The Latest and Greatest from Optibike, R15

[Bike_On]

I keep up with the latest offering from Optibike, since I owned a couple of them from 2007-2012. These bikes are the cat's meow, but pricey. The original FULL suspension (All FOX), high speed (+28MPH), large battery (1000 Whr, full hydraulic disk brakes, integrate front head light, and high power/wt ratio. This was done back in 2007.

Here is their latest offering.... seems to have it all except PAS and a rear integrated light.

https://optibike.com/optibike-r15/

The New 2017 Optibike R15

• New MBB with tougher gears gives you 175Nm of torque
• New Digital Display
• New 48V 22.5Ah 1080Wh Higher Capacity Battery
• 5 Power Levels gives you more flexibility for riding style and speed
• Torque Control Throttle gives you easier control while riding

I do not know of a mid drive with more torque or power. Because it is throttle only, people do hate on the Opti offerings. Does it make that much of a difference?

 

[SuperGoop]

Wow, impressive, but at 1500W and 33mph top speed, I don't think it is classed as a bicycle anywhere. The US$13,990 price tag is also impressive.

 

[Bike_On]

f it had PAS and a limited speed at 28mph, it would qualify like all the Bosche speed mid- drives. But it would accelerate much faster. 175 vs 60 nm of torque, and 1500 vs 350w of power.

 

[SuperGoop]

175 bs 60 nm of torque. 1500 bs 350w.

What does that mean?

 

[Bike_On]

Typo, sorry about that.

Bosch speed bikes have 60nm or torque and 350W ave power, likely 500-700W peak however.

The Opti 15R has 175nm of torque and 1500W ave power, maybe more for peak. That will accelerate much faster.

To maintain 28mph requires the full 350W Bosch output, leg power, a flat road with a good surface and smooth tires and a crouch position. The 34mph advertised Opti speed is upright and throttle only. Remember, power increases exponentially with speed due to air resistance.

My thought was the same R15 with a mode to limit to 28mph, but the same acceleration and PAS vs throttle control.

Would the ebike community then accept Optibike as a class3 pedelec or still consider it a motorcycle?

 

[SuperGoop]

A pedelec can go up to 28 mph, but you can NOT have throttle at all. If you throttle, the max speed is only 20 mph. None of that matters anyways because the motor on the Optibike is 1500W, which exceeds the 750W maximum.

If Optibike is restricted to 750w and 20 mph with throttle (or 28 mph without throttle), then it can be a classed ebike. But then it is no longer special.

 

[Bike_On]

You are right... per the un-official ebike laws and propaganda of classifications, the power limit is 1hp, 750W... I forgot that detail.

 

[Bike_On]

Wow, impressive, but at 1500W and 33mph top speed, I don't think it is classed as a bicycle anywhere. The US$13,990 price tag is also impressive.

Classification doesn't make it less of a bicycle. Many bikes ride 30-35mph with ample safety, good brakes, stability. If the gears are high enough and one is still pedaling to add power... It's a bike to me.

Being this is a High Speed Thread on an Electric Bike forum, all 28mph+, non- pedelecs , with working pedals, still qualify I suppose.

 

[jazz]

Nice bike, no where near worth $13k

 

[RoadWrinkle]

Very impressive electric motorcycle with pedals. The engineering is great, but why not just buy a motorcycle if this is what you want? Electric bicycles need to be bicycles first. What is the point if you are not helping to move the bike with your pedaling? I don't think a bike with a throttle is really a bicycle.

 

[Bike_On]

Very impressive electric motorcycle with pedals. The engineering is great, but why not just buy a motorcycle if this is what you want? Electric bicycles need to be bicycles first. What is the point if you are not helping to move the bike with your pedaling? I don't think a bike with a throttle is really a bicycle.

RoadW,

There is nuance here. The bike has 5 levels of assist. Select the lowest level and the rider will have less assist than several bike on this forum. Did it become a bicycle again, ass of a sudden?
Second, if the bike was PAS only, and only has top assist of 1500W, and no throttle, is it still a bicycle?

Let us agree on this, throttle or PAS, so long as the gearing allow power transfer from legs to wheel, at any speed, it is a bicycle. Yes?

 

[Bike_On]

The bike is not for everyone. The 14 Rohloff gearing makes it more efficient than a hub motor on and off road especially, but one has to go through the gears. - tradeoff of ease and convenience for efficiency.

If I could afford it, it would be a great high speed commute option to get me to work faster on days the legs are tired. Instead of averaging 20-21mph on my Focus mid drive, this would average 28-30 mph, or a little less if not pushing it.

As for price...many of the top end ebikes are $6-7k already, have high end hydl brakes, fox shocks. Opti has double most battery capacity ($1500) a custom frame ($500), dual headlight, rear Fox shock ($500). More so, the engineering to handle 1500W in the motor ($1500) , a Rohloff hub upgrade ($1k). That takes you to $11-12k. The bike should cost 9-10k IMO.

 

[TWBKR]

I keep up with the latest offering from Optibike, since I owned a couple of them from 2007-2012. These bikes are the cat's meow, but pricey. The original FULL suspension (All FOX), high speed (+28MPH), large battery (1000 Whr, full hydraulic disk brakes, integrate front head light, and high power/wt ratio. This was done back in 2007.

