226: Exploring eBike Touring

The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Touring Podcast

Every time I come across an eBike I wonder if you go touring on something like that? On this episode, I chat about my research on the topic!

Gear Talk: Exploring eBike Touring First - I'm far from an expert on this. This picqued my interest in the spring of 2019 when I was riding the DC to Cinci route and I got SMOKED on the Ohio to Erie trail by a Mennonite kid on an ebike. You can cover some serious mileage with one of those! But can you tour? Second - Is this "cheating"? No. Is it cheating to have better gears than the bike next to you? Gears at all? I say ride your ride. Also, this opens touring up to more people, which I'm all for. Third - there's been some legal and social pushback on ebikes in a lot of places. They are being categorized as mopeds under some state laws, and if you spend any time on social media, there are OPINIONS on this. They're too fast, too dangerous... etc. It wasn't until last summer that ebikes were allowed on the C&O. Considerations

• eBikes tend to be heavy, but are getting lighter all the time
• You need to charge
• Run out of juice, you're cranking a much heavier bike
• Range used to be too low for touring in that 60 mile/day range but battery tech and efficiency is getting a lot better
• The batteries are too big to fly
• Price - they can be pricey

Different types

• Pedal assist
• Throttle
• Mid-Drive
• Hub-Drive
• There are even e-assist trailers that will give your bike a push
• There are retrofit kits but those may not be robust enough for touring

Battery swaps Europe seems to be working off of a standard sized battery and there's a network of battery swaps at stores, pubs and other places (Switzerland seems to be great for this). Not a US thing, like at all. Power 250w (Europe) up to ludicrous 750w (US). More power can get you, well, more... BUT it drains batteries faster. 250w is probably the best spot for touring because that gives the best range with assist power. Batteries Improving all the time. Key metric here is Watt hours (Wh). The higher the number the more range you'll have. Multiply volts by Amp Hours and you can start comparing apples to apples for different voltage batteries (they vary from 12-48 volts across different ebike options) Battery Strategy - carry a few, take at least one long break where you can charge one or more up My take I'm intrigued, maybe not in the near term, but definitely down the line as batteries get better and better Helping with climbing and headwinds #notcheating Resources https://bikepacking.com/news/e-bikes-arizona-trail https://www.canaltrust.org/2019/10/e-bikes-on-the-towpath https://www.cyclingabout.com/bicycle-touring-on-electric-bikes-ebikes