Hillhater
100 TW
extremegreenmachine said:
..and its small dia wheels helped a lot too .. remember that when you are planning your "bad ass" hub motor build.
Optibike mid drive
- Thread starter Green Machine
- Start date
..and its small dia wheels helped a lot too .. remember that when you are planning your "bad ass" hub motor build.
Green Machine
100 kW
Hillhater said:
Yeah that bike had 20 inch wheels and i love my 20 inch folder...i am thinking of actually doing a bmx build with some components and like 5 rolls of black duct tape.
I am inspired by a duct taped bike i saw on iliveforphysics youtube account in costa rica where he loud and proud duct taped the bike together.
I was thinking of a bmx bike shrouded in black duct tape from head to toe...the only thing that will be sticking out is the seat and a charge wire and an exhilary battery port....all else will be wrapped in duct tape.
It will be the anti-opti bike....a duct tape build. I am going to the other side.
kfong
100 kW
A smaller wheel would not of been a fair test for the 9C. This might be the reason it didn't overheat since both the BMC and Optibike had 26" wheels I assume. Still it was good to see some real life comparisions. I thought about putting a smaller wheel for the torque, but changing the bikes geometry would effect handling performance, not a good enough trade.
Hillhater said:
The optibike puts all its power through the normal bike chain the Rohloff is a geared hub so therefore there is no cassette or dérailleur the chain doesn't have to move up and down to change gear its all done inside the hub, the chain slipping was a problem on the early Opti bikes and the owner had to keep the dérailleur adjusted spot on to stop the thing from crunching under power, they also went through high quality bike chains very quickly too.
The change to the Rohloff is a big improvement as the chain doesn't move sideways, they can also use a stronger chain as it doesn't need to flex laterally as it doesn't move laterally so less chain wear, if you are not sure go check their website to see how they work, they are a beautiful unit but very expensive. When I used to ride a lot off road back in the day they would have been amazing as many off us suffered with chain skips and other dérailleur issues, pretty off putting when you are jumping or standing on the peddles going hard up hills, something I don't need to worry about these days :lol:
Hillhater
100 TW
Ok, i get where you are coming from,... but i dont see Rohloff as the ONLY option .
the are several other IG hubs and the Nuvinci that would also serve the same function
the are several other IG hubs and the Nuvinci that would also serve the same function
kfong
100 kW
I don't think the Nuvinci did well on high power ebike setups, heavy too as I remember reading. Nice concept though when I first saw it.
Hillhater said:
Green Machine
100 kW
Hillhater,
I listed for you coveniently in this thread all the best options for a ebike...rohloff, afline 11, alfine 8. THe nuvinci is too heavy...10 lbs.
The only problem with the alfine 8 is your high gear generally is not high enough for pedal assisting at 30mph...the rohloff because of its 500 percent gear ratio, you got a high gear where you can just barely still pedal at 3omph.
A really good combination on a ebike you can fit it on is an alfine 8 at a schlump planetary...with that set up can comfortably pedal at 40 mph and then some. Heck you could still pedal at 50 mph. However when you add up the price of those two units your nearly at 1k.
The rohloff is a really sweet solution for me because i have an ebike I ride in the sand on the beach (not the opti). The rohloff is the only shifter that has been proven to be reliable and maintenance free in abusive situations like that. I did exhaustive research on the igh's because of that bike.
The alfine 11 is very very intersting but not proven yet on how well it will hold up (just released).
On middrive bikes igh's are a really sweet add on. Remember you cant put a igh on a hub drive without going front wheel drive. Front wheel drive has its problems in a hub bike...for example front wheel locking up unexpectedly in the event of a dd freeze up and throwing you over the handlebars at high speed. Little things like that.
I listed for you coveniently in this thread all the best options for a ebike...rohloff, afline 11, alfine 8. THe nuvinci is too heavy...10 lbs.
The only problem with the alfine 8 is your high gear generally is not high enough for pedal assisting at 30mph...the rohloff because of its 500 percent gear ratio, you got a high gear where you can just barely still pedal at 3omph.
A really good combination on a ebike you can fit it on is an alfine 8 at a schlump planetary...with that set up can comfortably pedal at 40 mph and then some. Heck you could still pedal at 50 mph. However when you add up the price of those two units your nearly at 1k.
The rohloff is a really sweet solution for me because i have an ebike I ride in the sand on the beach (not the opti). The rohloff is the only shifter that has been proven to be reliable and maintenance free in abusive situations like that. I did exhaustive research on the igh's because of that bike.
The alfine 11 is very very intersting but not proven yet on how well it will hold up (just released).
