Does anyone else keep track of their power usage on rides?
Over time my power usage in watt hours per mile have been creeping up and the weight of my bike has slowly increased as well. Is anyone else experiencing this and what do you attribute the power gains to?
When I first built the bike in 2017 my power usage was in the range of 6-8 watt hours per mile (3.7- 4.9 watt hours per km). Now my power usage is in the range of 13 to 16 watt hours per mile (7.9-9.8 watt hours per km).
When first built, my bike was 52 lbs 23.6 kg. Now with bags and stuff in them and other goodies added onto my bike, the bike now weighs around 70 lb 31.8 kg.
About 90% of my riding is on multi-purpose trails or roads and only 10% single track.
I always pedal, never throttle. I put in whatever amount of power I can. I am not into E bikes to eliminate all the exercise and I like to extend range. I put in about 120-150 watts per hour riding. I can ride 11-12 mph (17.5-19 kmh) consistently without assist on level ground.
My average ride is 25-30 miles (40-48 km). Some rides lately have been in the range of 50-70 miles (80-113 km). I tend to use more watts per mile on longer rides. My last ride was 42 miles (68 km) at an average speed of 16.5 mph (26.6 kmh). My normal rides are in hilly areas but not excessively so.
Prior to an e bike I was a weight weeny doing 1,500-1,800 miles (2,400-2,900 km) per year. I now average 3,800-4,200 miles (6,100- 6,800 km) per year.
I think the creep in power is associated with creeping up in speed on my normal bike path/road rides. I don't think I have increased speed on single track much.
Weight can be another issue with power creep. I run both wide and narrow tires with little difference in power consumption. I think this is due to wide fenders keeping frontal air resistance area about the same with narrow or wide tires.
Come to think of it wide fenders also brings up the idea of slowly increasing frontal area for wind resistance.
One thing I have observed. Power usage is definitely higher the colder the temperatures are. I am assuming because of battery sag, larger frontal area with clothing and higher friction losses. In the winter time my power usage can be 20-25 watt hours per mile (12-15 watt hours per km).
Well, in writing this out I have a better handle on where the creep is coming from. I guess I will look for ways to make the creep go the other direction for more range. My normal battery is only 1,100 watt hours so my range is limited more than I would like.
Over time my power usage in watt hours per mile have been creeping up and the weight of my bike has slowly increased as well. Is anyone else experiencing this and what do you attribute the power gains to?
When I first built the bike in 2017 my power usage was in the range of 6-8 watt hours per mile (3.7- 4.9 watt hours per km). Now my power usage is in the range of 13 to 16 watt hours per mile (7.9-9.8 watt hours per km).
When first built, my bike was 52 lbs 23.6 kg. Now with bags and stuff in them and other goodies added onto my bike, the bike now weighs around 70 lb 31.8 kg.
About 90% of my riding is on multi-purpose trails or roads and only 10% single track.
I always pedal, never throttle. I put in whatever amount of power I can. I am not into E bikes to eliminate all the exercise and I like to extend range. I put in about 120-150 watts per hour riding. I can ride 11-12 mph (17.5-19 kmh) consistently without assist on level ground.
My average ride is 25-30 miles (40-48 km). Some rides lately have been in the range of 50-70 miles (80-113 km). I tend to use more watts per mile on longer rides. My last ride was 42 miles (68 km) at an average speed of 16.5 mph (26.6 kmh). My normal rides are in hilly areas but not excessively so.
Prior to an e bike I was a weight weeny doing 1,500-1,800 miles (2,400-2,900 km) per year. I now average 3,800-4,200 miles (6,100- 6,800 km) per year.
I think the creep in power is associated with creeping up in speed on my normal bike path/road rides. I don't think I have increased speed on single track much.
Weight can be another issue with power creep. I run both wide and narrow tires with little difference in power consumption. I think this is due to wide fenders keeping frontal air resistance area about the same with narrow or wide tires.
Come to think of it wide fenders also brings up the idea of slowly increasing frontal area for wind resistance.
One thing I have observed. Power usage is definitely higher the colder the temperatures are. I am assuming because of battery sag, larger frontal area with clothing and higher friction losses. In the winter time my power usage can be 20-25 watt hours per mile (12-15 watt hours per km).
Well, in writing this out I have a better handle on where the creep is coming from. I guess I will look for ways to make the creep go the other direction for more range. My normal battery is only 1,100 watt hours so my range is limited more than I would like.
All good conversation stuff as some of the guys are retired NASA engineers. Arguing over not being worth more than two cents worth of electricity is all in good retirement fun talk. 
