Tips to get good range from electric vehicles

Using an own vehicle is definitely convenient, but using an electric vehicle is not only convenient, but also is Eco Friendly and is definitely trendy.

It is difficult to walk out of the comfort zone of owning a fuel bike to owning an EBike (even after knowing the impact on the planet that is caused by fuel bikes and the positive impact we can create by using EBikes), because we know we can top up on fuel any time we want, so there is no anxiety of running out of fuel.

When it comes to owning an Electric Vehicle (EV), the first thing that comes to our mind is the Range.

For first timers - Range of an electric bike is similar to the mileage you get from fuel bikes. Mileage is calculated based on the fuel utilization in fuel vehicles from a full tank of fuel, range on the other hand is calculated based on the battery utilization in EVs from a single charge.

Although EV manufacturers give us a fair idea on the range and "How To"s , it is not always easy to understand them and get a good decent range from the bikes, thus getting Range anxiety to switch from fuel bikes to EVs.

I own an Ather 450 EBike. The first and foremost question people ask me is about the range I get. These are some of the questions among many others that pop up at every conversation.

  1. What is the range you get?
  2. Can you commute to your office and back in a single charge (they know my office is pretty far from my place)?
  3. How is the battery performance?
  4. How often do you charge your vehicle?
  5. How long does it take for a complete charge?
  6. What is the running cost?
  7. What is the electricity consumption?

While the questions about battery performance, battery charge, electricity consumption per month etc. depend on personal usage and can be answered easily, the difficult ones are all about the range and sometimes the answers are unbelievable (you will find why after you read the rest of this blog).

Not only the non-EV owners are baffled to find my answers unbelievable, EV owners are too. I have heard many EV owners complain about the range they get from their electric bikes.

Let me tell you all about the important thing - the Range. It's all about the battery utilization that helps us get a good range.

Since I own an Ather EBike, I will be explaining about the range from Ather EBikes. I have a fair understanding on how the battery is utilized based on my riding styles and my observations. Let me share them with you on the hopes to see many of us GO GREEN.

I have achieved ~100 KMs in SPORTS / RIDE modes and not in ECO mode on my Ather 450 and let me explain how.

Let’s look at Ather 450 numbers from Ather's website for each mode. Keep in mind that these ranges are not the maximum that you can achieve.

  1. ECO mode: 75 KMs range with 100% battery, with a top speed of 50km/hr.
  2. RIDE mode: 65 KMs range with 100% battery, with a top speed of 60km/hr
  3. SPORTS mode: 55 KMs range with 100% battery, with a top speed of 80km/hr.

With these ranges and top speeds, how do I actually achieve ~100 KMs with my every ride? The answer is simple, but you need to understand the battery utilization in each mode.

 

Battery utilization: According to my observations, some of the factors that contribute to battery utilization are, 

  • The speed you try to achieve in different modes (Eco/Ride/Sports).
  • The riding style.
  • The load on the vehicle (i.e. with/without pillion rider, weight in the bike storage etc. - The more weight the bike has to pull, the more battery charge it utilizes, yes it is as simple as that). 
  • Tyre pressure (make sure to check Tyre pressure frequently and maintain it as per the standards).

Speed: There is this main logic that I figured out based on my rides - The more speed you try to achieve in each mode, the more the battery charge is used. For example, if you ride at ~45-50km/hr in Eco mode (remember that the top speed is 50km/hr for Eco mode?), more battery charge is used as you are trying to use the maximum speed for that particular mode you are on. But if you try to ride at the same speed in other modes - Ride/Sports - the battery charge will not be used as much as that of Eco mode. This is how I achieve more range with different riding modes.

More examples to understand and improve the range on your Ather 450 (or any other EVs with similar tech for that matter) based on the speed you prefer to ride on.

  1. Sports mode - I always prefer this mode, because as I said, riding at 50-60km/hr in this mode does not use much battery charge as compared to Eco/Ride modes (because top speed is 80km/hr in this mode). I mostly ride at 40-60km/hr in this mode and get ~100 KMs range from a single charge.
  2. Ride mode - I prefer this mode second. Riding at ~40km/hr in this mode does not use much battery charge as compared to Eco mode (because top speed is 60km/hr in this mode). But riding at 50-60km/hr in this mode uses more battery charge as compared to Sports mode.
  3. Eco mode - I do not prefer this mode as I ride usually at ~40-60hm/hr. Riding at even 40km/hr in this mode uses more battery charge as compared to Ride/Sports mode (because top speed is 50km/hr in this mode).

