It doesn't take long for someone looking to buy a new E-bike to quickly realize that these machines boast great distances per charge!  They are amazing and why would you ever step in a car again?!?!  Well, there's a common downside to those wonderfully high 40/60/80/100+ mile per charge rating from most companies...... they're NOT REAL!  That's right, that's what I said, they are at best a guesstimated calculation to present a favorable number to you.  Because who wants to spend $1500+ on transportation that won't even get you down the street let alone across town.  But we at E-powersport.com don't believe in over inflating our numbers, much to the happiness of our investors too.  

       In the rest of this Blog Article we'll discuss how you, yes you, maybe even you, but I'm not so sure about that guy, can easily tell how much distance you can realistically expect.  There is some basic math involved and we're going to look at it from 2 different number calculations, but in the end, you'll be able to confidently go into any bike shop and tell them the realistic #s and if they're full of shit or not.  Which is your right as a consumer and potential customer.

First, let's explain why companies label their E-bikes with such high numbers as to lead you to disappointment.  I'm going to be a little absurd here, but you'll get the point.  When other E-bike companies test an E-bike's distance capability, they first go through the company and poll their staff to see who has the smallest and lightest 13 year old.  Thirteen as that's about grown up enough to handle a motorized vehicle.  This 98lb Tween is then told they will get a pony or go-cart if they pedal the E-bike on level 2 until their little legs fall off.  Sometimes they get to take a break to use the bathroom, but normally they make them wait till the battery runs out.  Luckily, the components are waterproof incase of an accident.  They then chase the child with small dogs to help keep them pedaling and when done, they round up to the nearest Tens place, yielding those wonderfully high milage numbers we're all used to seeing.  

*This is an absurd joke to demonstrate the absurdity of what is actually done in testing*

     Now, I don't know about you, but the last time I weighed 98lbs I was 10 years old.  Yeah, I was, still kind of am, the chubby kid.  Which works for you, since we rate our units on being able to move my 210lbs around.  So, when you see a distance rating on our website, you know some chunky guy was able to get 60+ miles out of it and your waifiness should be able to go a bit farther.  All that is great when it comes to buying from us, but what if you did the dirty deed and bought from someone else.  Well, I can't fault you for it, not everyone knows about us yet.  But here's how you can do a little math and make sure you know, for sure, what you're buying vs. what's being said on the marketing flyer:

To give things more context, let's look at a competitor's E-bike, the Himiway Zebra.  Himiway claims that it's 750w motor and 960wh battery will get you 80+ miles per charge.  Poppycock!  Maybe with Bob's kid riding it with those dogs at his feet, but not my fat butt.  Let's break it down and see what you can really expect.

The motor is 750w.  That means at full speed, it runs 750w average per hour.  The wattage per hour for the battery is 960wh.  If we divide 960/750 we get 1.28.  This means if you run the motor at full speed for an hour and 20 minutes you will have run the battery out of juice.  Since most E-bikes running at 48v stay around 28-30mph, we'll call it 28mph.  At 28mph for 1.28 hours you would travel 35.84 miles total distance per charge.

Taking the word problem out of it:

(Total Battery WH) / (Total Motor Wattage) = (Total Runtime per Charge) x (Avg MPH) = Realistic Expected Distance Per Charge

Now let's look at this from my favorite factor in this electrical burrito, the Amp.  If you read our previous blog entries you'll know that Wattage is a rating comprised of multiplying Voltage by Amps.  For me, since I already know what the Voltage rating is and voltage generally runs at a constant, if it's a 48v system, it's 48v going through it when on.  If it's 72v there's 72v and so on.  What changes is the applied Amperage.  The changing of the amperage is what allows companies to say a motor operates at one speed, while being able to "Burst" to a higher speed.  This is why I prefer to focus on Amps and amp hours.  It works the same, but for me a little cleaner as it take some of the guestimate work out of things.

