As a company that has positioned itself to promote electric mobility as a more sustainable mode of transportation in Africa, we also acknowledge the burden of education of the public on several aspects of electric mopeds and tricycles.
Generally, electric mopeds have a range of 50-80km, and rarely have a life of more than 160km models, in this regard, we have had some potential users recently put forward such a question: How can an electric moped reach a 160km range? What configuration exactly is required? For this problem, our answer is that 160km range is relatively difficult, but if equipped with a large capacity battery, it can also be achieved. Here is our analysis below of how this is achievable.
We take the most common 48V, 60V and 72V electric mopeds as examples. Usually, electric bicycles will have a voltage of 24, 36, and 48, while motorbikes and scooters have higher voltages. For the purposes of this article, we will focus mainly on scooters and motorbikes. If 48V electric mopeds are equipped with a 350W motor and 52Ah battery, and the average speed of 48V electric vehicles is about 25km/h, while the average current of uniform speed is 7.3A (motor power/voltage), the theoretical continuation time is about 7.1 h (battery capacity / average current), and the theoretical continuation time is about 175km (theoretical lifetime * average vehicle speed). If equipped with a 400W motor, the theoretical renewal is about 158km. On average, a 48V electric vehicle with a 52Ah battery, a theoretical continuation of about 165km, or approximately 160km range.
If it is a 60V electric moped and is equipped with an 800W motor and 52Ah battery, its average speed is about 40km/h. With an average uniform speed of 13.3A, the theoretical continuation time is 3.9h (almost 4 hours). With this configuration, the theoretical continuation is about 156km by calculation. Similarly, if equipped with a 600W motor, the theoretical renewal is about 182km. On average, a 60V electric moped with a 52Ah battery can cover a range of about 170km, or 160km depending on other factors. In addition, we can know that if the 72V electric vehicle is equipped with a 52Ah battery, the theoretical continuation is about 175km, and it can also reach 160km.
To sum up, 48V, 60V, and 72V electric mopeds can last 160km as long as they are equipped with 52Ah and larger models of battery. However, 52Ah battery models are not conventional models. These are relatively rare high-capacity batteries for mass production but for small batch productions, this can be achieved. These kinds of batteries have a relatively higher price which could start from as low as $500 or as high as $1200 depending on the cells used to make the batteries. Therefore, from this point of view, the conventional electric vehicle range of 160 km, though difficult to achieve, isn’t impossible.
Finally, irrespective of the configurations of your a moped, here are a few things to consider in order to increase the range of the bikes:
- Always remember to fully charge the electric mopeds. Most modern chargers have breakers in them that stop charging the battery once the battery is full. If your charger isn’t this type, however, you can leave the charger on in the socket about 30 minutes after it’s fully charged. A very important thing to note is that you must only use chargers given to you with the bikes.
- Even if your moped has a lot of speed, remember this: overspeeding kills the battery faster. For urban or town rides, maintain a speed of not more than 30km/hr. The goal is to cover a longer range.
- An important hack to know is that a constant motor speed saves power. So, always keep a speed that can be maintained, to keep the motor working at a constant rate.
- Slow acceleration, and uniform speed, are important to increasing the range covered.
