New Orbea Gain M20i

[yungleen]

Hello everyone,

I received my new bike the other day and today took it out and did the final assembly. It was mostly done, I just had to plug in the di2 cable to battery, adjust handlebars, put in the front wheel, and the seat. Plugged in the bike and charged up. Did 100% this time but will probably charge to 80% in the future per ebikemotion recommendations. I was having a problem with the di2 at first. No lights at all and nothing lit up on charging unit when plugged in. I found out it was the cable plugged into the battery. You really have to push it more than it appears at first until you hear a click. It lit up right away when I did that. Will go for first ride tonight or tomorrow. I injured my foot playing tennis 4 weeks ago and it still hurts. I thought it was just a bad sprain but I am starting to think maybe I broke something. Such bad timing.

I will report back about the ride and what I think. I have a small mountain in my town and some big hills so I will be sure to test the bike out on those.

One thing I noticed so far is that when I spin the back wheel, it stops much more quickly than my other road bikes. If i give a light push it stops almost instantly. If I give it some force it spins for a few seconds but quickly stops. Hopefully this isn't noticeable when out on the road.

 

[Brew]

I noticed the same with mine when I first purchased it and determined it was the rear brake pads dragging. It took a while to get them adjusted properly and I even had to file flat the the mounting surface on the bike that the caliper mounts to. Seems there was a bit of paint that caused the caliper to not be square with the rotor.

 

[yungleen]

I noticed the same with mine when I first purchased it and determined it was the rear brake pads dragging. It took a while to get them adjusted properly and I even had to file flat the the mounting surface on the bike that the caliper mounts to. Seems there was a bit of paint that caused the caliper to not be square with the rotor.

Oh wow. I was wondering if it was the rear brake. I tried to watch it and see if that was going on but couldn't tell. I don't have a lot of experience w disc brakes.

 

[TouchingCloth]

Oh wow. I was wondering if it was the rear brake. I tried to watch it and see if that was going on but couldn't tell. I don't have a lot of experience w disc brakes.

I have the same thing with mine, the freewheel is not like that of a traditional bike, as you say it has a lot of resistance.
Its not really noticable on the road, coasting on the flat, you will slow down quicker than a companion on a bike without a hub motor. Freewheeling down a hill you will probably be faster due to the increased weight.
Brand new the brake pads can rub slightly but I removed the caliper completely and the freewheel was still slowing down far quicker than a typical set up.
I only ajusted the brakes on mine due to the noise of the pads scuffing the disc driving me nuts.

 

[Brew]

You could try to loosen the two bottom caliper bolts, have someone squeeze real hard on the rear brakes and then snug them back up. On mine I found that one side was rubbing more than the other so I loosened up the bolts, put a thin guitar pick between the pad and rotor that was rubbing and used the above procedure. It worked somewhat but noticed the caliper was not sitting square to the rotor and had to do some more dinking around with the mounting surface and bolt holes in the frame. It spins much more freely now although not like the front.

 

[yungleen]

I have the same thing with mine, the freewheel is not like that of a traditional bike, as you say it has a lot of resistance.
Its not really noticable on the road, coasting on the flat, you will slow down quicker than a companion on a bike without a hub motor. Freewheeling down a hill you will probably be faster due to the increased weight.
Brand new the brake pads can rub slightly but I removed the caliper completely and the freewheel was still slowing down far quicker than a typical set up.
I only ajusted the brakes on mine due to the noise of the pads scuffing the disc driving me nuts.

Yeah, I don't hear any noise like the pads are rubbing the rotor. I was going to do what you did and take out the pads and see if it still spun slowly. I did ride it around the driveway for a minute after I assembled it and it wasn't that noticeable. I will take a closer look. I just got x-rays on my foot today and there is a fracture so I don't think I am going to be riding for the next couple weeks

 

[TouchingCloth]

Ooh thats bad luck.
I don't think the free...or not so freewheel is anything you can fix. Its a trait I suspect. It may have something to do with the ring of magnets or something internal in the motor. I gave the hub drowning in lube in the falorn hope it would improve to no avail.
As I said previously its not noticeable when you ride, unless you compare with another rider on a standard bike.
Its also not the drag that some, myself included feel when dropping from high assistance to none or level one.
That is very noticable if you have it. Some say its because you are noticeing the extra work the motor was providing, but I have experienced it attempting to accelerate down a hill after cresting the peak. This is like someone putting the brakes on.
Not always, so it may depend on small things like your cadence at the point of change or how long you were using maximum power/the actual wattage being consumed at this point.
Anyway, thats somthing you may experience when your foot is better. I wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[yungleen]

