Optibike mid drive

If the stakes is high enough i will go to australia....I got it on my list of places i want to go anyway.

He runs just a crystalite 5304 on his 10k stealth?

I can bring what i want?

for atleast 4k bet i will go to australia....

HIllhater can i sleep on your couch?

Lets do a 10 mile swirvy course...i vote for long swirvy course.

Kepler....Send me a proposed course and your stakes...i will come to you. Screw it.

Oh and please shoot me if you ever see me riding on something that cost 10k with a name like "stealth bomber" or "stealth fighter"

I hate to tell you buddy...but a lot of sphere people are probably chuckling right now at how silly you look...spending so much money on something with such a silly name....like a child's toy or something. I know i am chuckling.

ANd besides for chuckling....I am allowed for my opinion..and you asked for it so i will keep giving.

After all i was called a sucker for buying an opti on this same thread...and i didnt get all snooty...

No reason to be snooty. We all got access to the same hardware and the same info...
 
Woooo! let's get this race going, I can already tell it will be intense from the trash talking going on. The only good way to do it is pink slips in this sort of competition :mrgreen:
 
No kepler i dont want to get personal...

At this point i feel my ego was damaged by u and i want to race.

I am really pretty set on coming to australia to race.

We will call it "The Rumble Down Under"

I want to do twisty swirvies with you and see what kind of metal your made of. Also i want to see what kind torque you get out of that hubby...and if the thing falls over with all that weight when you corner.

Pinks sounds good to me.


But i will only keep that bomber for 2 weeks before i sale it (i kept the opti 3 weeks)

I will come race it, take it, ride it, do some site seeing on it, bring it home, bash it here....and then sale it...I heard you can get 10k for one of those bombers stateside...the guys on optigroups are snapping them up like hot cakes....despite the opinion i posted over there...your the one who had to repost it and bring up the subject here.You'd think you want to keep me quiet knowing how i feel about the bomber.
 
Kepler said:
extreeme,

totally agree everyone is entitled to their opinion. Its the miss informed opinions that I have trouble dealing with. Also your "sucker buy" comment is quite frankly insulting to anyone who has ever purchased a Stealth. OK, you have apologised. I trust it was sincere.

Extremegreenmachine: You can do a lot with the new 16lb crystallite if you dont mind that weight in your rear....probably build yourself a better stealth in a weekend if you have a good budget and can risk using lipos...
Click to expand...
Lets not get too carried away here, but please, get serious. Thankfully most people on this forum are having a bit of chuckle. I need to lighten up and do the same.
Click to expand...


Ok Kepler...what a hypocrit accusing me of getting personal....i am asking you to put your money where your mouth is.

Anyway i dont like the way you quote me...you chop and choose..i dont like that...i just read the entire post you butchered and it was all correct (and your right i type it fast without thinking) ...you should quote me whole...that was all good stuff i wrote about the stealth...and you had to pick a few lines out of that to try to discredit me? Well ok lets just focus on those two lines.

Ok after i apologized you ...you said above...

So lets do this....so you dont think its possible to get stealth like performance with the new $130 (wholesale)16lb crystallite with lipos? How bout we race for 4k my 16lb crystallite non supsension mountain bike with lipos, against a stock unmodified stealth bomber...for 4k...in your back yard...

I can understand why your sore...the fact that a $130 dollared motor could even put up a fight to your 10k monster bomber...but dont blame the messenger. Its the chinese invasion and everyone pays....

Why dont you put your money where your mouth is since i am talking all this foolishness. Since i am spreading "misinformation" why dont you just take my dumb money?

Or at least please explain how i misinformed....and how i could not even come close to stock stealth performance on a weekend build with the new 16lb crystallite? But your not going to take my money because its not worth the hassle.

Do you want to know how many hundreds of thousands of dollars i have made by taking dumb money...just making good bets like i am offering you?? If you got the chance at "dumb money" you should take it....i learned that playing poker. Now that online poker is dead in USA i need to make some side bets. Also i need to international travel more because then i will be able to play online poker which pays for the trip guaranteed so australia fits in perfect....lots of juicy live games there because of that hatchem fellow. I use to spend 10k on entry fees on any given sunday...ever sunday. Making a 4k bet with you is what i call "chump change". So thats my standing.

And i am sorry to push my ethics on you, but poker players resolve their grievances with side bets. It makes sense to us.

