Extend eBike touring range with batteries, fast chargers and technique even when wild camping

[@peterreece6547]

I have the Raleigh Motus Grand Tour which came with the Bosch 500 watt battery it is a step through frame as I’m an old fart. When I first got it the first bar of the 5 bars on the Bosch control would drop off at or about 17miles the more I used the bike and the fitter I became the first bar will drop off at 23 miles as I have built up the muscles I had lost due Ostio arthritis and not being able to walk properly. I have now had the bike from August 2022 and I have done 3,400 miles. I did have a period of 10 weeks off the bike as I had a complete knee replacement in 2023 . I’m back to doing 24 mile leisure riding most days. As you mentioned the more you use eco mode the longer the range. My bike has the Shimano 8 speed hub gears.

[@Ebiketouringlife]

I think the improved range is a mixture of fitness and your body/brain syncing with the motor so there is less wasted effort around 25kmh in particular.

[@Walt1119]

Interesting info and a good video. No ebike at this time, but wanting to get back into touring, haven't done any for 20? years, older now, thinking about this older leggies, ebike sounds better all the time. Great channel, just ran across it, subbed too!! Thanks so much for sharing with us!!

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Glad you found it useful, I’ve got huge use out of mine for sure in the 3 years since I got it

[@Adventures4vida]

My union 2 has a 500wh frame pack, I bought a second one. I do a weekly training ride where I ride 40 miles using little to no assistance. I can do that ride now 90 percent no assist and my legs are still good. Lost 70 lbs this year on my ebike riding that way. If I can ride in eco at 18 mph ill turn off the motor and will be happy getting 15 to 16 mph, like a normal touring speed on a non electric bike.

[@erikladefoged6108]

Great video👍 Your detailed technical explanations I highly appreciate. I look forward to hear about your trip to Spain - best of luck with that.

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Awesome, thank you!

[@peterrafferty9838]

I don't have an ebike but enjoy your videos, walking part of the Camino next week so perhaps may see you whizzing past 😀

[@Ebiketouringlife]

I’ll be on and off it from the 18th to 22nd I think

[@clintmichigan9112]

Note to self: independently waterproof individual or groups of items in the waterproof bags. I like redundancy more than most but thanks for an actual bad case scenario.

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Yeah I know as very close to giving up and going home after that but luckily pushed on as the rest of the trip was great. TBH the bags in bags aspect also makes it easier to keep everything sorted

[@Adventures4vida]

@@Ebiketouringlife yea and why chance a unseen rip in your pannier getting your electronics wet. I do the same.

[@ciprianmarinescu1312]

Yes you need that assistance over 25kmh belive me. Is not necessarily drains battery when you learn that how and where/ situation, for better momentum and velocity at top speeds for specific road sections for and even spare some battery. I know how to use this technique at daily basis.

[@joejowers]

Great video - thanks for the info :)

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Glad it was helpful!

[@andrewwcoyle]

this is everything I needed to know thank you :-)

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Do post any questions in the comments - I did a big test on the Atlantic coast of the low battery assist Nyon mode and was heading for 220km when I ended it (had got 160km actual with quite a lot of charge left) which I’ll add a video on

[@dbcooper7326]

Are you cycling along the Camino route ? Thanks for your efforts in making these videos. Good luck with trip to Spain.

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Yes eurovelo follows the Camino for a good distance however I’m going off route a good bit into the mountains to the north in particular

[@keepsmiling1484]

Great video - now looking at the nyon 😁

[@Ebiketouringlife]

I did a real life test with the range extending setting described and got 180km with enough battery for another 60km from a 500w in Connemara (so mountains, wind, rain, rough roads).

[@Eric_Tennant]

1400w @ 48v on 55AH with a 200w trailer. USA!

[@peteturner8493]

I fitted my Nyon display the bike computer side is great the navigation is only saved by the fact it links to Kamoot routes otherwise I wouldn't trust it to find a good route back home and don't now ever! I wondered if setting up Eco1 to be zero'd out at the very start so no help in getting the bike moving as I suspect a lot of energy is used up here, then Eco2 could be as you have it setup re 30% ish power to take over as the day progresses & energy levels drop, the 3rd tour & 4th Sport (never found much use for Turbo)....anyway just a thought? I appreciate Eco2 would be in fact named tour etc....

