Orbea Rise eMTB

onlineaddy

Well-Known Member
Region
USA
City
San Diego, CA, USA
Wow, the 2021 Orbea Rise is one sexy lean-looking eMTB!

Its Shimano EP8-RS motor is customized for less weight (and torque: 60 instead of the standard 85 Nm) and with a proprietary software setup developed with Orbea. It comes with a 360Wh in-frame battery (w/21700 cells) and can be optioned with a 252Wh range-extending external battery. The lighter weight (35 lbs) along with the trail-bike geometry will have you riding it like a traditional bike.

The Rise is made to compete with the Specialized Turbo Levo SL and Lapierre eZesty.

(Pinkbike article)
L648TTCC-YW-SIDE-RISE_MLTD_2110.jpg
 
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Wow, the 2021 Orbea Rise is one sexy lean-looking eMTB!

Its Shimano EP8-RS motor is customized for less weight (and torque: 60 instead of the standard 85 Nm) and with a proprietary software setup developed with Orbea. It comes with a 360Wh in-frame battery (w/21700 cells) and can be optioned with a 252Wh range-extending external battery. The lighter weight (35 lbs) along with the trail-bike geometry will have you riding it like a traditional bike.

The Rise is made to compete with the Specialized Turbo Levo SL and Lapierre eZesty.
(Pinkbike article)
Here is a good video that explains the differences between the Shimano EP8 vs EP8 RS EBike motor.

 
Wow, this is the MTB that I've been waiting for. Unfortunately it is really expensive. I'd love to have this bike, but not sure I'm willing to pay that much. Will certainly have to think about it.
 
Orbea makes very nice bicycles - ebike and non. Their alloy bikes are especially nice the way they grind out and radius all the welds, and comparably priced to other quality alloy bikes. Their carbon fiber bikes are just as expensive as anything else - I gave four-grand for a non-ebike, the OCCAM M30Eagle in my sig.

The new ebikes are basically my Occam with shimano assist, alloy or CF. With electric assist the need for a couple of pounds of weight savings really isn't there, so the alloy version is more than sufficient. And for most mortal riders, unless you're a competitive type, their standard component spec is more than sufficient. IMHO the base alloy eMTB should provide most with an outstanding option at a very competitive price point. I would buy one in a heartbeat, but I've already spent about twelve thousand on bicycles this year. Their bikes are built in Spain and shipped around the world.

Getting your hands on one may be another story altogether however. At this time getting in touch with a local dealer will likely yield much faster availability than an internet order at the factory. They ship their dealer orders for the model year first, then start shipping internet orders. Currently direct orders are slated for June or later next year. They ship out to your dealer of choice, where it is assembled and tuned, you pick it up ready to ride. They also support any warranty claims.

My OCCAM M30Eagle here. I wanted a non-electric for those mountain bike trails that prohibit ebikes. Carbon frame, all top-notch components, it's 30lbs, ready to ride. The design, style, quality, and workmanship are all just fantastic. It still feels like a boat-anchor compared to my Trance eMTB. LOL

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I'm losing so much sleep over this thing. It ticks all the boxes I'm after - light, small stock battery but reasonable range extender THAT DISCHARGES FIRST so you can theoretically use 2/3. Even the base m20 model has close to the spec I'd choose ( perhaps upgrade to fox 36 forks)

My only reservations are

Carbon frame - perhaps I'm a dinosaur but I still remember early carbon wheels exploding....

Questions about orbea warranty support ( just reading online whinges)

WHEN ? This is a big one for me. I just can't get my head around spending twice what I paid for my giant then waiting 6-9 months. This light weight concept is about to explode, and it'd be really painful if yamaha came out with an ultralight motor whilst I'm awaiting delivery of this thing....but I'm going to feel pretty stupid by July next year if I miss the chance. So I'm patiently awaiting seeing one in the flesh in a couple of weeks.....and trying very hard to resist the temptation or spending an extra $4 k just to get a Feb delivery on a team instead of upgraded m20

To be fair to orbea, I don't think these are expensive - they just don't offer a really low spec version. An m20 with upgraded 4 pot brakes and 36 mm forks is higher spec and MUCH (25%) lighter than a trance x29 pro 1 , it's only $1 k aus more AND has a carbon frame. The usual price jump from alloy to carbon frames is around $2 -3 k aus ( comparing specialized turbo levo or giant trance analogue bikes ) - so orbea is managing to build this thing more that $1 k CHEAPER than what a large manufacturer like giant can! Even compared to a merida e160 , getting similar levels of equipment you'd be looking at their 9000 model - that's $500 more expensive which almost pays for the range extender ! I suspect the economic crash in Spain is giving us access to these bikes well below the price we should expect for a high spec relatively low production bike from a boutique brand. Factor in a custom paint job and being able to order exactly the components you want rather than forking out for a shorter stem / upgraded brakes /upgraded forks - these things are a bargain!
 
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One of the more unusual features of this bike is the pivot in the rear axle/triangle. I don't know why it is or what it does, but I've never seen anything like it.
The one-sided brace in the middle of the frame also puts some people off. I bought a really nice new camelback and still don't use the bottle cage bosses. Maybe I'll put a tool kit and spare tube on mine instead.

The rear suspension is really quite firm, even though preload is setup to use all the travel. I have an appreciation for the comfy ride of the TranceE.
 
One of the more unusual features of this bike is the pivot in the rear axle/triangle. I don't know why it is or what it does, but I've never seen anything like it.
The one-sided brace in the middle of the frame also puts some people off. I bought a really nice new camelback and still don't use the bottle cage bosses. Maybe I'll put a tool kit and spare tube on mine instead.

The rear suspension is really quite firm, even though preload is setup to use all the travel. I have an appreciation for the comfy ride of the TranceE.

A lot of bikes have pivot points around the rear axle -sprogettes scott, our old specialized, in fact I suspect giants rigid rear triangle is unusual. I conceptualise this like a rising rate rear end on motorbikes with that rear pivot just being the linkage mounted a long way back? Or perhaps it's closer to KTM's single shock tilted forward and with a variable spring rate? Either way, rigid triangles disappeared from motorbikes in about 86 when yamaha finally gave up on the concept.

The giant maestro system is unusually plush in the initial travel, which is probably what you are interpreting as firm suspension in the orbea? I think the orbea also has a relatively linear rate so it doesn't stiffen up as much through the travel? If you want a similar feel to the trance , you could fiddle with volume spacers in the shock, but to be honest that will probably impair pedalling efficiency. Or just flip that blue lever to the left and open up the shock? Oh, and don't let stephan see that rubber ring showing you're not using full travel.....

ps the rise doesn't have that cross brace in the front triangle.
 
Oh, and don't let stephan see that rubber ring showing you're not using full travel.....
:)
Uh, I don't know what you mean. The front o-ring typically indicates I use half of the travel, and the rear one tells me 3/4 of the travel is used on my rides.

There were some funny stories. Like, me doing fast and long downhill ride on rocks to find out I inadvertently locked out the suspension the day before... :D Or, the younger of the brothers who borrowed the Trance from me. His older brother asked him if Piotr knew how to operate the bike -- "of course!" After Piotr came back from his ride, Jacek discovered Piotr had his whole ride on the suspension locked out... :) Now Piotr asks me to lend him the bike again so he can find out what he missed.
 
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