 

Another factor that hugely contributes to the battery utilization is Riding Style. Do not increase the ride speed drastically, as this uses more battery charge. Instead, accelerate very gradually. You can literally see this factor on your Ather's Odometer screen when you ride. The screen turns Red when you ride rash (i.e. either suddenly increasing the speed, or when going uphill with a higher speed etc.). 

You can always try to keep the screen from going Red and keep it Green at most times possible. Sometimes the screen goes from Green to Brown-ish color when you gradually accelerate towards the top speed, do not worry as this is the right way to increase and if you get Brown-ish instead of Red, you are good. When you see Red on the screen, slowly decrease the speed until Red vanishes and try to maintain constant speed wherever possible. Take it easy on the riding.

 

Let me share some statistics from my rides with you to make it all easy.

My office is 27-28 KMs away from my home (I know, pretty far). After reaching office, I turn my bike OFF. I travel for a total of 55-56 KMs a day in Sports mode at ~40-65km/hr (you know how Bangalore traffic is). After all this, I am still left with ~50% of the battery (usually 45-50%) when I get back home, making the range 100 KMs per single charge. This shows that the speed does not matter as far as you do not ride at max/top speed (Mentioning again that riding at max/top speed uses more battery for a particular mode).

Another specific statistic from my rides - I went for a ride in Sports mode with 100% battery covering 86 KMs in total at 50-70km/hr and I was left with 14% of the battery after.

Unbelievable right? Actually it's not, it's pretty simple and achievable.


Another factor is Efficiency which is a measure calculated considering all the factors mentioned above. The lower the Efficiency you achieve, the higher the Range you get. Ather team was happy to give some insights on how the efficiency is calculated (thanks to Abhishek Balaji from Ather team). Read them below.

While speed is a good way to get more range, what you need to really watch out for is efficiency.

For example: Assuming you start riding at 100% charge level, considering that the usable capacity of the battery in the 450X is 2.6 kWh = 2600 Wh. Expected efficiency is simply battery capacity / True Range

You have your true range:
Eco: 85 km, Ride: 70 km, Sport: 60 km, Warp: 50km

Mode       True Range    Expected efficiency (Wh/km)

Eco                 85                         30.59
Ride               70                         37.14
Sport             60                         43.33
Warp             50                         52.00

The true range is calculated based on the riding data of users of the 450 and the 450X. It is entirely possible to ride in Warp mode and get < 30 Wh/km efficiency if you take it easy on the throttle, avoid harsh braking and acceleration, and maintain good tyre pressure.

Now, when you switch modes, your battery capacity still remains the same, just the torque and power given out by the motor is limited and as a result the top speed. You can also ride in Eco mode at 52 Wh/km efficiency, and you’ll get only 50kms of range.

Some scenarios you can explore to get familiar:
  1. Going uphill in Eco mode, at max throttle, you’ll be least efficient and hence get lower range.
  2. Costing downhill in Warp mode, light on the throttle, more braking and regen, you’ll get a really high range in warp mode.
The red halo around range displayed while riding is an indication of this. Avoid the red halo showing up (after you enable real-time efficiency in the settings of course) and you’re going good on your riding style. It will pop up sometimes as your overtake or go uphill, but it’s easy to bring it back down.

To conclude, use the different available modes according to the speed you prefer to ride at. 

  • Use either Ride/Sports mode If you usually ride at ~40km/hr.
  • Use Sports mode if you usually ride at >50km/hr. 
  • You can use Eco mode if you usually ride at ~20km/hr. 
  • Do not try to reach the maximum speed in any mode as this reduces the battery percentage hugely. 
  • Try to change your riding style to get Green or sometimes Brown-ish color on your Ather's Odometer screen. 
  • Always turn your bike OFF when you know for sure you wouldn't use your bike for a few days.
  • Keep your tyre pressure according to the standards.
  • Distribute the load on the bike equally on the front half and back half of the bike to get a smooth ride.
  • Do not throttle or apply brakes suddenly and harshly. Take it easy on the riding.

Follow this irrespective of the brand of EBike you ride, you will end up with a good range. 


Let me also quickly talk about the running cost of EVs, of course Ather EBike in my case. Ather sends us Ride log every month to understand our riding style, running cost etc. (here's one from my Instagram post to understand it better)


 

As you can see from the Ride log, it cost me as low as Re.1 to travel 15 KMs. And the range I got in Sports mode and Ride mode from my March rides is proof of what I have been talking about so far. 