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Yes I import cycle travel GPX routes I haven’t trusted it’s navigation yet. And with roots where you start & return on the same road it doesn’t seem to be smart enough to stop giving u turn instructions because it has the out and in confused That’s an interesting point about the starting from zero - could have a big impact in urban settings where there are a lot of traffic lights. I may test that

[@peteturner8493]

@@Ebiketouringlife I'd be very interested in your findings as hadn't thought of unlocking the custom power settings until now! :)

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Well worth doing either way as the range extension even from my existing lowest setup is very impressive - on that 130km trip I stayed in it for the first 90 and then shifted up all the way to 4 to race sunset and still got home on a single charge

[@markdeckys]

Hey there Very informative. Just got my first etourer and absolutely hooked. Long term road cyclist but wanted the extra mileage from the e-bike, certainly towards end of the day. Alas, my bike is a lot heavier than yours, has a bigger capacity battery(750) and a more punchy motor Bosch performance cx. So, although it sounds like the dream, it’s one hell of a beast to cycle up a 20% climb with no assistance. The power is a good 30 percent extra to carry that bike up the hill. Now, that’s naked, add panniers etc. it’s very hefty. I would love to be able to mess with the settings like you do and really dig down on the modes. Alas, I can not because it’s part of the smart system and can only adjust 4 characteristics of the non dynamic and steady modes. Currently, eco, tour and turbo. I tried to dial down the eco mode and literally was hit by being bogged down. Just wondering if you are aware of whether the smart is interchangeable with the e-bike connect. Even consider the nyon but not sure it’s compatible. I know the 6a charger is not

[@Ebiketouringlife]

When I got the Nyon they had to redo the wiring as well so it may be it’s not compatible in the sense of being able to pop off your current controller and then pop it on but is at a more skilled mechanic level. I don’t know enough about this to be sure. I bought mine without really having done much research but knowing I wanted something that looked and felt like a ‘normal’ bike and that I could lift onto those hooks they use on trains. I did test ride a couple of heavier bikes and although they felt a good bit more powerful I didn’t like the way that made hitting the 25kmh cutoff a bit like suddenly cycling onto soft sand. And in retrospect I think if your already a reasonably fit cyclist you don’t need the extra power although even in full assist a 20% climb is something I really feel I’m curious about the 6a charger not being compatible as I thought the batteries were standardized across the Bosch range. Perhaps I shouldn’t be using it although with 60+ uses it’s not blown up anything yet

[@markdeckys]

@@Ebiketouringlife I’m pretty sure that e-bike systems and smart and not compatible. I was recently, fooled into buying a kiox 300. The information seemed to lend itself to a garmin-esque computer. Being someone that uses power on my road and mtb bikes, I was enthused and then quickly dismayed that I couldn’t use this metric with the garmin. Bosch really ring fence their ecosystem. Hence the kiox. Not to mention they rolled out an exciting update, it can show heart rate. Haha who would have thought it. Bosch being able to access a simple heart rate monitor. Alas, cadence, power is transmitted from bike to the kiox. Elevation, gps etc from the phone. I convinced myself, whatever, let’s see, to find it can only visualise heart rate and cannot record. What on earth?! So I’m kind of reserved in my opinion and certainly don’t want to fork out for nyon if it’s not compatible. The webpage and e-bike connect is not compatible, so I can only assume the same. With the smart system, the socket has crazy shape of a female connector. The 6a appears have a simple shape that doesn’t fit. Thankfully, I didn’t buy this, but a friend did thinking we’d be on to a winner charging our 750… haha. Like I mentioned, you demonstrate a fair amount of granularity in changing the modes. On the flow app, one can alter assistance by plus or minus 5, dynamic, again, + or -5. Max speed 15mph down to 6 and finally max torque 85 down to 10. Each one point reduction or addition is equivalent to 10percent. So technically, I can reduce the assistance down by 5 points (50%) equalling a 30% assistance in eco, rather than 60. There is customisation, but nothing like what you have and can’t really have 2 modes that offer a linear level of assistance with small percentage change on a mode 1 and say mode 2. For me, I think it’s increasing my own power considerably to mitigate the weight and thereby reduce the eco a tad. And perhaps reducing tour by a small margin too. If I had the battery capacity I’d ride in that all day. It’s just great at 150 %. But a battery vampire. I’m trying to get my head around the settings, like I mentioned with the torque and assistance, alas my brain hurts trying to understand. I wonder what the threshold would be before the lack of torque literally does not have enough grunt to pull before the legs have to spin like crazy to compensate with power. Just out of interest, what motor do you have and what is peak torque? And does it rely on a higher cadence to acquire it? Finally I’m struck by the amount of work I’m putting in when little assistance is put in. I think most people, myself included, presume that e-bikes perpetually run on turbo. Lol

[@Pelennor]

Should I buy a pannier bag or just a bike rack bag for the rear rack for transporting a second battery?

