Range Differences
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We’ve discussed how anything that makes a traditional bike faster, or more efficient, does the same for an e-bike. The opposite also applies. All things that make a traditional bike slower or less efficient does the same for an e-bike. It is why you should always ask yourself, “Would I ride this bike if it were not an e-bike?” If the answer is no, don’t buy it!
These two bikes are excellent if extreme examples. The first is quite old and has few of the latest updates (really hate those stem shifters). It is steel, but of near the finest, double butted quality. In its day, it was THE ladies’ bike for RAGBRAI. It is very responsive. The steel absorbs vibration. The high pressure, 28c tires have very low rolling resistance and the drop handle bars it came with offer loads of hand positions. That’s important for long rides as is the extremely low aerodynamic drag.
The second is an awesome Reid cargo bike. It has a long wheel base for comfort and can carry just about anything. It has nearly all the latest bicycle tech going for it, but it is heavy, the wheels are smaller and over 2″ wide, with thick, thorn resistant tread. That upright riding position just isn’t aerodynamic. In fact, even with dual batteries, the cargo bike has very little more real world range than that old road bike, with the tiniest battery I have ever installed.
A single battery, the size of the two on the cargo bike, will take that old road bike well over 100 real world miles on a single charge. There is a 300% difference in the size of those batteries! The cargo bike, though rated at much more, is probably closer to 60 (with both batteries).
Both are great bikes for their application. It would be hard to beat the comfort of that upright riding position, comfy long wheelbase and cargo hauling capacity of that Reid. If you intend to spend long hours in the saddle, you really do need multiple hand positions and some way to get down, out of the wind. Handling becomes more of an issue too, so the road bike is better. Both have high powered, torque sensing mid-drives. The Reid may have hydraulic disk brakes, but the quality of those side pulls, on that lightweight old road bike, will pull it up faster than the cargo bike.
When you are riding even a road bike at 15mph, 85% of your energy is consumed overcoming aerodynamic drag. Even a flat bar road or exercise bike is more aero than the recurve, upright bars on that cargo bike and most popular e-bikes.
Weight has to be hauled. On hills or in getting up to speed, it is a heck of a battery draw. It impacts handling as well. Same with heavy, wide or soft tires. No one bike does all things well. Too many expect their one bike to do everything, with the most common complaint being that they just don’t get the range they expected.
If you aren’t going over 5 or 10 miles. If you don’t need to accelerate quickly, stop fast or aren’t too worried about handling or hill climbing speed, these things don’t matter much. If you need these things, never buy an e-bike that does not look like the the traditional bike you would choose for the same ride.