The Easy Way to Calculate eBike Range
To calculate eBike range divide the battery watt hours by the watt hours per mile that you ride. That means you need to know your battery size and how many watt hours you use to go 1 mile. The watt hours per mile is the hard part because there are constantly changing variables: How hard you're pedaling and if your on a flat or hilly path.
Another significant factor is if the motor is a hub-drive or mid-drive. Mid-drive eBikes are always more expensive, but they have the advantage using the gears on the bike. Just like when your pedaling up hill, you gear down to make it up the hill. You may go slower, but it takes less effort to make it to the top. The eBike works the same way, mid-drives can gear down when going up a hill, a hub-drive can't. Hub-drives will use significantly more watt hours to go 1 mile than a mid-drive eBike.
From here down, I'm referring to hub-drive eBikes...
The easy way to calculate eBike range is battery watt hours divide by 20
672 watt hours divided by 20 is about 33 miles
An eBike with a 672Wh battery will go around 33 miles
*Assuming an average of 20 watt hours per mile
If you're on flat pavement and you pedal a lot it could be closer to 50 miles
If you're riding throttle first like I usually do going up hills, you may not even reach 20 miles.
Example eBike range calculation:
Battery: 52V 20Ah = 1004 watt hours
Average watt hours per mile: 20
1004 watt hours / 20 watts hours per mile = 50 miles of range
Other factors when calculating eBike range
- Battery type, size and age
- Battery level when you start
- How hard you pedal
- How fast you're going
- Pedal assist level
- Bike and rider weight
- Riding on pavement, dirt, mud or sand
- The wind
- In cold weather the batteries don't work as well
- Fat tires or not
- Tires inflated properly
- Gears
- Hub-drive or Mid-drive motor
#1 How to Calculate eBike Battery Size
Volts * Amps = Watt Hours
Assuming we are talking about the power of the battery and not the physical size, battery size is measured in watt hours and is calculated by volts * amps = watt hours. The watt hours, volts and amps should be labeled on the battery.
The first thing to confirm is the volts, most eBikes are 48V. Some high performance brands are pushing 52V or 60V and the lower powered eBikes are 36V.
Then, compare eBikes by the watt hours of the battery. The larger the number, the more range you will have. Below 500Wh will significantly reduce the range unless you plan on pedaling the majority of the time and rarely use pedal assist. An average size battery is between 500Wh and 800Wh, while the longer range batteries reach 1000Wh or more.
#2 How to Calculate eBike Watts Hours per Mile
An average is 20 watt hours to go 1 mile, but there are a number of factors including the weight of you and the bike, a flat or hilly terrain and how hard you pedal all have a significant influence on how far an eBike will go.
The most accurate way to calculate watt hours per mile is from your display. Some displays will show you after a ride how many watt hours you used, that combined with how many miles you went will give you the watt hours per mile.
If you have a ride you do a lot, use that as a base and compare the effort you'll put into the next ride to gauge the range for that ride.
Other than your previous riding patterns, the easiest way to calculate watt hours per mile is to use this chart...
Electric Bike Battery Range Calculator
I'm working on it...
But the eBike chart for watt hours per mile is the quickest way to figure out how far an eBike will go on a full charge.
Average Range of Electric Bikes
The average range of an eBike is 36 miles.
Assuming a common battery size of 720Wh (48V 15Ah) and 20 watt hours per mile, then using our quick math the average range of an electric bike is calculated to be 36 miles.
But seriously, there are way too many factors to give you a more definite range as we discussed already.
Can you pedal an eBike without the battery?
Yes you can, some eBikes are easier than others. The battery can be completely removed or simply put it on level assist 0 and the eBike will be powered only by you pedaling. In that case, your range is limited by your fitness level.
How to make your eBike battery last longer?
Pedal more