I bought an Optibike Pioneer Allroad about two years ago, before I knew much about bikes. I've put >2000 miles on it all in New York City. It's been a fun ride with some hiccups, and over time I've upgraded virtually every component and learned a lot. I'm now thinking of selling it and building something from scratch that will better suit my riding style.
Apologies in advance for the massive text dump, I'm trying to resolve a host of questions all at once.
I have a closet full of tools and a stand, and I'm not bad at basic repairs, but I'm pretty far from being an accomplished mechanic. Ideally, I would put together something that will last a long time and can be upgraded as technology improves.
Price:
Willing to spend as much as $2000-3000 upfront, depending on how much I get for my old bike.
Environment:
I'm 6', 155lbs, and often haul stuff around, so figure a 160-175lb rider. I'm reasonably fit and like to put in a lot of effort at high cadence most of the time. The speed limit here in NYC is 25mph for cars (yeah, right), so anything above that is rather unnecessary. I have to climb some hills that are long, but not very steep, but the only serious "hills" are the various bridges that connect the boroughs (3-4% grade). Traffic is start-and-stop, so being able to get a quck start and maneuver around cars and obstacles is more important than maintaining a high top speed. The speed on the Allroad is limited to 20mph, which is basically fine, though I only get around 15mph on the ascents with a lot of effort.
While most ebikes are theoretically illegal here, you'll see a hundred delivery guys riding Chinese SLA hub-motor bikes every day. I've never had a problem with law enforcement.
Wishlist:
The aspects of the experience I would like to improve are:
Apologies in advance for the massive text dump, I'm trying to resolve a host of questions all at once.
I have a closet full of tools and a stand, and I'm not bad at basic repairs, but I'm pretty far from being an accomplished mechanic. Ideally, I would put together something that will last a long time and can be upgraded as technology improves.
Price:
Willing to spend as much as $2000-3000 upfront, depending on how much I get for my old bike.
Environment:
I'm 6', 155lbs, and often haul stuff around, so figure a 160-175lb rider. I'm reasonably fit and like to put in a lot of effort at high cadence most of the time. The speed limit here in NYC is 25mph for cars (yeah, right), so anything above that is rather unnecessary. I have to climb some hills that are long, but not very steep, but the only serious "hills" are the various bridges that connect the boroughs (3-4% grade). Traffic is start-and-stop, so being able to get a quck start and maneuver around cars and obstacles is more important than maintaining a high top speed. The speed on the Allroad is limited to 20mph, which is basically fine, though I only get around 15mph on the ascents with a lot of effort.
While most ebikes are theoretically illegal here, you'll see a hundred delivery guys riding Chinese SLA hub-motor bikes every day. I've never had a problem with law enforcement.
Wishlist:
The aspects of the experience I would like to improve are:
- Weight of bike / handling - The Allroad is 48lbs stock, which makes it a pain to carry on stairs, for example in the subway or visiting a walk-up apartment. It would be nice if I could take the bike on the subway without major effort if the battery dies or weather gets bad. I would happily trade power for agility, especially if it means being able to keep the bike upright at lower speeds, for example when traffic suddenly slows.
- Range - I can get 25-35miles out of the Allroad's 10.5ah 36v battery, mostly riding on PAS 3 (out of 5). Extending this range or increasing the power over this range would be nice.
- Acceleration/motor response - From what I can tell, the Allroad motor just uses a speed sensor that kicks in once you start pedaling. It stops a few seconds after you cease pedaling, or when you apply the brakes / pedal backwards, but there is a delay of a few seconds. This is less than ideal when trying to get a quick start in traffic or quickly adjust speed.
- Durability - While the aluminum frame has held up pretty well, the bottle mount battery pack has given me a fair amount of trouble. There are few shops that work on ebikes here, and they charge an arm and a leg, so a widely used model like the BBSHD with interchangeable parts is ideal.
- Fit / Comfort - A high priority is finding a frame that fits well and allows me to maintain a somewhat upright position, which I prefer for visibility and comfort.
- I'm thinking of starting with a rigid steel frame like a Surly Krampus. Suspension seems like more weight than it's worth, since the largest drop I'll hit is a 1ft curb, so I'm mostly dealing with potholes and crummy pavement. A suspension seat and/or seatpost like I have currently would probably handle bumps well enough.
- To this I would add a mid-drive motor like a BBS02/BBSHD. Since I don't need a ton of power, it might make sense to go with the 500W and shave off a few kilos, but I could be convinced to go to 750W if the power difference is worth it. It looks like the 1000W version doesn't weigh any more, so I might as well get that. A torque sensor seems like a huge improvement in terms of smoothing out acceleration and increasing responsiveness.
- To further reduce weight of the bike and improve handling, I'm tempted to go with a backpack battery setup. I'm always wearing a backpack anyway, and it seems like this would also reduce theft risk and need for suspension, make it easier to carry the bike, and reduce weight as the battery wouldn't need so much protection from shocks and the elements. Upgrading to 48v seems to make sense to improve range/power without adding too much weight.
- I'd like to try using a Gates belt drive, as the idea of not having to deal with chain maintenance or grease on my pants is very appealing.
- For transmission, I'm a big fan of the Shimano Alfine 8 internal hub I put on the Allroad, so I think I will stick with IGH. For If I boost power, it seems like it might be worth saving some money and getting a cheaper and less finicky Nexus 3, since I probably don't need so many gears to maintain good cadence.
- I'd like to go with pretty wide (say 3") tires to get some cushioning, defend against potholes and grates, and compensate for the lack of suspension.