decided I’d use the time to answer the AMA question I’d posted the day before
Built solar trailer, & have all but finished a gas/electric hybrid with super efficient
39cc engine + modified belt drive. it can charge 1 battery on running bike & 2nd in trailer.
Has 30Ah from 2 batteries, (80 mi.) & gets 50 miles to a liter of gas. All waiting for
a 750w bafang mid-drive,( a simple install.) Battery & mount ready to go, gas part
functional already. With 3 liter jerry can & charge on the fly. I have unlimited range.
You might be able to charge your e-bike at gas stations or campings with a special adapter. Always check the tire pressure. Low pressure means you loose a lot energy. Be aware of the temperature: Cold accus won't charge. The first battery I would drive almost empty (one stripe left) then I would use the second battery. If that one is empty I know I got a bit left in the first one. Thanks for the effort, great video!
Thanks you just reminded me to investigate the possibility of using EV charging stations. It does seem that with an adapter it is possible which is interesting although I wonder if in practice minimum charges might make it pricy
Im planning on doing a tour from Alaska to Argentina on my bosch powered ebike. Good video. Gonna get a second 500 wh battery too. I got the 4a charger too so it charges abit faster.
Yep the 2nd battery gives you needed confidence to take risks around distances where you can’t be certain of a charge as the ‘panic point’ shifts from c100km to twice that. The faster charger really pays for itself instantly as it means a meal break can almost all do give you another days range
Might want to rethink that. El Salvador in particular expect to be robbed and lose all. Border crossings not pleasant either. They may tear your bike apart and all you will have left junk. While I admire your plans it really has not been feasible since the early 1980's.
@@riskyron1416 I’m a decent size brown guy, lots of people doing this route every year. Feel like the risk is worth it.
@@xmateinc Size doesn't matter. You will encounter MS-13 and the Marinists in El Salvador.. I know of many that have traveled the route but all were in trucks as people and at least one of them armed. well as caravans of 10 or so people, And not a one of them was North American. And I call myself Risky, but definitely not that Risky. I was trained in martial arts from age 9 and served 32 years in the US Army. Shot on 3 occasions twice with an ak-47 with 122 grain hollow points, once with a 45 auto. And don't much care for the feeling.
For 2 years in Leon Nicaragua my next door neighbor was the #2 man with MS-13 in Toronto. I learned quite a bit from him. Mostly how ruthless they are.. Doesn't matter if you speak Spanish as Spanish has regional dialects and yo will shill obviously be a gringo. I have done Tucson to Santiago Chile 6 times. Twice by Ford Pickup truck the other 4 times on BMW Motorcycles. All had superchargers.(Andes are brutal. Without a Turbo or super charger unlikely your vehicle will even run or get under power on those 14 to 16,000 ft passes. but someone with horses or oxen will help for a few dollars) But all trips were pre 1964 when things were far safer than now. Both with gangs and cartels and police and other officials.
@@xmateinc I know of plenty of places from Guatemala to Peru where US Government Personnel cannot be out of their lodging after 6 PM and transportation is by armored vehicle. That serves as a good barometer of places I should avoid. Even here in Costa Rica where things are safe, you still have places like Limon where the US government has those restrictions and the police won't enter unless a massive force goes in.
In Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua the Banana Wars of the 1950's through 1980's killed someone in nearly every family. And while most are friendly and law biding, don't count on it.
You will need fly from Panama City to Colombia. There are no ferries and no way shape or form would you survive traversing the Darien Gap. There are smaller boats mainly used in drug trafficking. Stay away from them. Remember a US Passport is good for $4000 to $20,000 on the market. And they know you have one when they spot you as American. And they will spot you as Americans all have distinctive movements and mannerisms. Again most areas are perfectly safe, but you need be savvy on places to avoid. At age 76 another thing learned from my MS-13 neighbor is age gets respect., while they don't hesitate to kill a younger person. And there is no making peace with them.
Personally I stay away from isolated places. No matter what it is safer in crowded places and pickpockets about the only threat. being in an isolated place is like being in space where no one will hear you scream.
