Orbea Gain E-Road Bike

[Solom01]

On my F30 the power assist cuts out at between 20.5-21 mph. The speed shows the same on the ebikemotion app and Garmin, so I'm thinking it's pretty accurate.

 

[Guitar dave]

On the M30 carbon frame, is there much flex or is it pretty stiff? I tend to get up out of the saddle on steep hills and a flexible frame drives me nuts. My regular road bike is a Specialized Roubaix carbon. Would this be stiff like that?
Of course I would love to try one before buying but I am in Michigan and no Orbea dealers nearby. I did speak with a dealer who used to handle them and he mentioned frame flex was an issue. Is it?

 

[MikeDee]

On the M30 carbon frame, is there much flex or is it pretty stiff? I tend to get up out of the saddle on steep hills and a flexible frame drives me nuts. My regular road bike is a Specialized Roubaix carbon. Would this be stiff like that?
Of course I would love to try one before buying but I am in Michigan and no Orbea dealers nearby. I did speak with a dealer who used to handle them and he mentioned frame flex was an issue. Is it?

I'm not noticing any flex on mine. There is some brake rub when standing out of the saddle I notice from time to time.

 

[Jaxx]

On the M30 carbon frame, is there much flex or is it pretty stiff? I tend to get up out of the saddle on steep hills and a flexible frame drives me nuts. My regular road bike is a Specialized Roubaix carbon. Would this be stiff like that?
Of course I would love to try one before buying but I am in Michigan and no Orbea dealers nearby. I did speak with a dealer who used to handle them and he mentioned frame flex was an issue. Is it?

Noooooo flex at all, stiff but very comfortable.

 

[lapy]

On the M30 carbon frame, is there much flex or is it pretty stiff? I tend to get up out of the saddle on steep hills and a flexible frame drives me nuts. My regular road bike is a Specialized Roubaix carbon. Would this be stiff like that?
Of course I would love to try one before buying but I am in Michigan and no Orbea dealers nearby. I did speak with a dealer who used to handle them and he mentioned frame flex was an issue. Is it?

I'm finding my M20i (small) frame to be much stiffer than my 2016 Trek Domane (52). Fast downhills with rough roads are a much different experience now. Your Roubaix should be similar to the Domane... I bought the LTD carbon wheelset and find the front disc rubs when standing or cornering (still need to work this out).

 

[Jaxx]

I'm finding my M20i (small) frame to be much stiffer than my 2016 Trek Domane (52). Fast downhills with rough roads are a much different experience now. Your Roubaix should be similar to the Domane... I bought the LTD carbon wheelset and find the front disc rubs when standing or cornering (still need to work this out).

Have you checked the headset. A number of Gains have worked loose early on.

 

[Zeek48]

I think I have mentioned in the past I have a Bianchi Aria e-road as well as my my Gain M20i. Everything pretty much the same except geometry. I just finished the Alberta Ride To Conquer Cancer (a charity ride) this weekend. I wanted share my range with you. 110 kms and 850M of elevation 1st day & 103 kms and 1044m 2nd day. I'm 71 yrs old and my Aria e-road saved me. I had to be careful in my use of power trying save it for climbing by turning off on flats and downhills. I finished day 1 with over 25% power left and day 2 with just under 25%. What a great equalizer this bike is.

 

[ArthurTwoshedsJackson]

On the battery extender, a few questions come to mind:

--Weight? I'm guessing about 3 lbs.
-- Can it be locked to the bike? I'm guessing no.
-- Priority of discharge, internal or auxiliary? This would matter to me because I can see keeping one at my office, from which I often have to run errands. If I can keep a charged aux battery at the office and "use" that charge for the errands, saving the internal battery charge for the ride home, that would be a huge help. If it depletes the internal battery first, then that's less ideal for me.

I realize there's very little info on this product yet.

