Hey Group, I got my new Pioneer Allroad today.

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Wowzer! This is one sweet bike. It took eight weeks, which is the longest I've waited for anything except losing my virginity, but this was worth the wait. (So was that, but that's another story.)
This machine is a climbing fool, which was of paramount importance as there is a s***-kicker of a hill between home and work. They just paved most of my commute too, so the route is as smooth as butter. So life is good and I just wanted to share with some other Optibike enthusiasts.
Allen

 

[Kaldeem]

Damn, that's a sweet ass bike! I like the RED pedals too! I still wish I had had the extra 900$ or so to get one, but I'm sure the Alation 500 will be just as sweet.

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Yeah man, these red pedals rock. They're Wellgo MG-1's, from Amazon; $29.99 with free shipping from China. They don't have reflectors, so I ordered a set from Amazon; $7.42 with free shipping. The reflectors are also from Wellgo. The MG-1 pedals are cast magnesium, spin smoothly, and have Allen-headed setscrews for grip.

 

[Bike_On]

Congrats.

 

[Bike_On]

Hey Reddy,

When you get some time on your bike, can you post some performance numbers?
How much does the bike weigh? Your weight (if willing)?
What is a typical cruising speed on flat tarmack?
What is speed in top gear going down a grade?
How does it climb?

thanks,
Bike_on

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Greetings Bike_on:
According to Court's review of the Pioneer Allroad, it weighs 49 pounds. According to my bathroom scale, I weigh 118 pounds.
I'm still figuring out how to use the gears, but on level ground (there isn't much of that on my commute) it slides along at 19-20 mph.
Going downgrade, I coast, but even on my kick-ass descent, (almost back to my cottage on my way home from work), I have to brake strongly to keep it under 40 (there are a pair of pretty tight curves between two long and exhilarating downgrades). Though the disk brakes are mechanical—not hydraulic—they are powerful and easy to modulate.
It climbs like a scalded cat. Honestly, I think this thing would climb a tree if I pointed it at one. I just found out I can get up the slightly less steep side of Brinton Hill Road without even dropping onto the smallest chainring up front (the bike has a touring triple and an eight gear cluster in back). Coming home after work, I climb the steeper side of Brinton Hill, and I think it's prudent to use the smallest chainring, but this machine is truly a climbing fool.
It's a sweet ride. Though the Allroad is Optibike's cheapest offering, it's an incredible machine. This is in marked contrast to my first—albeit short-lived—rear-hub-drive machine, which couldn't pull the skin off chocolate pudding.
I'm breaking out the Winter gloves this morning for my ride into work, because it'll be below freezing. Gotta' find some appropriate footwear soon. These boat shoes are stylish. Warm? Not so much.
More anon.
Best/Allen

 

[Bike_On]

Nice report Allen. As a former Optibike owner, I am always curious of others experience .

It is interesting that Optibike models are often disregarded, not mentioned or simply dismissed when articles are written about mid drives. Comparison to Bosch rarely exists. This site is pretty good about open feedback, and Court has commented directly .

It is funny, with all the buzz about wanting a throttle on the 350w Bosch bikes, people can get PAS, throttle and 500w with a Pioneer, and about $1000 less that a Haibike.

 

[J.R.]

Damn, that's a sweet ass bike! I like the RED pedals too!

Couldn't say it any better!!!

Hey Red, that is a very nice looking bike... My bike is black with red accents and I would love those red platforms! The great thing about your bike is that it looks like a bike... Tough too!

JR

 

[bearhugman]

Hey there..
I think you guys that have bought a pioneer allroad are being ripped off.

I have brought what appears to be the identical bike (ok last year's model) for just less than NZ $2000.
That's about US $1700.

The motor output is a legally restricted 300 watts. But I have been assured that it is the exact same motor as the optibike.

Anyone interested checkout bofeili. co.nz. And no I have no affiliation with the company.

My thoughts on the bike are similar to others. Even at 300 watts, hills that I would struggle to even walk up are a breeze. As I live in a valley that was one of the main reasons I brought a mid drive.

After not having ridden a bike for 20 or do years it's taking a little while to getting accustomed to being on a bike again. And I still find myself crunching the gears....Do'h

Have had the bike about 8 weeks now. And love it.

I also got a back rack for the bike and panniers so can now do my grocery shopping.

Only down side is that it doesn't have integrated headlights. But did come with an add on front light. And no instructions on mounting the carrier rack. (This is someone that needs instructions to operate an adjustable wrench-sigh)

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Welcome to the forum man:
Wowzer, I truly had no idea eBiking was so huge in New Zealand.
I think the Pioneer Allroad was a good value, but you are certainly right, the Bofelli looks like a dead ringer for last year's Allroad.
I'm not sure how Bofelli does it but it looks like a really sweet ride for a really sweet price. If you are enjoying your Bofelli as much as I'm enjoying my Allroad, that's a lot.
Their website seems pretty rich with technical information, which I lap up like a cat laps up a saucer of milk.
I'm with you on the hill-climbing capabilities of a mid-drive bike. I am in a very hilly part of the US and a hub drive would not be the hot setup for commuting to work in my neck of the woods (unless I wanted to walk it up the hills; which—trust me—I don't).
Happy trails and welcome again. Most of the other participants here are in the Northern Hemisphere. (Since it was 12º F this morning for my commute in to work, I sure wish I was on the other side of the Equator). Enjoy your Summer while those of us in the Northern US are freezing our tutus off. (Fair warning: we'll even the score in five months.)
Allen

 

[stevenast]

Specs are sketchy on Bofeili, but a video on their site mentions "Sierria" derailleur. The only thing I can find with that name online are Schwinn products.

