Extending Your Range
We have discussed the fact that anything which makes your traditional bike more or less efficient does the same to your e-bike. Never choose an e-bike that is significantly different than the traditional bike you would choose for the same ride.
You can do little to make the components on the bike you have more efficient. Replacing them is seldom cost effective. There is a noticeable difference in a quality crank, low drag hubs, swiftly engaging freehubs and of course, quality frame tubing and geometry. Still, there are things you can do to make your bike the best it can be.
Whether you ride a traditional or e-bike, nothing will make the bike you have more efficient than maintaining proper tire pressure. Modern bikes need air every week!
Proper tires for the terrain you ride can add 2-3mph for the same effort. It can increase range dramatically on any bike. The Quad Cities and surrounding areas don’t even have trails that have consistently changing surface requiring large knobbies. Most will do fine, even off road, with a smooth center tread and maybe off road edges for grip in anything soft (on road, the smoother the better… even e-bikes aren’t heavy or fast enough to hydroplane).
I know you read it a lot, but it is worth mentioning again, ALL bikes are most efficient when ridden at a cadence of 60-90rpm. You need not press any harder than as if you were walking on the same surface. Oh sure, you can go faster standing up and laying into the pedals, but any racer will tell you that lifting your entire body as well as the bicycle will wear you down disproportionately. In fact, any movement above your waist is wasted energy. Ride still. This is why it is a good idea to build up your core for cycling. This applies to an e-bike as well.
At 15mph, 85% of your power is used up defeating the wind. Anything you can do to reduce that drag, at any speed, can make a big difference. Anyone can duck down out of the wind. Laying out on your bars, resting on your forearms is near as efficient as the aero bar triathletes and time trial riders use.
The way you carry your load can make a big difference too. Randonuering cyclists use handlebar bags. They don’t pick up any drag that isn’t hitting.your body anyway. Same with top bags on your rear rack or something called a frame bag (popular with bikepackers). If you need nothing in your panniers (saddle bags), get rid of them.
Speaking of bags, make the bike carry any weight, not your body. Not only do backpacks pick up more wind, when you lean in to it, but the weight on your body drains your strength, even riding an e-bike. Just look how sweaty a person’s back gets when wearing a Camel or back pack. Make the bike do the work.
Of course, any extra weight you carry reduces range as well. This isn’t just your body (says the old fat guy). It includes all the little extras we tend to carry, but almost never use. Are you going to swap a punctured tube on your daily commute? Why carry extra tubes, tools or a pump? I find I have to clean out my panniers every three months. I find all kinds of things like extra tools, glasses, back-up everything and even Winter or rain gear through the warmest days of Summer! Wow, even on the e-bike, getting rid of all that extra weight makes a big difference.