Practical notes related to optimal use of electrical scooters and bikes
1. Momentum:
An e-bike is like a bicycle: it runs on momentum. If you cut the accelerator, it goes a long, long way before it stops, just as a cycle will go a good distance even if you stop pedalling (in contrast, a petrol bike will stop pretty soon if you cut the accelerator). So the secret of conserving charge is to utilize this momentum to the hilt. Cut the accelerator well in advance so that the bike automatically slows down before you reach a speedbreaker, traffic signal, or even merely a more crowded stretch of road. If you have to use your brakes to reduce speed, you're wasting charge.
Don't accelerate or speed unnecessarily. For one, this can in itself inefficiently utilize charge. For another, this can increase your need to apply brakes when you need to slow down, thus wasting the charge that you used to accelerate. You will therefore enjoy the best mileage (range) if you ride at low to moderate speeds and accelerate only on long, empty roads, or when there is little traffic. If you feel that this will make you slower to reach your destination, just time yourself. At the most, you will be slower by only a few minutes for most city commutes. This is not a great loss considering how much time we waste during the day in other ways. Don't fret overmuch on this point, though, if your daily commute is over short distances where there is no risk of running out of charge. However, if you do wish to ride fast, see the next point.
3. Accelerating, braking, and battery life:
Your commuting distance may be short. This means that you run no risk of running out of charge during your daily commute. You may therefore be tempted to accelerate and brake as you do with a petrol bike. This is not a good idea because you will use up charge and hence need to charge the battery more often. The batteries comes with a stated life of about 300 cycles (that is, they can run from full charge to full discharge about 300 times). So, the more often you need to charge the batteries, the earlier they reach the end of their life. This is bad for you because batteries are very expensive.
4. Factors that drain charge
Remember that whatever makes it harder for you to pedal a cycle will also drain charge on an e-bike. Examples include carrying a pillion rider, carrying a heavy load, riding on rough roads, frequent potholes and speedbreakers, riding uphill, and riding against the wind. The biggest culprits responsible for draining charge are frequent acceleration and deceleration, carrying a pillion rider, and riding on bad roads. Whereas long stretches of uphill also drain charge, these are unusual in cities, and are anyway partly compensated for by corresponding downhills.
5. Preparing for breakdown:
Make sure that you have the phone numbers of your dealer, his service engineer, and his breakdown engineer. It is not a good idea to buy an e-bike if there is no breakdown engineer who can come to your rescue in case of a problem on the road. It is not a good idea to buy an e-bike if the service station is far from your residence.
6. Horn:
A minor point: Use your horn generously because people cannot hear you coming. This is especially true in the night, or when there is little traffic and all is quiet; people do not expect a silent vehicle to come up behind them.
Another minor point: The bike does not consume charge if the ignition is on. It consumes charge only if the accelerator is used. Nevertheless, you might want to switch off the ignition when the bike is stationary or if you are pushing the bike to a parking point. This is because if you accidentally turn the accelerator when sitting on a stationary bike or when pushing the bike, the bike will lurch forward if the ignition is on (you do not make this mistake with a petrol bike because the engine makes a sound, and so you know that the bike is running and you should not turn the accelerator).
8. Charge gauge:
The charge gauge does not provide an accurate estimate of how far more you can run. The battery can run down disproportionately fast as it reaches the end of its charge, and the charge gauge does not reflect this.
9. Side stand:
The weight of the batteries makes the bike bottom-heavy; so, ensure that you have a side stand. This is especially important for women riders who are likely to have much difficulty in pulling the bike up on a regular stand.
10. Flimsy body:
Because of the weight of the batteries, much of body of the e-bike is made from light, fibreglass materials that would not withstand the impact of an accident. So, ride with care.
11. Rain and floods:
There is no problem with riding the bike while it is raining. However, although I have so far not have had problems with rare instances of riding on roads flooded with 6-8 inches of water, I believe that it could be a bad idea to ride through heavily flooded roads because of the theoretical risk of short-circuiting the motor which is located in the hub of the rear wheel.
12. Troubleshooting:
Have a personal word with your dealer and service engineer to learn about all the common and uncommon problems that owners have faced with your model of e-bike, and how you can best deal with them. If you have the time for it, it might be worth learning how to deal with even the big problems, such as taking the bike apart to remove a wheel so that you can have a puncture fixed.
13. Other issues:
When you ride an e-bike you will really understand how badly some people use the road. You will find your blood pressure rising when people or animals block your path, when vehicles do not allow you to overtake, when parked vehicles slow the stream of traffic, when frequent speedbreakers or potholes necessitate deceleration and acceleration, and when other events occur that cause you to lose charge unnecessarily. Learn to grin and bear it philosophically.
An e-bike is like a bicycle: it runs on momentum. If you cut the accelerator, it goes a long, long way before it stops, just as a cycle will go a good distance even if you stop pedalling (in contrast, a petrol bike will stop pretty soon if you cut the accelerator). So the secret of conserving charge is to utilize this momentum to the hilt. Cut the accelerator well in advance so that the bike automatically slows down before you reach a speedbreaker, traffic signal, or even merely a more crowded stretch of road. If you have to use your brakes to reduce speed, you're wasting charge.
- Every time you brake, the mileage that you lose is the distance that the bike would have travelled with the momentum that it had at the time that you braked. This distance will depend on the speed at which you were riding, the smoothness of the road, whether or not you have a pillion rider, the direction of the wind, the pressure of air in the tyres, and other variables.