Just found your channel . Great for me as I'm branching out from Dublin using the canals and trains to extend journeys for day trip returns. These all hinge on my battery range so I was intrigued by your range and distance. You said a 500 watt will give you circa 100 k in normal conditions. I have a Li-ion 36v X 22 ah which, I understand, amounts to circa 790 watts. I was advised to divide wattage by ten to get an estimate of range in kilometers thus giving 80 klm approx for my battery. I've found this to be reasonably accurate. Could you tell me more about your battery pack make and brand. I heard u mention sourcing them on line from France. Txs!
It’s the standard Bosch battery - almost all my use is in the lowest asset (eco) which is about 40% on their system. I’d say I get closer to 120km with the 500w in eco although I practice hard to be sure as I seldom go all the way to zero and if I’ve done 90 am inclined to turn the assist up for the last bit. In very good conditions I have got 130 and still had about 15% battery and once on Harris with a strong back wind I hit an implied range of 220! For an electric it’s a light bike with 34mm tyres so with fatter tyres & a heavier bike it would be less. Fully laden including me & camping gear it’s about 110kg
I'm in costa Rica and have a RAM 1200 watt e-scooter with 72 volt 40 AH battery. I am having a utility/camp trailer built for $115 that will have hard sides and rain protection. I will be traveling with a 1300 watt gas generator as well. But plenty of places will allow me to plug in offering a few dollars. I will be turning 76 in a few days but still at it. I do not have residency so a drivers license not possible. But also have a 110 cc 2 stroke moped and may tow one on the trailer as backup.
Wow thats quite some setup
@@Ebiketouringlife Electric only it will do 36 KPH up a 21% hill. upon which the posted limit is 40. I weigh about 180 pounds. I use a app on my cellphone showing percentage of grade. Very handy. And often take chalk and write the percent of grade for others. Until 4 years ago I mountain biked in the Andes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Pushing my 21 speed mountain bike up mountains over 16,000 feet. Not in my prime would I attempt to actually ride there. And sometimes even walking more than 10 feet and resting was enough with a mountain bike and gear. I still keep mountain bikes in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as it is a pain in the ass flying with a bike, let alone Internationally. But all of those cost less than $200. Less than shipping would have cost.
Make it to Costa Rica or mentioned countries, get in touch. Moped adaptions are the cheapest, bike and conversion about $450. Electric bikes with 1000 to 1200 watts are $1200 to $1500. My scooter was $1600. Disconnect the withe wire limiter and the 1200 watts becomes 1800 and no one will know the difference. Europe limits wattage too much. It is speed that counts. If they want 20 MPH the limit, fine. But the power should not be limited to do so uphill.
When the weather sucks where you are it will be spring like here year round.
So the gas motor is there to power the battery for electric scooter? Why not just have a gas powered scooter? I thought the point of EVs is to be more efficient than gas
@@ianleui7007 Gas powered scooters are not allowed in National Parks her or allowed to operate and park on sidewalks. Electric scooters are allowed in those places. On the roads gas scooters must operate in lanes with vehicle traffic, while electric scooters can operate on dedicated bicycle lanes. At home my e-scooter is recharged by non carbon source as has been so in Costa Rica for the past 10 years. Mostly wind turbines and in such quantity the excess is exported to 5 other countries. And in addition to that an electric motor is much quieter. Anyone knowing about 2 stroke mopeds also knows they cannot be run more than 20 minutes nor at low speeds as they will overheat and destroy valves and piston. Lastly the gas generator only serves as a backup. I likely will find it completely unneeded as the scooter is a 72 volt, 40 AH battery good for over 130 miles without peddling.
@@ianleui7007 Nearly forgot. Gas mopeds and scooters here also require emissions testing. And those engines will not pass, absolutely guaranteed. Electric scooters and bikes are not emissions tested. You think California is rough on emissions, you have seen nothing.
Thanks for the vid, not wanting to be snitty but watts is power and watt-hours is energy. For example my big pack that I made has a rest-voltage after settling after a charge of 51.6 volts (LiFePO4 15s3p) and a claimed 6Ah per 32650 cell so I've got 51.6 x 18 watt-hours = say 920 Wh for cash. If I use 230 watts assistance for an hour I'll have 690 watt-hours left, but if I use 460 watts assistance for an hour, I'll have 460 watt-hours left. I don't even bother trying to calculate the actual wattage of the battery pack as I'm not trying to get maximum welly from it, just interested in range and cell longevity.
