Wow! I bumped into this site a couple of days ago, and am just amazed… An electric motorized bicycle that costs more than some motorcycles. The Optibike probably represents the state-of-the-art in electric powered bikes, and is a very impressive piece of machinery, but hokey pete… $13,000? for a bicycle?
That price is the base price for their high-end model — the OB1 — which boasts an 850 watt motor, lithium ion battery, disk brakes, aluminum monocoque frame, carbon fiber wheels (and carbon fiber everything else it seems), full suspension wireless PDA interface for battery monitoring with built-in GPS(!)… The list goes on. The OB1 (wonder if the designer was a Star Wars fan) is pretty much custom built, and can be painted any way you like. Like I said, it’s their high-end model, and commands a high-end price.
The OB1 is also designed to be able to go 57 miles on a charge, at speeds of 35mph and up, so the high end is impressive. What amazes me is that they are able to package it all in such a svelte frame; no bulky batteries hanging off in odd places, no bulky hub motor making it look out of place… It just looks like a bike. At least until it passes an Olympic-level cyclist like he’s standing still, and the rider isn’t even pedaling.
The lineup also includes three other models; the 800Li, the 600Li, and the 400, priced at $8,995, $7,995, & $4,995 respectively. The models differ in the power output of the motors and the level of componentry hanging on the common frame. All of the Optibike models have in common the Motorized Bottom Bracket (MBB), a patented mechanism that combines a geared motor with the bike’s bottom bracket. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information on the site about how the MBB works.
Very cool gear. Spendy, but very cool.