How long does the battery last for E-bikes?
01/06/2021One of the big questions that pilgrims ask us about E-Bikes is their autonomy, battery capacity and duration. Well, we are going to deal with that topic in this little blog post. According to the manufacturer Shimano, the durations of the battery, as is logical to think, depend on the use that is given to it. We always try to be didactic by making a parallel with the use of the mobile phone. If we are making use of social networks, WhatsApp or telegram messaging, calls, etc., the battery will last less than if we have the phone in normal use. The bicycle battery is similar. If we always go at maximum power, with small gears and with a lot of weight on the bike, the battery will last less. If, on the contrary, we are managing the powers depending on the terrain, we also use gears that do not suppose an excess effort for the engine and the weight (between ours and the saddlebags) is reasonable, we will be able to complete the stages of the Camino de Santiago without problems on a single charge.
Shimano offers ranges of distance or battery life that, fulfilling the previous premises, may be sufficient for each of the stages of the Camino. Of the three modes that the engine has, it says that in ECO it can exceed + 150kms as long as the conditions are optimal; for TRAIL mode it shortens that distance to + 90kms, while for maximum power mode, BOOST, it calculates + 60kms.
Due to the experience we have in Cycling the Camino, and knowing the characteristics of the terrain that the pilgrims encounter, we believe that these ranges should be reduced and think that the average of each day can be between + 85kms with a correct combination of power, gears and weight. It is evident that Shimano does not mount its engines for the pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago and does not take into account things such as hard climbs, or that they carry saddlebags with a few kilos of clothing or, even, that users of E-bikes are not experts and may not have ever used one. At Cycling the Camino we take into account all these factors and that is why we believe that + 85kms per day can be exceeded with a single charge.
But we remind you that failing to meet any of those criteria will drastically shorten the duration. For example, if a pilgrim considers that he is very comfortable in BOOST power even though he has a small sprocket, he will see on the screen that the distance range will shorten rapidly. That is not a fault with the bike, not an incorrect charge, not even a problem with the battery itself. This is clearly due to mismanagement of the resource and he will most likely need to recharge it in the middle of the stage.
As is normal, with E-Bikes a bag is always delivered containing a mains charger that has a cable and its transformer. E-Bikes can be recharged with the battery in place, directly by plugging it into the mains, or by removing the battery with the key (which is also shipped) and raising only said battery to the room where they are staying. Both inserting and removing the battery is done in a simple outward movement (a quick manual is attached in each language). Shimano advises that an 80% charge takes about 2.5 hours, while a full 100% charge will take about 5 hours. The chargers have a safety system that automatically shuts off when the charge is complete to avoid overheating or a fire. In any case, it will always be better to unplug it from the network once the process has finished.
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