BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Bianchi has introduced a new carbon fibre e-road bike, the e-Oltre, featuring the just launched Mahle X30 motor, creating a ready-to-ride bike with a claimed weight of 11kg.
Designed to offer an ever-wider audience the same fun and sensations of an analogue road bike, the e-Oltre is, visually, almost impossible to distinguish from a traditional road bike.
That 11kg claim comes in the form of a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 equipped e-Oltre with 50mm carbon fibre wheels – one of three build options – and aims to deliver a ride that’s as close to an analogue bike as can be whilst delivering meaningful e-bike assistance.
Motor and battery integration
Equipping the e-Oltre with the Mahle X30 rear hub motor, not only gives the bike a clean non-e-bike look but also delivers a riding experience that’s closer to a traditional bicycle, in part thanks to a compact nature and seamless integration of the motor-battery system.
Mahle’s X30 motor – with up to 45Nm of torque available – uses a torque sensor to deliver a level of reactivity which aims to instantly match rider inputs.
As is often the case today, a bike fitted with a 10-34 or 11-34 cassette will hide the hub-based motor from view when the bike is seen from the drive side.
Range and charge time
Powering the system is the iX2 battery, with a capacity of 250Wh. An aftermarket range extender option is also available, which attaches to the bike’s second water bottle mount.
The Mahle-equipped e-Oltre offers three different levels of assistance, with a maximum range of 90km, to which an additional 55km can be added with the battery extension.
The assistance level is managed by the controller integrated in the top tube, or by the remote shifters on the drop-bar. The system features ANT/BLU compatibility for viewing ride data.
As with a four-wheeled EV, charge time is an increasing point of interest. The Mahle iX2 battery takes less than two hours to charge the battery to 75 per cent.
Three spec options
The Bianchi e-Oltre is offered in classic Celeste with metallic Celeste accents and the Bianchi logo in black on the down tube.
Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Ultegra Di2 electronic groupsets see the bike run full internal cable routing, whilst Shimano 105 mechanical has semi-integrated cables. All versions are equipped with Velomann Plutonium 50mm carbon fibre wheels.
- E-Oltre Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (weight 11 kg): € 9,999
- E-Oltre Shimano Ultegra Di2 (weight 11.5 kg): € 6,499
- E-Oltre Shimano 105 (weight 12 kg): € 4,999
UK pricing TBC
