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What's my battery autonomy?

How do we calculate the autonomy in the app and what impacts how long you can ride with a full charge?

Levi from Cowboy avatar
Written by Levi from Cowboy
Updated over 2 months ago

Autonomy Calculation

Our app estimates the distance you can still cover with your current battery level based on your own typical consumption. It will be refined over time, as we learn more about your habits and riding environment.

Maximizing Your Battery Health

As best practice, we recommend the following steps to ensure your battery lasts as long as possible:

  1. Take the battery out of the bike when you are not using it for longer periods of time.

  2. Store it somewhere where the temperature stays above 10°C, as cold can damage the cells and impact the autonomy.

  3. Make sure that the battery gets a full discharge/charge cycle at least once every two months.

  4. Avoid leaving your battery fully discharged for prolonged periods. This will negatively and permanently affect the battery’s capacity.

Autonomy Impact Factors

The autonomy of a new battery typically is between 40 and 80km (between 60 and 120km for Cross and Cross ST batteries). Many factors influence how long you can ride with a full battery.

Your environment

  • Temperature — Colder surroundings make your battery drain faster. During the winter it’s best to store your battery inside to maximise its performance.

  • Terrain — Your range will be lower if you take steep hills than if you stay on flat roads. Poor quality roads, gravel and uneven forest paths also drain the battery faster than good tarmac.

  • Wind — The stronger the wind, the shorter the range.

Your bike set-up

  • Ride mode - If you own a Cowboy Cruiser/ST/Classic with the Performance Package or a later model, you can change your motor assistance level in your ride settings. You'll consume around 25% less battery when switching from Adaptive to Eco.

  • Weight - The more load your bike has to carry (weight of the rider, additional accessories mounted, packages transported, etc), the faster your battery will drain.

  • Ageing - Batteries slowly lose capacity over time, so your range is expected to slowly decrease as the bike ages. Just like a phone will not last a full day on a charge anymore after a couple of years.

  • Tyres - An under-inflated tyre will have a higher contact surface with the ground, leading to more drag and less range. Make sure to keep your tires inflated at the recommended pressure (5 bar for Cowboy 1, 4 bar for Cowboy 2, 3 bar for Cowboy 3 and 2.5 bar for Cowboy Classic/Cruiser/ST/Cross/ST). Be aware that replacing your tyres with tyres from another brand can also negatively impact your range.

  • Storage - Avoid leaving your battery on zero charge for prolonged periods. This will negatively and permanently affect the battery capacity. The bike is always on standby and so continuously consumes a little bit of power. If you are planning to not use your bike for a prolonged period of time, we suggest you take the battery out of the bike.

You the rider

  • Riding style - Cruising at a constant speed consumes less power than frequently accelerating and decelerating.

Battery Replacement

Batteries slowly lose capacity over time so your range is expected to slowly decrease as the bike ages. Just like a phone will not last a full day on a charge anymore after a couple of years. Contact us if you’d like to purchase a new one.

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