On middrive bikes igh's are a really sweet add on. Remember you cant put a igh on a hub drive without going front wheel drive. Front wheel drive has its problems in a hub bike...for example front wheel locking up unexpectedly in the event of a dd freeze up and throwing you over the handlebars at high speed. Little things like that.
Green Machine
100 kW
I am getting flamed in another thread for my hill climbing videos being lame. He thinks i should take them down because even with bad knees he could beat us up these hills with just pedaling which is just BS.
We realized right after we shot them that the video did not do justice to how steep these hills were. For that reason i tried to explain in the thread how steep it was.
Does anyone have an idea how to capture steepness of a hill in video?
Does anyone know a way to measure steepness...so i could say this is 25 percent grade...etc?
We realized right after we shot them that the video did not do justice to how steep these hills were. For that reason i tried to explain in the thread how steep it was.
Does anyone have an idea how to capture steepness of a hill in video?
Does anyone know a way to measure steepness...so i could say this is 25 percent grade...etc?
extremegreenmachine said:
You can do it with a carpenters level and a ruler......
http://www.1728.com/gradient.htm
http://www.cactus2000.de/uk/unit/massgrd.shtml
I use one of these: http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/wixeydigitalanglegauge.htm
kfong
100 kW
Yeah it's tough to get a feel for the angle of a hill. Same problem with skiing. You sort of need a background with something familiar to show, such as a side view with the trees in the background giving you a vertical reference. Videos we took of double diamond runs from the top or bottom don't seem to present the actual steepness very well. Try it from the side with your camera, maybe a string with a weight to give you a vertical reference.
I’ve read that thread. I wouldn’t let them get to you. The title of the thread didn’t help. One bike design can’t really suit everyone. The Opitbike bike is great for what it does. When comparison is opened up to all the ebikes people have built, there is going to be conflicting views. People who are comparing it with their high power bikes are going to bash it, because it’s under powered. When a used car cost as much as this bike, people are not going to be that willing to see it for what it is. I think starting a new thread like you did here and presenting it as a review comes across more easily and less controversial. I do appreciated your review and found it very useful when I do my next build.
I’ve read that thread. I wouldn’t let them get to you. The title of the thread didn’t help. One bike design can’t really suit everyone. The Opitbike bike is great for what it does. When comparison is opened up to all the ebikes people have built, there is going to be conflicting views. People who are comparing it with their high power bikes are going to bash it, because it’s under powered. When a used car cost as much as this bike, people are not going to be that willing to see it for what it is. I think starting a new thread like you did here and presenting it as a review comes across more easily and less controversial. I do appreciated your review and found it very useful when I do my next build.
Optibike chose the rohloff for all the reasons already mentioned my post was simply inferring that the only option was to fit a geared hub, its an expensive unit but it its the very best, they are as smooth as butter and easily cope with the power of the Opti, the nuvinci has been unreliable on some drive setups and other geared hubs have snapped pawls and all sorts, Opti pitches itself at the high end and dont compromise on quality.Hillhater said:
From what I saw of the video with extremegreen riding up slackers peak, I would comment that it didn't appear that he had the seat adjusted for his leg length. I have an opti with just a few hundred miles on it, so I am not close to being informed as others, but I have been up some pretty steep hills and believe I went faster than what I saw in the video. I will try to find someone to video me going up some various inclines and report back. I got the opti for fitness, as I ride it about 20-30 miles at a time and have a Garmin Edge 800 to track my heart rate, etc. I'm 60 years old and have ridden bikes since a youngster, my present other bike is a Trek which I have ridden since the 80's. It's aluminum, not carbon fiber, and was probably $1,000 when I bought it in '82 or thereabouts. You all know worlds more than I do about home-builts and e-bikes in general, and are correct that the opti is an expensive purchase, but I like it and will know much more about it a year or two from now. In regards to the noise issue, mine has the plastic gears vs. metal that came previously, so noise is not an issue, but you can still hear hear it.
Green Machine
100 kW
Sb,
Thanks for joining and welcome to endless sphere.
Your right i havent changed the seat height since buying the bike and it would make sense to do so. I didnt even think of it.
I also think i was not in the right gear during that race and should have been climbing faster...but i knew the race wasnt going to be close one way or the other which is typical when ebikes race...this was a quarter mile climb. Also that incline is a lot steeper than it appears on the video
I am going back there and measuring it according to Miles advice. Also i will admit i am out of shape and not much of a peddler so i will lay off excuses.
Maybe something is wrong with my bike...i dont get the top speeds i am suppose to get. For example i cant get to 30mph even peddling my ass off. Maybe i just got a bad opti and thats why i got such a good deal on it...it is a 2010 850r not even a year old. Are you able to get to 30mph no problem?