Amps:

First, let me preface this by saying, not all companies disclose their amp ratings.  Most use Wattage because it's a rating most people are familiar with due to light bulbs.  

If you want to break it down, you can reverse factor by dividing the rated wattage by the voltage, in most cases 48v or 72v, but check your specs to be sure.  What you'll find is most of your E-bikes at 48v are running 12amps.  This means that at the highest point, when your riding up that big hill, the motor is drawing a maximum of 12amps charge.  Here's the funny thing, though your motor might be rated for a certain wattage, most will accept more amps and hence increase the wattage, as mentioned before, burst mode.  Now there are some, well most motors actually, where if it runs nominally at 12amps, it usually means it can range up to about 15-20amps, let's say 20amps multiplied by 48v equals 960w.  This is how and why there is a peak and a nominal rating for most E-bike motors.  Now, let's look at how this would effect distance per charge of our example unit, the Himiway Zebra.

Battery rated Capacity : 20AH

Now there's no Amp Rating, but I know it's 48v @ 750w so well, divide, 750w/48v = 15Amps

Meaning if we run at full draw of 15amps on a battery that can provide 20Amps per hour, we'll end up with 1.33 hours of runtime @28mph for a total distance of 37.24miles per charge.  

Now, that's not bad for the Himiway Zebra, considering our estimates are pure throttle usage and don't impart any human efforts applied.  But I'm still not convinced you'll get 80+miles, more like 60+ if you pedal along too, which is still a respectable DPC(distance per charge).  We prefer to use the "Scotty Principle" in our ratings.  For those that don't know, it's from Star Trek and means, we under promise and over deliver.  It's what made Mr. Scott the best Chief of Engineering Evva!

Looking at the difference between the two calculations you can see that they're relatively close, but not the same.  This is why I take the Amps calc over the Wattage.  Though Wattage is more conservative, Amps are a direct calculation without adding another variable, ie voltage.  But either way you can easily see that you're not going to get 80+ miles out of a charge on that E-bike.  

     I mean anything IS possible.  If they throw someone's Jockey sized kid on it, or maybe just hire some Jockeys.  I mean, Jockeys are literally hired based on height and weight for the exact purposes of extending the horses speed and distance.  Something for the retired Jockeys to do now!  But when it comes to E-bikes, e-Enduros, e-Motorcycles and any other electric transportation we sell, you can be assured we've tested them, we've rated them and we stand behind them.  Because if you stand in front of one you're likely to get run over!  LOL, thanks for reading!

~John 

     When it comes to most industries there's questions that get asked over and over.  Comparisons that were made before done again and again.  The E-bike industry isn't immune to these questions.  In some ways, being a newer and developing industry, it has even more than others.  The big question we're going to address today is the not so age old one of, "Is a Torque Sensor better than a Cadence Sensor for E-Bike Riding?".  And really, is it that simple?

     There's a lot of people out there that will tell you, "You should only get an E-bike with a Torque sensor."  But there's even fewer that will tell you to get one with a Cadence sensor.  I think the above response is an easy one.  To flatly say you should do something makes the overall sales and education process easier for the Sales Rep.  But, there are some valid reasons those people would say to get a torque sensor.  For example, if you have a mid-drive E-bike a torque sensor is preferred.  It will be inside the motor, close to the controller and able to provide immediate feedback to the Pedal Assist System.  Oh, wait, what?  You don't know how these sensors work with the Pedal Assist?  Let's back up a second.....

     So, the Cadence and Torque Sensors are used on E-bikes to tell the controller how much effort you're putting in and, based on the pedal assist setting, how much power to assist you with on your ride.  Let's say your cruising your E-bike with your Pedal assist set to 4.  As you pedal those sensors tell the controller you're putting in some effort.  The controller tells the motor, "Hey, looks like they're doing about 10mph, the setting says we should help them up to 18mph.  Push it to 18mph."  And the motor puts in the extra effort.  Even more "Basic" if you need it, sensor takes reading telling motor how much to help. 

