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 high-end feature complete commuter ebike from a reputable company that uses some of the best brand-name components available, powered by a Shimano mid-drive motor and drive-train, quality 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 send it delivered assembled to your door via a partnership with Velofix, you also get a 2 year comprehensive warranty, not bad for the $3,399 USD / $4,499 CAD price
- The Quest comes in four different sizes (today, we are testing out the medium frame size) and two different colors, available in white and for a limited a time, you can get this “Storm Gray” color which has a really cool kind of satin look to it, I love that it is not a finger print magnet like some of the gloss or matte finishes
- A lot of cool and quality features like these aluminum alloy fenders that are very sturdy and great for rain, locking ergonomic grips with dual density rubber, integrated rotary bell, and this Ergon ST10 saddle
- The front suspension fork is quite nice and super comfortable, this is one of the many features that sets this bike apart as an upgrade from the more basic Discovery model, it an RST First fork with 100mm of travel, it also includes compression lockout adjust as well as rebound adjust, I think it is really cool you get these black anodized stanchions, this is typically the mark of a quality suspension fork
- 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 battery integrated lights here, they have them 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
- The bike is comes in at 52.9lbs (on the medium frame) and that weight includes the battery, motor, and everything on the bike ready to ride, 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
- The bike has 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 E7000 mid drive motor, this has an impressive 130rpm pedal support, standard Q factor, 250-440 watts of power, and a consistent 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 E7000 is very compact and minimalist, it is 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
- A 4amp charger is available 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 has some high quality performance given that these are quad piston calipers, something typically reserved for the best high-end mountain bikes, so it is great to see here
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
- Although the bike is high-quality and fitted with many brand name components, the price could be a factor for some people, there are a lot of cheap options out there these days and this bike does fantastic to set itself apart from them, but for many, price will be a big determining factor in what bike they choose
- I love the battery integrated headlight, they even mounted it in the perfect position so that you have more handlebar room to add accessories, and its not mounted on the fork where it could bounce, however, it would be perfect if it only had side window markings cut out, this helps side visibility so cars can see you, not the end of the world, but a nice touch many of the higher-end lighting systems are going with
- 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
sl says
I wish I could understand why so many companies put the charging port down by the crank. In wet weather, it’s the dirtiest part of the bike. When getting home after a wet ride, the last thing I want to do is stoop down between bikes in the rack and try to plug the charger in without getting dirt and water in the plug. Why not put the port just behind the head tube where it stays clean and accessible? All it takes is machining a hole and running two feet of wire!
Court says
I’m with you… it’s a bit frustrating but very common, even on the newest Trek electric mountain bikes! Sometimes I assume something is easy, but perhaps it does add cost, complexity, and increased failure to change the charging position on ebikes, and they just figured it wasn’t worth it.
Byrun says
I was just at OHM looking at bikes. My Dad was also with me and ended up quite interested in an OHM bike (his quibble was the limited colour options). The feeling I got from the guys in the store is that if you approach them about design changes for future models they would be receptive. Very open and very approachable. They talked a bit the bikes they were designing for the future, so it might be worth raising concerns.
Sal says
How-well-does-this-bike-do-in-the-hills?
Court says
Hi Sal! I’d say that it does better than average, if you shift gears thoughtfully. Most mid-drive motors perform well with a mechanical advantage because they can leverage the gears of the bicycle. You can see a more recent review I did on a similar OHM model where there are hills shown, here’s the link.