To run the forums, host the website, and travel, I charge a universal service fee for my reviews. This in-depth review was sponsored by OHM electric bikes. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased with you, this video and writeup are not meant to be an endorsement of OHM products. I welcome your corrections, additions, and feedback in the comments below and the OHM electric bike forums.
Pros:
- A feature complete commuter ebike from a reputable company that uses great brand-name components, powered by a Shimano mid-drive motor and drive-train, quality and reputation is the name of the game, OHM has been in the ebike world since 2005, a lot longer than most companies out there
- OHM is a quality company that used to use the Bionx drive system, now for 2020, they have moved to Shimano mid-drive motors, they are located in Vancouver, B.C. and offer free one hour demo rides at their headquarters, or you can order online since they ship all over North America and even have options to send it assembled to your door via a partnership with Velofix, the bike also has a 2 year comprehensive warranty, not bad for the $2,899 USD ($3,799 CAD) price
- The Discovery comes in four different sizes (today, we are testing out the medium frame size) and two different colors, available in graphite gray and this cool blue color, I love the hydro formed aluminum alloy frame they use on their bikes, it has a really sleek look to it
- A lot of cool and quality features like these aluminum alloy fenders that are very sturdy and great for rain, locking ergonomic grips with single density rubber, integrated rotary bell, and this Ergon OHM branded saddle
- The previous version of the Discovery was powered by a Bionix system, switch to the Shimano system has made the bike way more efficient, it not has almost double the range versus the previous setup and it has lost about 4lbs, making it more nimble and easier to maneuver
- For tires, you get a set of Schwalbe Big Ben high volume comfort tires, these are 27.5” tall by 2” wide, so overall, a well rounded setup, it has a large PSI rating at 35-70PSI, so you could really dial in the air volume to meet your weight requirements and get the perfect feel and ride
- Another great bonus to the tires here is that they have both puncture protection and reflective sidewalls, as a big fan of safety and convince, having both means visibility for riding at dusk or dawn as well as peace of mind against potential threats to your tires
- This bike has a 30.9mm seat post, so if you were looking to add more comfort to the ride setup, you could get an aftermarket suspension seat post like a Kinekt or SR SunTour NCX seat post to give the ride more cushion for longer more sustained rides, I am told that this is one of the most popular upgrades that OHM sells on their site
- I love the optional battery integrated lights, I got to test them on the Quest bike which comes with them, they are available both in the front and the rear, the front is mounted out of the way and points where you steer, while the rear gets a 3LED setup, safety has always been a priority for myself and other cyclists, so it’s nice to see that more and more companies are including these on ebikes, since the time we covered this bike, a front and rear light are now included standard on the Discover model
- The bike is comes in at 49.5lbs (on the medium frame) and that weight includes the battery, motor, and everything on the bike ready to ride, pretty light weight but if you wanted to shed some weight for carrying it around or loading it on and off a rack, you could always remove the battery and stow it somewhere else
- I should also mention that the bike has a quick release setup in both the front and rear wheels, this is great for maintenance like changing a flat tire or truing a wheel, since it is easy to get the wheels on and off, it also makes for great portability if you are loading it into the trunk of a car or other storage considerations
- Here at Electric Bike Review, we are big fans of bottle cage bosses, I am happy to say that they have two sets on this bike and that is a great addition for a lot of reasons, you can fit a number of accessories on them, not just water bottles, there are aftermarket add-ons like a GPS tracker, a folding lock, mounting points for racks, and many others that can get your bike setup just the way you want
- The bike also includes a kickstand in the rear, it is nice to have it back there since having it near the crank arm can produce ‘pedal lock’; an annoying occurrence that locks the pedals when you reverse a bike with the kickstand down, luckily, this bike eliminates that by having it positioned further back
- Although the one I rode is a prototype, I am told it will come with a nice sticker slap guard on the chain stay, this keeps the frame as well as the paint in great shape since chains can sometimes bounce on the frame an knick the paint, it can be down hill from there since the chips look bad and can rust, but thankfully, this slap guard prevents that from happening
- I love the included rear rack, this is rated for 25kg (which equates roughly to 55lbs) as a max weight limit and has great standard gage tubing to fit all sorts of styles of panniers, really one of the must-haves for a feature complete commuter bike
- The geometry has been changed from the older model, it used to be more forward leaning, now it is more up right which not only makes the bike more comfortable for commuting and longer riding, but it also sits you up a little higher so you can see up and over traffic to spot cars easily when commuting