[@Ebiketouringlife]

@@Pelennor I have panniers anyway so that’s what I have used - I also put them inside a dry sack as extra protection. Probably isn’t much advantage to one over the other though

[@Pelennor]

@@Ebiketouringlife Cheers

[@Veganpoo]

Hi great videos really helpful new sub! Getting into ebike touring myself. Might be silly questions but are you taking the ferry over and then driving/ train to Spain can you take an ebike on a plane.??

[@Ebiketouringlife]

It’s all ferry. As far as practical I prefer to avoid flying anyway but planes & eBikes don’t mix as you can’t bring an eBike battery on a plane (or any battery over 100whr). Once in the Spanish state it’s all cycling although if something goes wrong I may use a train to recover distance.

[@Veganpoo]

Oh nice! So you can def bring an e bike on a ferry what are the rules if any? Can you charge on board? thanks 🙏👍

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Just seeing this now - on any of the ferries I’ve used (about 25 at a guess) e-bikes are treated same last other bicycles. And yes you’ll often be able to find a plug on the bigger ferries, not so much on the small ones but your generally only on those a few minutes anyway

[@adeharris4457]

Faster chargers will decrease the batteries lifespan so it's a hand off personally I think it's worth having two batteries instead of speeding up the charge process. With a faster charger you're also increasing the risk of a lithium fire as the chargers provided with the batteries if purchased from a reputable seller will be the correct wattage for the battery going over that can overheat the battery as its charging causing a short & subsequent cascade

[@Ebiketouringlife]

In this case though it’s a Bosch fast charger so I’d expect it to be fully compatible with their own systems batteries. I do suspect it has some impact on the rate of capacity reduction so while not touring I use their standard 4a. But while wild camping the extra charge in a given time is very worth it

[@joeberginc7415]

A bms burns off high cell groups very slowly 30-100ma. Fast charge when you're on the road, but use a 2à charger most of the time while home to give the bms time to balance. Bms only burns high volts only while charging.

[@patthewoodboy]

I have a bike , the range is limited by me , not a battery.

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Well done you 👏🏻

[@ReVolt_e-Vlogs]

Do you want a cookie?? 🤔

[@julianshepherd2038]

So what

[@JasperJanssen]

@@ReVolt_e-Vlogsyou can only go so far on just a cookie.

[@Adventures4vida]

yea but my ebike gives me more options, If I want to suffer and build muscle faster I turn off the motor. I'm never forced to struggle on my ebike. Lost 70lbs this year on my bosch mid drive.

[@VE7QRZ]

👍

[@colincampbell4261]

Cafe owners are going to get fed up with ebikers asking to charge up their batteries methinks.

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Hmm not so sure as the other way of looking at it is they are getting additional customers. Bit like the way almost everywhere got WiFi once that became a thing or indeed mobile phone charging

[@Bikepacking]

@@Ebiketouringlife Wi-Fi is monthly fee it set cost it stays the same .. charging phone take little power but e-bike take a lot .. think about it sell a cofffee for 1 dollar i make 40 cents .. if you charge your e-bike 3 hours i dont make any profit ..

[@markm6488]

@@Bikepacking Even a six hour charge is only pennies, between .06 to 50 cents for a typical ebike, even if you're paying high energy prices. So the extra traffic is probably well worth it.

[@Tarmaccyclocross]

How about getting a proper bike instead of an electric moped that’s not proper touring

[@Ebiketouringlife]

Top tip - you’ll be much happier in life if you avoid getting mad at what random people you’ve never met do for fun. Just scroll on and think ‘deep blue ocean’

[@Pelennor]

Well said.Too many grouches venting their spleen cos they've nothing better to do. Keep up the good work.​@@Ebiketouringlife