What is a realistic time to bike commute from San Francisco to San Jose on an e-bike?

[Derek Lin]

Hi,

I was doing research on bike commute between San Francisco and San Jose.

The route is 40 miles.  If I get an e-bike, what is a realistic time I get to to my destination?  Google maps says 3 hours and 31 minutes on a regular bike.

Thanks,

Derek

[Kurt Wallace]

It's a great question. In my time trials (non-competitive timing of different commute segments) I've found it hard to get below 3 min/mile average for long stretches, even on a 28mph class 3 e-bike, working hard. The google number you cite is 5.3min/mile, which is slow for a regular cyclist, though. Best to plan about 4, so maybe with tweaking you get to 150 minutes, or 2.5 h. 

_____________________________________

Kurt Wallace Martin
Director | he/him
Bikes Make Life Better | (415) 412-7033

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[Matteo Scandolo]

40 miles to SJ seems a little short.

SF to Intel's innovation campus was ~55 and would take me 3.5 hours on a regular bike last summer when I was in tip-top shape. Haven't dare commuting all the way since then :)

A decent alternative is Caltrain to Palo Alto and then taking the bay trail to SJ (it's also the nicest part of the commute)

Teo

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[Michael Schumann]

I agree that 40 miles seems short. I have been riding from Brisbane to downtown SJ and it is 50 miles if I take Skyline; 55 miles for Bayway. There are shorter routes, but they can be less pleasant. 

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[Derek Lin]

I live near Bayshore Caltrain station.  And my work is near the bay trail.  My 40 miles route includes about 11 miles of the trail according to google maps.

I am using regular bicycle + Caltrain currently.  It takes me about 2 hours door to door.

I am contemplating if I can get to work on an e-bike with a similar time and get some exercise done at the same time.  I was a daily bike commuter since 2013 before COVID and my distance has always been less than 8 miles one way.  My cycle time is normally a little bit faster than google's estimation.  I think 2 hours is doable, but I would like to hear from people who have done a similar thing.  I don't want to spend the money on e-bike and then give up going by to regular bike + caltrain.

Derek

[peter adam boeckel]

I take the bayway often on fridays. 

From dogpatch to Lawrence station/kifer road.. 46 miles. 

Takes me 2:45-50 mins on a non - ebike. 

I optimised the route here and there but it is mainly the same. And I so far did not get to improvements that lead to major shortcuts..

 

The closer you get to 8,9 AM.. the more traffic lights you’ll wait on. Especially palo alto, mt view etc.. 

Sent from my iPhone

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 peterboeckel.com  // +1 (929) 625-7123

On May 15, 2023, at 8:44 AM, Michael Schumann <mic...@schumann.com> wrote:



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[Brian Sullivan]

I've had similar questions and the Trek Domane SLR+ seemed to be the ideal bike, but pricey. They have a 30 day no questions return on new bikes. Don't abuse it, but if it turned out to be not with it you'd have an out. Wish you could just rent them for a few days or a week. 

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[Darrin Ward]

i think it honestly depends on the exact route and how comfortable of
a cyclist you are.
i am skeptical like the rest of this list that it is 40 miles to san
jose even from bayshore caltrain station but eh not my business.

as a theory, 40 miles can be done in 2 hours but it is not something i
would encourage you to do unless you are super comfortable at that
speed.
it means functionally you are usually going 24-25mph and that requires
pretty great bike handling skills especially on bayway.
2.5 hours is more realistic like kurt said.

do pay attention to which ebike you get. a lot state 50 mile range
for example but not at top speed.

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