Costello
Junior Member
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2019
- Messages
- 33
- Reaction score
- 6
UPDATE 05/07/2022
Great news! the issue described below has been fixed by Mobot. If you experience this issue, bring your bike to Mobot and they will fix within the hour.
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Hey everyone,
I got some feedback for anyone wanting or trying to purchase the Orca 2.0 e-bike sold by Mobot
https://mobot.sg/shop/electric-bicycles-ebike/orca-electric-bicycle/
Before reading further, I would like to state that Mobot's service has been excellent and friendly. Anything that follows this shouldn't reflect on Mobot but on the Orca product itself.
I have recently obtained my Orca 2.0 ebike and have been using it for a few days. The specs are excellent and so far I can say that everything works as advertised.
There is however one major issue with the ebike, something that they don't tell you and that doesn't appear on any spec sheet.
1) First, you need to know that the pedal assist comes very late. You have to pedal for about 5 seconds until it triggers. That's an issue when going uphill, but this is not the worst part.
2) You have 3 speed levels like on every ebike. No issue with levels 1 and 2 which are quite slow (max speed 18kph), but when you use the highest speed level, that is where the issue comes in. The powerful battery and motor will propel you to the maximum speed of 25kph quite quickly - great acceleration power here. However, as soon as you reach 25kph, the pedal assist completely stops for at least 5 seconds. If you're on a flat surface you will go back to 15-17kph, and if you're going uphill it can be a full stop.
Which means -- yes you are reading this correctly -- you can't maintain a constant speed of 25kph the whole ride. You'll reach 25kph then back to 15kph then back to 25kph then back to 15kph, and so on. Riding like that feels as ridiculous as it sounds.
The only way to maintain a stable speed (on speed level 3) is to pedal very delicately and to maintain a speed below 25kph which is extremely difficult and impractical. After 4 days with it I am still unable to do so over a distance. Best I can do is 20 to 22kph and then I accidentally hit 25kph... and the pedal assist stops again.
Now imagine what happened just a few minutes ago as I was on the road. I was crossing a big intersection and there was a bus behind me. I accidentally hit 25kph and the bike slowed down to 15kph in the middle of the intersection. The bus behind me almost hit me and honked at me (understandably!). This keeps happening, it's almost impossible to maintain constant speed unless I accept to go slowly, at speed levels 1 or 2.
If I had known this fact, I would certainly not have purchased the bike and I wouldn't have wasted 3 months waiting for it (preordered it back in February). I had tried it at the Mobot shop but over a short distance and couldn't hit 25 kph there, so I didn't realize the issue back then. I am considering selling it but in all honesty I can't recommend it to any buyer.
This is frustrating because apart from this major issue, the ebike is nearly perfect. If there was any setting which allowed to make it work like other ebikes (maintaining constant speed of 25kph, legally) the Orca would probably be the best PAB on the Singapore market. I have tried many models and I was anticipating this one with a lot of excitement.
Great news! the issue described below has been fixed by Mobot. If you experience this issue, bring your bike to Mobot and they will fix within the hour.
———————
Hey everyone,
I got some feedback for anyone wanting or trying to purchase the Orca 2.0 e-bike sold by Mobot
https://mobot.sg/shop/electric-bicycles-ebike/orca-electric-bicycle/
Before reading further, I would like to state that Mobot's service has been excellent and friendly. Anything that follows this shouldn't reflect on Mobot but on the Orca product itself.
I have recently obtained my Orca 2.0 ebike and have been using it for a few days. The specs are excellent and so far I can say that everything works as advertised.
There is however one major issue with the ebike, something that they don't tell you and that doesn't appear on any spec sheet.
1) First, you need to know that the pedal assist comes very late. You have to pedal for about 5 seconds until it triggers. That's an issue when going uphill, but this is not the worst part.
2) You have 3 speed levels like on every ebike. No issue with levels 1 and 2 which are quite slow (max speed 18kph), but when you use the highest speed level, that is where the issue comes in. The powerful battery and motor will propel you to the maximum speed of 25kph quite quickly - great acceleration power here. However, as soon as you reach 25kph, the pedal assist completely stops for at least 5 seconds. If you're on a flat surface you will go back to 15-17kph, and if you're going uphill it can be a full stop.
Which means -- yes you are reading this correctly -- you can't maintain a constant speed of 25kph the whole ride. You'll reach 25kph then back to 15kph then back to 25kph then back to 15kph, and so on. Riding like that feels as ridiculous as it sounds.
The only way to maintain a stable speed (on speed level 3) is to pedal very delicately and to maintain a speed below 25kph which is extremely difficult and impractical. After 4 days with it I am still unable to do so over a distance. Best I can do is 20 to 22kph and then I accidentally hit 25kph... and the pedal assist stops again.
Now imagine what happened just a few minutes ago as I was on the road. I was crossing a big intersection and there was a bus behind me. I accidentally hit 25kph and the bike slowed down to 15kph in the middle of the intersection. The bus behind me almost hit me and honked at me (understandably!). This keeps happening, it's almost impossible to maintain constant speed unless I accept to go slowly, at speed levels 1 or 2.
If I had known this fact, I would certainly not have purchased the bike and I wouldn't have wasted 3 months waiting for it (preordered it back in February). I had tried it at the Mobot shop but over a short distance and couldn't hit 25 kph there, so I didn't realize the issue back then. I am considering selling it but in all honesty I can't recommend it to any buyer.
This is frustrating because apart from this major issue, the ebike is nearly perfect. If there was any setting which allowed to make it work like other ebikes (maintaining constant speed of 25kph, legally) the Orca would probably be the best PAB on the Singapore market. I have tried many models and I was anticipating this one with a lot of excitement.
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