Orbea Rise – real world experience?

Yeah, winter is range extender and P2 ramped up a bit on Eco and Trail

Summer no rangey and P1 … in theory.

Great – thanks Phil555 and Richardthird:)

Probably just a bit of trial and error, I’m not planning on sticking mine in turbo and making her keep up – she’d probably have something to say about that!

Got a starting point now based on making sure she puts the range extenbder on and put in P2 – will make sure she has the app later

Cheers

@yoshimi I’ve not experienced it yet but I’ve read that if you leave it charging too long e.g. overnight it can start to drain the battery down to about 80%

So if you’re going for max range keep an eye on the charger and switch it off as soon as it’s finished.

I have experienced the drain down when left on charge several times. Not always and there seems to be no logic to it. Now I always check state of charge on the garmin as soon as I pull the charging cable. More often than not it will be 100%

Anyone else had a floppy back end / play on the main linkage where it clamps onto the splined through shaft?

I’ve re-set the pre-load and clamped mine back up which seems to be OK for now (not ridden yet) but suspect it might fail again.

I’ve seen talk of loctite on it but it does concern me that getting it apart in the future could be an issue.

Hey Phil mine is currently in the menders awaiting a replacement linkage from Orbea . I’ll let you know when it’s sorted , my LBS thinks it’s the linkage that’s the issue.

Yep it seems to be a bit of a common thing. I’ll be interested to know what they do to fit the new linkage, e.g. if it gets glued on to the splines.

I took my linkage apart and the RHS arm just pulled off so it’s definitely where the issue is.

Once it’s come loose I wonder if it’s appear done damage and will never clamp back on properly.

I’m going to email the shop and see what they say.

I find rear end on mine very very flexy. Everything seems tight and been back to LBS for a check. It’s the only negative I’d put against it, end up feeling like have punctured sometimes when it’s the flex going round tighter corners. A lot of movement even pushing rear wheel by hand.

A lot of movement even pushing rear wheel by hand.

Mine got SIGNIFICANTLY worse yesterday, it might be worth you checking the linkage yourself depending on how much you trust your LBS. I couldn’t feel movement in the linkage until I undid the shock yoke from one side.

Had the same recently on mine. Just over 1k miles/ 10 months old so very little use really.

An annoying creak became a horrific rattle in a matter of miles. Stripped it all down and found the upper linkage/ linkage axle interface was sloppy on the non threaded side. Tired to reassemble it with some bearing retaining compound but even with the pinch bolt torqued to spec the axel pulled out by hand with minimal effort. No chance of setting the preload without it pulling the axle out of the linkage.

3 weeks in and I’m still waiting for a new axle from Orbea.

I had checked and reset the preload on the linkage several times.

As I understand it, it’s recommended to use Loctite 638 on the splines which I was hesitant of. The axle will need to come out when the bearing needs to be changed but I think I’ll use a small amount to try and preserve the preload.

Going forward, I’ll be checking the linkage more often.

Had the same recently on mine. Just over 1k miles/ 10 months old so very little use really.

I’m only at about 350km, had it since Mid January.

I’ve seen loctite 638 mentioned, depending what the shop say I think I’d go ahead with the loctite and deal with getting it apart at a later date. I’m happy (well not really happy, but willing) to try it as long as they agree it won’t affect my warranty.

Mine’s an internet order so not easy to drop off to them. In an ideal world being supplied a new linkage and a bottle of loctite would keep me happy, assuming it doesn’t destroy itself whilst I’m still away this week!

Its interesting that the “Blue Book” for the carbon Rise has the Loctite compound for the splines yet not showing as needed for the alloy Rise (when I checked last year) – they use the same components I think. My 1 year old H15 is getting a bit too regular with needing the spline assembling needing “reset” so maybe try the compound. I’m over 1000km on the bike.

I received a new axle from Orbea after a 4 week wait and on reassembling, I can’t see any real reason why permanently bonding the axle and left hand linkage arm would be a bad thing to be honest.

Other the obvious fact that if you ever needed to replace either part, you’d have to replace both.

With the axle and left hand linkage fitted to the frame, setting the preload was still pulling the axle out of the left hand linkage. I don’t know if this means my linkage arm is knackered or whether it’s just a crap design.

