Originally Posted by
tpreitzel
In our experience, 8 miles is about maximum for the battery with slight hills and good wind (20+mph). Your comments about leaving the battery on the charger after it's green is interesting, but we probably will continue to leave it on until the green light remains steady which is normally about 3 1/2 to 4 hours of recharging.
Maybe you're right, but it's not just my imagination. I just got to work today and it was SOO much better with the battery having charged for over 6 hours, rather than 3.5 or so. It made a huge difference - I just barely noticed it getting a little weak towards the end, as opposed to two days ago when it totally crapped out and I literally walked the bike up the last hill and was exhausted. It is a pain not knowing when to unplug it, but I reviewed my high school electricity formulas, and even with it plugged in 8 hours, I think it would use less than 2 KWH which is less than 25 cents for me.
And just for the record, a lot of people talk about the distance the bike will go with just the motor - little to no pedaling, but I am pedaling a LOT. For a lot of the time, I am just putzing along in a low gear, just pedaling, at 12 mph or so. And even on hills, if it isn't too steep, I'll use the motor a little (with pedaling), then just pedal a little, etc.
Cathy