The Achilles heel when planning an e-MTB tour is the battery. When the last light goes out, the touring fun comes to an abrupt end. The decisive factor is therefore the reach height of the bike. Whether this is sufficient for the desired tour depends on various parameters. The most important: the topography of the tour, the total weight of the system and the individual riding style or preferred support level. Also: tyre pressure, cadence, surface and ambient temperature. The basic rule for e-mountainbikes is: metres in altitude are more important than kilometres! This is because capacity only dwindles rapidly on the ascent. It is therefore more appropriate to speak of altitude rather than range.
If the desired tour does not seem feasible with one battery, there are several options: Put an extra battery in your rucksack, recharge on the go, or even a combination of the two. An overview of possible charging stations
charging stations is part of the tour planning for long excursions. Electronic tools ensure that e-bikers always know where the next petrol pump is waiting (see TIPS & TRICKS below). This is not the only reason why electronic navigation is particularly valuable for e-mountain bikers.
Helpful: route planners automatically provide an overview of the remaining altitude metres and distances. Details that have to be laboriously calculated with traditional paper maps, but are crucial for estimating battery capacity. Great planning tools for the tour are available in the internet browser at home, two of which we present below. But last-minute planning on a tablet or mobile phone is also possible when you're out and about, and we present two apps for this purpose. Once the planned tour has been saved as a GPX file on the navigation device, nothing stands in the way of a relaxed tour.
Official charging stations is available, for example, from bike energybut also at some mountain huts or bike shops. These charging stations can be integrated into the navigation system as personal waypoints. On some modern GPS devices from Garmin, the function is called "route points". The charging stations are added to the planned route as additional waypoints via the Garmin Connect online portal. This means you can always check how far it is to the next charging station when you are travelling. When you reach a charging point, this is shown as a message on the display.
TIPS AND TRICKS
Shimano battery stand
ANT transmission is also built into the Steps system. This transmits the data from the drive unit to bike computers from Garmin, Wahoo etc. The charge status of the drive unit is disguised as a Di2 battery and displayed as a percentage. Great, because this display is more accurate than the bar display on the Shimano display. With the new E7000 motors, the scope of data transmission will be extended even further. Unfortunately, E8000 riders have to upgrade to an expensive wireless module for this luxury.
Mission Control
Specialized promises variable motor support with the Mission Control app. This should ensure that the battery capacity is sufficient for a planned tour. After entering the distance or riding time, the app adjusts the support so that the set safety buffer is still available at the end of the tour. Due to the many factors that influence the range level, this function is nice, but hardly reliable. The BLEvo app for Specialized e-mountainbikes offers more options.
We present two practical online tools for personalised e-MTB tour planning at home on your computer:
BIke GPS: For crossing the Alps on an E-MTB
The interactive online tour planner offers individual sections, which have been personally tested by Transalp-Pabst Uli Stanciu and can be combined for a customised crossing of the Alps. The info box provides information on the altitude metres, difficulty and trail conditions for each section. This is how it works: Select the first section in the start region, then add the connecting sections step by step. This allows you to plan a complete transalp or just a nice e-MTB tour. If you don't want to plan everything yourself, you can also find ready-made tour suggestions. You can plan for free. If you want to download the tour for your own navigation, you have to pay a manageable fee, which is calculated per kilometre. Bike-GPS uses its own RichTrack format. Although RTX files offer advantages, they have to be converted on the PC before you can start on the GPS device. It is difficult to recognise details on the aerial images.
Komoot: Simple planning for e-bike tours
The Komoot system has three components: You can get inspiration on the online portal, prepare your tour in the tour planner and navigate on the go using the smartphone app. Here's how it works: Set the starting point, destination and desired intermediate destinations with a click of the mouse. Komoot then automatically calculates a route using the mtb icon. If you don't like the suggested route, simply move the blue line slowly while holding down the mouse button. If the route fits at this point, release the mouse. For example, special trails can be added or explicitly avoided. To estimate whether the battery range and riding technique are sufficient, the trail type, condition and altitude profile provide valuable information alongside the map. You can save the planned routes in your personal profile so that they are always available. Many GPS devices (Wahoo, Sigma, Garmin IQ) can access these planned routes directly and download them for offline navigation. There is a one-off charge of 30 euros for the full range of functions.
You can also plan your tour on the move without the internet using a tablet or smartphone. Recommended apps for Android and Apple.
Locus Map - Offline Professional
For Android only The app's basic navigation function is a very simple and intuitive way to get started with mobile phone navigation. Later on, more and more settings and options will inspire you. Whether a smartphone on the E-MTB handlebars is the right choice is up to you. In any case, Locus Map is an excellent tool for spontaneous tour planning on the go. Enter the start and destination and check the first suggestion.
Is an intermediate destination still missing, or should the route take a different course? A point that must be reached (e.g. charging station, hut) is integrated into the route via an intermediate destination (square symbol, long tap). An intermediate point (triangle symbol) is suitable for an alternative route. Finally, move the points created until the route fits. Planned tracks can be exported as GPX files. The Pro version for 10 euros offers advantages for track recording, recalculation and map selection. However, you will need to familiarise yourself with the always-on route planner.
ApeMap - The map planner
Quality maps Official topo maps and the Kompass hiking maps impress on the app for smartphone and tablet with a very nice map image. You can plan your own tours on routing-capable Open Street Map maps. If you want to take the maps with you offline, you have to pay 20 euros for the ApeMap PRO version. However, the tour service with over 70,000 tour suggestions is not worth the extra charge. It is better to use the individual route planning step by step via intermediate destinations. The tour can also be put together completely on the iPad without the Internet. In this case, however, without routing along the paths. After planning, export the GPX track and transfer it to the GPS navigation system. Adjustments to planned routes are possible, but complicated. Unfortunately, the entire operation of ApeMap is hardly intuitive and requires some familiarisation.
GPX transfer
Tracks on the GPS device: Apart from Falk, no other manufacturer enables direct Bluetooth transfer from the smartphone to the navigation device, which is a shame! This means that alternatives are needed to get the GPX track onto the end device. It is relatively easy with Android devices. These usually support USB OTG (On-the-Go). A USB OTG cable connects the mobile phone and GPS device. The navigation behaves like a USB stick on a smartphone. The track is copied using a file explorer (e.g. Solid Explorer).
It is more complicated with the iPhone or iPad. Apple does not allow transfer by cable. With a MicroSD card reader for the Lightning connection, the GPX track is transferred to the memory card. Tracks can usually be used for navigation from there without any problems.
Garmin and Co. make GPX transfer via Bluetooth unnecessarily difficult.
