How far can I ride on a single battery charge? What’s the range of this eMTB? These are, without a doubt, the most frequently asked questions when it comes to buying an eMTB. This goes to show that many eMTBers are still haunted by the Voltergeist, the ghost of range anxiety. But is the fear still justified? And how can we overcome it?
eMTBs have changed significantly over the past 5 years. Most modern eMTBs are visually appealing, technically sophisticated and crammed with clever features. However, the one aspect that has changed the most over the years is battery capacity. Needless to say, we’re experiencing a genuine battery arms race, especially with respect to battery size. And yes, the Voltergeist is still haunting eMTBers all over the world, playing tricks on their minds and disrupting their sleep with horrid nightmares in which they’re stuck on the trails with an empty battery, far away from home. While for many years 500 Wh was considered the standard, 700 Wh (and over) has now become the norm. For the 2022 season, Canyon have integrated a massive 900 Wh battery into their new light-footed Canyon Spectral: ON CFR eMTB, re-imagining the interplay between motor power, battery capacity and handling, thus setting a new benchmark. But is more necessarily always better?
The big range dilemma – Does more range come at the expense of trail handling?
It’s no secret that we are no fans of big batteries. Simply put, a big battery implies more weight, making it hard to integrate one into a bike without affecting its handling. In addition, most eMTBers don’t even make use of the full capacity of their batteries.
For example, in our latest readers survey with more than 16,000 participants, 77% of the respondents said that the range of their eMTB is mostly or always sufficient – and that was at a time when 630 Wh was considered the standard. 38% predominantly use the lowest mode while 84% usually ride less than 50 km. And yet the demand for ever bigger batteries is increasing rapidly. But does it make sense or is it just utter nonsense?
The aim of this story isn’t to provide you with exact range data but rather to explain which factors influence the range of your ebike the most and how you can optimise its range. We want to help you overcome range anxiety and decide what bike and battery concept fits your needs and riding style best, preventing you from falling into the classic “more-is-more” marketing trap.
With the release of their new Spectral:ON with a huge 900 Wh battery, Canyon caused a real stir, sparking countless discussions about battery size and range. The Canyon Spectral:ON is available with two battery configurations, 720 Wh and 900 Wh, and relies on several clever features to compensate for the extra weight of the big battery. Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to delve deeper into the subject and understand more about range anxiety! After performing countless range tests with two Canyon Spectral:ON bikes, we are able to answer the burning questions of eMTBing: what is range all about? Do you really need a 900 Wh battery?
Our Canyon Spectral:ON 2022 test bikes in detail
Our Spectral:ON test bikes come equipped with a Shimano EP8 motor, which can be coupled with either a 720 Wh battery or 900 Wh battery. Swapping between Canyon’s proprietary batteries is simple: just put the bike upside down and pull the battery from the downtube. While you still need a tool to remove the two screws that secure the battery, you can freely switch between the two batteries without the need of adapters or additional parts. The big 900 Wh battery tilts the scales at 4,756 g and is subject to a € 300 surcharge. At 3,862 g, the smaller 720 battery weighs almost 900 g less. Canyon’s new trail eMTB is the ideal guinea pig for this test, because the two bikes share the same geometry and spec. In this test, we rode the Spectral:ON CFR LTD and CF8, switching between different battery setups between runs. If you want to take a closer look at the Spectral:ON CFR, in this link you’ll find our first ride review.
How we tested the bikes.
To work out the range of each bike and compare numbers, we clocked countless laps on our home trails in and around Stuttgart, switching between different types of routes, including steep climbs and technical descents with gnarly chutes. Our test team rode different routes and experimented with different motor support levels, tour lengths and of course the two battery setups. Moreover, our test-crew includes riders weighing between 60 and 140 kg, enabling us to collect and evaluate huge amounts of critical data. For consistency’s sake, we explored the extremes, testing the bikes in different conditions in order to gain a more holistic picture.
How can you determine the range of an eMTB?
