Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

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lyen
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Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

Hello All Ebike Gurus! How much power do you think it takes for you to go from San Francisco to San Jose in California? The reason I asked is because we have a group of people interested to doing long ride in the Bay Area. Let say if you + the ebike + the battery weight = 300 LBS, and the trip is 70 miles 1 way and your battery is 48V, and your average speed is 20 MPH, on flat + typical wind resistance on a sunny day, then how much aH (amp hour) of the battery power do you need? I appreciate everyone help & input. :)

Here's the link to the bike path from San Francisco to San Jose:

lyen
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?
reikiman
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

What? You don't have the $10 or so for the Caltrain ticket? :-)

Okay, seriously, my e-bicycle which I ride in the vicinity of Mountain View takes 0.3 kwh to ride 10 miles. Hence .. uh, are you sure San Jose->San Francisco is 70 miles? It's only 35 miles from Mtn View to San Francisco, and downtown San Jose is 12 miles from where I am. Maybe you're in South San Jose?

Anyway extrapolating to a 70 mile ride would require 2.1 kwh. But that's a sizable pack for a bicycle.

The bicycle in question is an Electra Townie with an Wilderness Energy BD36 motor and a 36v battery pack. Average speed was a bit slower than you're saying.

dogman
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

A good rule of thumb for 20-25 mph is 1 amp hour per mile on 36v bikes. It actually is quite a bit better than that for most bikes, but for a bd 36, that is about all you get. So 60 ah would do it. At slower speeds though, like 10-15 mph, 30 ah might be enough.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

lyen
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

I actually live in San Francisco & I do not commute that far usually. If I do, I will be driving my car. However, there is a group people I know who want to challenge each other. However, some of those have got electric scooters without pedals. Therefore, to make it fair we agreed to run with throttle only for those who use electric bikes. Like I said before, considered it as an unofficial contest for range on a single charge. The only rule is the weight limit cannot be over 300lbs (136 kg) regardless electric bike or scooter. The acutal bike path is differ than the car path so the distance will longer. See below:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/San-Francisco-to-San-Jose-2-0

garygid
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

Does getting caught riding with motor-power on (some, most) bicycle paths or trails get you a fat ticket?

Cheers, Gary
XM-5000Li, wired for cell voltage measuring and logging.

lyen
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

The law in California allows both electric bike and electric scooter to use the bicycle path/trails. Therefore, no potenial risk to get tickets. :)

garygid
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

Yes, OK by CA law, unless prohibited by local ordinance ...
and this 71-mile "path" goes through many different "local" areas.
You might want to check carefully.

Cheers, Gary
XM-5000Li, wired for cell voltage measuring and logging.

reikiman
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

Ooh.. nice route. And it's a different sort of path than where I reported 0.3 kwh per mile. In my case the routes I ride are on the flat lands of silicon valley, but your path is gonna be a bit (um) hilly (ah) to say the least. I would double the estimated power requirement because of the hills.

Cruisin
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

Most of the paths on the EB side are maintained by the EB Park Dist and NO electric bikes are allowed unless you are handicapped. Since these paths are NOT classified as roads or streets the local laws take effect, Yes they can give you a FAT ticket as most are patrolled by park rangers.

soulbandaid
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Re: Power needs from San Francisco to San Jose in California?

just feed them some line about green power and saving the earth and shit. :-P Or fake a good limp...

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