Dont fret if you dont know much about e bikes in general this is a good place to learn.For example if you want someone to build you a nice 20amp hour 36 volt extension pack for your opti on the cheap you have come to the right place...you could even find the info you find here to build a pack yourself. Just post and people will help you through it.
It does sound like you are getting perfect use out of the opti as is, and i bet your 20-30 mile rides are much longer than 95% of ebikers rides on here. Lets see if it stands the test of time...
By the way my bike has the plastic gears as well...i am just use to quieter ebikes. I just like to represent i am in lance armstrong kind of condition when i wiz silently by makes me feel like superman....and optibike cant do that. If i added to my opti a front wheel hub drive i could...and then use the mid drive motor when climbing...id have the best of both worlds.
What area do you live? Do you got good hills there? Some other video would be great cuz apparently i am a lousy videographer especially on hills.
Thanks for joining and welcome to endless sphere.
Your right i havent changed the seat height since buying the bike and it would make sense to do so. I didnt even think of it.
I also think i was not in the right gear during that race and should have been climbing faster...but i knew the race wasnt going to be close one way or the other which is typical when ebikes race...this was a quarter mile climb. Also that incline is a lot steeper than it appears on the video
I am going back there and measuring it according to Miles advice. Also i will admit i am out of shape and not much of a peddler so i will lay off excuses.Maybe something is wrong with my bike...i dont get the top speeds i am suppose to get. For example i cant get to 30mph even peddling my ass off. Maybe i just got a bad opti and thats why i got such a good deal on it...it is a 2010 850r not even a year old. Are you able to get to 30mph no problem?
Dont fret if you dont know much about e bikes in general this is a good place to learn.For example if you want someone to build you a nice 20amp hour 36 volt extension pack for your opti on the cheap you have come to the right place...you could even find the info you find here to build a pack yourself. Just post and people will help you through it.
It does sound like you are getting perfect use out of the opti as is, and i bet your 20-30 mile rides are much longer than 95% of ebikers rides on here. Lets see if it stands the test of time...
By the way my bike has the plastic gears as well...i am just use to quieter ebikes. I just like to represent i am in lance armstrong kind of condition when i wiz silently by
makes me feel like superman....and optibike cant do that. If i added to my opti a front wheel hub drive i could...and then use the mid drive motor when climbing...id have the best of both worlds.What area do you live? Do you got good hills there? Some other video would be great cuz apparently i am a lousy videographer especially on hills.
I live in Shreveport, LA, so we have a mixture, but nothing like out West. I was in Crested Butte last summer- now those are steep grades! People get Opti's for various reasons and obviously, the guy you bought yours from probably hadn't thought it out thoroughly. I bought mine with the intention of using it for fitness. When I drop some weight and improve my cardio I might feel like riding the Trek on longer rides again, but for now I like being able to make it back home from 20+ mile rides. We get 100 degree days in the summer with equally high humidity, so a little breeze at 19-20 mph will help. Top speed on the flats for me is about 28-30, with a lot of leg. Bigger gear up front with original gear or smaller in back would probably see 30-35 easier. Opti goes for middle ground taking into consideration that for big hills the original gearing is fine. I was interested in top speed at first, then I figured cadence was more important, so I am using lower gears more now to maintain 60-90 cadence (actually gears 12-13 for slight hills, 14 for down hill). I try to keep heart rate in training zone, usually topping out around 145, which is about right for my age and conditioning (lack of, really). I try for daily rides but am happy if I get 6 out of 7. I do 40-50 mile days only if I do it 20+ at a time, morning and evening, about 75-90 minutes each ride. Optibike is evolving, so I expect yearly improvements. Under present administration, I expect gov't subsidies/rebates could come to e-bike doors everywhere. Big dogs get into the fray and prices will come down. Kind of like Voodoo PC selling out to HP. No more $10K niche hand-built gaming computers.
Green Machine
100 kW
Sb,
It sounds like your really getting use of that bike.
I dont know anyone who puts that kind of miles on an ebike on a weekly basis.That sounds like 250 miles a week.
I too have noticed that i tend to ride the opti more like a regular bike and get more exercise on it than i do on my hub bikes ...
Have you had any mechanical problems with your opti?
It sounds like your really getting use of that bike.
I dont know anyone who puts that kind of miles on an ebike on a weekly basis.That sounds like 250 miles a week.
I too have noticed that i tend to ride the opti more like a regular bike and get more exercise on it than i do on my hub bikes
...Have you had any mechanical problems with your opti?
