Cory Brown Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 To start, my riding weight is probably around 180-185lbs (I haven't weighed myself in gear yet). I'm riding a 100V Nikola+ 1800wh w/ 21700s in soft mode. I got my Nikola a few weeks ago and last Tuesday I decided to do a range test with it. I had just lowered my tire pressure to right around 38psi. I didn't start at a completely full battery. I had done a quick lap around the neighborhood the night before so I was down to about 99.9V at the beginning of the ride. This was also a new route for me since my MCM5 could not make it this far so there were a few small turnarounds on this ride, but nothing major. I rode my wheel from downtown Denver to downtown Morrison and took a picture of Red Rocks Amphitheater from the south side. It was a glorious ride! Unfortunately, I started with a low phone battery and was only able to record the first half of the ride until I turned around in Morrison. Overall, I made it 53 miles and was riding tiltback for the last mile or two home. Here's the link to the first ride: https://euc.world/tour/584445150505235 Yesterday, I pumped my tires back up to 45psi and tried again. This time I started the ride a bit closer to full battery (100.4V). Since I didn't have a log of the first trip home, I decided to do the same first half to Morrison, but on the way home, I took a different route south to explore some new trails. Because of this, it's not a perfect range comparison, but still something worth sharing. I'll probably try to repeat this test a few times with the exact same route to gather some more data. Because I knew the route a bit better this time, the first half was a little smoother, but I tried to keep them as similar as I could. Overall, I was able to get 58 miles before I felt a tiltback. Here's the link to the second ride: https://euc.world/tour/584668238080230 When I reached my "turnaround point" the first time I was at 91.1V (52%). The second trip, I was at 93.4V (64%). I'm very interested to see what this is going to look like when the routes are identical. I had 12% more battery at my "halfway point", but by the end, I only saw about a 10% increase in range. The second ride was also slightly colder out. The first trip, the temperature was in the 50-60Fs, while the second trip I started in the upper 40-50Fs. Has anyone else tried to measure how much extra range they're able to squeeze out with increased tire pressure? Any other tips for increasing range? I'd love to squeeze out 64 miles so I can try this awesome loop I mapped out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 I've looked at instant wattage at various tire pressures over the same 1/4 mile and couldn't see any difference between 30 vs 42 psi, but then again instant watts is "noisy", and 12 psi difference isn't much. Looking at rolling resistance on the same bicycle tire, tire pressure makes almost no difference, but type of tire makes a huge difference. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 I had a specific battery testing trip for the 16S, and I tested a few different tires, pressures and riding modes, several times each. I have also tested a few tires and riding modes on the MSX, although less rigorously. A softer riding mode is able to extend the range by a few miles on both wheels. I was able to notice a slight difference from the tire pressure as well, but the decreasing of comfort was not worth it to me since the difference was so small. A knobby tire on the MSX cuts down on range the same amount as hard vs medium mode. But the largest factor by far is riding style (including speed). While the riding mode can account for up to about 10% difference, riding style makes for more than 50%. That’s where you’ll get your range from. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cory Brown Posted March 19, 2020 Author Share Posted March 19, 2020 14 hours ago, mrelwood said: But the largest factor by far is riding style (including speed). While the riding mode can account for up to about 10% difference, riding style makes for more than 50%. That’s where you’ll get your range from. By that, do you mean things like aggressive acceleration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_bike_kite Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 Slower acceleration will use less energy. Simply riding slower, say 20mph rather than 30mph, will use a lot less power. I'm not sure if you can sit on a Nikola but having less frontal area will also reduce energy needs. I think it would be really interesting to have some real numbers showing how different things affect an EUC's range. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 14 hours ago, mrelwood said: the largest factor by far is riding style (including speed). While the riding mode can account for up to about 10% difference, riding style makes for more than 50%. That’s where you’ll get your range from. If you can sit on your wheel (I don't and won't), then that's about a crazy 40% reduction in instant wattage for a given speed. I was "blown away" (hehe, pun) by how much sitting decreases energy usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cory Brown Posted March 19, 2020 Author Share Posted March 19, 2020 1 hour ago, LanghamP said: If you can sit on your wheel (I don't and won't), then that's about a crazy 40% reduction in instant wattage for a given speed. I was "blown away" (hehe, pun) by how much sitting decreases energy usage. I am now far more likely to install a seat on my Nikola....that is insane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Nic Posted March 19, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted March 19, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Cory Brown said: I am now far more likely to install a seat on my Nikola....that is insane! You can decrease energy usage another 40% by wearing one of these while sitting... Edited March 19, 2020 by Nic 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryJackPCB Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 On 3/19/2020 at 6:54 PM, Nic said: You can decrease energy usage another 40% by wearing one of these while sitting... Always practice Safe Biking! It should have a Trojan logo on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daley1 Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Why does sitting decrease energy usage.?Wind resistance? Surely someone has done a test and their is a link on this forum that shows power reserves,post test, on the same route in the standing and sitting positions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcatraz Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, Daley1 said: Why does sitting decrease energy usage.?Wind resistance? Surely someone has done a test and their is a link on this forum that shows power reserves,post test, on the same route in the standing and sitting positions? Reduced frontal area = reduced drag. Lower tire pressure = increased rolling resistance = increased drag. Edited March 24, 2020 by alcatraz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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