Test / E-Bike: The Diamant Opal+ is a versatile e-bike with a powerful Bosch Performance CX motor and integrated battery. Thanks to its well thought-out choice of components, it can convince in different areas of application.
The Opal+ is, so to speak, the everyday all-rounder in the now extremely extensive e-bike portfolio of the traditional manufacturer. In this area of application and the price range up to 3.500 euros, there is now an almost endless selection of models; it is all the more important to stand out from the crowd. The Opal+ succeeds at first glance with its very stylish and simple, but by no means boring look. The primary reason for this is of course the beautifully designed aluminum frame, which, in addition to the current Bosch Performance CX motor, also houses an integrated Powertube battery with 500 Wh. The drive system is completed by the tried-and-tested Intuvia display, which may be a bit outdated technically, but is still convincing in practice with its ease of use, lots of information and excellent readability.
One or the other may have a problem with the battery size: Yes, the Bosch CX motor is also available with a 625 Wh battery, but on the one hand this could easily be retrofitted to the Opal+ (the down tube offers enough space for this), on the other hand: In our experience, the 500 Wh variant is sufficient for everyday driving. Especially since this also brings tangible advantages. On the one hand, of course, there is the price of just under 3.400 euros, which is extremely attractive in view of the overall package on offer. On the other hand, the Powertube 500 battery is almost a kilogram lighter than the larger version. It is also thanks to the battery that the Opal+ is one of the lighter bikes in its class at 26,4 kg.
In addition to the model version we tested with a trapezoidal frame, the Diamant Opal+ is also available in the classic style with a horizontal top tube or as a step-through model with a particularly low step-through. All frame shapes have the option of a range extender in common: the 500 Wh additional battery fits on the down tube and doubles the battery capacity - so nothing stands in the way of an extended weekend tour away from the socket.
One of the biggest changes compared to the previous model year can be found in the gears of the Opal+: Diamant now uses a Shimano Nexus 5 hub, which replaces the Nexus 7 of the predecessor. That initially sounds like a downgrade – five gears instead of seven. But far from it, because the Nexus 5 is Shimano's first hub gear specially developed for e-bikes. Although you have to make do with a little less bandwidth (206% vs. 244%), the inner workings of the hub are designed so robustly that they can handle the full 85 Nm of torque from the CX motor. That was and is not the case with the Nexus 7, which is why the powerful Bosch motor would have to be throttled significantly here. A clear improvement over its predecessor!
In order to do justice to the all-round character of the Diamant Opal+, there is a suspension fork with 60 mm travel in the head tube. Of course, this is not designed to set speed records off-road, but is primarily intended to improve comfort on bad roads, on cobblestones or gravel. If you don't want that, you can also block the fork with a rotary knob. The 55 mm wide 27,5 inch tires from Schwalbe also provide additional comfort, which, in addition to puncture protection, also have a reflective strip for better visibility.
frame | Alu |
suspension fork | Suntour XCR32 60mm |
Power Type | Bosch CX 4th Gen |
Battery | 500 Wh |
Wheels | Bontrager Kovee |
Tubes | Schwalbe Marathon Almotion 55mm |
derailleur | Shimano Nexus 5 |
Gear levers | Shimano Nexus Revo 5 twist shifter |
Crank | Aluminum 38 teeth |
Front derailleur | ohne |
Brake | Shimano MT200 |
Seat post | Bontrager SSR |
Saddle | Selle Royal Vivo Moderate Ergo |
Stem | Bontrager adjustable |
Links | Bontrager risers |
The MT200 brakes from Shimano are solid, they can be dosed well and can also grip properly if necessary - even if there are certainly more powerful brakes on the market. The hydraulic stoppers can score with their easy maintenance and low susceptibility to defects. The equipment of the Opal+ is also convincing in the B-grade: The adjustable stem is of high quality and hardly twists even under the greatest effort. The bright LED lighting also copes well with completely dark environments. Also positive: Diamant installed a chain tensioner to keep the chain taut. Although it doesn't look as elegant as horizontal dropouts, this solution has only advantages in everyday life: installing and removing the rear wheel is much easier, and it also sits much more securely in the rear triangle.
However, we also found the famous fly in the ointment with the Diamant Opal+: On the one hand, there is the chain and pants protection, which seems a bit half-hearted to us. Yes, it's an advantage that you don't have to roll up your pants to protect the waistband from unsightly oil stains. But then we would have been happy if Diamant had installed a completely closed chain case: This would also protect the chain and the drive from water and dirt and thus reduce the maintenance effort. In addition, the plastic mudguards don't quite match the otherwise high-quality bike. Even if we have nothing to complain about functionally - mudguards made of metal would have been nice.
The handling of the versatile e-bike is exactly as we would like it to be from a bike in this class: calm and unobtrusive. The frame is pleasantly stiff, doesn't start to wobble even at high speeds and - also thanks to the suspension fork - doesn't lack the necessary comfort. With the Bosch CX motor you have plenty of power and we spent most of the time in the tamer Eco and Tour modes, which are not only significantly quieter than the higher support levels, but also protect the 500 Wh battery. The Nexus 5 gearshift always offered us a sufficiently large bandwidth and did not cause any problems when shifting under load.
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