Hillhater
100 TW
extremegreenmachine said:
Maybe that bottom bracket drive is not as well designed as you think it is. :wink:
My Aprilia BB drive is silent compared to that !
GrayKard
10 kW
extremegreenmachine said:
Yeah it's hard to capture it on video, looked pretty steep to me. One way to do it is to use a telephoto lens and shoot from a distance and that will compress and make it look more like what it is.
Easy to measure it. I bought a cheap device at Home Depot that measures slope in degrees then just convert to % using a chart I found online.
Gary
Hillhater
100 TW
extremegreenmachine said:
Map my ride will do it , or google maps.
"Have you had any mechanical problems with your opti?"
No, none yet. Under extended warranty, though. If I ride mine the most this year, (in an Opti contest), out of a group of about 8, I could get a free one next year to replace mine. It will probably take 7-9,000 miles to have a chance of riding the most miles. We'll see. I should be in better shape if I can achieve that.
No, none yet. Under extended warranty, though. If I ride mine the most this year, (in an Opti contest), out of a group of about 8, I could get a free one next year to replace mine. It will probably take 7-9,000 miles to have a chance of riding the most miles. We'll see. I should be in better shape if I can achieve that.
Green Machine
100 kW
Here is a pic on top of slacker hill with the winner of the race bmxed here on the forums.
The view up here is amazing 360 degrees. If they would have found this peek back in the day they would have known right away the earth is round.
The bmx bike was one one of 2 bikes out of 4 to make the climb without walking....and beat the opti bike in the background to the top.
The bmc hub was crushed. I dont know if a bmc is dependable or solid enough to make this climb without smoking...have to try it again with someone else's bmc.
We are thinking of doing a hill climb up this hill to this peek as a race this summer.
This peek alone would be enough for me to keep the optibike...it is around a 30 minute ride from my house and i would go up here every good day. But the problem is i now want to build a dd which has proven it can make the same climb at much cheaper price. For sure its not even worth risking trying to ride up here on a bmc. The big question now is if a dd motor could make this climb once or twice a week and still not fry. I feel the opti could...but if i am wrong...an engine failure on the opti would be catastraphic financially. I have been meaning to call opti and get a price on a replacement motor just to know....but one great thing about riding a hub motor to the top...is if you smoke a motor or controller they are easily replaceable at a very reasonable cost.
Remember the opti needs to be shipped to Boulder Colorado for any serious repair...or atleast the motor unit would be need to be shipped and its no easy job to remove that piece. Here is a pictorial of the bmc and the opt being crushed by heavy bmx es-eromobile. Bmxed claims his bike cost 1200 total to build....well in this race he beat a 12 thousand dollar bike in its strongest category...steep long hill climbing. Quarter mile steep steep grade. I dont think any mountain biker could climb to this peek pedaling....thus the name slacker peek.
The view up here is amazing 360 degrees. If they would have found this peek back in the day they would have known right away the earth is round.
The bmx bike was one one of 2 bikes out of 4 to make the climb without walking....and beat the opti bike in the background to the top.
The bmc hub was crushed. I dont know if a bmc is dependable or solid enough to make this climb without smoking...have to try it again with someone else's bmc.
We are thinking of doing a hill climb up this hill to this peek as a race this summer.
This peek alone would be enough for me to keep the optibike...it is around a 30 minute ride from my house and i would go up here every good day. But the problem is i now want to build a dd which has proven it can make the same climb at much cheaper price. For sure its not even worth risking trying to ride up here on a bmc. The big question now is if a dd motor could make this climb once or twice a week and still not fry. I feel the opti could...but if i am wrong...an engine failure on the opti would be catastraphic financially. I have been meaning to call opti and get a price on a replacement motor just to know....but one great thing about riding a hub motor to the top...is if you smoke a motor or controller they are easily replaceable at a very reasonable cost.
Remember the opti needs to be shipped to Boulder Colorado for any serious repair...or atleast the motor unit would be need to be shipped and its no easy job to remove that piece. Here is a pictorial of the bmc and the opt being crushed by heavy bmx es-eromobile. Bmxed claims his bike cost 1200 total to build....well in this race he beat a 12 thousand dollar bike in its strongest category...steep long hill climbing. Quarter mile steep steep grade. I dont think any mountain biker could climb to this peek pedaling....thus the name slacker peek.
Green Machine
100 kW
Yeah your right regarding wheel sizes...
We will try to get some more bikes to do another challenge to get some more comparisons.
But if your looking for good hill climber...consider 20" tire.
We will try to get some more bikes to do another challenge to get some more comparisons.
But if your looking for good hill climber...consider 20" tire.
