Orbea Rise: The dawn of a new era in eMTB?

Orbea has changed the game in the EMTB sector with its award-winning Orbea Rise e-mountain bike which is incredibly light - the lightest model is 16.5kg and the heaviest is just under 20kg - and impresses with its stylish, slimline look and excellent frame and specs. The Rise has become a firm favourite with riders who love fast and flowy, love natural technical trails and love to play a bit.

The other bonus that Orbea offer is the ability to fully customise your Rise through their MYO portal.

What makes the Orbea Rise eMTB so special?

The Orbea Rise is one of the first eMTBs that is this light in weight and has a somewhat regular motor. 

It is a 29er with 150/140mm travel, a combination which would be about 12-15kg in a regular dualie mountain bike. So, at 16-19kg, depending on which model you choose, the Rise is quite a feat given it has a motor and battery as well. 

Being so light and balanced to ride it has wowed the cycling community and has won the major awards - the Design & Innovation Award and also a Eurobike Award - for its innovation, build quality and functionality. 

About the Motor - Shimano EP8 "RS"

"RS" stands for "Rider Synergy", the concept around which the Rise is based. Orbea's intention is that the ride feels natural and that having electric enhances the joy of traditional riding, not defines it. 

Orbea have built their Rise platform around the new Shimano EP8 motor, working with Shimano to develop a proprietary software setup that would deliver the RS experience they wanted. The result is an efficient, responsive power delivery with 60Nm torque output and additional apps and interfaces that allow you to fine tune your setup and integrate with your sports devices to collect ride data. 

Orbea explain this more here >>.

Is 60Nm enough?

Based on the ride reviews, and our own experience, its plenty. 

"The moment you start peddling, it doesn't feel like a huge compromise that Shimano's EP8-RS motor only comes with a maximum torque of 60Nm. Most of the time you are moving the bike within a range that isn't using its maximum power anyway. The bike also doesn't feel under-powered with Orbea's custom algorithm, which builds most of its power at a later point of cadence compared to an EP8's regular setup." pinkbike.com

“Despite the reduced torque, the EP8-RS delivers enough power to keep up with the “standard” Shimano or latest Bosch drives – and easily outperform a Specialized SL 1.1 motor uphill.” eMountain Bike Magazine 2020

Our own experience riding the Rise M10 supports this. It is more than enough power for the steep pinches and big climbs we get around south east Queensland. This is in part to having 60Nm (this is still a lot) and the bike being 7+kg lighter than the more powerful eMTBs. 

About the Battery - A Modular System

Orbea Rise batteries are housed in the downtube and there is the option to easily mount a range extender when you want the extra range.

The battery sizes depend on whether you opt for a carbon ("M") model or an alloy ("H") model. The carbon models have 360Wh battery and the alloy models come with a 540Wh battery. Orbea estimate that this will provide approx. four hours of riding and to date our own experience supports this. The range extender adds another 252Wh if you want to increase that ride time. 

Who is the Orbea Rise for?

If you love fast, flowy downhills, technical sections and a bit of air thrown in then this is your bike. The Rise is aimed squarely at sporty trail mountain bikers who appreciate a boost or an eMTB'er who wants less weight. 

It is an ebike designed specifically for the trail rider and it is no coincidence that the handling and geometry of Orbea Rise is very similar to the Orbea Occam. 

"The handling of the ORBEA RISE is next level! Hardly any other eMTB is this much fun and so fast on the trail." E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine

Our own experience supports this. If you love the art of mountain biking - flowy uphills and downhills, nailing technical sections, extending yourself then this is an ebike you should seriously consider. It is fast, very natural and heaps of fun! 

Orbea Rise models - Comparison

There are five readily available Rise models in Australia and the table below sets out the key specs of each model.

All have the same 29" frame platform with 140/150mm suspension so the key differences between the models are the frame composition, suspension, drivetrain and wheelset choice. The top-of-the-range model, the M-LTD, is the lightest. 

With the exception of the Rise H30 and M20 models, you can change specifications of nearly every major component to customise to your preferred setup and frame colour for each model through Orbea's MyO portal. 

How do I get one? 

Electric Bikes Brisbane has a selection of available models arriving throughout the year. Please contact us for further information or if you wish to place an order.