Optibike anyone? 30mph?! 800w

[kraeuterbutter]

hmm..
in Germany there are already some few electric bicycles which are allowed to to go up to 45km/h

you need a plate (does not cost much)
and are not allowed to go on a bicycle-drive-way anymore
depends on where you live:

here in vienna with all the bicycle-drive-ways it would be a pitty not be able to use them...
at my homeside there are in 150km circumstance no bicycle-drive-ways so unimportant..

fact:
on country-side without bike-ways, this might be cool..
AND: you don´t need to wear a helmet as it is neccessary for mopeds

 

[kraeuterbutter]

argh..
i wrote the above yesterday..
and forgot to send it....

@flecc:
you mean this:

ZERO MOTORCYCLES || Electric Motorcycles || High Performance
17000Watt Power
58Volt and 35Ah battery
40miles range
price: cheaper than some of the optibikes...

or this:
Home Page
45mph max
18hp
48Volt and 40Ah battery

 

[flecc]

Yes, thanks for the post, those are the sort of bikes kraeuterbutter, much more sense and fun for off road fun than any e-bike style machine.
.

 

[Tim]

Thanks Jeremy. That's a lot of hoops to jump through before one could even think about going out on the road. Presumably all this would also apply to any bicycle rated above 250W?

 

[Jeremy]

Tim,

If the bike doesn't conform to the EAPC requirements, then it is classed as a motor vehicle and so will require MSVA (or another form of Type Approval).

To be honest, these requirements aren't too onerous when you get down to it, but they are a bit of a nuisance. Some of the hardest requirements to comply with are the ones that cover the minimum acceptable radii on any component that could contact a pedestrian (or the rider). These radii are tested with a bizarre rolling cone to identify contact areas, plus a set of radius gauges to check compliance.

Lights (other than a brakelight) aren't technically required, provided that the bike is only approved for use in daylight and good visibility.

Generally speaking, most higher powered ebikes will fall into the moped category (electric motor not exceeding 4kW, speed limited to 45kmh). The low-powered moped category is too restrictive, being similar to the ebike regulations in many ways.

As a manufacturer/dealer, I believe that you might be able to pursue the Low Volume Type Approval route, which allows limited volume manufacturers to obtain a Ministers Approval Certificate to supply compliant vehicles on the basis of a single test of a representative vehicle. I'm not sure how this applies to electric mopeds, but it is the means by which some low volume specialist cars are approved.

Jeremy

 

[Larkspur]

Being an inquisitive sort, I contacted Team Hybrid, the UK Importer of OptiBike, stating that I was interested in the OptiBike and asking them if it would be a suitable vehicle for my 16.5 mile commute to work. Here is their reply:

"Dear Chris

Thank you for the enquiry and apologies for the delay in replying. The
Optibike is ideal for commuting as the range is up to 50 miles with
pedaling."


I then replied to their email making it clear that I understood the UK legislation regarding e-bikes and asking them how the Optibike got round this. Here is their reply:

"Hi Chris

Thank you for the enquiry and apologies for the delay in repling.
The Optibke is sold as an electric bike that is strictly speaking is not road legal and therefore the customer will sign a waver stating that they know this and will only use it for off road purposes only."

Hmmm

 

[Papa Pro]

Dear Chris,

Our apologies for the misinformation regarding optibike in the UK. We sell the very best electric bike ever created and proud to bring these incredible machines to the UK. It's been a lot of hard work but finally the British consumers can buy a true commuting machine and NOT rely on unreliable cheep Chinese imports that have given this technology a bad name.

The Optibike really is something new. It weighs only 55lbs and can go an amazing 50 miles at 800w. So lowering the power to the legal requirement will enable much more range!. We have an Opti link which enables us to program the bikes to any legal specification. We also can program the bikes for off-road use. You can decide on what specs you want before purchase.

As a commute machine, we guarantee you will not find anything on the market that can compare to these machines. Even the Gadget Show hosts agreed it's simply the best ever designed e-bike. And I have tested just about everything on the market, NOTHING compares. And the Gadget show hosts and researchers agreed. It’s funny how they invited most e-bike mfg’s to bring their bikes for testing on the show and no one turned up? Just goes to show how the UK consumer has been ripped off for so long now. Our main focus is to change that! Expect the Optibike to be all over TV soon. Check out the video of Suzi Perry on our website.

Every Optibike is made to order. And every bike is hand made in the USA. Including the Motor, Battery, Controller, Frame and wheels. The bike was designed from the inside out.

One thing I do find strange is Tim Snaith used to sell the Ezee Torq with a top speed of 22mph. And Heinzmann sell a 22mph road e-bike too. So why he is getting involved in this is a mystery? Shame really as we all should be sticking together to push this wonderful technology.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Papa
Director of Marketing & Sales
Team Hybrid

OPTIBIKE Electric Bike from Team Hybrid, sole distributors for the Optibike and electric bikes in UK and Europe.

