Now that spring seems to have settled in and the trails are nearly clear it is time to start testing our electric trikes! With the North Star Rails to Trails on our doorstep we took off for a test ride on the newly arrived eTc Cargo.
The weather was chilly and overcast with a steady wind. If you have ridden the Rails to Trails before you will know that any wind is often a headwind, regardless of the direction you are heading on the trail!
Batteries fully charged we rolled out from the arena in Kimberley with the motors set to mid range - smack in between economy and turbo, to get a better idea of how they would perform in comparison to the manufacturers guidelines.
The Cargo e-trike uses a combination 500w brushless motor and a 48V/20Ah Lithium-Ion Battery. This gives what is the most important stat of determining battery life, Watt Hours, of 1.92. Meaning that you should get nearly 2 hours of motor only riding from a single charge. With pedal assist this range increases significantly, giving you lots of opportunity to pedal as much or little as you want.
The trip from Kimberley to Cranbrook is more downhill than the return journey, despite lots of photo stops, we had an average speed of 21.6KMH, making it to Cranbrook in a little over an hour and 10 minutes. In a hurry? Gear up to 5 with an average speed of 30KMH you will get there in no time and hardly break a sweat. Riding down used 1 of 5 bars on the charge meter, coming back used 2, leaving approximately 40% charge remaining. Plenty to get you where you need to go without needing to worry about running out of power. The headwind was consistent pretty much the entire ride, and it was cool between 8-10C, so on a warmer and calm day you could expect even greater range.
On a side note, the wider stance of an electric trike vs an electric bike takes a little getting used to, especially when cornering. The gates at highway crossings and the St Mary's River bridge easily accommodate the width of the rear wheels, just take your time riding through so you don't accidentally hook a rear wheel!
In conclusion, you can expect to get approximately 70KM of pedal assisted riding on a single charge with the motor set to mid range power, easily making a trip like Kimberley to Cranbrook and back without worrying about running out of battery.
| Ride Date | April 4, 2019 |
| Temperature | 10°C |
| Motor Speed Setting (Min: 1 - Max: 5) | 3 |
| Battery Charge Used | 60% |
| Weather | Overcast |
| Humidity | 50% |
| Wind | 11KM/H SSW |
| Ride Duration | 2:36:46 |
| Avg. Speed | 21.6KM/H |
| Max Speed | 30.9KM/H |
| Total Distance | 56.47KM |
