Hold on to your hats — this one is exciting. E bikes are becoming more and more refined. The Orbea Rise is no exception. Except, it’s unlike any other e bike to hit the market. What’s the big difference? For starters, it’s under 40 lbs. If that’s not enough for you, it’s quick, quiet, stealthy, and has looks that can kill.

I sat down with Orbea Creative Director, Jordan Hukee, for a quick dive into what makes the Rise so unique. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Orbea Rise Geometry

If you’d rather read the details, I’ll cover them quickly here. At first glance, it would be easy enough to mistake the Rise for the ever-popular Occam. I wouldn’t blame you. While they’re not identical, they are very similar. Like the Occam, it has 140mm of rear-wheel travel paired to 140 or 150mm of front travel, depending on the model. The head tube angle is 66 or 65.5 degrees, with the seat tube angle coming in at 77 or 76.5 degrees. It has a 474mm reach and a 1229mm wheelbase in size large. The biggest difference between the Rise and Occam, apart from one having a motor, is the chainstay length. The rise has a 5mm longer chainstay than the Occam to accommodate the Shimano EP8 RS motor. What is RS? It stands for Rider Synergy – let’s talk about it.

Rider Synergy

Rider Synergy is Orbea’s language for an e bike that’s designed to ride and feel like a regular mountain bike. It basically boils down to four distinct points.

First, is the Shimano EP8 RS motor. Orbea partnered with Shimano to create a lighter, lower power motor than the traditional e bike setup. The RS motor puts out 60 nm of peak torque compared to most full-powered e bike motors around 80 nm. Arguably more important than being lighter, the RS motor provides incredibly smooth power to the rider. The more effort you put in, the more assistance you get from the motor. there’s no strange power surge with a soft quarter-turn of the cranks.

Second, is the Range battery. Orbea designed their own lightweight and compact battery for this one. The 360 Wh battery doesn’t sound like very much, but keep in mind, the motor is more efficient, the system weight is lower and you end up putting in more effort on the Rise than a traditional e bike. The 360 Wh battery can be compared to a 540 Wh battery on a traditional system. In addition, a range extender will be available, which brings the total amount of gas to over 600 Wh. That’s comparable to 900 Wh on a traditional e bike.

Third, we have the sleek and subtle interface. The Rise looks very stealthy for an e bike. There are no lights on the top tube, no display on the handlebars, and only one small power button near the bottom bracket. If you didn’t know you were on an e bike, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell from the cockpit view. The battery and power levels are shown on a simple junction box on one of the cables. The junction box can transmit power and battery data to a cycling computer if that’s your preference. Personally, I prefer the stealthy look.

Lastly, and probably the biggest factor in the Rise feeling like a normal trail bike, is the overall weight. The rise can weigh as little as 36 lbs. I’ve ridden acoustic bikes that weigh more than that. A huge benefit to the RS motor and battery, is it allows for normal trail bike components to be used rather than their heavier duty, e bike-specific counterparts. This keeps the overall system weight low.

Orbea Rise Build Kits

The Rise will be available in 4 different trims with the M-LTD topping out the range at $9899. It comes equipped with a 140mm Fox Factory 34, Float DPS, and carbon wheels and cranks to keep things as light as possible. The M-Team comes in at $8999 with a longer travel 150mm Fox Factory 36 and Float DPX2 shock for added capability. The base model Rise M20 costs $5999. All builds come stock with varying levels of Shimano drivetrains and brakes. The Rise is also available in Orbea’s MyO program for custom builds and paint.

We can’t wait to throw a leg over a Rise and see what it’s all about. We will have demos and a whole bunch of bikes for sale. Orbea expects to be shipping by the middle of November. Stay tuned.