I didn’t have any 638 but had some ‘Granville’ retaining compound (from halfords, I think). I think this is equivalent to loctite 641. With a healthy amount of this applied to the splines, I could set the preload without the axle pulling out.

I might order some 638 and re do it. Still need to ride it to make sure it holds securely but trying to get the rear end back together after doing the bearings wasn’t working too well for me yesterday afternoon so I gave up before I broke something.

Interestingly for me, the ’23 carbon model has a completely different design where the axle is integrated with one side of the linkage.

It’s almost like they knew the pinch bolt design was a crap idea.

So a little update, I’ve had an afternoon tinkering with the bike, quite enjoyable outside in the sun but a bit frustrating that it needed doing after less than 6 months…

I’ve replaced the headset – bottom bearing with a generic one from a bike shops box and the top with Hope complete assembly. The original kept coming loose, I think because of the plastic preload washer and the random rubber seal (from an FSA BB30??)

And the main issue, the linkage. I had to tighten it a couple of times whilst I was away. Today after undoing the yoke and the seat stays the linkage arms had a bit of play, I could twist them relative to each other, I think it was the NDS that had started to come loose.

I gave everything a good clean up, including the bearings & regreased them, and “glued” the NDS arm on to the splines using Loctite 638. I then deliberated for ages whether to glue the other side as I am worried about getting it apart in the future. Decided to go for it, applied 638, pushed the arm on, set the preload & did the pinch bolt up. An initial wiggle of the back wheel and it feels much better, it’s still a flexy bike but the excessive play has gone.

I’d been in touch with the shop and told them I was happy to add the 638 but wanted to check it wouldn’t affect the warranty, they agreed that I could do it.

Also noticed chain had gone very slack in the smallest cog, tightened the B screw and all is well. Never had a B screw unwind, but hopefully that’s all it is and nothing more sinister?

Touched up a big chip at the bottom of the downtube.

Well i know this is an old post but my real world experience is turning into why the **** did i get this bike. bike is 14mths old  but due to commitments has just under 400mls on it.  

1) shimano xt mech shipped with no grease. Seized after 2 rides and never shifted properly again. Replaced with SRAM gx and now flawless

2) Rear axle snapped.  warranty  

3) 1 full set of frame bearings and 2 sets of linkage bearings due to the ominous creak. “Consumable so no warranty”

4) Battery wont charge to 100% and charger doesn’t turn off at 100% charge. Keeps going and discharges to 85% ish. Warranty open for new charger  

5) brakes are SERIOUSLY inadequate. Swapped for decent 4 pots. 

6) fox fork shipped with way too much grease so popped and wheezed and clicked from day 1. Had to get it serviced to get it working properly. 

7) fox bushes wore out at 250mls and warrantied. 

8) Charger currently showing red light trying to charge it and bike wont switch on.  Going in for more warranty.

9) power switch regularly sticks down so you cant turn it off without some gentle persuasion with a pick to remove mud etc. 

its an utterly shocking bike. Never had something so unreliable. Got to the point I dread opening the garage door cos who knows what I’ll find wrong with it! 

All that sounds pretty unsavoury on what was probably a significant outlay. The Fox and Shimano issues I’m surprised at – I would have thought these would have been greased at the respective factories and therefore you are unlucky to get two dodgy components from different manufacturers on the same bike. Doesn’t absolve Orbea mind you but it’s quite likely they just get these things out of the box and attach to the bike without much thought. Those motor/charger issues are unacceptable really, can you not get the whole lot replaced as not fit for purpose?

I would not leave it charging unattended at any point if  I were you..

Surprises me really as we’ve got 2 Rise M10’s and they’ve been pretty faultless once I’d ditched the crap standard headsets.

Wow, that’s bleak. I absolutely love ours. Forks are silky smooth. Brakes a bit meh I admit.

I’m going to have that discussion about not fit for purpose but I’ve sunk so much into the forks and other bits as the basic 36 is rubbish compared to my RS Ultimate so had an andreani piston fitted at the same time they did the bushes warranty.  Plus new brakes, drivetrain, and wheels cos the stock were crap!  Triggers broom so not sure what i could actually give back.  Also put a shorter stem n carbon bars on it!!!

