Working E-Bike Efficiency .. Post yours please!

[LI-ghtcycle]

For the purpose of this discussion, a "working bike" will be something that you at least ride on a regular basis, use in your work, (or at least to commute) daily.

I am curious what is typical in particular to a E-Cargo Bike, in that you haul a significant amount of weight, but any and all commuter bikes work.

Please include your bike, rider and cargo's weight (gross weight), and average speed during your commute, also, note any significant hills (anything that is particularly steep or over a mile long and at least 3% grade).

Here is mine:

Average Efficiency (no pedaling) 26 WH/Mile at 15 MPH Average Speed with highs hitting 27 MPH. (180lb rider, 114lb bike, 150lb trailer = 444 gross weight)

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Sweet, does it include E-bikes actually being used for commuting/working or just E-Bikes in general?

'

 

[amberwolf]

Sorry I couldn't help.
There are actually several threads about it, some of which can be found in teh following searches. Polls & surveys section probably has others that won't pull up in a search . I don't know if any specifically are for commuters/non-recreational bikes.

(because the search will not find things with certain words, very common abbreviations/words, or those shorter than 3 characters, which is kinda dumb because much of the stuff people need to find on ES fits one or more of those limitations).

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/search.php?keywords=efficiency&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sk=t&sd=d&sr=topics&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/search.php?keywords=mile&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sk=t&sd=d&sr=topics&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

W00t! thx AW and eTrike for helping get that link, but I would still love to see how many of us actually commute and/or use their E-Bike in a business setting.

I honestly believe these are the best "real world" tests, as the E-Bike while not necessarily the most "glamorous" of tests, I believe they are the most telling of how well a particular set-up is done since if you just must have it work, that is a lot more impressive than just a week-end "hot rod" that might be too temperamental to be a daily driver or work rig that you use in the course of your daily routine.

 

[USAEBIKECO]

.03 cents in electricity to go 20 miles on my ebike.

That's equal to around 2000mpg.

Very efficient!

 

[amberwolf]

well, there's lots of data in my sb cruiser and crazybike2 threads.

efficicney varies depending on configuration and cargo, and becuause of weight also varies by trip length==longer trips mean better eficiency cuz theres less stops than on short trips due to routes i can take. these are 200lb+ vehicles, including the stuff that i carry on them every trip like tools and work stuff, etc., os it takes a lot f power to accelerate them to the just under 20mph we're allowed here in az, especially to do it quickly enough to not impede traffic taht's behind me in the lane at the light. that tkes about 3-4kw to be able to do this using dual hubmotors.

4.5 mile rountdtip work commute has about a dozen stops each way in just over 2 miles, so it's pretty terrible: from 1/2 to 2/3 the efficiency of a trip up to bill's, for instance, which is only a few miles more, one way, but has only a handful of stops if i reach the lights at the right timing if there's already cars there to trigger the sensors. if not, i have to stop and wait for the lights to change after i've triggered the sensors. then there's only a couple of stop signs i have to make a complete stop at.


cb2 is under 30wh/mile under those condtions normally, potentailly down to almost 20 wh/mile if there's no stops, like on the canal path in some areas. but mostly it's used for the many-stops commute, so it gets over 30wh/mile. recently added a sun-canopy which takes another wh/mile or so depending on wind, much worse in high headwidns.

sbc is more than that to start with, cuz its' a trike and wider, etc. so it can be as bad as 60wh/mile or more, but is typically down in the 40-50wh/mile range. best i can recall offhand is in the 30-plus wh/mile range, again on those long trips with few stops.


when pulling trailers full of dog or cargo, efficiency is notably worse, though it depends on waht's being pulled and the number of stops for how much worse.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Thanks for that info AW!

Seems like 20 - 30 Wh/M is pretty typical for our heavy loaded cargo bikes.

 

[dogman dan]

Yes, I'd agree with that, 20-35 wh/mi for speeds in the 15-20 mph ballpark. And loads up to about 400 pounds total, including at least some hills, if not an entire mountain if you go down the other side. I have no experience with heavier loads like AW does. But for a 100 pound cargo bike, and 200 pound guy, that's still at least 100 pounds of working cargo load.

So it depends on your work, the weight of the tools. Lawn business tools can weigh less than 100 pounds, or even a set of carpentry tools without air nailers included. Quite a few service businesses could easily be run from a bike.

Being a dogman,, I've wondered about setting up a poop scoop service by e bike. All you need to carry is a scoop, rake, and a roll of bags. Use their trash can of course.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Yes, I'd agree with that, for speeds in the 15-20 mph ballpark. And loads up to about 400 pounds total, including at least some hills, if not an entire mountain if you go down the other side. I have no experience with heavier loads like AW does. But for a 100 pound cargo bike, and 200 pound guy, that's still at least 100 pounds of working cargo load.

So it depends on your work, the weight of the tools. Lawn business tools can weigh less than 100 pounds, or even a set of carpentry tools without air nailers included. Quite a few service businesses could easily be run from a bike.

Being a dogman,, I've wondered about setting up a poop scoop service by e bike. All you need to carry is a scoop, rake, and a roll of bags. Use their trash can of course.

Interesting idea!

I was a plumber in my pre-E-Bike life, and when we pumped out septic tanks, my boss used to say "I get paid to take 7 years of your $hit!" :lol:

Maybe you could come up with a similar slogan for the poop scoop business, and another alternative could be to offer the "product" as organic fertilizer!

That would probably cause you some problems though with other dogs following around your trailer and trying to get to the goods and/or lifting a leg and marking it. :wink:

 

[dogman dan]

Not taking any dog shit,, got plenty at home thank you. You'd need 40 acres to stand the compost pile if you took dog shit. you'd need to be at least half a mile away.