Any serious review about the recent Orbea Kemen ?

[StuartKuz]

Hi there i searched but found very few review and test of the Kemen.

Wish EMTB channel was covering it.

Any pointer is welcome.

I wish I could point you to a professional review, but alas. I did get a chance to ride the Kemen MID 30 SUV in the fall though. It was the sweetest ride I have had. It was supposed to be a few blocks around the shop's neighborhood. But there was a 6 mile loop nearby, and ... Everything just fit and worked well, it was easy to ride unpowered. Unfortunately the L was too small for me and the battery is not removeable. Orbea seems to make really nice bikes.

 

[Yayabike]

Actually the non removable battery was the main reason why i sold back the Vibe. One day i got a red warning on the ebikemotion application, i contacted orbea CS which asked me for the error code. They decided to serve the bicycle. They operated nicely and i had to pay nothing, but the bike was away 3 weeks and I had to bring it in a local shop and to get it back too.

Of course it was not Orbea fault (but Mahle one) and they did their best.

I contacted the CService several time and the contact was always very good and efficient, i would give them 8-10/10.

But I will never again get a bike with a battery that cannot be remove casually.

It is too bad that they went for "fixed" batteries because they really do a good job for everything else.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Actually the non removable battery was the main reason why i sold back the Vibe. One day i got a red warning on the ebikemotion application, i contacted orbea CS which asked me for the error code. They decided to serve the bicycle. They operated nicely and i had to pay nothing, but the bike was away 3 weeks and I had to bring it in a local shop and to get it back too.

Of course it was not Orbea fault (but Mahle one) and they did their best.

I contacted the CService several time and the contact was always very good and efficient, i would give them 8-10/10.

But I will never again get a bike with a battery that cannot be remove casually.

It is too bad that they went for "fixed" batteries because they really do a good job for everything else.

I cannot understand what is wrong with the internal battery? Were the Vibe battery removable, wouldn't you experience the issues as above?

 

[Yayabike]

I cannot understand what is wrong with the internal battery? Were the Vibe battery removable, wouldn't you experience the issues as above?

Well with a removable battery i would simply had removed it to send it back to orbea and the provider would probably had provided me a spare one while the battery got serviced. Note that many bike can perfectly work with the battery removed. Fazua even sell a light frame that can replace the battery.Last you can buy spare battery (ies) either original ones (from the engine seller) or "compatible"ones.

There are other reasons to prefer a removable battery : as example if you usually don't park the bike near a plug, or if you share the batteries, i know a couple they have two ebike with the same engine and they often exchnage the batteries.

The extra cost, weight and complexity induced by a removable battery is quite small, so batteries should always be removable except may be on budget bikes.

Last note that Fazua went even further since you could remove not only the battery but also parts of the engine.

On the cannondale néo synapse the battery can be removed (with the key, the key is there to prevent the battery from being stolen) and it is still slim and good looking (even if more recent bikes look even better).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The extra cost, weight and complexity induced by a removable battery is quite small, so batteries should always be removable except may be on budget bikes.

Budget? I beg your pardon?

Did you say "budget"?!

The e-bikes above have an irremovable battery.
You say you had to send the battery to Orbea. With the brand I use I bring anything broken to the brand's LBS

 

[Stefan Mikes]

So guys, I could see a new Orbea Kemen in person on last Saturday Jul 13th, 2024.

Looked at from the side, the e-bike looked gorgeous. A slim, elegant silhouette. The e-bike looked lightweight! When a female rider approached the Kemen (we all were outside a cyclists' pub), I asked her for the permission to lift the e-bike.

Uh-oh.

When you looked at the Kemen from the top (the rider's perspective), it didn't look slim anymore. You could clearly see how wide the downtube had to be to accomodate the battery. When it comes to weight, I could lift the e-bike without a special effort but the e-bike was certainly not lightweight! (I agree with the figure of 52 lbs or 23+ kg).

Perhaps it was discussed before: What is the peak power or max torque of the Shimano E-600-RS motor? (The motor looked beautifully small!)

Anyway, Kemen looked a nice "do it all" equipped e-bike to me! (The lady was on a long demo ride together with her husband who rode an analog Orbea XC bike).