- Unnecessary speeding and braking can result in a lost of mileage amounting to as much as a quarter of the distance run during the journey.
- If coasting without power does not take you far, consider the following possibilities: the tires may be under-inflated or the brakes may be too tight. The former is a common situation. The latter is likely if you have just had your bike serviced. If you place your bike on a stand and spin the wheels, they should move freely. If they do not, the brakes are too tight, or there may be some other (internal) problem that requires a service engineer's attention.
Don't accelerate or speed unnecessarily. For one, this can in itself inefficiently utilize charge. For another, this can increase your need to apply brakes when you need to slow down, thus wasting the charge that you used to accelerate. You will therefore enjoy the best mileage (range) if you ride at low to moderate speeds and accelerate only on long, empty roads, or when there is little traffic. If you feel that this will make you slower to reach your destination, just time yourself. At the most, you will be slower by only a few minutes for most city commutes. This is not a great loss considering how much time we waste during the day in other ways. Don't fret overmuch on this point, though, if your daily commute is over short distances where there is no risk of running out of charge. However, if you do wish to ride fast, see the next point.
3. Accelerating, braking, and battery life:
Your commuting distance may be short. This means that you run no risk of running out of charge during your daily commute. You may therefore be tempted to accelerate and brake as you do with a petrol bike. This is not a good idea because you will use up charge and hence need to charge the battery more often. The batteries comes with a stated life of about 300 cycles (that is, they can run from full charge to full discharge about 300 times). So, the more often you need to charge the batteries, the earlier they reach the end of their life. This is bad for you because batteries are very expensive.
- The 300-cycle figure is an approximation. One cycle is defined as the battery running from full charge to full discharge. However, during normal use you will never fully discharge the battery; that is, run the bike until it won't move any more (partly because you will need to push your bike afterwards, and partly because lead acid batteries can suffer physical damage if they are fully discharged). Rather, you will recharge the battery whenever you get the opportunity, which will be somewhere between full charge and full discharge; that is, during part of the cycle. Therefore, you will actually charge the bike far more than 300 times.
4. Factors that drain charge
Remember that whatever makes it harder for you to pedal a cycle will also drain charge on an e-bike. Examples include carrying a pillion rider, carrying a heavy load, riding on rough roads, frequent potholes and speedbreakers, riding uphill, and riding against the wind. The biggest culprits responsible for draining charge are frequent acceleration and deceleration, carrying a pillion rider, and riding on bad roads. Whereas long stretches of uphill also drain charge, these are unusual in cities, and are anyway partly compensated for by corresponding downhills.
5. Preparing for breakdown:
Make sure that you have the phone numbers of your dealer, his service engineer, and his breakdown engineer. It is not a good idea to buy an e-bike if there is no breakdown engineer who can come to your rescue in case of a problem on the road. It is not a good idea to buy an e-bike if the service station is far from your residence.
6. Horn:
A minor point: Use your horn generously because people cannot hear you coming. This is especially true in the night, or when there is little traffic and all is quiet; people do not expect a silent vehicle to come up behind them.
- Personally, though, I have almost never found this to be a problem.
Another minor point: The bike does not consume charge if the ignition is on. It consumes charge only if the accelerator is used. Nevertheless, you might want to switch off the ignition when the bike is stationary or if you are pushing the bike to a parking point. This is because if you accidentally turn the accelerator when sitting on a stationary bike or when pushing the bike, the bike will lurch forward if the ignition is on (you do not make this mistake with a petrol bike because the engine makes a sound, and so you know that the bike is running and you should not turn the accelerator).
8. Charge gauge:
The charge gauge does not provide an accurate estimate of how far more you can run. The battery can run down disproportionately fast as it reaches the end of its charge, and the charge gauge does not reflect this.
- Make sure that the battery never drains completely; that is, goes dead. If your bike is not going to be used for several days or longer, such as if you are likely to travel away from home for long, make sure that the battery is fully charged before you leave. A lead acid battery that is completely discharged is likely to suffer damage that will shorten its life.
9. Side stand:
The weight of the batteries makes the bike bottom-heavy; so, ensure that you have a side stand. This is especially important for women riders who are likely to have much difficulty in pulling the bike up on a regular stand.
10. Flimsy body:
Because of the weight of the batteries, much of body of the e-bike is made from light, fibreglass materials that would not withstand the impact of an accident. So, ride with care.
11. Rain and floods:
There is no problem with riding the bike while it is raining. However, although I have so far not have had problems with rare instances of riding on roads flooded with 6-8 inches of water, I believe that it could be a bad idea to ride through heavily flooded roads because of the theoretical risk of short-circuiting the motor which is located in the hub of the rear wheel.
- The dealers told me that the motor is sealed and that I can even ride the bike through a lake, but I would not want to take the chance.
12. Troubleshooting:
Have a personal word with your dealer and service engineer to learn about all the common and uncommon problems that owners have faced with your model of e-bike, and how you can best deal with them. If you have the time for it, it might be worth learning how to deal with even the big problems, such as taking the bike apart to remove a wheel so that you can have a puncture fixed.
13. Other issues:
When you ride an e-bike you will really understand how badly some people use the road. You will find your blood pressure rising when people or animals block your path, when vehicles do not allow you to overtake, when parked vehicles slow the stream of traffic, when frequent speedbreakers or potholes necessitate deceleration and acceleration, and when other events occur that cause you to lose charge unnecessarily. Learn to grin and bear it philosophically.