Orbea Gain E-Road Bike
- Thread starter Rincon
- Start date
Jaxx
Well-Known Member
Mike, if it's anything like power readout for watts output from my cranks? It will jump about. I was very surprised when I first installed the device. Thought output would be much smoother. Apparently that's not the case, even for elite athletes.
Roxlimn
Member
I would say that for many roadies, the only way they'd get an electric assist bike is if it topped at 45 kph or 28 mph. This would classify it as a Class 3 - which would make it a moped or scooter for registration purposes. I'd bother to get the license if I wanted the ebike, but the speed limits are non-negotiable for me. I simply won't get an ebike that limits itself to 32 kph on the flats when I already cruise at 35 kph on the flats with my normal road bike. It would feel weird and ungainly.
I think the Trek Domane+ is the current one for this, though I also would not balk at a lighter ebike with a smaller motor, so long as the cutoff is higher. It's got to be a Class 3.
The point of it isn't even to go that much faster. Since the point of a road bike is speed and sportiness, most people would keep it at Eco or lower for flats and descents, asking only for marginally higher power on climbs. The point isn't to go faster using the motor. The point is for the bike not to limit what you can already do on a normal bike.
I think the Trek Domane+ is the current one for this, though I also would not balk at a lighter ebike with a smaller motor, so long as the cutoff is higher. It's got to be a Class 3.
The point of it isn't even to go that much faster. Since the point of a road bike is speed and sportiness, most people would keep it at Eco or lower for flats and descents, asking only for marginally higher power on climbs. The point isn't to go faster using the motor. The point is for the bike not to limit what you can already do on a normal bike.
Yes but in the case of the motor output, isn't it just a simple volts x amps calculation? Why should volts or amps vary so much? Confused. There's also a graph in the app that shows consumption (w) and assistance. I assume that it's not measuring my pedaling input.
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Maybe it is. I'll have to try soft pedaling to see what the output is.
Jaxx
Well-Known Member
Next month I get my Obrea Gain. Will ride on the rollers and give you feedback. Much easier controlling pedal effort than on the road.
Zeek48
Active Member
As an older (71) roadie who is struggling to keep up with my 10-15 year younger ride buddies, I bought my Gain to help me stay with the group. If I could maintain 35 kph on the flats I wouldn't need or want an e assist bike. To have a bike that doesn't limit at 32kph one would need at least a 500w battery/motor which brings excess weight (45-50 lbs) as well. The Gain is slight heavier than my Roubaix and I could compensate for that by losing 5-10 lbs.
After 3 rides on my bike it is doing just what it is marketed as. It is assisting me to stay with the group on the climbs where I usually drop off. My gang naturally is giving the gears but in the end are all supportive. One guy who is 52 told me that he thought it was great I was still out there ebike or no ebike. He hopes he can do the same. I'm expirimenting with turning power off and on to save power when I need it. Can usually maintain 25-30 kph on the flats. Have used it to climb and into the wind. Many have left it in eco except to see what it would do in other levels. Sure does suck the power. I have done two 65 km rides with about 300m of elevation and one ride of 90 kms with 400 m of elevation of which I was on fumes when I pulled into the parking lot. Need the auxiliary battery to go much further.
Zeek48
Active Member
I'm not an electronic expert but yes I believe it is softwear that limits your speed. But your level of assistance will dictate your level of battery power so for more speed you will sacrifice battery life.
Zeek48
Active Member
Its difficult to gage your range but my expirience so far using the assist 1 or eco level is you will use about 25% of your power to travel about 25km of range which will give you ebikemotions suggested 100 kms. Faster or more climbing will drop your range. I rode 90 kms/400m on Sunday. I switched the battery off, on all downhills. If you are not doing 32+ downhill you are using power. I also rode about another 10 kms with battery off. At 80 kms my less than 25% battery indicator came on. The last 10kms I rode into a gusting wind of up to 30 kph. I switched to assist 2 and used my last 25% of power in that 10km. Ebikemotion/Orbea if you are following these forums we need those auxiliary batteries.
Roxlimn
Member
Yes. The battery life would have to be higher. The reason I think the Domane will see better sales is because of the bigger battery. For those who've already bought the speed-pedelec version of Giant's Road-E, most keep it at Eco nearly the entire time on flats, and off on descents. The assist there is meant mainly to counter the weight, or to give modest gains of 1-2 kph. A smaller motor could be a smidge lighter, but the main part of that weight is the 500 Wh battery, and that would be the same regardless of the motor. Roadies don't really care that much about the road clearance, so the main issue would be whether installing a smaller motor would really extend the range that much on same-energy batteries. That's a definite way for the Gain to go. Good climbing power, neutral flat cruising, and greater range is a good position on that market, IMO.
Zeek48
Active Member
You maybe right. The Domane is certainly a better looking bike than the Giant Road E. I definitely would have bought it over the Giant had it been available last year. I was getting 120km+ out of the Road E in eco and found it fun to ride and it did everything I wanted. I was just looking for something lighter and something that can be used as a regular bike as well thus the ebikemotion rear hub drive.
Jaxx
Well-Known Member
I concur the Domane is better looking over the Giant (I have new Domane SLR frame) equally the Obrea is an improvement in design over the Trek. BTW Zeek what is the speed limit of your Gain?
Zeek48
Active Member
32kph/20mph
Since you have both, what are your impressions from riding the Giant vs the Orbea?
I was reading on the Trek website that the Domane+ range is 50-60 miles when ridden in eco mode; same as the Gain. It must be only half as efficient as the range is the same but the battery is twice as large. I would not want to run out of battery power on a ride with it when faced with any significant hill climbing. Also having a single chainring is not too good, and the Bosch motor saps your strength as there's drag when pedaling while the motor is off, not to mention the bike weighs significantly more and costs significantly more too.
Zeek48
Active Member
My Giant E has a full Udi2 group set thus a pretty good range to pedal with. The power in eco I would suggest is similar to Assist 2 on my Gain. Assist 2 as I have mentioned previously really sucks the battery power. I can get upwards of 130 kms range in eco on the Giant because of the bigger battery. It is a fun bike to ride. I bought it last year in Canada only because it was the only like a road bike available. What I really wanted was the Gain or something similar because of the weight etc. I still want to be able to ride without assist which you can do on the Giant but not easily. The Giant is also reasonably priced vs other road ebikes. Was hoping to buy a Gain in Canada this summer. Actually had it on order but was notified a couple of weeks back they will not be available until 2020. I was going to sell the Giant but will now ride it another season. The other options in Canada are the Pinerello or Bianchi but both are very very expensive. The Gain while not inexpensive compared to regular bikes is more reasonably priced. The Gain feels like a regular road bike withe same range of gears but the assist is there for when you want/need it. The Giant while fun to ride feels like a heavy ebike. I did a flat 35 km slow roll ride with my wife yesterday and rode at about 25kph without turning on the power. Very little difference than riding my Roubaix.
Why not make a trip to the US and buy a Gain there? You might have trouble getting it serviced in Canada though until they are carried there.
I dropped my level 2 power on my Gain to 85%, as I thought it gave too much assistance and thus used too much battery.
Jaxx
Well-Known Member
Have you noticed much difference Mike?
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