     Ok, now that you know what we're talking about let's get to talking about it.  When it comes to sensors, any kind, there's something called a Sample Rate.  It's how often the sensor takes a reading.  With a Torque Sensor this is almost a constant Sample Rate, and with a Cadence sensor it depends on the number of magnets, but we'll get to that.  Generally, a Cadence sensor is going to have a much lower sample rate than a Torque sensor.  And that's OK, because even the little Cadence Sensor is strong enough, light enough and gosh darn it, it works in the right application.

Cadence Sensors

     Both sensors work by checking their measurements at the crank/pedals.  Let's dig into each of these sensors individually.  Starting with the simplest, the Cadence Sensor.  For pedal assist systems a Cadence sensor is a set of magnets in a circle, with a sensor that checks each time it passes by a magnet.  By telling the controller how many of these magnets are on the disc the controller can get a sense of how fast you're pedaling based on passing the magnets on the disc.  It's not the most accurate method.  This lack of fine accuracy means you will experience some delay and some pedaling slack.  

*Pedaling slack is what happens when you're pedaling is out of sync with the electric motor.  This normally occurs at higher speeds as it's harder for and compensate between your pedaling and speeds above 25mph.  This phenomenon isn't reserved for Cadence sensors, but we'll talk about that in a minute.*

     As far as the Cadence sensor is concerned, you need to understand, it is a ring of magnets sitting on the pedal crank.  It reads the revolutions your pedaling produces and tells the controller in a rough sense how much to put back in.  Because of this you may hear E-bikers refer to pedaling a Cadence based E-bike as "Dummy Pedaling".  You're pedaling, the action is taking place, but there's no heavy resistance.  It's telling the motor to push, but your effort contribution is less direct and more direction to the system to go.  

As an Example, you can take the chain off a Cadence based system pedal and the motor will kick in.  Pedal as fast as you can with no resistance and the motor will leap into accelerating you forward with all it's might.  

     Of course, having a chain on your E-bike makes it much easier should you run out of battery, so we don't recommend doing this unless you're chain breaks or you absolutely need to.

Torque Sensors, Better, but are They?

When you go and buy something, anything, there's always the idea in the back of your mind, "If I pay more, it's better."  I think this combined with the more finite Sample Rate, we mentioned above, give E-Bike enthusiasts and Technicians alike the ammo they need to say flatly, "A torque sensor is better than a Cadence Sensor."  And if the world and choices were so simple it might be so.  The IRL is we all have different needs, concerns and budgets.  Let's cover the first thing about a Torque sensor, they are more expensive.  

For example, if you need to replace your Torque sensor it's quite a bit of work, taking up to 2-3 shop hours in total.  The part itself is also 10+x more expensive than a top Cadence sensor.  If you have a limited maintenance budget for your E-bike purchase one with a Torque Sensor may be nice, but may not be your best option for cost effective maintenance.   Altogether, completed shop repair, you can expect to pay $400-$500 to replace a torque sensor.  The good news is they don't fail very often.  So why are they so much more expensive?  The sensors used and the full crankshaft build means lots of specifications to fit.  It means lots of little internal parts.  If you remember from above, a Cadence sensor is some magnets on a disc and another disc that spins and reads how many times it passes.  With a Torque sensor it's translating the force you use to push down on the pedals into a number the controller can understand.  The controller then does the same thing it would do with the Cadence Sensor, it tells the motor how much effort to put in.  

Torque Sensors are really good for when you need quick response and low, finite power.  This is why most eMTBs, Electric Mountain Bikes, use a Torque Sensor.  When you're on a single track trail, or going over very technical terrain, you want something that will respond quickly and accurately to your applied force.  A Torque Sensor is made for just this purpose.  It's also why some people will tell you it's more Natural Feeling to use a Torque sensor.  It's in these applications we highly recommend using or purchasing an E-bike that uses the Torque Sensor.  We've used Cadence sensors for this type of riding and though doable, it's more difficult and does require you to be more conscious of pedaling vs using the throttle. 

