30% of new Optibike Owners are couples!

Yes, its true.30% of Optibike customers are couples who bought a pair of Optibikes to ride together. Optibiking is amazing, fun exercise for people of all fitness levels.The Optibike “levels the playing field,” making it perfect for couples who want to ride together but are at different fitness levels.

The Perfect Blend of Fun and Exercise:

The Optibike is the ONLY electric bike made with the Motorized Bottom Bracket that puts the rider in parallel with the motor for the ultimate fitness/fun experience!The Optibike is such good exercise that we have our own fitness/weight loss coach on staff to help you and your significant other ride the Optibike together to get and stay fit!

Couples who work out together work things out together better!

According to Psychology Today, exercise creates new neural pathways in your brain, giving couples who work out together new opportunities to create healthy new relationship patterns together!

Don and Kathy Adis of Golden, Colorado have this to say:

“We live in Golden at the top of a hill southwest of town, and it’s impossible for us to ride a conventional bike home from downtown Golden because it’s up hill all the way.The Optibike is just what we needed to enable us to make the ride.It’s really a hoot when we’re coming up the trail back to our house and we blow by people on regular bikes who are working really hard on the hill.It’s great exercise, even with the electric assist.No matter where we go on our Optibikes, people yell out, “Nice bike!”They can tell by the smiles on our faces that it’s fun.”

Don and Kathy Adis ride their Optibikes together.

Special Offer for Couples:

In celebration of 4th of July, we have 2 100% American Made custom Optibikes in stock and ready for immediate delivery to the next couple who wants to ride together.Nothing makes us happier than to see people who love riding their Optibikes, except 2 people who love riding together!

In addition to getting 2 bikes shipped to your door immediately, both new owners will receive 6 months of Bronze Level Coaching ($1200 value) from Optibike Coach Traci Brown at no cost.

Oh, and both of you will get $500 worth of performance upgrades and riding accessories from Optibike for your new bikes with our compliments.

About the two bikes available:

Womens Specific Optibike Helia with rare red and white custom paint and 23ct gold foil Optibike logo.

This Helia is upgraded with the Rohloff Speedhub for reduced maintenance and stellar performance on road or off and the 26ah 3^rd generation lithium battery exclusive from Optibike for long range without added weight.

MSRP: $11394.00

The second bike is an Optibike 850R with the 26ah 3^rd generation lithium battery.

MSRP: $12394

Call to order, or with questions.

Craig Taber

303.443.0932 x4

Our customer and friend Jim Kirk answered some questions from a person who was interested in his bike, I thought his answers would be worth sharing:

Jim’s email (not edited):

I’ve owned my 850 since 4/2009 and have about 9.5K miles on it.  I use it daily for lunch commuting (3 miles) and an afternoon or evening ride [about 12-15 miles].

I’ve done all work on the bike myself and have recently tested a 26AH battery for Opti before they released it for their current line of bikes.  I’ve posted often on my work and upgrades on the Google Optibike forum:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/optibike-owners-group
You can browse through my web folders where you have numerous pictures and documents that you can look over.
http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/
You questions:

1.  Have you liked/enjoyed the bike as much as you thought you would?
Yes.  I went from having several Iacocca Electric bikes [still have one] to the Opti.  Here’s a link on an Iacocca bike I sold:
http://www.jakirk.com/ebike/36VolteBike/index.html
I find I use and enjoy the Opti much more than my other electric bikes, my car, or my boat.  It’s just fun to drive.

2.  Has the bike performed as well as you thought it would?
Since I added the Rohloff geared hub I’ve eliminated chain maintenance and performance is excellent.  Riding A1A [Bahia Mar to Oakland Park bridge] I go from a nice leisurely 15-18 mph up to around 28 mph when I really start pumping.  Don’t do 28 mph very often but its nice to know its there .   Come to one of the ICW bridges [17th Street Causeway is the highest] and you’ll still pedal but you really notice the electric assist.  Without undue effort I go up the 17th St. Causeway Bridge at 15mph using full electric power and very modest effort.  On the downhill I often hit 32 mph with no pedalling and when I drop down to about 28 mph I turn on the power and pedal for bit to keep up the nice high speed I’ve gotten.  Get lots of looks from cars when you move along that fast .

3.  Is the bike worth the amount of money that one spends on this type of bike?
It was worth every penny to me but I’m a mechanical engineer who appreciates well designed products that actually work in the real world as Opti does.   You’ll have to make that decision but there is really nothing in the market that I think is comparable.  Also Opti stands behind their product so if you have a problem they will take care of it.  If you can afford the extra money there is an extended warranty available which is worth considering.

4.  Can you feel the electric power when you have it on?
Yes.  If you want you can stand on the pedals to rest your bottom and run as far as you like on electric power alone [I do this often for 1/2 mile or so].  The 850R encourages you to pedal because electric power comes through the motor mounted in the area between pedals [called a MBB=motorized bottom bracket].  So you twist the throttle [similiar to a motorcycle] to assist your pedalling.  Don’t twist as much you pedal harder [good exercise], twist more you get more assist.  Don’t pedal at all and you can go 20 mph using only battery power.  With pedalling I can go up to 30 mph using full throttle and with less power you can pedal slower, go slower and use less battery.  Want to go slower up a hill you’ve got 14 speeds in the Rohloff geared rear hub so you can drop down to gear 5 and go 8 mph using as little throttle as your legs feel like putting out.  Twist the throttle more and your legs will work less.  Shift up and down and turn the throttle to attain whatever speed or pedal effort you like-that’s the beauty of the MBB.  Not other bike has this since its a patented design by Jim Turner, owner of Opti.  Take a quick look at the patent:
http://www.jakirk.com/850XLi_1/Documents/Turner_US2002014366A1.pdf

5.  Have you traveled any amount of ground down here on this bike in the Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area?
Yes.  I hardly use my car any more.  Summer riding is no problem in the FL heat because you have motor assist.  Not sweaty and in need of a shower after an exhilarating bike ride to work, shopping, or just for fun.  I like ridding at night in the summer [take about an hour ride after supper and go along the beach].  Less traffic, no sunburn, and just plain fun.