Does the range of an eMTB depend solely on the capacity of its battery? No, in general the battery capacity alone says very little about the range and must always be considered in relation to the motor and its power consumption.
Riding style
We’re all different and so is our riding style. During this test, we’ve found that cadence and rhythm have a great influence on the range too. A circular pedal stroke generates a constant load and therefore has a consistent impact on power and the motor’s use of energy – unlike a more impulsive stroke (i.e. inconsistent load). Moreover, each motor has a different optimal pedalling cadence range in which it’s able to perform most efficiently – although this tends to be around 75 RPMs with most mid-drive motors.
Weight
While battery capacity definitely plays a major role, the range of an eMTB depends on countless factors, including the rider’s weight. Needless to say, it makes a huge difference whether it’s our test rider Jannik (140 kg) riding the bike or Paulina, who, at 60 kg, weighs less than half than him. Simply put, more weight requires more energy, and the latter comes from… yes, you got it, the battery!
Support level
Of course, the chosen support level has a massive impact on the range too. As a result, relaxed ECO-mode tourers will get much further on a single charge than rowdy uphill shredders who are permanently grinding their way up the mountain in the strongest support mode. Why? Because the power that doesn’t come from your legs, comes from the motor. But be careful! Even within the same support level, the range can differ significantly, because the torque sensor modulates the motor’s power depending on force you apply on the pedal. For example, editors Julian and Simon, who both weigh around 80 kg, rode the same route using ‘Trail’ mode and the big 900 Wh battery and yet achieved very different results, with Simon clocking a much faster lap time. Obviously, this means that he’s pedalled a lot harder than Julian, utilising more of the motor’s peak power output and thus using more power. Higher input = higher output.
Elevation profile
Our test confirmed that the route profile also has a big impact on battery range: tours on moderate and level ground use less battery than an equally long tour with steep climbs. One more factor that has a huge impact on the range of an eMTB is the elevation profile of a route: a tour in the northern German lowlands requires significantly less power than an epic Alpine crossing. Once again, this is largely due to the amount of assistance you’re using on a ride. In a given support mode, we tend to apply more pressure on the pedals when riding uphill than we do on level ground, using more of the motor’s power and thus consuming more energy.
External factors
Of course, there are countless external factors that influence the range of an eMTB, like the temperature, wind direction and trail conditions. However, these factors are extremely difficult to quantify, thus making it harder for us to include them in the equation. On the other hand, they aren’t as relevant for tour planning, either, simply because they’re uncontrollable and constantly changing. As a logical consequence, it’s not just the battery size that determines the range, but also (or mainly) the way we use our bike.
How to optimise the range of your eMTB
Now that we’ve figured out what determines the range of an eMTB, what can we do to optimise it? The obvious first: reaching for more battery capacity. Of course, a bigger battery translates into more range. But there are other ways to ride further too.
Take your time on tours! What applies to fuel consumption for cars in the automotive industry also applies to power consumption for eBikes. If you fly down the German Autobahn at 200 km/h instead of 130 km/h, you’ll reach your destination faster but also use 12l/100km instead of 6l/100 km. On top of that, with eMTBs the journey is the goal, and switching to ECO mode from time to time will also make you fitter ;). There are also more indirect ways to improve your range, like planning your tour carefully. For example, this allows you to identify Watt-thirsty key sections even before setting off and circumnavigate them with small detours.
If you want to use the range of your eMTB as efficiently as possible, you should start working on your cadence. With most modern eMTB mid-drive motors, the sweet-spot is around 75 RPM. In order to keep your pedalling cadence consistent and stay within the optimal range, you’ll have to coordinate your gear shifts carefully because only then can the motor work efficiently on variable gradients.
So what’s the verdict? Is range anxiety justified after all?