TBH, I’ve not had much luck with shimano mechs full stop.  SRAM runs flawlessly but the XT just seems to crap out and give clutch issues after getting wet n gritty.  Way too fussy a design.  Had 3 bikes all go the same way.  Just the orbea went that way about 2 years before the others!!

Charging wise is seriously annoying as I’m so OCD about batteries.  Always used a timer to shut it off at 4.5 hrs.  Backto the shop with it tomorrow so will see what happens.

At lease I have warranty and at least MTB Monster is fairly local to me.  Once thing I made sure of with electirc.  Didnt trust second hand and wanted warranty and didnt want a shop at the arse end of the country cos bike was £50 cheaper.

Still leaving a sour taste.

Surprises me really as we’ve got 2 Rise M10’s and they’ve been pretty faultless once I’d ditched the crap standard headsets.

Mines the H15.  In hindsight all the hype is about the M series.  Everything I can find online about problems (mainly the battery discharge issue) seems to be Hydro version 🙁 Justs my luck.

The headset I havent had to touch!  That’s been faultless!!

My Bird’s bave been the best bikes ever so was holding out for their ethic.  But delays and so on and its still no nearer market.  Wish I’d held out and just carried on being “accoustic”.

Mine is a H15 too. I cleaned and checked my linkages last week and they’re quiet again, I won’t loctite if it’s needed once a month as that interval is ok for me, if it was twice a week I’d be grumpy.

Sadly the end of my charger has got broken in van/garage and new one is £119 but currently works fine.

Rode mine today 👍, sounds like you’ve got a rogue Friday afternoon bike Silas 😞

The linkage saga , had mine replaced under warranty , complete assembly, no quibbles , I reckon Orbea know it’s an issue and replace as and when they get a claim? 

As for the brakes ? I was advised to change to 4 pots from new , I opted to see how I got on . They’ve been fine for the 18 months I’ve had the bike but then again my style of a riding doesn’t lend itself to massive anchors 😔

Have joined this conversation late (Orbea Occam M10 2022 owner) but:

Aluminium shock bolt seized into my carbon frame with a massive amount of creaking. The bolt could not be removed.

Replaced the frame under warranty and the new shock bolt was aluminium again !

A stainless shock bolt is available from Orbea – why they don’t supply these as new is beyond me.

Bike is now creak-free but thought I’d mention it.

The stats you guys are giving arn’t a million miles away from what I’d guess a full fat ebike has to offer

A mate of mine has the Rise (carbon but not sure which model it is) with the range extender, I have a Whyte E-160 with the 750wh battery. The range extender combined with the weight difference means we can cover more or less the same distance/elevation, I’m just a bit faster up the hills on mine. He had given up mtb’s a few years ago and had gone road/gravel only but is absolutely loving the Rise so far

Went to the bike shop today for diagnostic.

Add battery failure to my list of issues. After 400mls!!!

Yet another warranty claim on top of the warranty claim i raised on the charger last week so now gotta wait a month for orbea to ship a new battery.

Bike shop also raising the “not fit for purpose” with orbea but from their experience with orbea they’ll say “forks, not orbea. Mech, not orbea. Brakes, not orbea. Hubs, not orbea. Battery is and they’ll say “thats what warranty is for”. So only real option will be legal fights and CBA with that. So fix and flog me thinks.

slightly worrying that the bike shop has already experience that not fit for purpose with orbea!!

live n learn. Wont be buying a brand designed in sunny dry climates.

My H30 is now enduring its second Peak District Winter and has covered over 4,000km.

No problems, other than the creaking arms and a few parts wearing out (as expected). I did sensible mods from new: stuck a piece of paint protection film over the power button (keeps water/grit out), Mudhuggers, and replaced Marzochi fork with longer Lyriks (much better at 160mm than 140mm). I also changed to bigger discs (203mm) but kept the standard cheapo Shimano brakes.

The splined linkage arm design is crap. The arms just don’t hold properly on the spline: they tend to “walk” about on it. I assembled with the correct Loctite and it’s been silent since. The slightly vague feeling in the rear end has gone too.

Replaced parts owing to wear are: tyres, chains, pads, lower pivot bearings, dropper cable (a pig of a job) and headset.

I bought a range extender that was on sale. Used it once but sold on as I didn’t need it and didn’t like the added weight. The Shimano motor can be a bit noisy at times. My battery range still seems fine.

