Would you trade your home built bike for an optibike?
- Thread starter Green Machine
- Start date
Alan B
100 GW
The primary reason RC chargers are 12V in is twofold. One is for use in the field, the other is UL listing of AC powered items costs thousands. The RC market is very price competitive.
MadRhino
100 GW
Now the thread is turning to battery technology. Well, we all know RC batteries must be treated with care, and it's no news that one can burn his house with them. I burnt a house with a gasser motocross, and I did'nt sue Yamaha or Shell for my stupid mistake. We can't say either, that the oil companies take grat care at how they ship their dangerous products in enormous quantities. Energy implies some danger level, usually in proportion with performance.
All this argueing look like only meant to keep this thread alive on Google, for everything have been said about the Optibike for a while. No matter how hard you try, no one will change his opinion about it. Most of us agree that it's a neat design well manufactured in America, and most also agree that it offers little performance and alot of noize for the price asked. It may suit some and I wish them, but not likely to find many enthusiasts here, where most are into building their own.
All this argueing look like only meant to keep this thread alive on Google, for everything have been said about the Optibike for a while. No matter how hard you try, no one will change his opinion about it. Most of us agree that it's a neat design well manufactured in America, and most also agree that it offers little performance and alot of noize for the price asked. It may suit some and I wish them, but not likely to find many enthusiasts here, where most are into building their own.
liveforphysics
100 TW
extremegreenmachine said:
Actually, it's the most dangerous LiCo 1st generation LiPo cell that I've ever evaluated. It's like they took a time machine back to the year 2000 to get the cells. Modern high-performance LiPo is down right safe in comparison.
The pack construction inside the case was also some pretty pretty cheesy stuff for a $2,000 pack. lol
tycreek
100 W
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 102
Trade my home assembled bike for an optibike? Yes, of course, without hesitation! Noise might drive me a bit nuts. But it would probably give me incentive to finish my other ebike assembly for quiet rides again.
I've 3 of those little 10Ah batteries that extremegreenmachine mentions. One is used daily for about 100 cycles now. The other 2 get used as a pair in parallel for longer rides. They're definitely the ticket in my book, but plugging in the charge cable still happens outside in a dutch oven.
Sort of surprises me that a small plug & play battery solution is still not easy to order. I'm happy to see that Optibike offers one and I hope they're making a good profit.
I've 3 of those little 10Ah batteries that extremegreenmachine mentions. One is used daily for about 100 cycles now. The other 2 get used as a pair in parallel for longer rides. They're definitely the ticket in my book, but plugging in the charge cable still happens outside in a dutch oven.
Sort of surprises me that a small plug & play battery solution is still not easy to order. I'm happy to see that Optibike offers one and I hope they're making a good profit.
Drunkskunk said:
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/7664-optobike-600t-test-ride-4.html
the world's most expensive URT ever built.
'The Ferrari of Ebikes'.............
a Ferrari with live-axel suspension.
extremegreenmachine's extremegreeneagerness to unload his opti on the first passerby with a paypal account in good standing has changed my mind from 'no' to 'HELL the f no'.
speaking of changing one's mind faster than a woman......
this has gotz 2b the shortest love-affair with a vehicle ive ever seen.
yeah, those hot-flashes are a real bitch.
Green Machine
100 kW
This thread is admittingly getting a little lost at times so let me illiterate why the hot flashes.
As i keep explaining...before i had an otpibike i would trade my best home build for it....thats how this thread started.. The first post you quoted me was BEFORE i owned the optibike, and never ridden an optibke, and only seen an optibike once. Because of this thread someone alerted me to an optibike for sale on craigslist which was local for me and i got a steal of a deal, and instead of dreaming of owning a optibike...suddenly i owned one....this happened mid thread!!! What a thrill! Instead of just keeping all my findings to myself...without any regard to looking stupid or dopey i started posting my findings very clearly here as honestly as i could. I wasnt all "this bike is awesome go buy one" .
After getting and riding an optibike, an experience documented in this and other threads, i then decided i would not trade my best homebuild for it. My experience was an interesting journey and ive explained my logic for changing my mind.. I learned a lot from the optibike and shared a lot of my knowledge here...as i keep saying as it turns out stealth is really important to me. Ironically the optibike is the most stealthy electric bike i have ever seen, but the noise gives it away..and its not that noisy...just enough to give it away. Its probably quieter than most electric bikes out there...but i am spoiled.
Regarding selling the bike. I havent actively put the bike up for sale...and its natural to sale a bike that ends up not matching your expectations and riding style when other bikes in my arsenal do. I am enjoying riding the bike and would appreciate being able to ride the bike for this spring and summer, and sale it at the end of the summer for what i paid for it. I am willing to sale it now to a friend or group member who is willing to pick it up at my house.The bike cost a lot of money...its not an insult to the bike that i would rather have that large amount of cash than another electric bike sitting around.
