It looks to me as though they have similar motor output (about 250W), but the Specialized battery must be significantly more powerful to provide an 80 mile range. Also, the Specialized will provide boost up to 28 mph vs. 20 mph for an eBikemotion equipped bike, which is pretty nice. But needless to say, Specialized's prices on the Creo are beyond eye-watering...
Known Issues & Problems with Orbea Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes
- Thread starter Ann M.
- Start date
Zeek48
Active Member
Reading about this issue with ebike batteries. Is anyone aware of an ebikemotion bike/battery catching on fire. I googled but couldn't find anything. I store my bike in the house so got to thinking is it an issue? Don't think it is. It appears a number of the issues have with modifications.
www.google.com
Why Do E-Bikes Catch Fire?
Lyft suspended e-bike service in San Francisco following four battery fires. Then, a Lime e-bike caught fire in Seattle. We investigated the reasons why electric bike lithium-ion batteries burn up.
www.google.com
There may be a small amount of drag when pedaling with the power off, as I observed motor rpm when in this state. The back wheel doesn't spin/freewheel as easily as my other bicycles do. I'm not sure where that slight amount of drag is coming from.
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wpottinger
New Member
Hi. I'm new to the forum and Orbea bikes. I bought a D30 online from Bike Bling in Southern California. The bike arrived with a loose headset, not surprising since the handlebars were detached from the stem for shipping. If you are unfamiliar with headset adjustment do not fear; the process is easy and there are a few good youtube videos that demonstrate it (the GCN videos are particularly good).
Also, the rear mech was significantly out of adjustment in the low gear stop and indexing spread. Again, youtube is your friend. Search for "How to Adjust a Rear Derailleur – Limit Screws & Indexing" to see Park Tool's Calvin Jones comprehensive tutorial on rear derailleur adjustment.
My one significant gripe with Orbea: poor customer service. A customer's only resource is their website and the dealer. You're out of luck if you have any but the most basic questions. They provide an email address on their website -- [email protected] -- but Orbea does not respond to emails, either in english or spanish. Having gotten excellent customer service from Specialized and Trek in years past, I was unprepared for Orbea's apathy toward their customers. Unfortunately, I had committed to my purchase by the time I discovered how poor their support was, otherwise I may have gone with Bianchi.
Also, the rear mech was significantly out of adjustment in the low gear stop and indexing spread. Again, youtube is your friend. Search for "How to Adjust a Rear Derailleur – Limit Screws & Indexing" to see Park Tool's Calvin Jones comprehensive tutorial on rear derailleur adjustment.
My one significant gripe with Orbea: poor customer service. A customer's only resource is their website and the dealer. You're out of luck if you have any but the most basic questions. They provide an email address on their website -- [email protected] -- but Orbea does not respond to emails, either in english or spanish. Having gotten excellent customer service from Specialized and Trek in years past, I was unprepared for Orbea's apathy toward their customers. Unfortunately, I had committed to my purchase by the time I discovered how poor their support was, otherwise I may have gone with Bianchi.
Zeek48
Active Member
That's interesting. As many of us have experienced Orbea doesn't have a huge dealer footprint. I had to travel from Phoenix to Tuscan to purchase my Gain from the closest dealer. It was actually someone from Orbea USA that put in in contact with the dealer. That individual was willing to stay in contact with while I had the long wait with delivery delays with both the bike and the extender battery. I have been fortunate not to require any bike service issues as of yet but am confident that my selling dealer will be able to deal with.
I had a similar experience with with Orbea Canada while I was was trying to buy my Canadian bike. Again not a big dealer footprint in Canada either. I was corresponding with an Orbea rep who was very helpful and when Orbea decided not to ship to Canada in 2019 he assisted me in obtaining a Bianchi Aria e-road.
I'm still debating as to whether I will keep the Bianchi or sell it and buy a Gain when the become available in Canada. I do prefer the Gain from a geometry point of view and the fact it comes with Di2. Ironically because of the name and the color more people notice and comment on the Bianchi while not even noticing it is an ebike.
So overall I have had a good impression of Orbea.
I had a similar experience with with Orbea Canada while I was was trying to buy my Canadian bike. Again not a big dealer footprint in Canada either. I was corresponding with an Orbea rep who was very helpful and when Orbea decided not to ship to Canada in 2019 he assisted me in obtaining a Bianchi Aria e-road.
I'm still debating as to whether I will keep the Bianchi or sell it and buy a Gain when the become available in Canada. I do prefer the Gain from a geometry point of view and the fact it comes with Di2. Ironically because of the name and the color more people notice and comment on the Bianchi while not even noticing it is an ebike.
So overall I have had a good impression of Orbea.
wpottinger
New Member
I'm glad to hear your encouraging update Zeek, thanks. I'm converting my 2019 D30 (which I bought on a great closeout sale ) to a D31 (1x) and want to add a dropper post and the X35 Trio remote (and perhaps their color computer too). Their documentation implies it's possible, but I haven't found anyone who can tell me without actually trying it. (I have a hunch both are possible.)
I was able to reach a person in tech support at Orbea USA in Arkansas, but he couldn't provide a definitive answer. He referred me to ebikemotion for questions around hub cassette driver compatibility, and I've written them several times as well ([email protected]). Again, no reply. Perhaps customer service in Spain means something different.
I'll update this thread if I hear back from either company.
I was able to reach a person in tech support at Orbea USA in Arkansas, but he couldn't provide a definitive answer. He referred me to ebikemotion for questions around hub cassette driver compatibility, and I've written them several times as well ([email protected]). Again, no reply. Perhaps customer service in Spain means something different.
I'll update this thread if I hear back from either company.
