Electric bikes or e-bikes offer a wide range of benefits. Most riders, however, remain wary of the flaring red lights warning of a low battery, or worse, having their bikes give up on them while amid a steep climb.
Range anxieties, expensive batteries, and short lifespans continue to hinder the mainstream adoption of e-bikes. Mokwheel offers a 17.5 Ah battery with a range of 35 to 60 miles on a full charge, but even that might fall short for some people.
Even as battery technology continues to make strides each passing day, there is a lot you can do to extend your e-bike range. Here are a few tips to get started.
- Use Lower Gears While Climbing
Steep climbs and high-torque situations drain the most energy from your battery. This also generates a lot of heat, which accelerates battery degradation.
In such a situation, it's best to shift to a lower gear and improve your cadence, or pedaling rate to about 50 to 80 RPMs. This usually translates into pretty big energy savings, while extending your range.
- Go Tubeless
Tube tires create a lot of resistance, especially when going off-road. The motor uses more energy as resistance continues to eat into momentum, requiring more acceleration.
Tubeless tires can adapt better to the terrain, and absorb pressures from an uneven trail without losing much momentum. This makes them perfect for MTBs, and even commuter bikes depending on road conditions.
- Coasting - Hands off the throttle!
If there is a stop sign upfront, and you feel you’d have to slow down, take your hands off the throttle and start coasting. Instead of accelerating all the way, and then braking. This too can translate into substantial savings and better ranges.
Coasting can add a few extra seconds to your total trip time but can add plenty more with regards to your range.
- Regenerative Braking
This is only possible with e-bikes that have direct-drive hub motors but is an absolute game-changer for e-bikes.
All you have to do is brake ahead of time and only squeeze the lever enough to activate regenerative braking, and not the regular rim or disc. Over time, regenerative braking should become universal among all e-bike brands and models.
- Battery Maintenance
One of the biggest concerns with e-bikes is the constant degradation of the battery resulting in a decrease in range. Battery prices remain expensive, so regular switching is not sustainable.
There are a few best practices that can prolong the lifespan of batteries. This includes, not leaving the battery dead or fully charged for extended periods. If you are leaving it unused for more than a few weeks, make sure to charge it between 60% to 70%.
Extreme temperatures can speed up degradation. So make sure to store the battery indoors when not in use, under optimal conditions, with no wild swings.
Final Verdict
With the massive strides taken in the field of battery tech and e-bikes, soon we may not have to worry about any of this.
The quality and experience of e-bikes will only improve from here, and these tips are for those who remain skeptical.