 

[grench]

@bearhugman would you post some pics of your bike? Derailer, display, rims, motor , and headset?

Thanks in advance.

 

[grench]

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
There are plenty of pictures here...

 

[bearhugman]

Specs are sketchy on Bofeili, but a video on their site mentions "Sierria" derailleur. The only thing I can find with that name online are Schwinn products.

Derailleurs are shimano acera

 

[bearhugman]

Just an update on my Bofeilli sport aka Pioneer Alroad.

Have done nearly 1000 km so far. And had no problems at all.
I use the bike nearly everyday and charge it after each use. I generally can do over 30 km at full assist (level 5) and only use 1/5 of the battery charge. Or on one trip did over 50 km at assist (level 3) on the same 1/5. So I suggest a range of over 100 km would be easily achievable.

On the flat with no wind 30 kmh is easily achieved in highest level assist. And a with a little effort 40 kmh.

Hills are easy. I just drop down to the lower gears and climb. I'm sure if I pointed it at a tree it would climb it. I really need to emphasize how effortless hill climbing is. And from just 300 watts. Though the king meter does show peak watts up to just less than 500. Don't know why this happens as it should be legally restricted to 300.....

Speaking of the kingmeter it supplies all the info you need. Though its operation is not very initiative. Eg. You need to go through multiple levels of instructions just to reset trip meter.

I tried to upload pics but no luck....will try again at a later date.

 

[PowerMe]

Markups in lots of industries are far above what one would expect.

Fine jewelry, for instance, has a markup of at least 5x. Furniture has a markup of 3x to 4x. So many items have huge markups, far above 200%. Not saying whether that's right or not, but it's capitalism.

Just look at the cost of airline tickets. The person sitting next to you on a flight may have paid half the amount you paid or they could have paid more.

Optibike is charging what they believe people will pay for the "optibike" product, even if that product is actually worth a fraction of what it costs the consumer. Fortunately, with tools like the Internet and global markets, one can often find a similar or even the same product at a lower price.

 

[stevenast]

Markups in lots of industries are far above what one would expect.

Fine jewelry, for instance, has a markup of at least 5x. Furniture has a markup of 3x to 4x. So many items have huge markups, far above 200%. Not saying whether that's right or not, but it's capitalism.

Just look at the cost of airline tickets. The person sitting next to you on a flight may have paid half the amount you paid or they could have paid more.

Optibike is charging what they believe people will pay for the "optibike" product, even if that product is actually worth a fraction of what it costs the consumer. Fortunately, with tools like the Internet and global markets, one can often find a similar or even the same product at a lower price.

Totally agree with everything you said there. I think what consumers of ebikes need is an invoice price, like the auto industry... and beyond that, actual numbers with chargebacks and whatever other gimmicks they use factored in, to get an authentic wholesale price.

 

[PowerMe]

Invoice price on cars is also a fantasy, full of marketing hype. The real cost is below that, for sure. No one is going to disclose their true cost of goods to the purchaser, the best anyone can do is figure out what they think it's worth and negotiate from that point.

 

[J.R.]

Totally agree with everything you said there. I think what consumers of ebikes need is an invoice price, like the auto industry... and beyond that, actual numbers with chargebacks and whatever other gimmicks they use factored in, to get an authentic wholesale price.

Auto dealers get away with it in a very sinister way. Sure they are sort of being honest, wink-wink. When you are told or shown the invoice, it is the invoice for that vehicle. What they don't tell you is the kick-back the dealers get at end of year from the manufactures. That kick-back isn't just a number given to all dealers, there are so many variables that make up that number, I couldn't begin to list them all. Some are units sold, market and meeting sales goals in previous years. And the kick-back percentage goes up at higher goal levels, it's not a one for one deal. There is really no way of really knowing what a car truly cost a dealer unless you could take an accountant in to look at a dealer's financials. This isn't talked about because of the many "buying services", they are part of the scheme too. Go to a dealer (ebike or auto) make the best deal you can, purchase within your budget, don't look back and enjoy your ride!

 

[Bike_On]

You mean aka Opibike Allprofit!

Re: watts, peak output is always higher than nominal rating.

If a company can make a good profit selling this for $1700 US in NZ, I'm guessing it costs about $900 US to the dealer. That means Optibike takes a 200% or more markup on this product!

In a larger sense, the fact that they can get away with this shows how high the markups are across the board in this industry.

I have to call you out a bit ,here SteveN.

First, you are claiming Optibike of false advertising their power of 500W as a peak result. here are results from an owner in a thread:

Don't know if this helps any...
Just went for a ride and here is the wattage the display read at each level of assist. I rode on flat ground and kept a peddle cadence of around 85rpm. Here are the peddle assist levels and watts.
1=83watts, 2= 170watts, 3= 260watts, 4=385watts, 5=513watts

They advertise 500W because it gives 500W in level 5, with a good charge I assume. That is a nominal, steady state value you would see on flat ground.

Second, you seem to make a bullseye attach on a small, upstart, US company, who offers their first "low cost" product and you question their profit motives? You are the only member I have seen on this forum, so far, to make such a claim in 2-3 posts, about any company. Is not Haibike seeking a profit and trying to be solvent? Currie too? I don't get the knee jerk reaction to a 3k bike.?.