P.S. Please feel free to come to our show room and test ride an Optibike to see for yourself. We have several LEGAL bikes to choose form. All uncontested best tech on the market. And just for your information. Just about every legal e-bike on the market is 450w. This includes e-bikes sold in the UK. The strange thing about EU and UK LAW is there is no definitive way for the Police or anyone to test the output of the motors. So many mfgs are simply sticking to the 16mph limit. And soon you will see our Police and other public services using our Optibikes. Everyone who has had the chance to test these bikes are simply blown away. The Optibike is simply years ahead of anything else. Please feel free to join this group where you can talk to Optibike owners from all around the world. Every one a happy customer and many have experience with e-bikes. It's a good source for un-bias info as these are real world users and not manufacturers claims. The TidalForce forum prides it’s self on real world testing by owners. We NEVER rely on a spec sheet

TidalForce Forum | Google Groups

 

[Papa Pro]

Im not that impressed. £6,000 for a bike that can do 30mph and that has such a powerful motor (800W) that even a 20+ stone 50 year old man (vid on its own site) hardly has to pedal.......

Whats the point - just get a motorbike. Am I missing something??

Actually John, that is not correct my friend. Keith is one of the most wonderful people you could meet. And what all my hard work is all about.

Keith pedals at all times. He is also loosing a lot of weight each week. You should read some of his posts on the TidalForce Forum. He and his wonderful wife are real inspirations for us all. His Optibike is saving him a fortune in medical bills as well as pedalling his way to fitness. He has truly realised how much money he can save as well as loose weight at the same time by commuting via e-bike. He commutes to work with his Optibike every other day. Something like 35miles per journey if I remember correctly. And he has the older 16ah NiMH battery and not the new 25ah Lithium.

The Optibike free wheels like no other e-bike I have tried. 20mph average speed without power is possible if needed. The power assist just adds to the experience.

Feel free to talk to him anytime on the TidalForce forum. We also have his video on our website. He is such a cool sax player!

Cheers anyway,

Richard Papa

Btw, many road bikes (non power assist) cost more than 6k and can go 30mph no problem... some of us simply want the best available. It's about choice my friend. And depriving the public from this tech is a sin IMO

 

[Tim]

One thing I do find strange is Tim Snaith used to sell the Ezee Torq with a top speed of 22mph. And Heinzmann sell a 22mph road e-bike too. So why he is getting involved in this is a mystery? Shame really as we all should be sticking together to push this wonderful technology.

Not strange at all - I thought it reasonable to ask how an owner would go about legally riding one of these bikes on the road. Maybe we're looking at a bike that can outperform the optibike, and how we might introduce it responsibly?

As you probably know, we always sold the Torq limited to 15.5mph, it was up to the owner if they chose to get out the craft knife and heatshrink wrap to modify it.

 

[kraeuterbutter]

i have not driven a Seqway sofar,
but isn´t it used with different keys for different power-levels ?

that would make it very easy...

a green key with limit to 25km/h / 22mph to go conform EU or US laws on street,
and a red key for offroad

so when you get stopped by police OR you have a serious accident it can be proved: ok, he was using the green key, so it was street legal...

and when going around in my woods/forests, i use the red key for unlimited power

as long as there are no supplieres in european countries (e.g. Austria) its not buyable..
what if something fails on the bike ?
you have then maybe send in the complete bike to US ?
that would be unbelievable expensive

for the 6000US$ price... i think this is totaly ok..
last week i saw a set of carbon rims for a racing bicycle
--> 2600 Euro !!!!

 

[Papa Pro]

as long as there are no supplieres in european countries (e.g. Austria) its not buyable..
what if something fails on the bike ?
you have then maybe send in the complete bike to US ?
that would be unbelievable expensive

for the 6000US$ price... i think this is totaly ok..
last week i saw a set of carbon rims for a racing bicycle
--> 2600 Euro !!!!

Team Hybrid are the Euro service center for Optibike. We have everything here in the UK for servicing and customer servive.

The thing that get's me is the cost to ship an Optibike to the UK. It's at least 1.5k (UKP) Plus the basic parts (Forks, shocks, brakes) are all high end componants which retail in the UK for around 2k! So you can see where the high cost comes from. the Battery cost 1k and the motor cost 1k too. So it's accually a good deal when you break down what you are getting. We sell all the parts on the bike at cost price. Otherwise the bike would cost a lot more

Cheers,

Richard Papa

 

[Papa Pro]

Not strange at all - I thought it reasonable to ask how an owner would go about legally riding one of these bikes on the road. Maybe we're looking at a bike that can outperform the optibike, and how we might introduce it responsibly?

As you probably know, we always sold the Torq limited to 15.5mph, it was up to the owner if they chose to get out the craft knife and heatshrink wrap to modify it.

Fair enough Tim, look forward to seeing your new bikes. They sound very interesting.

Cheers,

Richard Papa

 

[flecc]

I think you are mixing kG with lbs...

Cheers,

Richard Papa

Quite right Richard, I'll remove that post so as not to mislead anyone.
.