Oh that’s fine - I reckoned I was as over simplifying by referencing the systems battery wattage & that’s a good explanation
Thank you. My packs are 58.8V (fully charged) and 35Ah giving me a potential of 2058Wh.
Good video thanks
So is it 20a 36v batteries ? Yes as I do. I have had folding e-bike since 2014 and had 370wh battery included and would charge any cafe or ferry waiting room I came across , I have a more powerful 42v 4a charger that helps to do it quicker :) thanks for posting
not sure of the A and v but its 500w and yes with a fast charger so full charge in about 150 minutes and if its near flat a charge t 50%+ in about an hour (charging seems to slow a fair bit as you charge to the higher percentages)
I have the same bike as you. It is a400wh battery. Can i upgrade to a 500 Wh like you did. Do i need to modify the bike in any way. Or is it a straight upgrade from 400 to 500Wh , like you did? Thanks?
You can just plug in a 500 as if it’s a 400. No modifications needed
Great video, very informative and raising important issues. You get 100 km out of your 500 Wh battery. This = an energy consumption of 5 Wh/km. On my Specialized Como ebike in eco mode I cannot get less than 9 Wh/km on flat roads and with no luggage. I.e. my 460 Wh battery under no circumstances give me more than 50 km range. How come power consumption is so different between different makes of ebikes? May ebike testers look into/test this pls.
This is pretty interesting, do you know what the eco mode gives as an assist as a percentage (40% for mine). Also is it speed limited to cut out at 25kmh as I think that might make a big difference in range if not. I’ve cycled 4 different e-bikes now and all would be similar range as what I get although one that is rear wheel drive did appear to be 10-20% less as that’s a lot cruder. I hope to replace my controller with the Nyon and I’m hoping that may give me access to historic battery trip data in which case I’ll be able to cross compare with my watch records of distance & ascent and provide something better than my approximations (but I’m sure of them within 10%)
I live in Denmark which is flat land. My ebike is off the shelf, I.e. it follows the 25 km/hr speed limit cut-off EU regulation.
As for the eco mode I do not know the exact percentage, but going by the meter reading it should be around 20%.
There are so many variables that even the same rider on the same bike on the same route will have variations due to head/tailwinds.
I was disappointed with the range I was getting from my 720 Wh battery (15aH), and recently upgraded to a 1008 Wh (21aH) battery. That plus replacing my 2.8" wide knobbly tires for 1.75" wide smoother tyres allowed me to do a 70km ride over hilly roads ands still have 40% battery power in reserve.
I used to carry a second battery, now I don't need to - but I'm also back home after each ride to recharge.
You can always charge your cycle at an ev charging station also, a lot of the Tesco charging points are free as well, but even if you have to pay it's very cheap.
Really? I’d no idea they had a standard plug outlet - that’s very worth knowing
The adapter plugs in to the ev charger, it's the adapter that has the standard plug socket on it.@@Ebiketouringlife
ah so you need an adaptor, is it the same as the one you need for campground electricity hookups @@bvgb921
Many times it's not as much about access to power as it is the amount of time it takes to recharge the pack.
Is a solar panel with a small solar generator (with an AC outlet) an option for charging?
not really, particularly where I’m cycling and the average distances I do per day. If you are somewhere more towards the equator with a trailer and larger panel and doing 50km a day it’s more practical especially if it can be mounted as a trailer ‘roof’ while cycling
hi do you find your average speed on ebike eco is much different than just a normal touring bike? whats the approx difference in average km/hr all factors being relatively the same (eg flat roads / no head wind ec) and if yes then is the trade off for extra weight of bike and (hassle of) getting the batteries recharged overall worth it.. and how long does it typically take to charge a battery, cheers
The benefit off an ebike if you are reasonably fit & in eco is pretty much entirely for going up hills & in winds. If you are going very long flat rides (100+ km in a day) there may be some benefit if late in the day you’d normally be fatigued enough to have to slow down but of course perhaps the extra bike weight cancels that. So my average speed with hills/wind is higher but with neither would be similar as legally the assist cuts out at 25kmh & in eco is pretty modest at say 20kmh.
@@Ebiketouringlife hi thanks a lot for sharing this experience. much appreciated.
