Orbea has received two awards, recognising its work in developing electric bikes.
The Spanish brand’s Wild model was crowned the best e-MTB of 2023, while the Rise was selected as the recommended buy of the year by Endurobike.
A spokesperson for the brand said: “We are firmly convinced that electric bikes should ride like any other bike. This means that they must feel natural and fun in a synergy between the cyclist, the terrain and the handling, in addition to freeing you from everything else, as only a bike can do.
“An e-bike should be a collection of high-performance solutions which work together but fade into the background the minute you start to ride, leaving you free to focus on how much fun you are having”.
With the growth of the e-bike segment, most brands have been creating solutions and different types of bike.
Some riders wanted lighter e-bikes with less assistance, while others wanted the maximum assistance possible.
“Rise is our lightweight ebike, a trail machine, with great range and natural pedalling. Our full-power ebike is Wild, an enduro monster, ready to tame the wildest trails,” said the brand.
Wild: “Best in Test”
One of the most respected e-bike comparison tests is the E-Mountainbike annual test, where 30 of the best e-bikes of the year were compared.
“E-Mountainbike had already visited us in the Basque Country to be among the first people to test the Wild and obviously enjoyed the bike, inviting us to enter their annual best e-bike competition,” said the brand.
In this competition, Wild rose to the top, winning the overall “Best in Test” award.
E-Mountain bike praised the Wild’s “good-natured, intuitive handling” stating that it was “the most confidence-inspiring bike in the entire test field”.
Wild owes a lot of its handling ability to the combination of light weight and frame rigidity that the SBS design creates.
E-Mountainbike summed up the review by adding: “Wild successfully unites supposed opposites, combining composure and agility like no other bike in this test.”
Rise Beyond – “Best Buy”
Enduro Mag is one of the most reputable and demanding mountain bike magazines when it comes to product testing.
Although their main focus is mechanical bikes, the proximity of lightweight e-bikes to them means that they also enter their radar and consider them relevant for readers.
In this comparison, they tested eight e-bikes currently on the market, including the Rise.
They praised the improved Rise and awarded it the “Best Buy” award, the best balance of performance and price, describing Rise as, “The perfect compromise between Light-eMTB’s and full-fat all-rounders”.
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A central concept for Rise is Rider Synergy, where the tuned Shimano motor offers powerful, natural assistance.
Enduro Mag recognised those efforts, stating that: “Rise proved the strongest climber in the entire test”.
Enduro Mag summed up the Rise by saying it “performs incredibly well downhill, where it convinces with intuitive handling, delivering tons of fun”.
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