I’ll probably change it for a Trek Exe later this year, but my ownership experience has been positive overall.

I think i could cope with what I’ve had to replace IF i’d done big miles.

but at around 400 mls i consider it pretty shocking bordering on disgraceful.

i suppose there’s lemons in every brand but I thought some of the comments in the emountain bike magazine 2023 “big test” were pretty telling…….

half the bikes had problems and some of the bikes didn’t make it through testing!  Most problematic were the lightweight end of the market and those with what I’d call new kids in the block motor brands but across the range tested there were all sorts of niggles and issues and bad design like displays sticking out front ready to snap off at the first fall.

as my riding mate says “consider it the pioneering early days of ebiking. 10yrs time it’ll be like acoustics are now.  You’re a pioneer…..” 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I’d settle for it just working!

H30 here, 14 months old, just under 1800km. Similar experience to Stanley, although I also use mine around town so probabye not as gruelling a life. Also replaced forks with Lyriks, 4 piston brakes and larger rotor up front. Saddle had to go. Creak is the only issue I’ve had, even the dreaded headset is hanging in there. Invisiframed, but paid special attention to the power button, and change the film periodically, keep the charger port clean and dry. Only wash the motor area with a cloth, and dry it off afterwards. Having said that, the bike is under a relatively thick coating of dried mud at the moment, haven’t cleaned it at all other than drivetrain after last few rides, reasoning the dried mud will keep the water out.

Update in my bike. Got to take my hat off to MTBMonster and orbea. I complained to MTBMonster about not fit for purpose when i took it in. Fully expecting to be told to go forth by Orbea.

No quibbles at all from Orbea or “Can you provide some more info”.
Warranty Replacement Charger

Warranty Replacement Battery

warranty replacement new style linkage which is apparently better at keeping the elements out.

Linkage is possibly a sign they know its not up to scratch for UK bad weather but either way I bought new for warranty and Orbea has been faultless. They could have been awkward about everything but they havent.
credit where its due!

fingers crossed its cool running from here on out!  Only the frame, dropper and motor are left unreplaced now 😬😬😚

When you say linkage you’re talking about the arms on the upper pivot/shock/chainstay that’s different on the new 23 models ? Doesn’t use the torque tool ?

Yeah – thats the part. TBH I have no idea what the difference is. Just got a message from the shop yesterday to say its all being sorted with the new design. Haven’t really kept on top of the differences in model year other than seeing some things are 2022 year specific.  Like battery and other electrical parts IIR.

got a month to wait though as the battery has to go overland rather than air ☹️

Silas that was my experience with the linkage , replaced the complete section no questions asked , seems like they realised there was a problem and sorted it .

@oldfart was that because you had an issue or did you bring it up with them for another reason?

Silas I had the usual issues with mine .

I think the new style linkage is 2 parts rather than 3. Rather than 2 arms fitting onto the axle, The NDS arm and axle are one piece and the DS arm bolts up to that.

Removes half of the problem of it coming loose but I’d still be using loctite on the splines personally.

I think you’re correct

Well… Mines gone back to whence it came after throwing a E010 that wouldn’t go away.

Checked for water ingress/ corrosion around the motor and charge socket but despite being wet and filthy inside the frame, nothing to see really.

Shop raised it with Orbea. Orbea passed it to Madison as a warranty claim for the motor.

Fingers firmly crossed at this point.

On the plus side, rode my hardtail for the first time in a long time over the weekend. I actually really enjoyed it even if it did highlight just how lazy and unfit I’ve become from riding the e bike. Pretty shameful really as it always feels like I’m getting a really good work out on the Rise. I’m definitely not!

I know that feeling!

I usually cycle commute to work 1 day a week to get some miles in. 18mls  each way but if theres a westerly on the way home it. Feels like 180mls!!

Got a month to wait till the phoenix rises again so on my AM9 for fun. You forget just how much you have to work without a battery!!

Is that a month wait for the warranty work?

At least you’ve got the commute to keep your fitness up. Great time of year for it too! 

Yeah – a month for the warranty. Battery just stopped working and for whatever reason orbea only ship batteries overland and not by air. 

i guess too much risk of blowing up a plane!