I got a helluva deal for 7k...the original seller had lost his job and needed cash. For a group member who has dreamed of owning a opti, and several group members have expressed interest..this is an opportunity. If i sold it to the general public i would ask 8k for it, just because that is more of what its worth. I cant buy a roholoff for less than 1500...i could take the rohloff off this bike and still sale it for 7k. And a used rohloff is even better than a new rohloff because it is the only piece of cycling equipment i ever heard of that gets better with use. I love the rohloff and want one on all my front wheel drive bikes...so imagine if i get to ride an opti all summer, sell it for 7k minus the rohloff, and instead outfitted with high end xo components i got laying around...i wouldnt look so dopey then would I? Rohloff for free? I have NO regrets of buying this bike for what i paid for it... And i am enjoying riding it and learning from it. When i said "7k i will sale in a flash at that price" what i meant was i will have no problem whatsoever selling it once i decide to advertise at that price. Probably have a hard time selling on this forum for sure
but again my intention has never been to advertise. I am very simply sharing information about an amazing electric bike that i have the opportunity to partake in . For those that dont appreciate it as an amazing electric bike i think your mind is closed. If someone came on here reviewing the blacktrail Bt-01 80 thousand dollar bike, i would be licking my chops savoring the information (ie how the hell do they make a bike that looks like that and performs like that and only weighs 40lbs???)...I wouldnt be calling the guy a dope for spending so much money on the bike because my homebuild is "clearly better" and makging the simple arguments "Hey you can buy a hell of ducatti for that which goes much faster!" etc... Imagine if spending 10k on a bike is "insulting" what do you say to jay leno who just spent 80k on an electric bike? And 100 other buyers at this point. You can buy a top of the line ferrari for what many watches cost. Some people like nice watches. Some people like nice quality ebikes. 12k is nothing to spend for a lot of end users if they think the quality is there. And for many users there are more important specifications than raw speed and range....weight for one....non-jankiness is a big one, dependability for another...throw fire safety in there just for consistency.
Real quality costs bank...and if they could sale more optibikes mabye they could bring the price down. Unfortunately i do agree that the opti company will bite the bullet...china is just taking over and nearly impossible to compete with in terms of cost. No manufacturing american company will be able to exist for long at this rate. 8 years ago china ebikes and components were complete junk...now its a helluva lot better...and soon it will be just impossible to compete. 5 years from now i am sure china will be selling stuff of opti quality direct to american consumers off ebay for a bargain price...that will be the end of opti plus all the boutique builders here.
Regarding otpibike... if it was silent it would be a definite keeper. If i was a serious trail rider it would be a keeper. As i keep saying, the bike has tons of pluses...and being a well balanced bike and a bike that can climb trails that even a hard core mountain biker could not climb and to climb steep stuff like that without the risk of failure....i would be sold. If i lived in boulder colorado i would want one.
To the poster who said he could out pedal the opti, you can pick any of the hills in any of the videos and i will race you to the top with you pedaling your pedal bike and me on the opti. I will put any amount of money on that race and give you 5 to 1 odds. That is a serious public challenge just pick your hill and pick our stakes. I wont back down. Just to warn you the hills in the video are much steeper than they appear in the video. I think you would have a hard time walking up those hills with your "bum knees" to be honest. and the only reason i dont do 10 to 1 against you or something crazy is the distant possibility of mechanical failure or flat tire or crashing or something like that. And honestly i would give lance armstrong 3 to 1 odds and still feel i made a safe bet. In fact i love owning the bike for these kind of tests and challenges! We can make a video of our findings....opti vs bum knees...or if you can arrange it...opti vs lance armstrong!!! Meet me at the golden gate bridge this sunday for faceoff and we will post video here...Opti needs a shot in the arm because it has been getting schooled by the hub motors...lets bring on the pedalers instead!! I have already lost some money on opti wagers...lets gamble!!!
As i keep explaining...before i had an otpibike i would trade my best home build for it....thats how this thread started.. The first post you quoted me was BEFORE i owned the optibike, and never ridden an optibke, and only seen an optibike once. Because of this thread someone alerted me to an optibike for sale on craigslist which was local for me and i got a steal of a deal, and instead of dreaming of owning a optibike...suddenly i owned one....this happened mid thread!!! What a thrill! Instead of just keeping all my findings to myself...without any regard to looking stupid or dopey i started posting my findings very clearly here as honestly as i could. I wasnt all "this bike is awesome go buy one" .