@@sweetsweet3753 one aspect that’s amusing is the 25kmh assist limit means that often the fastest route will be the one with more hills as the assist gets you to the top under assistance and you can generally cycle much faster downhill under your own power than you would on the flat.
Also….can i use the same charger i use for the 400wh battery to charge the 500wh?
Yep - battery capacity shouldn’t matter
Nice one mate have subbed ya channel 👍🏻🚴
Thanks for the sub!
What about regen? Why is it so ineffective (
Don’t know enough about the physics but I wonder if a downhill brake dynamo might add something beyond cost & complexity 🤣
Want me to build you a solar powered setup? Works pretty damn well and I did 2000km in 16 days last year
I’m quite curious about the potential if I do Dublin to Capetown in a few years but not as all sure they make sense for Ireland or Britain where much of my cycling will be pre retirement. Where was that 20000 done?
Can you add regen to your rig?
You mean to harvest breaking energy? Interesting question but my suspicion would be that the added weight, bulk & repair complexity probably wouldn’t be worth it for touring uses. In particular as I’ve not had a problem with charging batteries so far so it’s fixing a problem I don’t have. I have wondered about a simple dynamo I could engage for downhills that would charge a powerpack for phone / GoPro use
i think the range algoritm is pretty simple ; it just says how far you can go if you keep cycling the same way as you are cycling right now. Same speed ,same level of ascending , sime amount of wind ,putting the same amount of effort yourself, etc...
From observation I don’t think it’s a ‘now’ estimate as that would jump wildly every time you crested a hill. I think it might be since the controller was turned on but with the start point being the previous time the controller was on as the variation on start up estimate is wide but consistent with my last usage (for fully charge 500w I see 90-150 on startup) It might/could be smarter than that, perhaps weighting the last 20km at double the previous etc.
This goes out the window if your knees, etc. give out, as mine tend to after 15 to 25 miles! (Or you need to have your blood pressure medicine changed to a less exhausting formulation!)
Note: I’m near retirement age, have a number of serious health problems (most of which I was either born with, or began showing in childhood) and have had twenty surgeries, including surgery on both knees - which are connected with some other things I was born with.
I like inquiring about grades one can peddle. I'm pretty much finished with any uphill grade over 21%. I weigh 183 and am 78 years old. I don't see any peddling up anything in excess of 30% They will be walking it.
Only someone that hasn't ridden ebikes would think this way. There are too many variables, the only way to know what your range is going to be is to have ridden enough that you have *learned* what your range will be.
@@brianbassett4379 ive ridden e bikes
It takes more than just a couple of hours for each battery to charge. Overnite charges would be mandatory!
Ive now toured some 7000km including wild camping up to 4 nights in a row where ‘top up’ charging while having a meal or couple of pints was all that kept me on the road. I didn’t run a stop watch but clearly with a fast charger that was enough as there was no where to plug in overnight. I am upgrading the computer to the Nyon which I think will mean I have better battery use data accessible to me
Add to this that a lot of chargers are only 2a whereas my fast one is 6a (Bosch do 2,4 & 6) so each of those will make for enormously different charging experiences
Why is your face the real focus of the video?
Mostly because I’m so much more attractive than the scenery. But actually because that’s a camera mounted off the handlebars that mostly points forward to capture the road footage I use when talking about routes. Here I was returning from an unexpected dead end on Skye created by road works and decided to use that time to answer a question I’d got a lot by spinning the camera around and tapping away while I cycled.
@@Ebiketouringlife But you have to understand his (our) point of view. I like to see the area and the scenery more than I want to look at you. It's nothing personal. I've got over 50K miles on my ebike now and don't glean any useful information from you or most other riders anymore. Again, it's not personal. Once I finally learned how to cut the A/C voltage umbilical cord riding has changed into living comfortably off the bike for as long as I like. But, I do like seeing the areas you ride. A DJI Pocket 2 stabilized camera works well at flipping the camera 180 degrees with the tap of a button, either on the camera or on the App. You can see in this video that I can flip from front to back easily. - ruclips.net/video/K1z3rt3_lfg/видео.html
DUDE! Where's your helmet?? But good on ya for the safety vest.
Too much "talking head" and not enough photographic examples, maps, etc.