A race is what this situation calls for after you insulted me for no reason. Even after i apologized to you and all your stealth bomber clan you insulted me....i was playing nice....now you should put your money where your mouth is... Its better than banter or fighting....so just name your terms and stake. :?:
 
Is this a good deal? What is a 600 T Optibike? How many Volts/ Amps is the battery? Motor Wattage? The ad doesn't give any real specs. Can the old internal batteries be removed? How much modification can be done and will it accept a new 36 v 10 amp LIPO system?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Optibike-600T-Electric-Bike-/160585946593?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2563ab15e1
 
John,

Read how Keplar insulted me for no reason.....and baited me by mentioning one line I posted in another forum regarding stealth from thousands of lines i wrote over there. I even apologized for my words over there. I think its appropriate to challenge him to a race after he says he and other es'ers are chuckling at me for the misinformation with no explanation....."misinformation" which i was willing to put money on. I find it quicker to put money on something rather than argue about it...

George,

NO that is not a smoking deal because of the ni-mh batteries. Is its basically a standard opti machine like they sale today..36 volt..capable of 850 watts with lame battery. You can buy one new for like 6k with that nimh configuration if i am remembering correctly. Call craig over at opti and he will help you.

It will be very hard for you to get a lipo pack to fit and then your machine is going to be highly experimental.

Switching out the nimh batteris IMO would be a necessity to have a nice ride...you could have opti do it but it will cost you $1600 plus shipping back and forth to Boulder and way your over 2k...

Also that machine does not have the rohloff drive...a real nicety on that machine.

I have heard there is not much difference between motor and controller on those older units...so you should get same speed etc (opti told me they simply changed performance claims on website...no longer afraid of legal ramifications of offering fast machine).

But your only problem is it will have the older metal planetary gear set which are even noisier than the gear set i tested.

So no its not a good deal. If i were you and your serious about an opti...wait out for another 7k steal for one with a rohloff...i am sure they will come around again. Unless your idea is to soup of the opti to 72 volts and plan on pulling everythign else out anyway. There is a guy who did this on the optiforums called usv...he rides with a 30lb lifepo4 brick on his back but thats another wacky story :D
 
Bike was purchased and fitted for a MAN who is approx 6'2".
Motor was acting funny while pedaling so Optibike rebuilt under warranty on 9/13/10. I had a local bike shop (Eriks bike Shop) remove/ship/reinstall motor locally as Optibike did not want entire bike shipped. Bike has a twist throttle installed, chris king headset, fox forks, fox shocks, avid brakes, sram derailler & frame has li-ion battery that was upgraded and believed to still be under warranty. The aux battery is ni-mi and warranty status is unknown.
Click to expand...
:D
 
oh woops...yeah in that casebike is great deal....I thought George said he wanted to updgrade the existing batteries to lipo...it already has lipo! No need to swap out the internal battery...but external battery would be a breeze to swap out with lipos.

Not much of a difference between the 600 and new bike performance wise etc. Just noisier because of metal gears inside the planetary gear box. I have heard that from several sources including Craig at opti.

Yeah i would say that bike is a deal given it has upgraded pack that like i said costs $1600....man people are unloading their optis cheap lately. Might have to take back what i said about resale value...seems to only apply when buying used optis :) .....guys are losing their butts who buy new optis and then sell them a few years later at close to half the new cost.
 
If you have basic mechanical skills you can do it but doesnt seem too easy...maybe an hour or two job...you need to take off the bottom bracket motor assembly so its not just removing a panel...you should join the optigroups and ask there...they got a few members there who have done it and have pictures etc.....USV over there is one guy you can talk too.
 
georgefromvt said:
How difficult is it to remove the internal batteries? Thanks.
Click to expand...

In the Optibike group Jim_Kirk has posted a step by step with large format pictures every step of the way, ask him for the link or search the group but it must be a year or two old.
 
Here is a link for you with USV man tearing the internals out of his bike for a 72 volt upgrade:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15551

Replacing the battery on an optibike thread with pics:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7719&start=0

Jim Kirk from the optigroups has really nice collection here of pics here detailing disassembly of the opti:

http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/850XLiInternals/
 
There are a lot of good pics in Jim kirk's photo base...

