Help! Bianchi Impulso Road or Orbea Gain?

[GeoffK]

I’m 72 years old, 109kg and have become somewhat of an armchair cyclist ( read overweight and unfit) over the last couple of years. I have a Cannondale Synapse Carbon 105 and a Trek Superfly 6 both unused for the last 28 months or so. I’m now looking to buy an e-road bike.


I’ve ridden the Gain ( Willier version to be precise) and thought it was great. Then I rode the Impulso and thought that was great too.

I like the looks of Orbea but prefer the motor in the Bianchi.

I’ve test ridden each of them for about 15-20 miles or so. Routes included various hills that I would have found daunting even a couple of years ago on my Synapse. Obviously the Impulso with it’s crank motor was best up the hills.

I’m undecided which to buy so before I decide I would be interested to hear about other members long term experiences on either bikes and the Polini motor in particular.

 

[GeoffK]

I’m 72 years old, 109kg and have become somewhat of an armchair cyclist ( read overweight and unfit) over the last couple of years. I have a Cannondale Synapse Carbon 105 and a Trek Superfly 6 both unused for the last 28 months or so. I’m now looking to buy an e-road bike.


I’ve ridden the Gain ( Willier version to be precise) and thought it was great. Then I rode the Impulso and thought that was great too.

I like the looks of Orbea but prefer the motor in the Bianchi.

I’ve test ridden each of them for about 15-20 miles or so. Routes included various hills that I would have found daunting even a couple of years ago on my Synapse. Obviously the Impulso with it’s crank motor was best up the hills.

I’m undecided which to buy so before I decide I would be interested to hear about other members long term experiences on either bikes and the Polini motor in particular.
[/QUOTE

For 28 months read 18 months ( I’m also known as fat fingers!)

 

[Artstu]

I've not seen any chat about the Polini motor here other than a few posts linking to brief magazine test rides. It sounds like that is the one you favour though

 

[Nev]

I have a Cannondale Synapse Carbon 105

Have you considered the e-version of the Synapse? I bought one a couple of months ago and absolutely love it. See this thread.

Cannondale Synapse Neo

Thanks to Deno for making me aware of this range of bikes. What do people think of them? Here is a link to the bikes. https://www.cannondale.com/en/Great%20Britain/Products/ProductCategory.aspx?nid=e1887f30-a25a-4f9a-bcd4-792a7a7d965a I think the following is good. Strong motor(Bosch Active...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

 

[Nev]

If your choice is just between the Impulso or the Gain, then I think consideration needs to be given to what kind of routes you will be riding on, the usual weather conditions and your overall cycling fitness. I live in an area with lots of steep hills, lots of wind and I struggle on hills. So for me I would go for the Impulso due to its more powerful motor and its larger capacity battery compared with the Gain.

If you live in a fairly flat part of the country, don't have lots of windy weather to contend with, and you can cope with most hills you come across on your rides then the Gain would probably be a better option being as it will be several kgs lighter than the Impulso.

 

[GeoffK]

Have you considered the e-version of the Synapse? I bought one a couple of months ago and absolutely love it. See this thread.

Cannondale Synapse Neo

Thanks to Deno for making me aware of this range of bikes. What do people think of them? Here is a link to the bikes. https://www.cannondale.com/en/Great%20Britain/Products/ProductCategory.aspx?nid=e1887f30-a25a-4f9a-bcd4-792a7a7d965a I think the following is good. Strong motor(Bosch Active...

www.pedelecs.co.uk

Yes I had but have yet to find a dealer where I can try one let alone even see one. Sounds like you like yours though.

I must admit the battery integration into the frame looks cleaner than the Bianchi which rather appeals to me.

How the Bosch compares to Polini I have no idea but would be very interested to hear about other people’s experiences and views as I get the impression from online reviews the Bosch is a bit noisy.

I think one of the issues is how technology and design of these bikes keeps changing. Like many others in the cycling world I guess design is important so I don’t want to buy , say an Impulso and they bring out a better looking model in a few months time.

If only the Impulso looked like the Bianchi Aria E, I think it might be an easier decision.

I should have also said I’m more interested in leisure riding with a couple of friends of similar ages rather than full on, dare I say ‘competitive’ groups.

 

[Nev]

I get the impression from online reviews the Bosch is a bit noisy.

I only have experience of the Bosch CX motor on my e-mtb and the Bosch ALP motor on my Cannondale, and the ALP motor is much quieter than the CX motor. I have never ridden a hub motor pedelect, perhaps they are very quiet, and reviewers are comparing the ALP motor with that type of motor.

 

[Fat Rat]

Hi
Welcome to the site

 

[GeoffK]

Thanks for all the feedback so far.

I went to see a Cannondale Synapse Neo today but the design didn’t appeal compared to the Impulso. However I did see a Focus Paralane2 (Fazua Eviation) which looked pretty good but I’ve yet to have a test ride. I was told from an assistance point of view it would sit between the Ebikemotion ( Orbea) and Bosch/Shimano / Polini systems, but it would good to hear from anyone who has actual day to day experience of that Fazua system?

I can read PR reviews and specs all day long but any feedback on actual experiences on hills, battery performance etc would be very much appreciated.

 

[Nev]

but it would good to hear from anyone who has actual day to day experience of that Fazua system?

I rode tested a Cube Agree Hybrid with the Fazua motor a while back. It was great on the flat or not too steep hills but when I rode up a very steep hill (greater than 20%) it was not very good. In fact I very nearly had to get off the bike for a rest, if the hill had been a few metres longer I would have had to stop. I have since been up the same hill on my Synapse Neo with no problem at all. Although on paper I think the Fazua motor is supposed to be more powerful than the motor on my Neo, in real world conditions it was no where near as good.

Whichever bike you decide upon make sure to take it for a good test ride, in particular try it out on the types of hills you are likely to be riding on. I ride up a lot of steep hills, not really by choice, I just live in an area that is full of them. The Fazua motor just would not be powerful enough for me, and I suspect the Gain motor might be the same, although I have not ridden a Gain so I cant be sure about that.

 

[Dampfish]

My wife has the Bianchi Impulso e-road. It is very impressive. With regard to its ability to get up steep hills you really don't need to worry, my wife with less than 100 miles of riding experience went up the Wall of Sormano in Italy with an average gradient of 17% and max 25%, like it was flat, mostly in assist level 3 of 5. On a different day, the battery managed a 100 mile loop with 2000m of climbing around lake Como. Its pretty heavy, but it's irrelevant unless you plan on putting it on a roof rack.