- Powered by the Shimano E6100 mid drive motor, this is 20% more efficient than the older E6000 and has 130rpm pedal support, standard Q factor, 250-400 watts of power, and a varying rate of 50nm-60nm of torque, 20mph top speed, altogether, this is a neat motor that is pretty quiet and very stable, I love that it has all these configuration options via the app connectivity to really dial it in the way you want
- The display for the Discovery is the Shimano E7000 display, it is very compact and minimalist, mounted between the stem and the handlebars so it stays well protected there if the bike were to take a spill, it also has two connected Bluetooth options via the E-TUBE app or the E-RIDE app, both by Shimano, the E-TUBE lets you dial in the configurations while the E-RIDE shows you stats and readouts
- The lithium-ion battery is pretty well integrated into the bottom of the downtube, it is secured via lock and key with an ABUS locking core, the battery is 36v 14ah and uses high-quality LG branded battery cells
- Comes with a 2amp charger, but a 4amp charger is optional so you could really charge this thing up fast, to really care for this and other lithium-ion packs, I have heard that storing in a cool dry location vs. extreme heat or cold will extend the life and try to keep it about 50% full when not using for long periods so you won’t stress the cells, try not to let it run down to zero, because that’s really hard on the cell chemistry
- Mechanically, the bike features a Shimano Deore derailleur with a Shadow + clutch for easy maintenance, has an 11-36 tooth cassette in the rear for decent range, and a 46 tooth chain ring in the front with a bash guard
- A big win here are the 180mm rotor hydraulic disc brakes in both the front as well as the rear wheel, this stops the bike perfectly and features dual piston calipers, just the kind of setup you want for city riding as you never know when you’re going to need it
Cons:
- Charging the battery on or off the bike is a great feature, however, when charging on the bike, you have to remember the charging port is near the crank arm, this means that if you had it plugged in and parked in the garage, moving the bike or rotating that crank arm could come down on the charging cord, causing it to snag
- This is a little gripe that I have about many mid-drive ebike systems: when you pedal backwards, the chainrings do not cycle… the crank arms just spin, which could make servicing the drivetrain more difficult if you don’t have access to a bike stand
- The smaller display gives you what you want, but it is on the basic side, now-a-days, you see displays in color, a USB charging port, or maybe even those with a battery percentage readout vs a less accurate infographic, these are things the bike misses out on, but it could be good if you are a minimalist rider
- To save cost on this model versus the Quest, the bike lacks the front suspension fork, this is really one of the features that makes the Quest such a great commuter, luckily, the Discover here has a tapered head tube, so you could potentially add one, just make sure by the time you get all your add-ons, you aren’t near the same cost as the Quest, you may just want to opt for that bike altogether
- Another gripe would be the extra dongle you need to charge the battery directly, having a different setup for charging on the bike or off the bike is confusing and convoluted, many won’t be bothered by it, but remember to carry it around in your backpack for more charging options, also dongles can get lost sometimes too, something that happens with my computer, so just kind of a minor annoyance
- The E6100 motor is a nice upgrade from the previous Bionix system as well as the older E6000 motor, however, there is no shift detection present, it does however have pedal torque, pedal cadence and rear wheel speed sensors all around which is nice, but since it doesn’t have shift detection, make sure to ease off a bit when attempting to shift to really care for the wear and tear of your drivetrain
Ken says
It’s good to see Ohm out with a new model after the huge challenge they faced with Bion-X just calling it quits. That said, this does seem to be a bit under-whelming performance wise vs their old models. I think they should have gone all in on the best performance Shimano 8000 motor if that is their new motor brand of choice. I would think the cost difference can’t be that significant relative to the perception it provides and Ohm may need that now.
Don’t take me wrong as I still believe they are one of the premium ebike brands but maybe the bean counters are being allowed into the design meetings and that’s never a good thing.
Court says
Thanks for the feedback, Ken. I like Michael (OHM founder) and empathize with the difficulty of making these products and finding a workable business model, but yeah, I also prefer the E8000. For what it is, the OHM Discover was a satisfying product during my rides, I hope the review helped to answer questions and provide deep insights into the bike for you :)
Chris B says
It may be crazy to buy a bike sight unseen, but in this case I think it is worth it. I watched hours and hours of your videos for the past few years. I always wondered about getting an ebike. I have 4 bikes right now, a carbon specialized Roubaix, a tern node folder, a Surly long haul trucker and a vintage 1958 Raleigh grand prix that is really just there for looks. I used to love going on very long rides, on the Roubaix, but I bought my trucker and folder for either when I wanted to ride on canals, or bike trails at home or when I was on the road.
