On May 29, 3:12 pm, Lou Holtman <
lou.holt...@usenet.nl> wrote:
> Op 29-5-2012 12:16, JennyB schreef:
>
> > I've had a home-built ebikes for about 18 months now - a Trek 7.1FX with a 350 watt hub motor. I find that on a moderately hilly 22 mile route it's the difference between an average speed of twelve and 18 mph.
Over here the top legal motor is 250W. My average in the hilly country
in which I live was always roundabout 10mph, including quite a few
very fast downhills. It's still about the same but the motor is strong
enough, and the 8.8Ah battery has enough juice over my normal sort of
ride of about ten miles, to bump it up a few mph if I want to. But I'm
not trying to leave the pedal pals behind, just to stay with them on
the hills. They're used me leaving them behind on the downhills...
> > Like Andre, I use it purely as an assist. It won't climb much of a hill on its own, and for best efficiency you need to put in enough power of your own to keep the speed above your speed above 10 mph. Used like that, I allow 10 watt hours of battery per mile of easy road and add a kilometre for every 20 metres to be climbed, plus or minus another kilometre for every 20 metres the finish is above or below the start. With my 12-pound 36v 15 amp-hour battery I have enough range for day rides of 40-50 miles. I'm planning a tour next month where I'll be carrying chargers that can restore 30 miles of range in an hour's stop at any socket.
That sounds about right. Pete Cresswell was saying in sensible
discussion of electrified bikes we had last year or the year before
while I was looking into it, that an Amp-hour per mile was about right
for reckoning a battery's range on mixed roads. One of the parameters
I chose my kit by was that the battery, with Panasonic cells, is known
to be extremely conservatively rated, so I'm not surprised that I
haven't yet on any of my rides, which are all 16-25km circles, managed
to wipe the battery, though I've tried. The nearest I came wasn't on
hills but one morning at dawn in sub-zero temps when I had a clear run
on an icy but flat and wide highway, and just put her in the corner;
12 miles at full speed still left enough in the battery to get me up
the hill before my house, though only two of the condition indicators
were lit and the off ones were taking up to 30 seconds to light up
again. I've never managed to switch them off permanently; the battery
has always recovered by the time I have the bike home and parked. (I'm
not quite sure whether those lights show "battery full" -- pretty
unlikely after 12m at full throttle -- or simply the capability to
deliver 14A even for a second or a few, which is what my setup is
limited to by the controller box.) BTW, it is a legal requirement to
have a controller that limits top speed to 25mph in Europe. My setup
cuts out at exactly 25kph, which is a bit disappointing as it
accelerates right up to 25mph and thus clearly has some oomph left.
> Why is speed and average speed so important?
>
> Lou
I'll let Jenny answer for herself. For me, speed isn't important
except that I don't want to hold up my regular riding companions. They
go pretty slow anyway by roadie standards -- we ride along looking at
the animals and carrying on conversations, and idiots with something
to prove aren't invited again -- so it is just a question of keeping
up on the hills. The original purpose of my electrical installation
was to get me up the very steep hill before my house without pushing;
it was only afterwards that further necessities arose, and I was very
happy to have it the motor already fitted.
I'm not so sure that, if speed from batteries is your primary concern,
you want to start with a pedal bike. Something lower, more
aerodynamic, and with a lower centre of gravity will probably be
superior. There are quite a few successful installations on
recumbents. Tom Sherman's velomobile strikes me as the ideal base for
a speed freak electrification project.
Andre Jute