Such a beautiful day - I just had to see if I could make it up into the mountains to Golden Gate Canyon State Park from W. Arvada, CO (5600' up to 8600' elev.). (Astar, this report is for you; I'll be waiting to hear about your trips up into the mountains on your 7100; a 3000' elev climb probably will be lost on the flat-landers).
Last week, I had taken a partial trip and armed with a topo map/GPS/CA, I determined that I consumed 120WH/mile while actually climbing the mountain. It is amazing how much juice inclines take out of your battery pack; normally, the 6100 maxi-scooter takes 65-70WH/mile in city riding. So, I did my calculations and figured I could make a go for it without having to recharge. Keep in mind, the bike only has 40AH (unlike the ZEV Trail bikes with 60AH).
I was tempted to top-off the battery before heading out, but I was in a hurry to get going and it had been charged within last 2 days (LiFeMPo4 cells hold their charge very well). So, I just threw the charger under the seat in case I was wrong with my calculations and thought the park would have an outlet if needed.
6.5 miles of city/hwy riding to get to the mountain hwy 46 turn-off, 12.3 miles of mountain climbing to the park. Beautiful ride; nice sharp twisty turns; highly recommended. Cheap rangers at the park; when I asked about opportunity charging at the park, their answer was - they would be happy to arrest me if I tried! They did mention there were RV camp sites with electricity for the bargain price of $22/day. I chose to take the risk and not recharge.
Trip details: 70.2 WH/mile, 37.5 miles, 3000' elev change, 36.9AH, 58.3mph max, 31.8mph avg, beautiful ride and a hole lot of fun on a twisty mountain road. This was cutting it close on the pack level, and next time I will top-up the pack before heading out to increase pack margin / voltage level.
Sweet! I look forward to my own mountain adventures. My cycle analyst should be here in about 10 days - definitely want that Amp Hour info before I take on such a trek.
ZEV 7100 Alpine
Fort Collins, CO
Dang...I understated that climb by 43%; I should have stated 4280' climb in elevation. I wish there was an easy way to edit these posts.
See at 7720' there is a drop of 320' down into a canyon. So that drop has to be made up both coming and going. The peak of the ride is actually at 8720 and then it drops 520' into the park canyon so that drop has to be added back in on the way back up.
Also, I'd like to add that it took 25.5AH to get to the park and 11.4AH to return home. If I hadn't had to fight those two inclines on the way back, the AHs used on the return trip would have been much less.
Regarding opportunity charging, I'm sure one of those RV campers wouldn't mind letting you plug in. That will be my plan next time. Do a 30-45min opportunity charge while enjoying the park's scenery, then I will climb from 8200' out of the park to hwy 119 at 9400' elev, head south pass Black Hawk, then take hwy 6's scenic twisty canyon ride back down the mountain to home for a beautiful, 56-mile scenic mountain canyon loop.
I wish I could have bought this maxi-scooter when I first retired. So nice to hit the mountain twisties while everyone else is at work. : )
Motorcycles: 2011 ZEV Trail 7100, 84V, 60AH, 60+mph, Cycle Analyst, TNC throttle, modified charger. 2013 Kymco GT300i
Bicycles: 2017 Sondors Thin
Cars: 2016 Leaf SV, 30KWH pack. 2007 CR-V
Solar array: 5KW. Cost per lifetime KWH produced $0.073
Bi