I car camp for hunting and camping and use a BLUETTI AC200 MAX Li Fe Po4 battery kept charged by an Off Grid TREK 220 watt solar blanket cable locked to my SUV's roof racks. I canary the 13 pound solar blanket on my bike for daily charging at a camp away from the car.
Love your adventures. Great videos.
However, I can't understand why you don't wear a helmut, considering your long experience in cycling and how you set your bike up so well.
Baffles me. You obviously have your reasons, but I feel you are tempting fate, and that it will never happen to you.
Do you not wear car seat belts too? Its not whether you fall off onto the hard road by your own misadventure, but whether you get knocked off by a vehicle.
I am sure all your viewers wish you well, as I do. But seriously, I would've thought you would be an advocate for safety while riding and setting an example.
Please dont take offense, but rather an explanation as to why not.
Hi Ray, it’s a very common misconception that helmets can protect cyclists from vehicle collisions. They can’t, they are way too flimsy. The manufacturers disclaimers are actually very clear on this.
What they do offer protection from is your first scenario where someone falls off a bicycle & hits their head off a stationary object like the road surface. So I do wear one in winter for instance when the risk of falls is higher.
I do wear a seat belt in a car as the benefit there is very large indeed but like most people I don’t wear a helmet in a car even though that would have a similar if a lot smaller benefit.
Helmet discourse is as far as I’m concerned mostly a distraction from improving cycling safety and transfers the burden of improvement from collective action (infrastructure improvements) to individual responsibility. Worse still in some bad drivers it can instill a sense that they are less responsible - a sense that unfortunately also appears in some court decisions
@@Ebiketouringlife Very concise response.
When rhe battery dies just cycle it normol way u no the old way u lazy fecker
You can indeed do that although as you then have a very heavy bike with only 7 gears your in serious trouble if there are any big hill climbs on the remaining route. But as I point out in the video it’s not a situation that’s arisen for me so far and I’ve toured about 7,000km now.
Stupid is having ebike for touring 😂😅. The simple it is the better!!!
I think I’ve proven this not to be the case, 7,000km of touring done, vast majority of that wild camping and routes that are difficult in terms of terrain & prevalent weather conditions.
A gas powered 2 stroke moped might be the better option. With that you could get repairs. But with an e-bike SOL. The rest of the world is not at all like the US.
Errr I’m not in the US - but yes Namibia where settlements can be 300km apart would be a challenge. The electric components of a good ebike are unlikely to fail under less than 50,000 km so I wouldn’t let the fear of repairability stop me making the attempt - it’s pretty low risk in comparison to other critical issues
@@Ebiketouringlife Your biggest concern should probably be how waterproof the electric motors are. Thus center drive is pretty much out.. Probably best would be one with both front and rear hub dive ind on a tricycle to allow more cardo, stability and traction.
@@riskyron1416 my impression is that a never opened Bosch centre drive should be fine although I'd wonder after its been serviced if the seals can be as good. I presume your concern here is immersion while crossing rivers rather than just heavy rainfall? TBH the Irish & Scottish Atlantic coast conditions are pretty severe both in rainfall terms but also salt spray
🤔 I’d try wearing a helmet 🪖 pal .. you only have 1 head 🤷♂️
I must do a video on helmet wearing & the strong opinions that are held around those magic bits of plastic and styrofoam (they are magic in a limited set of circumstances)
@@Ebiketouringlife 🤔 well that magic piece of so called plastic which can also be carbon fibre could be the difference.. not to worry huh .. am sure ya too busy charging them batteries ⚡️ 🪫😁👍
Nice... im doing an extended tour... and I just bought and installed a bafang 1000 watt mid-drive... the bbshd... with a 48 volt 20amp battery...but at the moment I've stopped to work and save to fund the next leg of my trip... so I haven't gotten to test the battery distance.... amd ive been stressing on charging... if I wasn't already pushing the weight limit of my bike frame... id pick up a second battery... america is far different... I get dirty looks for trying to charge my tablet and cellphone amd 2 small backup batteries in fast food place... I cant imagine breaking out this 15lb battery amd huge charger on top of my electronics...
Ive found that churches are sometimes a better place to charge when you need to charge for a period of time and have a lot of things to charge... parks with pavilions sometimes have functional plugs...