Jaxx
Well-Known Member
Good you're finally getting a solution. We couldn't all be wrong.
Orbea Gain E-Road Bike
- Thread starter Rincon
- Start date
Good you're finally getting a solution. We couldn't all be wrong.
This weekend I took a 22 mile ride (didn't have much time) to see if lowering the level 1% would save much battery power. I lowered the level 1 power to 80%, and could definitely feel a difference in the amount of assist. My average speed went from about 16mph to 13.5mph. Although the terrain is flat, there was a pretty strong headwind of about 10-12mph. At the end of the ride I had about 66% battery charge left (I started at 100%) and according to the app. I could have done a total of about 50 miles. My takeaway is that by lowering the power levels you gain a bit (not much) of battery efficiency, but it's fairly small (maybe 5-10%) so unless I'm taking a really long ride where I'm worried about running out of battery I think I'll keep them set at 100%. Heck, even if it's a long ride I'll probably leave it at 100% and just use the power a bit less, because I'm basically lazy and at 70% or so on level 1 you're really not getting much assist.
Jaxx
Well-Known Member
In total agreement with you Sol. At least leave Level 1 at 100% otherwise, assist is negligible.
Zeek48
Active Member
Agree Sol. I bought the bike so I could have the assist when I needed it and I bought the Extender Battery so I could do longer rides and not have to worry.
As I have mentioned before, I am signed up for a century ride at the end of the month. Pretty sure my batteries will perform and last, I just hope my body does. It's been a couple of years since I've done one.
Anyone tried wider tires on their Gain? I did a bike tour recently and some of the roads were in bad shape, including some dirt. Would have been a smoother ride with wide tires (I've got some 38mm tires as spares for my gravel bike). Wondering how much they would slow me down.
Hi Mike. I have a flatbar Gain that comes with 38mm tires. Compared to my other bike I was surprised that it didn't seem to make much of a difference, although it was a very noticeable difference in terms of comfort and not feeling like I was going to kill myself the few times I've ridden on gravel. For what it's worth, here's an article on the subject: https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/12-myths-in-cycling-1-wider-tires-are-slower/. I think there are a lot of urban myths when it comes to bikes including things such as wider tires, it may make a difference if you're a professional racer where every split second can mean the difference in the outcome of a race, but in the real world not so much.
Fwiw, I have a gravel/touring bike with 38 mm tires and a road bike with 25 mm tires. I'm at least 1 mph faster average speed on rides on the bike with the narrower tires and I feel it's more efficient on the road. It is lighter though, which may make some of the difference.
arao99
New Member
I had a call from the bike shop this morning ,Orbea are sending a new battery for my bike as they think its the associated electronics that is causing my bike' s problems. The bike was putting out full power all the time and all that level 1,2 and 3 did was delay the motor starting. The first bike shop (national dealer ) told me after testing while speaking to Orbea on the phone that the bike was perfectly ok !!! needless to say they will not get any more of my business in the future.
Hi Mike, I set up my M30 with 38mm Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss tubeless. I run 34-36 psi front and 38-40 psi rear (On an XL bike, 222 lbs). This was the first of two changes to help with gravel riding (the second being a 36 tooth rear cluster from SRAM). I did notice a much nicer ride on rough streets and gravel. It didn’t really slow me down too much. I don’t have solid data on energy use, but it wasn’t anything obvious. I would recommend these tires tubeless, they have a smooth centerline which does help with rolling resistance on roads. Overall it makes the bike almost feel like it has a suspension and my carpel tunnel syndrome is better.
ArthurTwoshedsJackson
New Member
Hi,
Orbea is a Spanish company and serve mostly EU countries where the speed limit set at 17mph. The internet is awash with threads on how to "pimp up your ride" and make it go faster by messing about with the electronics. Orbea have always marketed the bikes as power assisted, in that it's not about putting your feet up on the bars and scooting up hills rather it's a bike where you will feel the burn, get a workout but have the luxury of a boost if you've gone too far, hit a massive hill or the winds got up. It's not about going up and down the power but picking a level if you need it. Before the battery booster you couldn't go on a 20 mile run with the power on all the way round, and you don't want to be half way up a steep hill and the power to go off with the weight of the bike. Nowadays i hardly use the power apart from going round roundabouts or I'm not feeling good. Even if you use the power a lot, after a run you still feel that you've had a workout.
Orbea is a Spanish company and serve mostly EU countries where the speed limit set at 17mph. The internet is awash with threads on how to "pimp up your ride" and make it go faster by messing about with the electronics. Orbea have always marketed the bikes as power assisted, in that it's not about putting your feet up on the bars and scooting up hills rather it's a bike where you will feel the burn, get a workout but have the luxury of a boost if you've gone too far, hit a massive hill or the winds got up. It's not about going up and down the power but picking a level if you need it. Before the battery booster you couldn't go on a 20 mile run with the power on all the way round, and you don't want to be half way up a steep hill and the power to go off with the weight of the bike. Nowadays i hardly use the power apart from going round roundabouts or I'm not feeling good. Even if you use the power a lot, after a run you still feel that you've had a workout.
