Range - How far can you ride?

Range, how far will my battery assist me?

Most high-quality e-bike battery cells, like Samsung, Panasonic, LG etc, are very similar in their weight and energy density (power). Most e-bike batteries built in the past 8 years use a lithium 18650 cell, which are used in a wide variety of applications, from bikes, power tools, to the International space station.
The most common question related to purchasing a new e-bike battery is, how far will my new battery power my bike for? With the answer to this question being very complex and dependent on a range of factors.

Riders often look for lighter batteries, expecting greater range, only to be disappointed with the outcome. As the rule of thumb is, the heavier the battery, the greater the power and the greater the range.

When purchasing a battery of the same shape, size and voltage, your batteries weight will increase, as you increase you the amp hours (AH) of the battery. While many batteries can look the same physically, you need to rely on the voltage and AH rating to guide your decision.
The energy consumed by your bike will depend on many of the following factors;
• Your body weight and luggage (backpacks etc.), greater the load, greater the energy consumption required
• Your power setting, the higher you set your power setting the greater energy you will consume. Minimising your use of power when at a comfortable cruising speed, will maintain your batteries power for when you require it.
• Head winds, strong heads winds will slow you down, requiring greater energy consumption
• Terrain flatter the terrain the less energy you will consume, as most of the energy is used to assist you getting to cruising speed. Whilst, riding up hill, you never achieve a cruising speed and are constantly consuming energy at the maximum rate.
• Weather can impact your batteries power and how far you can ride, a good gauge for this is, if you are comfortable outside riding, your battery is more than likely at its peak operating conditions.
Most bikes will come with an estimation of the range you can expect from the bike under power assistance. When purchasing your replacement battery, use your old batteries range (when in a good condition) as the best gauge of which battery to replace it with. If you found the range provided by your old battery as acceptable, then purchase another with the same voltage and AH. If looking for greater distance, then increase your AH to increase your riding range