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Zeek48
Active Member
Ebikemotion is another kettle of fish. I have tried communicating with them as well and been ignored.
Ha! Your level of upgrading is beyond my capabilities. Like putting gas in my car and knowing where the ignition is, I know where to plug my charger in and what button to push to turn it on. Good luck with all that and enjoy your bike.
Hi All, I have a Orbea D30 I bought a few months and recently I am hearing a chirping sound coming from the hub. If I take the wheel off and put it back the noise goes away but after 30 miles of riding it comes back. Anyone had any issues like this? The noise is definitley not from the disc brakes and i can hear it whether the motor is On or off.
CyclingDad
New Member
I've been searching the internet for anyone having the same issues as myself with the Orbea Gain or indeed any bike using the Ebikemotion rear hub system. I love the bike and there is no doubt it makes life easier going up hills but I find it is like cycling through treacle sometimes even with level one assist on. I normally have the motor set to level 1 @ 40%, level 2 @ 70% and level 3 @ 100% as I want to ride the bike as I would my Specialized Roubaix but with the assist only really used on hills. I would like to be able to ride with my group along the flats the same as I do on the Roubaix and keep up on the hills but it isn't working out like that. Going uphill I could easily blast up and leave everyone in my wake but choose not to be an arse, along the flat however it is a massive effort to keep up and more often than not I get dropped and the group are having to slow down for me. I bought the bike because I was led to believe that it rode resistance-free so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Are you going over the 20 mph cutoff speed on the flats? If so, it's not reasonable to expect the Gain, which weighs 10 lbs more than your other bike, to be as fast. There also may be a small amount of drag in the hub, however I don't know if there is or how much. Cutting back the power levels, as you did, makes you expend more of your energy at lower speeds too, so when the pace picks up, you're off the back because of that.
CyclingDad
New Member
Hi Mike, I'm in the UK and because of an archaic EU rule, our bikes stop assisting at 15.5 mph. I noticed something odd yesterday whilst riding along the river cycle path on a -1% (according to my Wahoo) when I stopped peddling it was like a brake had been applied and I went from 20mph to zero in a few seconds. I have made a little video to try and show what I'm experiencing, has anyone else done a similar experiment?
Hi CyclingDad. I can't really help you in the sense that I'm in the US so my Gain cuts off power at about 20-21mph, but on the terrain where I ride (which is very flat) I don't notice any drag when I exceed the cut off speed. What I do notice is that the level I'm on when it cuts off makes the cut off much more noticeable, which I guess makes sense because you're loosing out on more assist, so if it cuts out and I'm on level 1 I can barely feel it, if I'm on the highest level the cut-off is very noticeable - so maybe it's more of a perception thing?
Yes, mine does that too. It's not much drag though, or the wheel would stop rotating within a couple of revolutions.
What tires are you running? What tire pressure? Are you using tire inserts or Slime tubes? Is your front disc brake rubbing? Lowering the power levels as much as you did is making you work harder.
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Zeek48
Active Member
Hi Cycling Dad, I wonder if the perceived drag you are experiencing is because you have set your level 1 assist at 40%. I try to ride without any assistance as much as possible on the flats. If I have been using A1 and drop back to no assist I rarely notice any difference. However, if I use A2 to climb a steeper, longer grade and drop back to no assist it does appear as a brake has been applied. The first few times this has happened I actually pulled over thinking that I may have have a rear flat.
I have my A1 set at 100% but have dropped A2 & A3 (which I have rarely used) set at 70%. My experimentation has indicated using A2 reduces the range by about about 40-50% vs A1 and the same again for A3. Thus if using A1 gives you 100 kms, A2 will give you, 50 kms and A3 will give you about 25-30 kms. I have noticed some of you you in the UK seem to be getting a little more than that and I wonder if it is the difference in the cutoff speeds as our North American bikes will keep working to 32 kph.
Zeek48
Active Member
Ha, thinking I could extend the range, I played with mine like that a bit too Mike. Then it dawned on me. The reason I bought the damn bike was to have the assist when I needed it.
I have bought the battery extender so I can do some longer rides and not worry about range. I haven't actually picked it up yet but will do so upon my return to Arizona in mid October. I'm looking forward to doing a century ride at the end of November.
I ride with the motor switched off until getting to a significent hill (definition of this varies according to how I feel 
).
So far ridden 450 miles , using the motor for 34 of them. Several times the motor has switched itself on when I'm descending a long hill at speed. Has anyone else experienced this?
).So far ridden 450 miles , using the motor for 34 of them. Several times the motor has switched itself on when I'm descending a long hill at speed. Has anyone else experienced this?
youngoldbloke
Member
Do you ride with the electrics switched off completely - no light on the top tube button? If the system turns itself on, completely by itself, it sounds like a fault to me. If you are only using assistance for such a small proportion of your rides, why an ebike? Your choice of course, but a lighter non-ebike might make the climbs more manageable - for the cost of a Gain there are many bikes available weighing less than 8kg - half the weight of my Gain in rideable configuration.I ride with the motor switched off until getting to a significent hill (definition of this varies according to how I feel
So far ridden 450 miles , using the motor for 34 of them. Several times the motor has switched itself on when I'm descending a long hill at speed. Has anyone else experienced this?
Yes motor completely off which is why it should not switch itself on. It's going back to the dealer for investigation but I wonder if anyone else has had this happen.
Atrial fibrillation and 83 birthdays make some hills a problem on my lightweight road bike, especially the final steep one mile up to our house. Having ridden a trike for 50 years the extra weight doesn't bother me until I get to some of the hills so I get a reasonable workout without any undue strain.
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