Another thing to consider about a Torque Sensor vs a Cadence sensor is are you riding at higher speeds?  As just mentioned, Torque Sensors are best used for slow, accurate riding.  As you approach speeds in the 28-30mph range, a Torque sensor drops to operating much like a Cadence sensor.  You'll even begin to notice some of that "Pedal Slack" we highlighted above.  This is because you can't pedal as fast without appropriate gearing, once you get to those upper speeds your torque matters less and how fast you're pedaling takes over.

You Talked Enough Now Tell Me, Which is Better? 

That is why you spent so much time reading this blog article, isn't it?  OK, well again, the answer isn't as simple as one is better than the other.  To get to it, if you intend to ride a lot of trails, out in the woods, desert or wherever, you probably want something with a Torque Sensor.  It will give you he finite control to ride smoothly through the more technical areas.  You're skill is still required, but it'll be easier than with a Cadence sensor E-bike.

That's not to say Cadence sensors don't have their place.  If you intend to ride more on the street, casually or off road, but more forged trail a Candence sensor will do just fine.  Additionally, this is the preference when your E-Bike has a Throttle.  Though you will find eMTBs with throttles and Torque Sensors, most other E-bikes go to using the Cadence sensor with throttles. 

Again, keep in mind, future maintenance.  A Candence sensor will cost about $80-$100 to replace full shop time, where a Torque Sensor can be hundreds of dollars to replace.  

Both sensors and their response level to your pedaling is adjustable, play around see what works for you.  So, which is better really depends on your preference of riding, ability to afford replacement and if you want to say you're E-bike uses the most expensive parts or if you're cool with getting around.

Notes From the Resident "Mad Scientist"

Ok, so now that you're read up, you know the differences, benefits and some of the draw backs, I'm going to tell you what I think about these things.  Torque Sensors, nice, but if you have a throttle or don't go out on really technical trails, kind of a pain in the ass.  It works great on the Pedal Assist Only E-bike we have here.  But, I like to go fast and ride hard, you get used to the way it helps in the lower speeds and when it starts slippin' and trippin' it's WAY more noticeable.  Like if you had a Ferrari and it got scratched.  WTF?!?!?!  Kind of the same feeling when you're blasting along and you get the pedal slip.  Almost "Racked" myself a couple of times on the seat when the pedal slip kicked in.

My personal preference is for Cadence Sensors.  Once adjusted and you get used to it, they are really nice.  I know I have to get one or two turns before mine kicks in.  How I have it set, it's smooth and not over whelming.  It was at first, almost fell off the bike.  With the Candence Sensor dialing it in is important.  Once you do though, you'll cruise along barely pedaling at 40+mph.  It's like you're on an exercise bike flying down the street.  Though it's, "Dummy Pedaling" I've found you still get a workout, heart rate elevates and you still have a lot of fun.  

I'd still want a Torque sensor on a mid-drive eMTB.  Especially if I was going out on some really rough or hilly areas, but I've been just fine with a properly dialed in Cadence sensor on the 8kw Thoroughbred.  What's you're thoughts on this highly debated question?

We like to say that we have the best prices on the specs for the models we sell.  One of those specs to keep in mind when looking for a new E-Bike is Voltage.  Sure, some other companies might have a lower price than use on what looks like a similar model, but uusally it's using a lower voltage system than ours.

Why does that matter?

When it comes to Electric vehicles, E-bikes and E-Motorcycles included, voltage equals top speed.  It also relates to how many Amp Hours your battery can hold overall.  Which is important as Amps equal torque.  We'll get into that in our next blog post.  Lower voltage isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It just means the lower the voltage, the lower your top speed as well as your ability to get to it.  \

A Quick Breakdown of Voltage and Speed

12volts: Most electric things you encounter during your day are based on 12volt systems.  When it comes to Electric mobility, a 12v system will get you close to 10mph.  Not many modern day mobility systems use a 12v system.  Home power back up systems are based on 12v battery systems.