After getting and riding an optibike, an experience documented in this and other threads, i then decided i would not trade my best homebuild for it. My experience was an interesting journey and ive explained my logic for changing my mind.. I learned a lot from the optibike and shared a lot of my knowledge here...as i keep saying as it turns out stealth is really important to me. Ironically the optibike is the most stealthy electric bike i have ever seen, but the noise gives it away..and its not that noisy...just enough to give it away. Its probably quieter than most electric bikes out there...but i am spoiled.
Regarding selling the bike. I havent actively put the bike up for sale...and its natural to sale a bike that ends up not matching your expectations and riding style when other bikes in my arsenal do. I am enjoying riding the bike and would appreciate being able to ride the bike for this spring and summer, and sale it at the end of the summer for what i paid for it. I am willing to sale it now to a friend or group member who is willing to pick it up at my house.The bike cost a lot of money...its not an insult to the bike that i would rather have that large amount of cash than another electric bike sitting around.
I got a helluva deal for 7k...the original seller had lost his job and needed cash. For a group member who has dreamed of owning a opti, and several group members have expressed interest..this is an opportunity. If i sold it to the general public i would ask 8k for it, just because that is more of what its worth. I cant buy a roholoff for less than 1500...i could take the rohloff off this bike and still sale it for 7k. And a used rohloff is even better than a new rohloff because it is the only piece of cycling equipment i ever heard of that gets better with use. I love the rohloff and want one on all my front wheel drive bikes...so imagine if i get to ride an opti all summer, sell it for 7k minus the rohloff, and instead outfitted with high end xo components i got laying around...i wouldnt look so dopey then would I? Rohloff for free? I have NO regrets of buying this bike for what i paid for it... And i am enjoying riding it and learning from it. When i said "7k i will sale in a flash at that price" what i meant was i will have no problem whatsoever selling it once i decide to advertise at that price. Probably have a hard time selling on this forum for sure
but again my intention has never been to advertise. I am very simply sharing information about an amazing electric bike that i have the opportunity to partake in . For those that dont appreciate it as an amazing electric bike i think your mind is closed. If someone came on here reviewing the blacktrail Bt-01 80 thousand dollar bike, i would be licking my chops savoring the information (ie how the hell do they make a bike that looks like that and performs like that and only weighs 40lbs???)...I wouldnt be calling the guy a dope for spending so much money on the bike because my homebuild is "clearly better" and makging the simple arguments "Hey you can buy a hell of ducatti for that which goes much faster!" etc... Imagine if spending 10k on a bike is "insulting" what do you say to jay leno who just spent 80k on an electric bike? And 100 other buyers at this point. You can buy a top of the line ferrari for what many watches cost. Some people like nice watches. Some people like nice quality ebikes. 12k is nothing to spend for a lot of end users if they think the quality is there. And for many users there are more important specifications than raw speed and range....weight for one....non-jankiness is a big one, dependability for another...throw fire safety in there just for consistency.Real quality costs bank...and if they could sale more optibikes mabye they could bring the price down. Unfortunately i do agree that the opti company will bite the bullet...china is just taking over and nearly impossible to compete with in terms of cost. No manufacturing american company will be able to exist for long at this rate. 8 years ago china ebikes and components were complete junk...now its a helluva lot better...and soon it will be just impossible to compete. 5 years from now i am sure china will be selling stuff of opti quality direct to american consumers off ebay for a bargain price...that will be the end of opti plus all the boutique builders here.
Regarding otpibike... if it was silent it would be a definite keeper. If i was a serious trail rider it would be a keeper. As i keep saying, the bike has tons of pluses...and being a well balanced bike and a bike that can climb trails that even a hard core mountain biker could not climb and to climb steep stuff like that without the risk of failure....i would be sold. If i lived in boulder colorado i would want one.
To the poster who said he could out pedal the opti, you can pick any of the hills in any of the videos and i will race you to the top with you pedaling your pedal bike and me on the opti. I will put any amount of money on that race and give you 5 to 1 odds. That is a serious public challenge just pick your hill and pick our stakes. I wont back down. Just to warn you the hills in the video are much steeper than they appear in the video. I think you would have a hard time walking up those hills with your "bum knees" to be honest. and the only reason i dont do 10 to 1 against you or something crazy is the distant possibility of mechanical failure or flat tire or crashing or something like that. And honestly i would give lance armstrong 3 to 1 odds and still feel i made a safe bet. In fact i love owning the bike for these kind of tests and challenges! We can make a video of our findings....opti vs bum knees...or if you can arrange it...opti vs lance armstrong!!! Meet me at the golden gate bridge this sunday for faceoff and we will post video here...Opti needs a shot in the arm because it has been getting schooled by the hub motors...lets bring on the pedalers instead!!
I have already lost some money on opti wagers...lets gamble!!!Similar threads