Owning EVs seems unaffordable considering their selling prices, but definitely EVs are more cost efficient compared to the fuel counterparts considering the running cost (we do know the hassles of fuel price increase) and let us not forget the positive impact of EVs on the planet where we live and breathe.


Now that some of the most important questions about EBikes are off the table, here's to hoping more switches from fuel bikes to EBikes 🤞. Let us help India Go Green and contribute what we can to save the planet, start switching to EBikes today.

Have a great and safe flight (coz I own an Ather EBike 😉) everybody.

Comments

  1. Saranya, You have clearly explained the ways and means of getting the bang for the buck when riding EV's.

    Thankyou,
    Regards.
    Sarat

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of the best blog which explains abt the range and the riding style ...fir a new ather owner it answers many of my question

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, glad to be of help. Welcome to the Ather family.

      Delete
  3. Excellent info...Thanks Saranya.

    Recently I purchased Ather 450 X series 1.

    After going through this blog, today I gave a test on Sports mode.

    Before the ride
    ------------------------
    Odo Meter: 1216 kms
    Mode: Sport
    Projected Range: 38 Kms
    Battery: 64%


    After the ride
    ---------------------
    Odo Meter: 1241 kms
    Mode: Sport
    Projected Range: 25 Kms
    Battery: 41%

    I actually travelled 25 kms (1241-1216 = 25)
    Difference in projected Range 13 Kms(38-25)
    Difference in Battery % is 23%

    The cruising speed was 40-60 kmph.

    The dashboard shown sports mode with 64% battery and projected range is 38kms.
    so 100% battery in sports mode shows 60kms

    However, the real stats are much better than dashboard stats. Its actually double.

    so to conclude, 100% battery definitely supports more than 100kms when cruising 40-60 kmph 👏

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, glad to be of help. Welcome to the Ather family.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for the insights explained indepth.,
    Will be of great help to all.
    Keep it up bro, good job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Saranya, did you notice any kind of decrease in efficiency of true range on a time being.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, not using the scooter much because of WFH and Covid risks, but I don't see any decrease in efficiency when I use.

      Delete
  6. very simple and clear explanation. What is the air pressure you keep on your ather ? front and back ?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Saranya

    Thanks for the writeup on increasing the range for the Ev's.! :)
    How do you track the units for charging? Do you use any smart plug to trace it

    Brought the 450x last week, going to try your technique to track the mileage

    Do we get the same range if we select Sport mode and ride in at speed of 30-40 kmph instead of 40-60?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Partha,

    Welcome to the EV family. You get a report from Ather (screenshot in this blog is from the report) every month if you have an active subscription with them. You can find the units utilized there.

    Ideally you should get more or similar range if you ride at 30-40 kmph with low Wh/km utilization.

    Glad to be of help!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you..this was of great help..I landed here after the post in the forum group..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you for all the tips it was very useful.
    You mentioned about red,green and brown colours on Odometer.Is that only on 450X coz i own 450+ and i have only noticed red colour near the range area.
    I have never seen colours like green or brown. It is like red or nothing.

    Also do you use any other app expect Ather one for all the details like above in your screenshot. I have connect pro and i cannot see details such as unit used.
    Really appreciate your, work was very helpful

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome to the EV family.

      The colors that I mentioned appears on the screen while riding, it's not the color that appears near efficiency/range metric, it's the one that comes up on the screen (gradually fills up the screen from left to right), and the screen turns yellow/brown/red once you start reaching maximum speed, something like that, observe it the next time you take a ride.

      As far as the other RED that comes up near the range/efficiency metric, try to avoid getting the red by following all the tips.

      The screenshot is not from Ather app, its from the Ather Ride Log that they send every month for subscribers, you should be getting it in your email since you have Connect Pro, pls check with Ather team if you are not getting the ride logs.

      Thank you, Glad to be of help! Always happy to help.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the help.
      Also wanted to ask should we consider to check the battery percentage or the range?
      Normally for 10km ride i consume around 15% battery and the range from 50km comes down at 40km.
      So what should we consider to check battery % or the range?

      Delete
    3. Both give you the same conclusion, you can track either. The more the battery % is drained, the less the range you get, both are connected.

      Delete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The elaborated explanation and experience sharing were pretty worthy and quiet useful like me who owned an Ather 450X a month ago.Unlike banglore our terreane is totally different evethough my Ather works well and my next exploration will be based on your words.Let me back after experiencing the warp mode in 50 km/h.
      Thank you for finding time to expose the secret of range in Ather.

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Glad to be of help! Welcome to Ather and EV family.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Please keep the comments healthy and readable to others