Hi Richard here from eBike Sussex the South’s First Bosch eBike Experts! We often get the question of battery range posed to us. This guide should help you better understand the Bosch eBike System and in particular the Battery Range Indicator.
How Does The Bosch Battery Range Indicator Work?
This clever calculation is made from day one of the eBike being switched on and cycled. It is a continuously changing calculation based on how and where you ride. So if you ride up a hill the range will drop. If you ride erratically or in the wrong gear it will drop. Also as you ride and the battery depletes it will drop. The idea is that you check your range a few times throughout your ride to see how far you are likely to achieve on the battery if you continue riding in the same manner as the battery is losing it’s power.
The range calculation is not a fixed unit, for example in a car you can be pretty certain you will get an almost unchanging number of miles on a gallon of fuel. But if you add 4 more passengers the mileage would drop. If you fill the car boot up with luggage it would drop. If you ride through hilly terrain it would drop. If you start and stop regularly it will drop.
This means every eBike range calculation will be slightly different because they are all cycled in different ways, in different places, with different riders and set-ups. So if you are riding an identical eBike to your mate, and you are cycling with fully charged batteries on the same route. We would expect the ranges shown on the screens to be different on each Electric Bike. In fact we would be weirded out if they were the same!
How To Increase Your Bosch Battery Range?
To increase your battery range you could carry less rider luggage, pump the tyres to a heavier pressure, get smoother tyre tread, have the suspension on a harder setting or ‘locked out’, ride along flatter terrain and pedal more evenly. Change gear in a smoother manner and use your gears correctly for ultimate efficiency, ride in better weather conditions, keep a well maintained eBike (for example chain oil reduces friction and increases efficiency), pedal in the optimum cadence (a.k.a. pedal revolutions or rpm) this is usually 50-60rpm for best results.
Of course the ultimate way to double your eBike’s range is to buy an additional battery or upgrade the capacity of the battery (so change a 300wh for a 500wh battery for example). You can also use the Bosch Nyon system to create your own ‘custom ride modes’ where you can set your own power levels. This way you could have a much lighter ‘eco mode’ that uses less power and will therefore increase your range. This does mean you would need to upgrade to a Bosch Nyon to have access to this upgrade.
We can also ‘reset’ your Bosch eBike Range Calculation to factory settings. This can be done using our Bosch eBike Diagnostics software. Contact us in store for details. Please be aware though that the range indicator is designed to give a truer reading of your range over time. So resetting it will just take the calculation back to its original starting point. I personally prefer my range calculator to have as much information as possible to ensure the calculation is true to me as a rider, true to the bike and it’s set up and true to the terrain I ride on.
Straight from the horse’s mouth, Bosch eBike Systems website:
“What Riding Range Does The Bosch eBike System Offer Me? The range of PowerPack rechargeable batteries depends on many different variables. These include the Drive Unit employed, the type of terrain being ridden over, and average riding speed. With our Range Assistant, you can determine the range of your particular eBike – epowered by Bosch.”
As mentioned above there is a brilliant webpage on the Bosch eBike Systems website that shows a Bosch Battery Range Calculator. The link to it is here: Bosch eBike Range Assistant Calculator
The Bosch eBike System has been tested on a European test-track and the results are readily available to read in their ‘Bosch eBike Battery Guide’ available in store for FREE! The ranges are exceptional and we have found over time Bosch’s software updates often come with ‘Battery Optimisation’ tweeks to improve your battery performance. If you are still unsure about your eBike’s efficiency then please bring your Electric Bike to us for a service.
Thank you for reading my article, I hope it helps!
Richard
eBike Sussex
Bosch eBike Experts
eBike Sussex - The Electric Bike Specialists - 01273 596368 