Bottom line. It’s about the most expensive bike you can get but it sure is a lot of fun and was well worth every penny I spent.  Without reservation I recommend it.  I would suggest the 850R with the new 26AH battery for the most fun and reliability.  40 miles or more range should be easily attainable based on my experience with the new battery.

Jim Kirk

 Op






Pre-order now for June 1 delivery.


In the fast paced, ever changing world of lithium-ion batteries and electric bikes, one thing is certain: Optibike will continue to bring you the latest and greatest in battery technology. 


The 3rd Generation Lithium-Ion battery from Optibike is no exception.


Compact. The Optibike lithium ion battery is the most energy dense battery deployed in an electric vehicle today. 
Durable. Only Optibike offers a 3 year/30,000 mile warranty for a lithium ion battery. 
Powerful. With 26ah at 36v, the Optibike Lithium Ion battery system boasts the highest capacity primary battery available in an electric bike today.
Lightweight.  295% more capacity than the leading LiPO4 battery of the same size and weight! 


This new battery system is available in bikes starting June 1, 2011 as an optional upgrade (+$399) 


From now until April 8, all new Optibike 850R purchases will come with the new battery for no additional charge (June delivery.)


http://optibike.com/Optibike-850R.html
Plus, just as our way of saying thank you- you can take 75% off a Heavy Duty Package on an 850R at the same time!


Please email Craig@Optibike.com or call 303.443.0932 x201 to pre-order or with questions!

YAY! Huge thanks to our friends at Ktrak (http://www.ktrakcycle.com/) who styled us out with their latest generation snow track/ski combo that we are going to affix to an Optibike over the next 24 hours.  The quality of this unit is remarkable, I am surprised with the weight (or lack thereof!) and I am beyond excited to take it out for a spin.

This unit has a 10mm front axle, so we will be able to hook the ski up directly to the front axle and there is a 6 speed cassette on the rear, so we will have do dig up a 6 speed derauilleur (I am sure we have one here somewhere…)

Craig Taber and his new Ktrak!

Videos:

Dry Run on the Ktrak

Optibike with Ktrak

There seems to be a resurgence among product marketers to proclaim their product is “Made in the USA” yet there also seems to be some variance in the definition of what exactly that means.

As far as the Optibike is concerned, this is what it means:

Frame/Swingarm: Stamped/welded/machined/painted in the United States.

Battery:  Cells made overseas (not many are made in the US) the assembly of the pack and case happens in the US

Electronics/wiring: Manufactured in the US.

Motor: Manufactured in the US

Gears/MBB parts: Machined/manufactured in the US

Fox Suspension/Chris King Headset: Manufactured in the US

Then, of course, the entire bike is “assembled” in Boulder, CO.

Some of the bicycle components we use such as the Avid Disk brakes, Mavic Wheels, seats, pedals, grips, etc are made overseas- many are not available from US based manufacturers.  However, the overwhelming majority of every Optibike is actually made within 1000 miles of our factory in Boulder, CO.

This is not to say that one method/location of sourcing is better than another, its just a matter of clarification.

Thoughts?

The Optibike 850R is the best electric bike on the market. It is the Bugatti of e-bikes, the gold standard by which all other electric bikes are measured. Calling the Optibike 850R just a bike is like calling the Mona Lisa just a painting. It is a high test piece of technical badassery that will make you rethink getting back into your car….MORE

Photo by @SheaGunther

photo by @SheaGunther

photo of Rohloff Speedhub by @SheaGunther

As difficult as it is to imagine an electric bike as anything other than a lazy man’s chariot, it does present a practical solution to the challenge of a long-distance commute. Imagine the guy who drives 15 miles to work every day. Maybe he bikes it a few times a year, but it’s a pretty hefty jaunt for a daily routine. Throw a little electricity behind those pedals and suddenly a 15-mile commute feels a little closer to a 5- or 10-mile commute. It’s still a decent haul, but not nearly so intimidating.

To that end, Optibike is making the world–or at least that 15-mile stretch–a little bit easier. The Colorado-based company is custom producing bikes with more rugged chutzpah than you’ll find in the typical electric model. By the company’s measure, they’re offering the most powerful battery of any electric bike on the market. It’s the same one used in Tesla electric cars.

I took the Optibike for a spin around Manhattan, and as an avid bike commuter, I felt like a cheat. Of course, my daily ride isn’t nearly so long as to require a motor. Even with the bike’s aluminum frame, it’s still a little heavy to comfortably haul up the stairs that occasionally impede my journey, but revving it up strip of grass alongside the stairs, I had a moment’s feeling I was goosing a dirt bike. The motor kicks. I hit a top speed of 28 mph on flat ground, which was fast enough to outpace all other riders on the street. Clearly the bike is bulkier than the carbon fiber road bike I’m used to, but by no means is it too cumbersome for an open road.

Overall, it’s a fun ride, and certainly worth considering if ….More

Watch the video here:

Fast. Light. Electric. We take the Optibike for a spin.