It is cool! But I will happily say the same about more modest ebikes. Anything that gets you out there earns my respect.

---- First ----

When you drive a car with a manual transmission, you don't force the shifter to a new position while flooring it. There is a process coordinating clutch, throttle, and shifter. The same goes for bicycles with standard derailleurs. Yes?

So yes. Of course I ease up on the throttle when shifting. It is a mistake to assume average optibike owners are ignorant because they are willing to spend a lot of money. While you might see this as an error, I see it as supporting a local business as an early adopter. In any case, I figure Optibike buyers are far more likely than not to be lifelong cyclists with a clue or two to spare.

---- Second ----

According to the folks at the factory, the gears wear out at about the same rate on both Optibikes and similarly equipped mountain bikes - about 3000 miles average life. I usually replace chains at 1000-2000 miles, and expect the same on the Opti.

Forgive me for nitpicking, but bicycle chains do not stretch. The overall elongation is caused by wear rather than deformation of the steel.

---- Third ----

hope you don't mind. I have a few questions. You're the first Optibike user I've come across on the boards.
Not at all - that's why I posted here.

- As I posted above, how is shifting under load? Do you turn off the motor briefly for shifting?
Shifting up under light load is fine, but generally I back off as explained above.

- How's the noise? Is there an audible high pitch whirring sound?
There is some gear noise from inside the bottom bracket. Not bad, but enough to keep you honest :-)

- How's the cadence at high speeds? The default gear ratios don't make it easy to add pedal power at the higher speeds (25mph or higher)
Optimal cadence is 70-90 RPM. There is plenty of room to spin faster going 35mph with the stock chainwheel.

- How many watt-hours per mile do you say you typically use? I have a Bionx system and I generally use about 8-9 wh/mile usually averaging about 20mph (battery capacity in watt-hours / total miles traveled on single charge).
I have been using about 1 amp-hour/mile with the internal 40V pack, maybe more. That should work out to 20 miles range of aggressive city riding. Not quite the 30 miles advertised, but I've been running errands, towing my son, and generally testing the capabilities of the bike.

I'm not sure I recommend this much power. The 600 watt model seems much more reasonable, and 400 watts is clearly enough for typical electric assist needs. For me, well let's just say I'm not planning on switching.

---- Fourth ----

I don't know whether the frame is built in the Boulder, CO factory or somewhere else in the country, but they definitely say "made in America". There is a slide show on the Optibike web site that shows some picture of the frame being built.

---- Errata ----

In a previous post, I meant to write that I am not looking for acceptance here. It has been corrected.