(Non-scientific) comparison of with and without E on commuting journey

[Tim1023]

I've just done a quick comparison of the stats of my way into the office on my old Stumpy compared to my new Levo Comp. The routes are practically identical with just other bike traffic and traffic lights making the difference.

Basic stats:

	Distance	Elevation Gain	Time	Ave Speed	Max Speed	Calories	Ave HR	Max HR
With Es and Wizz	10.66	22m	30.5	20.5	29	389	128	147
All by myself	10.53	15m	30.52	19.9	35.4	441	136	157

Details and graphs in attached file and below.

It's all on hard (brick / tarmac) bike paths and roads with overall a slight slope downhill with a couple of uphill sections that you only notice when riding a bike. Turbo mode the whole time.

It confirmed my feeling about riding the ebike on roads. It removes the painful bits, but does not make a huge difference overall. I accelerate quickly to 25 km/h, then the weight of the bike and lack of support become very noticeable. Despite that, I seem to spend a lot of the time (just) above the support limit, which meant that my calories only reduced by about 11%. The most noticeable difference was the lack of pain on the long uphill "slogs", which explains the slight difference in HR stats.

Of course on a long tour, one could also just put it in turbo, crank slowly and eat up the miles at 24.5 km/h

 

[PhilBaker]

Interesting data Tim,

You bring to life the 'real' story behind the difference eMTB's make. I rode my Giant Anthem XC acoustic bike at around 15-17mph, so a full fat eMTB at the 15.5mph limit doesn't get me there faster, in fact like you it's about the same or slightly slower as it weighs twice as much ?

Different level of fun though and the "exploration" the eMTB has open me up to has been epic. No more "Not riding up that hill as there might be nothing up there, to let's see what's up there"...

 

[Gary]

That's a, seriously flat commute.
Your results pretty much show just how useless a restricted Ebike is on a road commute
How are you measuring Calories?
Add hills or derestrict the motor and your results (avg speed and calories consumed) would be vastly different.

 

[maynard]

U need to chip that bike .

 

[TheRealPoMo]

I do a 60 to 70 km road tour now and again early on a Sunday. It too is fairly flat so I tend to sit on 28 to 32 kph except for the odd rise where the motor kicks in. I use one bar of battery which I guess is roughly 20% or 100wh.
It would be fine to commute on - better than the flat bar roadie I commuted on for years. Maybe a little slower on the level, much faster uphill, same down (because 70kph on a pushie is my limit) and able to jump gutters, potholes, pedestrians, etc.

 

[Tim1023]

How are you measuring Calories?

I've got a Garmin Venu with some data coming in from the Levo.

 

[Tim1023]

U need to chip that bike .

Not happening!
1. I'm in Germany and they stop cyclists that look like they're going faster than they should be able to. Hell, I've even been stopped for cycling (slowly and carefully) on the cycle path on the wrong side of the road. Yeah, that's a thing here.
2. It's leased, so the bike isn't actually mine until after three years.

In any case, having a road bike that rolls efficiently would be much more of an advantage than an ebike anyway. Not that I can afford a second bike...

 

[Gary]

In any case, having a road bike that rolls efficiently would be much more of an advantage than an ebike anyway

fit a set of slicks to the Levo and it'll be far nicer to pedal above the assisted limit.
Schwalbe Big Ben or MotoX have the same volume as mtb tyres but roll and accelerate like a large road tyre

 

[Tim1023]

fit a set of slicks to the Levo and it'll be far nicer to pedal above the assisted limit.
Schwalbe Big Ben or MotoX have the same volume as mtb tyres but roll and accelerate like a large road tyre

Nice idea, but I can't be bothered with the faff of changing tyres twice a week so that I can have better tyres for the mud at the weekend, especially once I go tubeless. Ideal would be a second set of wheels with road(ish) tyres on them, but there's no chance of getting that past the boss!

 

[STATO]

My one commute road on mtb ebike confirmed what i expected, not actually any quicker due to limiter on the flat, despite making more speed up hills. Far easier though.

It does however cut 5-10min off my normal 60min 'offroad' footpaths and bridleways commute, due to quicker acceleration and previous low average speed of 13mph meaning power assist is on for most of the ride.

 

[Gary]

Nice idea, but I can't be bothered with the faff of changing tyres twice a week so that I can have better tyres for the mud at the weekend, especially once I go tubeless. Ideal would be a second set of wheels with road(ish) tyres on them, but there's no chance of getting that past the boss!

Spare wheelset with, a road cassette and road tyres is nice.
I have that for mine but CBA even swapping them over anymore.
I don't run soft compounds or low pressures on my mtbs anyway

 

[Topolino]

It does however cut 5-10min off my normal 60min 'offroad' footpaths and bridleways commute, due to quicker acceleration and previous low average speed of 13mph meaning power assist is on for most of the ride.

I think there is the difference. When you have a lower average speed over a longer distance, an e-bike can make a world of difference.

My 60 minute commute I do a 22km/h, so really flat and I don’t feel it’s worth switching to an e-bike to get there 10 minutes earlier. But if I was grinding along at half that average speed, the decision would be way easier ?

 

[Sander23]

Not happening!
1. I'm in Germany and they stop cyclists that look like they're going faster than they should be able to. Hell, I've even been stopped for cycling (slowly and carefully) on the cycle path on the wrong side of the road. Yeah, that's a thing here.
2. It's leased, so the bike isn't actually mine until after three years.

In any case, having a road bike that rolls efficiently would be much more of an advantage than an ebike anyway. Not that I can afford a second bike...

Normally they can't do anything with a deristricted bike unless they take the bike with then and read out the motor. I've been driving my deristricted emtb's for years and have never been stopped once. My bike runs continental cross king protection tires, weight 27 khans goes 55km/h easy

 

[Yoak]

I was 3-5 minutes faster on a my road bike compared to my ebike (rail 9.8) on my 35min 17km commute. Don't remember the elevation, some long, but not steep climbs. Difference was that I didn't need a shower after the ebike ride.