The Orbea Rise

A Mountain Bike With a Little Pick-Me-Up

Early electric mountain bikes were overbuilt mountain bikes with batteries strapped to them. They were hard to look at, and at times, even harder to ride due to the extra weight. This all changes with the Orbea Rise. Rather than engaging in an arms race of technology, the Rise is a lightweight, smooth-handling, trail mountain bike that happens to offer electric assist.

Electric mountain bikes are often complicated, but the Orbea Rise is anything but. At the end of the day, we want to go out there and ride our bikes. Rise emphasizes smooth mountain bike handling, thanks to features and geometry shared with the Orbea Occam trail bike. But its Shimano EP801-RS and EP6 motors offer a bit more assistance to get to the top of our favorite trails. With a range of lightweight carbon mountain bikes and feature-packed aluminum MTBs, the Orbea Rise is easily one of our favorite electric mountain bikes. Ride one for yourself and you'll see why.

SEE THE ORBEA RISE M-SERIES
SEE THE ORBEA RISE H-SERIES

Answer: It's Just Fun.

Excessive muscular fatigue from cycling? In a time crunch? Want to spend the whole day lapping a remote trail? If you can identify with part of any of these questions then you're going to love the Orbea Rise.

The greatest compliment an eMTB can receive is that it pedals just like a standard mountain bike. If you can close your eyes and feel an intuitively eager handling response akin to the eMTB’s non-electric brethren, then you know you’re on a top-tier machine; the Orbea Rise exceeds this bar with ease. Once you experience the Rise, you’ll understand why Orbea stands at the top in terms of seamlessly infusing electric assist into what is already a stand out mountain bike. One of the lightest electric mountain bikes available in the world, but also one of the most fun around.

At the end of the day, if the Orbea Rise only succeeds at getting us outside for a little longer, it's a worthwhile investment.

Orbea Rise M-Series: OMR Carbon

Orbea's OMR Carbon frame truly shows how well-balanced the Rise can be. With geometry and handling almost identical to the Occam trail bike, the Rise is a fan-favorite in the shop. The latest update to the Orbea rise brings a 100 g lighter frame, cleaner cable routing, an integrated multitool, additional battery options, and more.

If you aim to emulate analog bike feel with just a little bit of electrified amplification, the Orbea Rise M-series of electric mountain bikes will be right up your alley.

Orbea RS Internal 360 Wh Battery

At just 1.9 kg (4.2 lbs), and an overall capacity of 360 Wh, the Orbea Rise battery is lighter than ever. Paired to the efficient Shimano drive motor, the Rise battery - and lighter bike - offers similar range to other eMTBs. While this battery option is smaller than other bikes, its lower weight means range equivalent to other electric bikes.

For even more epic rides, Orbea offers a larger 540 Wh battery as well as a 252 Wh range extender for all Rise bikes. Orbea claims up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) climbing on a single charge.

Orbea Rise H-Series: Hydroformed Aluminum

Orbea Rise Hydroformed Aluminum

Does an eBike need to be sculpted out of carbon fiber? This is a very valid question. The nature of weight savings in a style of bike where the lightest offering isn't 'light' becomes a personal question: do you ride an eBike ridden with a performance mindset? If you answer, no, then aluminum might be your jam.

You don't lose much with the alloy frame: the Rise alloy frame weighs just 3.4kg (7.5 lbs). This is just 100g more than an Occam aluminum frame and 2kg lighter than most aluminum ebikes on the market.

Orea RS Internal 540 Wh Battery

Orbea RS Internal 540 Wh Battery

A slight increase in weight necessitates a corresponding increase in battery capacity. The Orbea Rise H-Series battery is stated to get riders approximately 11,500 ft of climbing in Eco Mode, 6,600 ft in Trail mode, and 5,250 ft in Boost - plenty of battery power to assist with backwoods weekend adventures.

The 540 Wh battery has an estimated charge time of 7 hours and weighs approximately 800g (1.75 lbs) more than the smaller 360 Wh battery.

An Orbea Occam With a Motor

The similarities between the Orbea Rise and the Orbea Occam are striking. From a geometry standpoint, the numbers are virtually identical. The Rise combines the trail prowess of the Occam with a sweet little electronic kick to tack a few extra hours of enjoyment onto the day.

Both Rise and Occam feature similar two-piece linkage designs that hold a handy four-key multi-tool held in place with magnets. The suspension kinematics are very similar as well. The Rise receives a leverage curve with a little more progression to make up for the extra weight and torque coming from the drive unit. This is a necessary change to aid in giving longevity to the suspension; you never want to bottom out!

While the Rise gains a little weight, a battery, and a motor, it’s not dominated by these additions. Amid an ever increasing array of electric mountain bikes, the Rise strikes balance in the aspects it borrows from Orbea’s tried and true trail bike.

Learn More About the Orbea Rise

Questions?

The Orbea Rise is available at Contender Bicycles in several options. Reach out and we will be happy to get back with any questions you may have. Contact us at info@contenderbicycles.com or (801) 364-0344.