24volts: The smaller, lighter foldables on the market usually use a 24volt system.  These 24v systems are normally paired to lower powered motors, like a 250w-350w.  They'll usually get you to 15+mph.  Some kids Power rides also use a 24v system for the replica your neighbor's kid drives up and down their driveway,

36volts: This has been the sweet spot for mass market E-bikes for the last couple of years.  36v can be found paired to motors from 250w up to 500w.  Don't expect too much from them on a 500w, you'll get some OK pick up going up a hill, but it'll need your help to pedal up any large hills.  With a 36v system you can get as high as 25mph!  OK, maybe going downhill you'll get that fast, but on a flat most people will get to 20mph regularly.

48volts: Our E-bikes start at 48volts.  48v is the current middle ground for the E-Bike industry.  With 48v you can pair it to a 350w motor up to a 1500w motor!  That's a big range of motors and each one adds some more torque and slight increases in speed.  With each incremental increase in motor wattage you will use the power more efficiently at times and not as much at others.  When it comes to speed most 48v systems will get you to 28mph.  But some paired with different tires and the larger motors can get upwards of 40+mph.

52volts: Up to this point you probably thought all voltage systems had to be some factor of 12.  That's not the case.  Some companies opt to add a few more batteries to the pack to build it into a 52volt system.  It does increase the ability of the motor to go faster and the extra voltage combined with Amps gives these systems more acceleration.   There are two things to consider when looking at a system that's non-liner standard.  All things attached to that system will need to be able to handle 52v.  All the parts mentioned will most likely be special for that manufacturer.  This could make it harder to find parts when you need to make repairs.  52volt systems should be able to get you into the 45+mph range when paired with an appropriately powered motor.

60volts: The next level, technically speaking, is 60volts, not 52volts.  Not a lot of companies have adopted this standard voltage.  There's some stand up scooters and electric skateboards that use this, but not a lot of E-bike or E-motorcycle companies do.  Instead they've opted to go to the next level up, 72volts.  With a 60v system you can expect to get up to 50+mph when paired with an appropriately powered motor.

72volts: This is where performance and distance come together.  72v systems have the ability to get up to highway and freeway speeds.  They have a very high potential for high Amp flows.  Again, we'll cover that in the next article, but it makes Electric Vehicles that use this voltage very ICE competitive.  72v systems can come in battery packs capable of hundreds of miles of reasonable driving.  Our 72v systems are able to get from 45+mph up to 75+mph.  Torque ratings on most 72v motors start in the 150nm or 110ftlbs of torque up to 300+nm or 221ftlbs.

90volts: There's some Electric Motorcycles and Electric Cars that use 90volt systems.  These are high voltage, high power and can increase the Amp capacity considerably.  That's why companies use them for Electric cars.  The torque is enough to move a car loaded with people and get them to 50+mph.  When used on a e-Motorcycle, they can go up to 100+mph.

120volts: Like the 90volt system mentioned above these are designed for high power, high torque needs.  They are highly dangerous and like many of these higher powered systems, should only be worked on by trained technicians.  Speeds with these systems can get into the 60+mph for cars and 120+mph for motorcycles.

We went a little farther than you'll need to consider for your Electric Transportation purchase.  We want to make sure when you spend your hard earned money on new transportation that it will meet your speed expectations.  There's nothing worse than purchasing one of these amazing machines only to find it's too slow or under powered.  Talk about a disappointment!  We recommend a 48volt system minimum with a 350w motor minimum.  Not to say we won't sell a 36v/250w E-bike.  If we do, it'll be priced accordingly, not the same as our 48v/350w E-bikes.  If we did our job here you now know why you should pay attention to the voltage when you go to buy your next e-ride.