Hi, first time post.
I received the range extender yesterday for my orbea D20.
I'm the NE of Scotland and in there wisdom Orbea won't deliver to your home address, it has to be delivered to a nearby stockist, which where i live is not nearby.
So another £30 on top of the £549, the high cost being due to it being a dangerous item ie being a battery.
First thing you notice is the weight, it weighs 1.67kg adding it to an already weighty D20, plus as it takes up a water bottle slot I've bought a camelbak which adds another 3l of water weight.
Anyway as i said it fits onto a bottle cage that easily fits to the bike, the connector plugs into the normal charging port.
This i can see as being a problem.
When you charge your bike you flick off the plastic cap that protects the port from the elements, but when your charging this port is open and the port looks exposed, this is the same as when you use the extender.
I think rain and puddles will cause problems during a ride unless the connection is watertight.
The battery cannot be locked onto the bike unless something can be botched up to lock it.
The battery slides into the bottle holder and is fixed with a rubber band to put it simply. The cable and plug is housed at the bottom of the battery.
Should your bike be left you will have to carry the battery with you, which because it's so weighty will be a pain.
The pictogram instructions are as usual for orbea pretty vague.
The battery can be charged by itself with your original charging cable or you can charge both battery and bike using same cable.
Haven't road tested it yet but think the chances of me riding up hills unaided are pretty slim and i think you'll be pressing on the aid more often due to the weight where you would normally have gone unaided.
Will report back once I've given it real workout.

 

[adanadawn]

Thanks for the report, Arthur. How does the extender switch between operating modes? Is there a physical switch on the unit, or does that happen through the app?

I can see why riding it in wet weather would be a concern, that connection doesn't seem waterproof.

For my purposes, I just want it to be able to charge up my on-board battery when I'm at work. My Gain gets locked up in a secure place but there is no plug for charging, this extender is the only way to get it done.

 

[ArthurTwoshedsJackson]

Thanks for the report, Arthur. How does the extender switch between operating modes? Is there a physical switch on the unit, or does that happen through the app?

I can see why riding it in wet weather would be a concern, that connection doesn't seem waterproof.

For my purposes, I just want it to be able to charge up my on-board battery when I'm at work. My Gain gets locked up in a secure place but there is no plug for charging, this extender is the only way to get it done.

The extender is used and switched on from the start of your trip. As your bike battery goes down the extender tops it back up till its empty then the bike battery runs down.
There is a basic on/off button on top of extender, and i think you switch on both that and bike button at start.
You can recharge both at same time by charging extender which is attached to bike.

 

[Capt Sisko]

My Range Extender Batter also arrived for last weekend and I posted a report on the Cycle Chat forum. Copy Below

"...........and it doesn't stand out so it doesn't take away from the "stealthy" nature of the bike.

Talking of which, or not as the case maybe, my Range Extender battery arrived today. To say it looks a bit like a water bottle is like saying I look a bit like George Clooney. Yes I've got two eyes, a nose, mouth etc and they're arranged in the usual format, but good looking I ain't; and neither is the Ranger Extra battery. It is very obviously a battery and not a water bottle so the stealthy element goes out the window.

Full report to follow after rides with it over the weekend."

" Well, it does what it says on the tin. It recharges the main battery as you ride along! I know that sounds like stating the bleeding obvious, but it does it smoothly, unobtrusively and if you didn't know it was only the main battery that could power the motor you'd swear it was the Range Extender Battery (REB from now on) doing it as the Iwoc power display on the bike stayed on White for the entire ride with the REB display slowly going through the change in colous as it used up its juice.

With both batteries powered up the phone app says 200%, you don't get a breakdown by battery, maybe one for the suggestion box. The bottle cage and glorified elastic band held everything in place, no rattles and I couldn't feel the extra weight when riding. Looking down to see what colour the Iwoc button on the REB became a new habit and it turned from White to Green at about 15miles. When it eventually died at 46miles (and if the button on the REB did the red flashing thing for less than 10% power left I didn't notice), but when I did noticed it had expired I stopped and looked at the power in the main battery on my phone. It said 95%. The REB could have died anytime in the last mile, but I was riding uphill on a busy and narrow country lane and I had other things to concentrate on, so initially it could have been higher.

The ride today wasn't particularly hilly, I average 13mph with 1,600ft of climbing in 50.2miles (and yes, I had to ride around the block to get that magic extra couple of fractions of a mile in). I rode mostly on Green Level 1 with the occasional foray into L2 or L3 for the odd hill or two.