Ooh thats bad luck.
I don't think the free...or not so freewheel is anything you can fix. Its a trait I suspect. It may have something to do with the ring of magnets or something internal in the motor. I gave the hub drowning in lube in the falorn hope it would improve to no avail.
As I said previously its not noticeable when you ride, unless you compare with another rider on a standard bike.
Its also not the drag that some, myself included feel when dropping from high assistance to none or level one.
That is very noticable if you have it. Some say its because you are noticeing the extra work the motor was providing, but I have experienced it attempting to accelerate down a hill after cresting the peak. This is like someone putting the brakes on.
Not always, so it may depend on small things like your cadence at the point of change or how long you were using maximum power/the actual wattage being consumed at this point.
Anyway, thats somthing you may experience when your foot is better. I wish you a speedy recovery.

Thank you. Hopefully I will just need to keep off of it for a while.

How long does that drag last when you have experienced it? when dropping the assistance level.

 

[MikeC89]

I've had my M30 for almost a year, I had the drag at first but it improved significantly as time went on.

 

[yungleen]

Lying here with the broken foot, thinking about random things on the bike... Do you have to take the rear wheel off the bike if you want to clean/degrease the casette since it is so close to the brake rotor? Would be quicker if able to leave it on the bike.

Also, is it difficult to unplug the cord to the motor while the guard thing is on?

 

[Brew]

Not hard. Just make sure you put a disk shim between the brake pads

 

[PassoGavia]

Hi. Gain M20i here.

If you are DIY on cassette removal, you may want to try it with your existing tools on your Gain. My Park chain whip with Park adaptor (FR-5.2) for Shimano doesn't work. That's because the FR adaptor doesn't have enough clearance. Because the rear hub is not a removable through-axle, the axle and threads stand proud of the cassette, so the adaptor won't fit over the top and still engage the teeth on the cassette ring. Park has an expensive and now discontinued tool that is completely open at the top and works perfectly, There are still new ones on eBay, for between $40 and $50. Park FR-5.2H. FWIW, it's a beautifully made tool, and will last several lifetimes of home use.

 

[yungleen]

Hi. Gain M20i here.

If you are DIY on cassette removal, you may want to try it with your existing tools on your Gain. My Park chain whip with Park adaptor (FR-5.2) for Shimano doesn't work. That's because the FR adaptor doesn't have enough clearance. Because the rear hub is not a removable through-axle, the axle and threads stand proud of the cassette, so the adaptor won't fit over the top and still engage the teeth on the cassette ring. Park has an expensive and now discontinued tool that is completely open at the top and works perfectly, There are still new ones on eBay, for between $40 and $50. Park FR-5.2H. FWIW, it's a beautifully made tool, and will last several lifetimes of home use.

Good to know, thanks. I will have to check that. Is the 5.2h made just for that purpose?

 

[PassoGavia]

The Park 5.2H will work on any Shimano lock ring, on any bike. The difference is that it is a single piece unit, and the back is open, as you can see above, allowing greater clearance. You will still also need a chain whip to provide counter-rotational force to unscrew the lock ring.

 

[Brew]

That's what I use, works perfect.

 

[yungleen]

8 weeks after I broke my foot, doctor says I can ride a bike. Took a small walk yesterday to test the foot and it seemed okay. Today I was going to to finally try out my new bike. Was planning to just ride up my hill a couple times. Then I decided to ride down road a bit. Then instead of turning around I kept going and did a hilly loop about 10 miles total. Super fun. I am very out of shape having done nothing not even walks for solid 6 weeks. But it was a fast ride and the assist was great up the hills. It kept me from having to put too much force down on the pedals on the hills.

First 5 miles or so on green and last 5 miles on red to help me up 3 big hills. I could easily go up the hills in 3rd or 4th from lowest gear which I normally could never do. I thought changing power levels was really easy and didn't feel the need to change it often. Battery went from 96% to 66%. Not bad. I plan to eventually switch to using green mode all the time and extending the range. In a week or two probably I am going to ride the bike up the mountain in my town. I will probably try it once in green and once in red at least to test the motor.

While I have been lying in bed with the broken foot I got bored and started a youtube channel and I bought a gopro lol. I am going to post videos of the mountain rides and a review of the bike. If anyone is interested in seeing that, let me know.