With his permission i am going to post some links here so you can get a sense of the quality of the optibike...i stand by my original claim that this thing is a piece of solid engineering work:

Unpacking the opti...here it is how it comes from the factory to your house:

http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/Arrival/

Jim's optibike addons:

http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/Opti850XLiAddons/


Details of replacing battery:

http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/Opti_elecrical/

Details of how to install a Rohloff on a opti with deraillers....i highly recommend this mod:

http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/RohloffInstall/
 
Got to be honest. There is a bike for every person in the world and their type of riding. Including several different bikes for the rider who does a little of this and a little of that. To compare self built hub motor bike to optibike is like comparing Kia to new v6 camaro. Different period. You can even use really high quality mtb bikes but mounting batts will throw it off. I think this thread had good intentions and got totally side tracked. Just my opinion but from what I read guy didn't get a chance to get over learning curve of bike. Sounds like he let other peoples opinion distract him from enjoying the bike and those epic climbs/views he was lusting over. I think you should try everything if that's what you want but give yourself enough time on each and log as much information as you can.
 
es2150 said:
Got to be honest.
Click to expand...

es2150 said:
To compare self built hub motor bike to optibike is like comparing Kia to new v6 camaro.
Click to expand...

ha!
that's not exactly honest.
maybe if a kia was faster & could out drag a camaro.
the honest comparison would be with maybe an old v6 camaro.
as in old old urt, old trek Y frame.
but at leest ur assessment is more on target than opti corporate liking it to a ferrari. :roll:

same goes with the faulty tesla comparison.
that would hold more water IFFF tesla went with a new build of an old lotus super7 (perhaps even a six).
AAAND (not just *or*) expect people to fork over 10X as much by asking a cool million bux for the privilege.
so as to give it the requisite cachet required to overwhelm sound judgment.
get u to look past the obvious & not ponder too long or hard over its antiquated underpinnings.
i mean, if it's oot rageously oot of this world expensive it just gots to be good, right?

not to say there's anything wrong with a seven or camaro (old or new), wouldn't mind having either.
but no way do they fetch ferrari 6-figure prices.
 
es2150 said:
Got to be honest. There is a bike for every person in the world and their type of riding. Including several different bikes for the rider who does a little of this and a little of that. To compare self built hub motor bike to optibike is like comparing Kia to new v6 camaro. Different period. You can even use really high quality mtb bikes but mounting batts will throw it off. I think this thread had good intentions and got totally side tracked. Just my opinion but from what I read guy didn't get a chance to get over learning curve of bike. Sounds like he let other peoples opinion distract him from enjoying the bike and those epic climbs/views he was lusting over. I think you should try everything if that's what you want but give yourself enough time on each and log as much information as you can.
Click to expand...


Here is the thing.

I got a steal of a deal on that 850r optibike, and bought it and gave it a fair shake. Saying that i didnt is frankly silly. How long does it take to know whether you like your ebike or not? One year? Once you buy omething and call it yours...that is pretty big commitment...you can research it to death or even take it on a 15 minute test ride...but 3 days of ownership if you ride it until its dead every day will tell you real truth.

#1 i need a longer range than the stock optibike offers...and at the time i owned my opti there was not an extended battery offered...and if there is it costs like 1.5k.

I put 300 miles on the bike.... probably more than most optibike owners probably put on one in a year. But unlike most optibike owners i was fully aware of all the alternatives and diy options.

I knew within the first 3 days i wasn't going to keep the bike (a fact well documented on this thread)...the opti just didnt add up at all...not only performance per $$$...but did not even outperform my existing bikes...not even in terms of efficiency which i thought would be the strong point of a mid drive optibike. In short i was disappointed...i value high speed in my expensive ebike...and this one did not deliver high performance or outstanding efficiency or range. IIn fact it did kind of a belly flop.....and i gave it every chance to change my mind...and it didnt. At the point i sold it i was all done riding it...worked out perfect.

And at the time all i was comparing it too is bmc powered hub bikes...which are very slow compared to the bikes i am testing now. BMC hub bike...out performs the opti in almost all comparisons except for very steep hill climbing....then just bring in a DD and it will bust ass in that. The new crystallite for example a 16lb hub is like riding a small motorcycle compared to my bmc...yeah the weight is a drawback...but other than that...for $150..thats a lot of thrill per $.

Also i was believing web hype...i believed the 32mph on the opti website...in fact my bike went 22mph without pedaling...and with pedaling hard i may be able to get it to 26mph....pedaling hard!!!

The noise was an unexpected suprise...and a big letdown. It turns out i can not stand irritating motor noise coming from my ebikes...the noise alone was a deal breaker for me....and i never knew that about myself.

Its not like your able to go out and test ride an optibike before buying one. Most optibike owners go into the deal with their eyes shut...all you can do is research it on the web...unless you are going to travel to boulder for a test ride. Also you got to be careful what you write if your an optibike owner...optibike parts arent cheap...and your completely Dependant on opti to get good pricing and get your parts timely when your bike does break.