So, my conclusion (albeit after only one ride with a REB); Well as I said previously it’s an ugly bugger, but the REB does what it’s supposed to do. With 46miles in the bank and with 95% left in the main battery I know I, (no I’ll rephrase that), I know a rider with better legs than me could easily have ridden 100 miles plus using power assistance, and that's an extended range. How it would cope with more climbing and/or steeper hills I don’t know, but as it stands, for my type of riding, at my speeds and for the gentle undulating terrain in my part of the world, it does what it says on the tin, and does it very well."

=

On a separate note it was commented upthread about headsets coming loose, yes this happened to my D20 as well (Alloy, Sram 1x11). I've also had a creek coming from the bottom bracket for last couple of hundred miles, and as of the last ride a knock. I guess the Bottom Bracket is giving notice. Not good considering it's only done about 1,800miles.

Lastly the chain. The OEM chain only lasted about 1,200miles and I've read on the same forum as above of someone else complaining theirs only lasted a similar distance despite being well maintained. I know to get 11sp manufactuers have lightened & thinned everything and that's got in increase wear on what's left, but I'm still a bit dissapointed.

 

[MikeDee]

Anyone know if the auxiliary battery is available in the US yet?

 

[Zeek48]

Anyone know if the auxiliary battery is available in the US yet?

Mike, I have one on order and was told it will be shipped early this month. I haven't followed up recently as I won't be in AZ until late October. Orbea Little Rock told me back in July they were in a container that had been shipped to them.

 

[adanadawn]

I was able to order one from Mike's Bikes. They expect it "soon." Looking forward to it. My F30 has been fantastic, but the option of more range or just being less judicious with the assist will make it even better.

 

[MikeDee]

I was able to order one from Mike's Bikes. They expect it "soon." Looking forward to it. My F30 has been fantastic, but the option of more range or just being less judicious with the assist will make it even better.

I just ordered one from Mike's Bikes. Cost me $600 with a discount. They said it will be in in a couple of weeks. Wonder if I could put a water bottle in the holder if the battery isn't mounted? If not, how easy will it be to swap to a water bottle cage? I will probably only need the aux battery on long rides.

 

[Zeek48]

I just ordered one from Mike's Bikes. Cost me $600 with a discount. They said it will be in in a couple of weeks. Wonder if I could put a water bottle in the holder if the battery isn't mounted? If not, how easy will it be to swap to a water bottle cage? I will probably only need the aux battery on long rides.

Mike, I expect it will be battery specific however changing out a bottle cage is 5 min job.

 

[Capt Sisko]

Mike, I expect it will be battery specific however changing out a bottle cage is 5 min job.

Yes the battery is supplied with it's own & dedicated bottle cage as the actual battery is slightly oval and thus regular bottle cage wouldn't work. There's also a recess built into the underside of the cage to store the cable & connector for when not in use and a glorified elastic band to hold the battery in the cage, (though the battery is snug fit anyway). I was disapointed it didn't come with a charger tho'. Okay I've got my original, but for the money you're paying you'd think they'd supply one with it as well.

 

[energy11]

Hey, to any other Canadians out there. Orbea sent me pricing for the gain models. M30 will be $6599.00 and M20 $7499.00.
They didn't say when they will arrive just check with your local Orbea dealer.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Zeek48]

Hey, to any other Canadians out there. Orbea sent me pricing for the gain models. M30 will be $6599.00 and M20 $7499.00.
They didn't say when they will arrive just check with your local Orbea dealer.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

Checking with local Orbea dealer can sometimes be problematic as they do not have a large footprint. Good luck and enjoy your bike. They are a lot of fun.

 

[MikeDee]

Yes the battery is supplied with it's own & dedicated bottle cage as the actual battery is slightly oval and thus regular bottle cage wouldn't work. There's also a recess built into the underside of the cage to store the cable & connector for when not in use and a glorified elastic band to hold the battery in the cage, (though the battery is snug fit anyway). I was disapointed it didn't come with a charger tho'. Okay I've got my original, but for the money you're paying you'd think they'd supply one with it as well.

Just got mine today. Can I charge both it and the bike battery at the same time by keeping the aux battery plugged into the bike and the charger to the aux battery? Also, it did not come with mounting screws and washers. I just used the ones that came with the bike. Is that OK and should I have gotten mounting screws and washers with the battery?