eBike touring

eBikes are cool, and anyone who claims that ebikes are somehow “cheating” are simply jealous. On my commute, there’s a mile-long climb of mainly a steady 11%, and I know I’m always envious of the ebike riders who breeze past me up there.

However, for all their advantages (and there are a great many) ebikes do have some drawbacks. When cycle touring, those drawbacks become clearer. That doesn’t at all mean that you cannot go cycle touring on an ebike – many people do just that! All it means is you need to plan around the limitations imposed by your ebike. Fortunately, that’s easier than you may have thought.

Power

Obviously, ebikes need recharging, and that simply means you need access to mains power.

That usually (but not always!) limits you to overnight stops where you can charge your bike’s battery. Obviously, you need to carry the charger along.

Range

Different ebikes have a different maximum range, and your planning needs to factor in the range of your bike.

Remember, you’ll be carrying at least some luggage, and that will reduce the range of your ebike. You also need to factor in terrain – hills, and rough terrain will again reduce the range further.uch do hills reduce bike’s range

As a rule of thumb, plan on hills, plus the extra weight on the bike, reducing your ebike’s range by around 25%. If, for example, your ebike has a range of only 30 miles, going touring with it, along very hilly roads, could mean your range is down to around 23 miles.

Obviously, that varies, with other factors contributing, too. For example, having a tailwind all the way can greatly increase that, while a headwind all the way can greatly reduce it. Tyre pressure, how hard you pedal, tyre type, and route surface quality are some additional factors to consider.

eBike range doesn’t matter

Well, it does matter, but only in terms of your planning. Provided you plan your days to fall comfortably within your bike’s range, then what the actual battery range is really makes no difference. Also remember that you might be able to have an extended lunch at a friendly café that allows you to put the battery on charge. That should go a long way towards reducing range worries.

When planning your tour (using the superb RideWithGPS site for the route, of course) you can also use this handy battery range calculator to get a more accurate estimate.

But what if you do run out of battery?

OK, there’s a myth that ebikes are extremely hard to pedal once the battery is flat. When that happens, provided you then switch off the ebike’s electronics, there’s no noticeable drag from the motor. In that case, the ebike simply becomes like a normal, albeit fairly heavy bicycle.

If you’re used to only riding ebikes, it will feel far harder to you, because suddenly your legs alone will have to supply the power that 250w motor previously supplied, and I expect it is that sudden transition that make people believe ebikes with flat batteries are supposedly extremely hard to ride.

Go touring!

All that remains if for you to go cycle touring. Thousands of people go cycle touring on ebikes every year (in places, they’re starting to outnumber normal bikes in Europe) and you can do so, too.

If you’re unsure about routes, I suggest having a look at my GoCycle routes. These are all around the 100 miles range, and even on an ebike with an effective range of 23 miles, it would make a superb 4-day adventure.

Because I personally cycled each of these routes, and checked them for accuracy, you know you can trust them. Even better, with the highly-detailed digital route guide files, it can be like having a tour guide along on your ride, leaving you free to enjoy the experience.