The sad part of it is going out riding with friends...is the "$12,000 optibike" even with pedaling could not keep up with a $500 lead acid powered ego vehicle "craigslist special"....and it was downright embarrassing. Optibike was the slowest bike in my ebike stable... So yeah...in that way i gave into peer pressure...many of my friends at this point own electric bikes (a lot thanks to me)....and it got to a point where i was evading the question on how much this new bike cost. And in terms of the view...i found out the hard way that any DD hub motor will beat out the opti in very steep hill climbs....as proved by bmx dudes 9c which climbed slackers at a staggering 27mph (radar gunned) , the same hill the optiibike would chug up at 5mph....plus by the way...i wouldnt even attempt that hill on an unwarrantied opti.

Which leads to: regarding selling it so quickly...i started having doubts...on whether i made a real stupid move by picking up this "steal of a deal"....what happens if #1 the bike breaks down after the warranty period (my bike had 3 months left on its warranty) I am completely at the mercey of a boulder company to provide parts and fix it...and #2 what if the bottom falls out of electric bike pricing because of the containers full of new $100 crystallite motors that i knew were on their way over....

It would have been nice to keep the optibike all summer for testing or whatever...but when you consider a replacement motor on one of those things is over 2k if it breaks after warranty....i really did not want the stress of owning one with the warranty expired. ...or trying to sell one with the warranty expired.

Also frankly i did not like the attitude and arrogance of "fellow optibike owners" over on the optibike forums....i figured if i had my head that far up my ass i better change hobbies fast....and give up on ebikes all together. You talk about peer pressure....reading that group made me question what weird demographic was i representing by owning an optibike? Would i start thinking like those guys after riding one for 2 years? Cant take that chance sorry. Sale that bitch now.

To put it short...i changed my mind about the optibike after owning one, riding one, and giving it a fair shake. I am allowed that freedom without even being deemed incompetent.

I found that i am much happier on a build your own bike....in so many ways.

And wait until you guys see what i am building with the money from the optibike sale....plan to see it at the top of pikes peek... :wink:
 
Every heard the joke bout Ferrari, drop them at the dealer on Monday and pick up for the weekend. Why else could you get any color you want with 2 - 5 thousand miles. Don't want anything to do with electric cars, ever driven a Z06. How bout BBC in just about anything? Good stuff, would I want to drive daily, no, but fun. Kinda like our toys here, fun. Gave my honest opinion, front drive is different than rear hub. Torque is great offroad. Or when you plant a foot and throttle out. Cant wait to see someone like timma's build come to reality. But till then guys with more choices will reap the benefits. I think extreme sold his rig cause he felt slow riding to trails. But normally guys always drive to trail head, gear up and climb. Just what I'm used to, I'm not going for a ride thru the European country side. For that I'll take cargo with lunch, cooler, and friends. Different needs, have different gear.
 
Yeah thats true I really value taking advantage of all the bike trails around here and using ebike like a small motorycle....and the countryside is beautiful in these parts....but even in the summer time chilly :mrgreen:

The new bikes i am building all have space to hold 40ah 48 volts worth of batteries...

Enough to go 100 miles when you want to...or to the top of pikes :) I guess its what opti that really got me to want to obtain such goals...but since i didnt get their on my opti i am getting their on my new rigs. :D

Optibike in fact wetted my lips for a tight looking rig that will get their fast and is designed for century type rides...remember that optiguy who came on this thread and started talking about doing 70 miles daily on a ebike? I thought why the hell am i not dong that? I dont got a regular job.

100 miles is a long way to go on a ebike...and it shouldnt be....there are road bikers who ride 100 miles every weekend. ON the right ebike you can do 100 miles in 4 hours no problem...i think we should do 100 mile meet ups...start a 100 mile ebike club...every sunday morning. I think that is the future of ebiking...and opti has the right idea to strive for a bike to obtain such a goal....problem i had is even if you could ride 100 miles on your opti every one else in your ebike club would be dragging on their brakes, rolling their eyes, stopped at every corner... waiting for you. :roll:
 
Rock on extreme, I think you did an awesome write up about bike and what you liked and disliked. Very informative and honest in your experience. Like I said in above post there are so many options for riders, different riding styles, different needs, I just hope something like a newer electric motorcycles can get into the game and build something for all around use. Only problem is they will probably look too much like a motorcycle and not a bike.
Forgot to mention, your buildup on your turner is what made me convert mine. It was so awesome, eventually I converted back to pedal for short runs back and forth in town but it was very cool
 
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