Would you like to know some tricks for extending your e-bike range
1. Make sure your battery is fully charged. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about charging your battery after a hard day at work. Create a routine!
2. Pedal harder, This may be obvious. You may need to run some extra errands and realize that you don’t have that much juice left. You could reduce the assist setting and pedal more to compensate for a low battery. Another tip is to pedal harder at the right time. Lots of energy is consumed when you accelerate from stop. If you pedal hard to get your bike going this will help conserve your battery energy. Hills take a lot of energy so pedal harder on them.
3. Enjoy a slow ride. Wind resistance can drain you and your battery’s energy. If you need to extend your range, riding a slower will reduce the wind drag.
4. A second charger? A long commute to work and errands? you may need more range. You could have a charger at work so that you can recharge during the day.
5. Buy a second battery? If you have a very long commute or ride it may be worth buying a second battery. Some electric bike manufacturers offer an option of adding a second battery to double your range.
6. Keep your tire pressure up. This will make a difference in how much energy is required to move you and your e-bike around. Low tire pressure can make your bike feel sluggish. For normal city style e-bikes a tire pressure of 50-60 psi is suggested. Don’t over inflate your tires – it can lead to a rough ride.
7. Replace your old battery. If you have had your e-bike and battery for a while, the amount of energy your battery can hold will probably have decreased. Replace your battery once the decreased range gets small.
8. Use the regenerative braking feature. Some electric bike have a regenerative braking feature that turns the motor into a generator in order to act like a brake and put a little bit of charge back into your battery. This is activated by a sensor on one of the brake levers.
9. Take care of your battery If you can, store your battery at room temperature. Batteries don’t like cold or hot. It is a good idea to charge your battery often to keep it topped off. If you don’t ride your electric bike much in the winter, store your battery fully charged and charge it every 2 months. Try not to leave it plugged in for more than 24 hours.
10. Oil your chain. This will improve your pedaling efficiency and if you have a motor that powers through the cranks of your bike it will improve your motor’s efficiency too. After you oil your chain let it sit for a few minutes before you wipe off the excess.