Hi Arthur. I agree with what you're saying, but just to make sure it's clear, Orbea Gains sold in the US are class 1 bikes here, so no throttle - but they are restricted to 20mph, not the EU required 15.5 mph. Where I ride (which is totally flat, no hills) if you leave the power settings at 100% on all three levels I'm getting about 35-45 miles of range if left on level 1 all of the time and about 75 miles with the range extender (which I also have) - although leaving it on all the time is not really the point of this bike. That's at about 16-18 mph average speed but exerting myself anough to keep my heart rate at aboout 130 or so. By the way, on my particular bike, the cut-off is a bit high so instead of 20mph it cuts off at a litttle over 21mph.
Deacon Blues
Well-Known Member
15.5 mph power cut-off is acceptable for a mountain bike, but is just plain stupid for a road bike. I live in Canada, where the mandated cut-off is, thankfully, 20 mph.
I guess I'm a fool but I really don't get the whole cut-off thing. I don't know of any other category of vehicles from cars to boats and trains that have it, they simply expect people to obey posted speed limits. Deacon 20 beats 15.5, but there's not a day that goes by when I don't see folks in non-powered road bikes going faster than 20 mph. I limit my bike use to trails because at least in SW Florida if you're going slower than 30mph on any street you're asking to get killed by drivers. I'm all for going green - but not for becoming a read splash on the road. And although Florida has the highest fatality rate for bikers and pedestrians, the rest of the US is not far behind.
Zeek48
Active Member
I agree the 15 mph doesn't make much sense to me. I wouldn't mind getting up to 24-25 mph. I bought mine to enable me to keep up to my younger ride partners and to assist on the hills & wind. I definitely do have times when I am still being dropped on the flats as the group cranks it up over 20 mph. Fortunately, now with my extender I can push it up to A2 and it's a little less effort to keep it at 20. It's fun to to be able to keep up or even pass on the hills. Then when in a headwind they make me pull. I love my bike.
Hi Mike, Which flatbar gain do you have? Is it an aluminium frame? Do you notice that it rides differently than a carbon frame bike as the aluminium ones are heavier. Do you take it for long (30 to 50 mile rides?). Just wondering. They have new flatbar gain models with better components and am trying to decide the difference between the carbon and aluminium models. The flatbar only has aluminium frames, but you can change the handle bars on the carbon frame ones for an extra fee.
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Captain Slow
Well-Known Member
I am wondering the exact same thing. The Gain is a lot cheaper than the Creo, but reading some user experiences it appears (but I'm not sure) that real world range of the Creo is longer than the Gain. I read an article in Road Bike Action that said the motor on the Creo is unusually efficient. It's over 80% efficiency from a cadence of 60 to 110 and it peaks at around 84% efficiency at a cadence of 100.
How efficient are hub motors? I guess the other factor is that the battery in the Creo is bigger than the battery in the Gain.
If the cost were the same between the two I think I'd go for the Creo, but given the significant price difference I'm considering the Gain as well.
How efficient are hub motors? I guess the other factor is that the battery in the Creo is bigger than the battery in the Gain.
If the cost were the same between the two I think I'd go for the Creo, but given the significant price difference I'm considering the Gain as well.
From what I can see the Orbeas have more gearing options with two cogs
in front. The Creo is a 1x. Need to test them both to see which one climbs hills better and which rides smoother. Orbea certainly has a wider range of models including aluminum frames and flatbar handles. Specialized now has a lower priced model which is $6500.
in front. The Creo is a 1x. Need to test them both to see which one climbs hills better and which rides smoother. Orbea certainly has a wider range of models including aluminum frames and flatbar handles. Specialized now has a lower priced model which is $6500.
Jaxx
Well-Known Member
I have both a carbon and alloy Gain (alloy is for winter) yes they do ride differently. The alloy bike ride is slightly harsher, but that could be helped by using a carbon seatpost and carbon railed sadde, a much cheaper alternative than purchasing the carbon model. Plus it comes with mudguard and bag carrying fittings unlike the carbon frame.
I have a Wilier Cento1 Hy with 7000 km on it after one year. Used mostly on 40-50 km rides and much of it in assist level 2, so the battery would be down to 30+% at the end of 2 hours. At km 6500 it became evident that the energy storage of the battery is down by about 10%. Recently the hub motor system developed a problem in that it will turn itself off in cold/humid conditions. It is intermittent, when stored in dry basement it will revive after a few hours, and then on the next ride it is hit and miss. Awaiting a response from Wilier, but I would be very, very hesitant using such a bike in the rain! Wilier has designed its new Cento10 Hy having the charge port at an angle, but I am quite certain that I did not get water seeping in at the port. What must have triggered this 'break of water seal' (described in Orbea's Dealer Manual) is storage in the garage when conditions were around the dew point.
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