What is the cost of depreciating two rooftop bikes?

Cold, rain, wind and air conditioning – just a few of the factors that can significantly increase the consumption of our electric car. There is no doubt that if we reduce the drag coefficient, consumption will continue to deteriorate. But what do you expect if you want to ride with two bikes mounted on a roof rack. Does the small battery-powered electric vehicle (~30 kWh) still have a usable and livable range, or do we have to stop charging at every charger?

Lifelike test with 30 kWh battery Nissan LEAF EXTAXYWith a roof rack from a well-known Swedish company. We put two forward-facing bikes on the top rack with bike transfer rails, and then went to a nearby point in the Gödöllő hills.

Of course, the consumption was not measured in full, since it was not possible to take comparable control measurements without a rack on the ceiling. For the sake of comparison, we only checked consumption on a 16-kilometre section of the M4 motorway, between the Cegléd-Öregszőlők slope and the Káva ramp, this was measured with bikes and without a roof rack. The start and end of the measurement has been adjusted to a distinct schedule in order to get more accurate results, and when we got to the initial schedule, we accelerated to 90 km/h on GPS, and tuned it all the way through with cruise control. Climate is not used.

All that is worth knowing about this section is that it has relatively significant ascents and is mostly blown off by transverse winds. Fortunately, the wind was very moderate that day, only 15 km/h according to one of the local weather sites. Unfortunately, the side slide can’t really be eliminated, even if we scale back and forth – it always increases our consumption. In addition, the wind was never fixed, so the accuracy of the measurement was definitely negatively affected. However, to determine the main volume, this wind speed is still acceptable.
However, the effect of increased depreciation can be offset by measuring depreciation inversely in the same section and average of the two values. We did the same.
The values ​​were read using LeafSpy Pro, i.e. not calculated as a percentage of the on-board dashboard feedback.

So let’s get our measured values:

Based on the data, it can be said that the first generation Nissan Leaf consumes 25% more fuel at 90 km / h with a roof rack and two bikes than without it. This, of course, also reduces the range by 25%, which means that if you can go 130-150 kilometers without shoes with a full battery, it will be reduced to 105-120 kilometers with bikes. Knowing the current coverage of the local freight network, this means that even with a 30 kWh sheet, you can safely start anywhere in the country, even if we take two bikes with us. Of course, it is worth expecting this difference to be true only at 90 km / h, which is the range compared to the case without the roof rack. Of course, a 30kWh sheet is not designed for 130km/h highway, at least if you want to cover more than 100km without charging.

In conclusion, due to the small battery, driving on a high-speed highway with two bikes is possible only for short sections (less than 70 km), but if we are satisfied with a speed of about 100 km / h or traveling on a country road, an increase of 25-30% is at the expense of Consumption, we can still embark on a smooth journey.

We consider it important to note that the difference in consumption measured here applies only to this car, in the summer, in the case of other cars with a more streamlined construction, the change in consumption will be greater (the Cw value deteriorates better), as in cold weather it may There will be more difference. However, the above data may also be sufficient to show the sizes.