By and large, range anxiety is totally unfounded for the majority of eMTBers. If you take a closer look at yourself, your current setup and riding style, you’ll quickly realise that range anxiety is probably just a ghost from the past, an irrational fear that is deeply ingrained in eMTB culture simply because older eMTBs had significantly smaller batteries. And let’s be honest: how many times do you even embark on epic long tours that threaten to drain your battery? Moreover, range shouldn’t be the measure of all things. Of course, you could take the same approach as Tesla Ultrarange drivers, who crawl along the motorway at 60 km/h at night with the sole purpose of covering the greatest possible distance, but by doing so, you would risk destroying the real essence of eMTBing – the fun! And there’s one thing that many eMTBers seem to forget: if you’re left without battery, you’re not going to die – you can keep riding your eMTBs without motor support!
Which type of battery suits what rider?
When choosing your battery, factors such as weight, terrain and riding style/habits are decisive. Most riders will be well served with the smaller battery, which has more than enough juice for short home trail laps. It’s the perfect choice for riders who tend to go for shorter rides on moderate terrain. If you learn some basic battery discipline, adding strategic charge stops into your route planning for multi-day tours, taking good care of your battery and riding as efficiently as you can – perhaps even without motor assistance from time to time – a smaller battery will be more than sufficient. On the other hand, heavy riders who want to embark on epic tours with steep climbs will benefit from the big 900 Wh battery. If you aren’t too fussed about the extra weight, it will get you the ‘all-round carefree package’. For example, you can tow your analogue riding buddies up the mountain, ride for 2 days in a row without having to charge the battery in between and take up epic adventures or spontaneous detours without falling into a deep state of range anxiety. And yet, our battery mantra is: as little as possible, as much as necessary! Because more capacity doesn’t just appear as if by magic, inevitably adding weight to your bike. Unfortunately, the extra weight is often compensated for by lightweight components and is likely to have an adverse impact on handling when positioned incorrectly.
However, that’s not the case with our Canyon test bikes: with the new Spectral:ON, the German direct-sales brand has hit the nail on the head, with the 900 Wh having no evident disadvantages over its smaller 720 Wh counterpart in terms of handling. Canyon made up for the extra weight with several clever frame details and by reducing the complexity of the bike, thus delivering an impressive overall package.
But do you really need the 900 Wh battery? Simply put, the 720 Wh version is more than enough for most riders! And is it worth spending an additional € 300 for an extra 180 Wh, which is ‘just’ 20% more juice? With the Canyon Spectral:ON, the answer is yes! On the one hand, because the bigger battery doesn’t have a negative effect on handling, on the other, because it doesn’t require as strict a charging discipline as its smaller counterpart, proving a powerful antidote against range anxiety – which doesn’t even have to be rationally justified. After a short ride, you don’t necessarily have to recharge your bike right away and bigger batteries have a longer service life than smaller ones with the same usage. The figures speak for themselves: with the € 11,300 flagship model, the € 300 surcharge gives you 20% more battery capacity for just under 3% additional cost!
In general, we believe that the industry, retail and media play a fundamental role in educating people about the factors that determine the range of ebikes in an attempt to reduce the ever-spreading range anxiety. A savage battery arms race, in which manufacturers simply add cells to existing batteries without taking into account the extra weight, the shifting center of gravity and thus the balance and handling of a bike, isn’t a constructive approach. Because more battery capacity rarely means better handling on the trail. However, the well-balanced Spectral:ON could be the precursor of a new fat-watt eMTB generation that is capable of uniting supposed opposites. If the Voltergeist keeps haunting you in your dreams, you should be aware of one thing: one way or another, you’ll always get home! Even with an empty battery, you can keep riding without assistance.
Pick up the phone and call the Voltbusters! It’s finally time to put an end to reach anxiety. From light-footed eMTBs to powerful all-rounders, there’s an eMTB for all sorts of riders that will get them to their destination. Which bike is right for you largely depends on your riding style, the chosen support level and route profile. However, it isn’t always black and white because eMTBs with a natural ride feel are getting increasingly powerful and powerful eMTB allrounders like the new Spectral:ON have excellent handling on the trail. The eMTB world is clearly developing and moving towards a future with more riding fun and no range-anxiety.
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Words: Simon Kohler Photos: Robin Schmitt
