The minimum pedal assistance (PAS) ride determines how far the bike can go with minimum constant engagement from the motor with the pedaling. We are used to riding e-bikes that max-out at 50 miles. Carrying two fully charged batteries, the XPremium really made us work overtime on this test ride.
Since the advent of e-bikes, over 100 years ago, short range distance has been an early issue for e-bikes, limiting their popularity while challenging battery manufacturers to develop greater innovation.
Adding a second 10.4 amp-hour battery to travel up to 100 miles, Lectric challenged our team to put the XPremium to the test. Eager to hop aboard and ride, we found our patience being really tested as we approached the ninth and tenth hour of the test ride – the batteries kept this bike going, and going, and going…
One hundred miles? Try 108 miles, that was our test result in the minimum PAS ride. The folks at Lectric weren’t bluffing when they said this dual-battery e-bike should travel at least 100 miles per charge, using the PAS 1 the whole time.
The XPremium gave us a good idea of what to expect when riding the maximum PAS test. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to call our spouses to tell them we’d be late coming home. The expected range, using PAS 5, was 50 miles, and that’s exactly how far this e-bike ran (with almost a half mile to spare). It’s refreshing to see battery technology make advances like this. Perhaps in a few years we’ll be writing about e-bikes that can go 200 miles. We’ll see.
One of the innovations that makes the Lectric’s dual-battery system more energy efficient lies with the battery isolator that drains both batteries simultaneously, allowing you to ride longer at higher voltage levels. When available energy declines in single batteries, their voltage level also decreases, making them use energy less efficiently. This is why single batteries run out of power quicker in their last 50 percent than in their first 50 percent. It’s probably safe to say we will see more e-bike manufacturers offer some kind of dual battery system, like Lectric’s XPremium, on more e-bikes.
