wanderingjim
New Member
Just picked up an Orbea Rise M20 in Goblin Green Chameleon on sale for my wife to get out on the trails with me.
My initial feeling when riding it was that the handling was kind of sluggish and heavy. Nicer words for that would be smooth and stable, which is good for my wife since she's very much a beginner. I rode it down a steeper rocky section she wasn't comfortable with, and it still felt smooth and stable. I also tested it dropping off a small ledge (about 10") and it handled rolling over sloppily at various speeds as well as jumping off the ledge at speed pretty well, smooth and stable for everything I tried.
These desert trails can be a bit slippery on my Foes as the loose top layer gets thicker, as speeds pick up I have to get out of the seat and weight the handlebar and pedals or the front washes out. The longer/lower geometry of the Orbea Rise seems to provide better weight distribution while seated so that's also good for my wife's comfort level.
Overall a pretty great experience so far. She has exercise-induced asthma so even the very small climb of about 20 feet per mile through gently rolling desert terrain would push her into difficult breathing in as little as a mile unless she kept it under 5 mph. Her first couple days on the e-bike she's done climbs she couldn't have attempted before, and comfortably rode 8-10 miles at reasonable speeds, all while keeping effort levels low enough to let her keep breathing, while she's getting far more exercise than she was able to get before.
So far I've used the ETube app to set the assist levels up better for my wife, shortened the 800mm bars to 760, and installed my wife's cushy seat. Still need to get more comfortable grips and better pedals. The 540Wh battery lasts forever, we rode it 30-40 miles before dropping to 50%.
Personally I prefer the lively handling of my 2015 Foes Mixer, but a long ride for me is 15 miles so I'm tempted to take it out someday for a 25-30 mile ride to get out a little farther.
My initial feeling when riding it was that the handling was kind of sluggish and heavy. Nicer words for that would be smooth and stable, which is good for my wife since she's very much a beginner. I rode it down a steeper rocky section she wasn't comfortable with, and it still felt smooth and stable. I also tested it dropping off a small ledge (about 10") and it handled rolling over sloppily at various speeds as well as jumping off the ledge at speed pretty well, smooth and stable for everything I tried.
These desert trails can be a bit slippery on my Foes as the loose top layer gets thicker, as speeds pick up I have to get out of the seat and weight the handlebar and pedals or the front washes out. The longer/lower geometry of the Orbea Rise seems to provide better weight distribution while seated so that's also good for my wife's comfort level.
Overall a pretty great experience so far. She has exercise-induced asthma so even the very small climb of about 20 feet per mile through gently rolling desert terrain would push her into difficult breathing in as little as a mile unless she kept it under 5 mph. Her first couple days on the e-bike she's done climbs she couldn't have attempted before, and comfortably rode 8-10 miles at reasonable speeds, all while keeping effort levels low enough to let her keep breathing, while she's getting far more exercise than she was able to get before.
So far I've used the ETube app to set the assist levels up better for my wife, shortened the 800mm bars to 760, and installed my wife's cushy seat. Still need to get more comfortable grips and better pedals. The 540Wh battery lasts forever, we rode it 30-40 miles before dropping to 50%.
Personally I prefer the lively handling of my 2015 Foes Mixer, but a long ride for me is 15 miles so I'm tempted to take it out someday for a 25-30 mile ride to get out a little farther.