This Quarantine and stay at home orders, did not include riding bikes in Arizona, so I stepped up my bike riding and it really has all been on the trucker. I live on the edge of the Phoenix valley, so any ride into town is all slightly downhill and fun.. any ride home.. well you get the picture.. you could walk past me if you were a fast walker. Then a friend of mine said he got an electric bike in Utah that allows him to get up the mountain and ride down the trails. He is 65 and I am 59 this year, he said that he loves it, absolutely wishes he got one sooner.
Forgive the long comment, but I looked into converting my Surly LHT, but that won’t work really, it’s already heavy without a battery and motor and the rest. So, I watched your videos.. again, I don’t need a bike to make me go fast. Fast isn’t that important anymore, I do want to go further and since 1/2 of my ride is mostly downhill, I don’t even need a HUGE motor.. just that powering up the ride home and those last 5 miles are consistently uphill and on a busy street. I chose the Ohm Discovery, because it seems like the perfect package for me. I don’t want a throttle, I don’t really like suspension, I tend to crank it down so that it doesn’t move. I won’t be riding off road in the desert but will be in gravel. They told me that I can still return the bike (at my cost for shipping) within 30 days, and that is a risk I will take.. I looked at Specialized, but the closest bike to the discover was about $800 more. Trek the same.. there were some cheaper options, from the local bike shop, but they really look like bikes with a battery and motor attached.. the frames didn’t looks solid, no internal wiring.. etc. Anyway, my bike will arrive in a bout a month or so (perfect timing for my birthday). The guys up there at OHM seem very friendly and it would be good if they were my local shop, but there are plenty of shops that can work on Shimano drives here in Arizona.
Thanks for the review, I watched this one and the quest, and they were both helpful. I plan on putting many miles on the bike as I have on my other bikes.
Court says
Sounds like a great time! I really hope that you enjoy the OHM Discover, it sounds like you’re quite the cyclist with so many models. For me, it’s one of the nicer products out there, and I really like the people who run the company. Good luck, and thanks again for sharing, Chris!
Chris says
Thanks again Court for all the great reviews I agree. I have only communicated via email or phone and the Ohm guys are super responsive and nice. Velofix has already contacted me about the delivery which will me in about a month, maybe sooner. I know that during this virus that a lot of people have come back to cycling. Even at my age I remember how my Raleigh 3 speed made me feel when I was 13 years old, the freedom and peace when cruising down a road. We get attached to our bikes. I will be selling off my carbon fiber road bike. Just too many near misses and people that take my route getting hit and killed by distracted drivers. Be I am lucky that my city is striving to be a platinum bicycle city with wide mile lanes, paths , canal rides and even bike rest areas. I will come back and update after I get my bike. But I keep watching videos to make sure it was the right choice. And I am still excited about the discover.
Court says
Wonderful! I’m glad to hear that you’ve had a good experience with OHM as well. I hope you can enjoy the bike, be safe, and come away satisfied with the bike itself… I really think that you will. Thanks Chris :)
Chris in arizona says
I just got my bike and there is a new upgraded display. Much bigger and easier to read. Lots of info as well. Cadence, range, time. Odometer avg mph highest mph etc. I love the bike. All the upgrades, like seat, tires, pedals, tack, metal fenders, grips etc are included. Very sturdy and level 1 is fast enough for me, I like how eddixiebt it is.
Court says
Sweet! So glad you’re enjoying the bike, Chris. Thanks for the update about their new display, it sounds awesome :D
Chris Bates says
Sorry, that last crazy word wast Efficient. In Eco mode it will run forever. Well over 100 miles! I tend to ride in Eco or normal and put it in High for hills. So fun… I feel like superman.
Tom says
I’ve been looking for a good ebike that meets my needs for a fast commute in an area with a lot of hills and have been considering this bike for a while. Unfortunately, the cost (including shipping) seems to have increased substantially over the past year and it seems really hard to justify spending $3,800 USD for this bike when you compare it to something like a Dost Kope. Do you have any input or thoughts on why the price has increased so much over the past year? It’s also really disappointing to see that this bike is limited to 20 mph. I know for many cyclists 20 mph is fast, but as someone who regularly rides ~25 mph on flats without a motor, I would like to see class 3 bikes become more common.
Court says
Hi Tom! I feel ya… several other companies have been raising prices recently too. That includes big names like Specialized! I think the supply chain issues have caused a shortage, and prices for parts have also been going up due to high demand. This combination of forces is causing prices to rise :/ I do like DOST products, and they seem to be steady at the moment, but they are backordered until August now I think.