Here is their latest offering.... seems to have it all except PAS and a rear integrated light.

https://optibike.com/optibike-r15/

The New 2017 Optibike R15

• New MBB with tougher gears gives you 175Nm of torque
• New Digital Display
• New 48V 22.5Ah 1080Wh Higher Capacity Battery
• 5 Power Levels gives you more flexibility for riding style and speed
• Torque Control Throttle gives you easier control while riding

I do not know of a mid drive with more torque or power. Because it is throttle only, people do hate on the Opti offerings. Does it make that much of a difference?

Actually, I only will consider E-bikes that can be throttle only. I want the option to go full pedal only, throttle only, or any combination.

 

[Ken M]

I keep up with the latest offering from Optibike, since I owned a couple of them from 2007-2012. These bikes are the cat's meow, but pricey. The original FULL suspension (All FOX), high speed (+28MPH), large battery (1000 Whr, full hydraulic disk brakes, integrate front head light, and high power/wt ratio. This was done back in 2007.

Here is their latest offering.... seems to have it all except PAS and a rear integrated light.

https://optibike.com/optibike-r15/

The New 2017 Optibike R15

• New MBB with tougher gears gives you 175Nm of torque
• New Digital Display
• New 48V 22.5Ah 1080Wh Higher Capacity Battery
• 5 Power Levels gives you more flexibility for riding style and speed
• Torque Control Throttle gives you easier control while riding

I do not know of a mid drive with more torque or power. Because it is throttle only, people do hate on the Opti offerings. Does it make that much of a difference?

I have PAS / Pedelec ebikes from Haibike with both Yamaha and Bosch drive systems and the programming clearly has flaws such that not every rider type and ability is going to get the assist they want and/or need for every riding situation. I think marketing and engineering egos have driven the industry towards PAS systems that may never succeed as well of providing the assist wanted as well as the simple tried and true throttle so maybe Optibike / Jim Turner realized this and abandoned PAS on his latest offering. Makes sense to me.

 

[bob armani]

Nice bike, no where near worth $13k

Yeah 13k is a hefty price to pay for any ebike, however, the Pivot Shuttle and Orange Alpine ES are almost right up there with this one IMO.

 

[Bike_On]

I have PAS / Pedelec ebikes from Haibike with both Yamaha and Bosch drive systems and the programming clearly has flaws such that not every rider type and ability is going to get the assist they want and/or need for every riding situation. I think marketing and engineering egos have driven the industry towards PAS systems that may never succeed as well of providing the assist wanted as well as the simple tried and true throttle so maybe Optibike / Jim Turner realized this and abandoned PAS on his latest offering. Makes sense to me.

Ken- Agree with the response of the throttle. The plus to PAS is no throttle on long rides, and wrist cramping. It can be managed. I also ride a system that has BOTH, so I rid ein PAS and go to the throttle for special circumstances.

 

[Bike_On]

Yeah 13k is a hefty price to pay for any ebike, however, the Pivot Shuttle and Orange Alpine ES are almost right up there with this one IMO.

Only a couple years ago and 7-8K was a ridiculous price for an ebike. Now there are several high end offerings at 7k and up. 13k is up there, but on sale or buy a reconditioned and you pay 8-10k. At 29Ahrs ....you get a lot of lithium.

 

[Bike_On]

Very impressive electric motorcycle with pedals. The engineering is great, but why not just buy a motorcycle if this is what you want? Electric bicycles need to be bicycles first. What is the point if you are not helping to move the bike with your pedaling? I don't think a bike with a throttle is really a bicycle.

RW-

A PAS electric bike is a bike with a throttle as well...you just use your legs to apply a stimulus vs wrist.

 

[Ken M]

Ken- Agree with the response of the throttle. The plus to PAS is no throttle on long rides, and wrist cramping. It can be managed. I also ride a system that has BOTH, so I rid ein PAS and go to the throttle for special circumstances.

I agree with you response the programmed PAS drive systems do have the advantage of not having to retain a position on the throttle to get sustained assist but I know of some controllers like the Infineons from Grin that have a cruise feature if the throttle is held steady for more that 5 seconds (the assist stays at that level even if the throttle is released and continue to hold there until an ebrake is applied or the throttle is utilized again.

I'm kind of a believer that simplicity wins in the long run. The PAS systems utilize torque, cadence, speed, and/or even sometimes gearing (as done with the Polaris GST system) to determine the assist level provided. That's a lot of added complexity for something that still is not perfected. Don't get me wrong...I thin the PAS systems are good but I'm come full circle back the simplicity of a throttle because I always get the exact assist I want and I always remain pedaling because I want the exercise (sometimes I'm not even utilizing any assist).

 

[JRA]

As time goes on throttle's are not going to go away as more like Ken M figure out that it can be less complicated and allow for the most natural pedaling interface. The Grin CA3 cruise control feature really makes this work and I have mine set to the lowest 2 second hold time to take the best advantage of it. Easily tripped via blipping the throttle or the regen button but when activated it allows me to change my cadence/gear ratio at will consistent with the amount of effort/SOG I want to achieve. For me it is best for the higher cadences of road riding and using a DD hub for that purpose.

Also as I use Statorade in my DD hubs I don't experience the resistance while the power is off that others complain of. Although I have experienced it with other systems in the past without.

It is interesting though that Optibike offers no PAS on their high end "off road" model and throttle only. For off road use I prefer a TA mid drive system for the lower cadence that I seem to use for that purpose as well as the gearing available, but I also have a throttle that I use for starting out mainly til I can activate the assist by pedaling. Although I have plenty of off road miles on motorcycles with throttles I don't think that having only that available would work for me.