Orbea Rise New Owner - Motor noise - not the clunk

[mheher]

Hey what’s up!

This is actually my first e bike. As a cardio lover and long time mountain biker, I’m a 36 year old who recently got the itch and am super excited about this bike and the future of lightweight e bikes to go further, faster and just have fun! Been having a blast on this thing and I’ve only owned it 3 days. So, I was well aware of the clunky EP8 RS going in, but my bike makes a solid whistling / air being let out of a balloon sort of noise once you hit about 12MPH. I haven’t had a Speedo to get the exact speed, but there is just the low hum of the motor and then this noise comes in and stays going above that speed.
The motor can be on or off, pedaling or not pedaling, flat or down, but was surprised I didn’t hear any comments about this anywhere for how whiny and annoying it is. I can handle the clunk honestly, and got the rise to avoid the higher pitched motor noise.
I don’t hear it while climbing a more normal climb because im not going fast enough, but rolling terrain or downhill and it is there, every time, without fail. I easily got a video of the noise to send to the dealer who was a super nice guy to run it by some other owners.
Anyone else? Otherwise, loving the bike!

 

[chrismechmaster]

Yep my m team does this aswell like a whistling noise , bit annoying haven’t worked out where it’s coming from yet

 

[PhilS]

Nothing like that on my M10

 

[chrismechmaster]

Mine didn’t do it from new I only noticed it on Sunday which is about my 5 ride on the rise

Just like the op said nothing at lower speed but about 12 mph upwards there a whistle noise

 

[eztiger]

Mine was silent for the first few rides but now I can hear a bit of a whirring noise, nothing like the E8000 motor in volume, but still!

 

[jim0905]

Nearly 4 months of ownership here and I can't say I've noticed anything like you describe??

 

[mheher]

Thanks friends! Yeah maybe I can make a quick YouTube video and attach the link or what’s the best way? As I mentioned, it’s there and it’s very obvious because it’s on/off above/below a certain speed. Sounds anywhere from a whistle noise, to air out of a balloon to an alien space ship. It’s not necessarily crazy loud decibel wise, but certainly loud enough and that high pitch that is impossible not to notice. There isn’t one person who would ride the bike and make a comment about the clunking that wouldn’t say... oh and this annoying whistle!!

Let me get the video up and that will make it obvious what we’re talking about here.

Mike

 

[mheher]

Here you go...
https://youtube.com/shorts/eu33pl4IqAc?feature=share

 

[kragu]

Yep, mine does it too. Thought it was my water bottle adjusting to elevation changes, initially.

 

[mheher]

Yep, mine does it too. Thought it was my water bottle adjusting to elevation changes, initially.

hahaha, exactly... that’s the noise. Are people getting these noise on the non-RS. Any idea? Honestly I was hoping it was more rare so that maybe I could be getting it fixed somehow. Know a lot about bikes, but not the E part.

 

[chrismechmaster]

I have the same noise !!
i wouldn’t say it’s as loud as yours but I expect the camera / GoPro is making it sound slightly louder through the Microphone

 

[mheher]

I have the same noise !!
i wouldn’t say it’s as loud as yours but I expect the camera / GoPro is making it sound slightly louder through the Microphone

Yeah just holding my phone down, hence the terrible video. It’s about that loud. Decibel wise it’s probably not insane, but obviously it doesn’t take the loudest high pitched squeal to annoy the heck out of you.

My first thought was.... this would be the only reason I would get rid of this bike, I hope there is a solution.

 

[jka]

I'm pretty sure mine makes the same noise. I can't hear it, but my son asked about a funny very quiet whine when we swapped bikes for a bit. I'm old and have some hearing loss from too many years of riding dirt bikes, trap and target shooting and of course loud music in the 70s all without hearing protection. Well, I would usually stuff some Kleenex in my ears when I was shooting, but that's the extent of it.
I do have a great solution though...listen to some nice loud Led Zeppelin on a regular basis and that should take care of it.

 

[mheher]

I'm pretty sure mine makes the same noise. I can't hear it, but my son asked about a funny very quiet whine when we swapped bikes for a bit. I'm old and have some hearing loss from too many years of riding dirt bikes, trap and target shooting and of course loud music in the 70s all without hearing protection. Well, I would usually stuff some Kleenex in my ears when I was shooting, but that's the extent of it.
I do have a great solution though...listen to some nice loud Led Zeppelin on a regular basis and that should take care of it.

Hahaha, well I guess I’m thankful for my hearing, but no it’s quite obvious.

I’m definitely sensitive to noises, and being my first e bike, it’s obviously a change, but I expected that, but as I mentioned, while the motor clunking is not ideal, I can handle it. The pedal noise heading uphill, all good.

On a good downhill, there’s enough hub noise and tire noise to make it less annoying, but yeah, again, it’s plenty annoying that I was surprised I hadn’t read about it anywhere so I wanted to see who else had this going on and see if there was an answer.

 

[PhilS]

Here you go...
https://youtube.com/shorts/eu33pl4IqAc?feature=share

Wow! Absolutely nothing like that on mine!I wonder if it is model specific? If it happens when coasting downhill it can only really be the hubs...

 

[chrismechmaster]

Mines a M team and it has the noise

 

[mheher]

Wow! Absolutely nothing like that on mine!I wonder if it is model specific? If it happens when coasting downhill it can only really be the hubs...

model shouldn’t matter as I believe it’s the motor. I have m10. Nope, it’s when pedaling, coasting, uphill, downhill. Motor on, motor off. Just speed related, doesn’t matter how you got there.

 

[PhilS]

model shouldn’t matter as I believe it’s the motor. I have m10. Nope, it’s when pedaling, coasting, uphill, downhill. Motor on, motor off. Just speed related, doesn’t matter how you got there.

How can it be the motor when you are coasting? The freehub on the rear wheel disengages it.

 

[mheher]

Sounds pretty motor related to me... it’s like an electronic whistle noise of sorts. Certainly a noise I’ve never heard on a regular bike, and I would imagine it’s related to the motor being there in some way.

 

[mark.ai]

I can't see how it can be the motor either! (Haven't heard it on my Rise luckily...)

Can you get any kind of similar noise if the bike is in a stand and you spin the wheels fast or pedal?

Or could it be the wind going through a small hole in the frame somewhere?

 

[Mikerb]

To my ear that is not caused by wind...there are no harmonics. It sounds to me like metal against metal. Given you say it is above a certain speed regardless whether the motor is on or off and regardless whether you are pedalling or not that would suggest the source of the noise is one of the wheels and I would guess something to do with a brake rotor. Maybe see if applying either front or rear brake has an impact on the noise? Downhill on tarmac would be the easiest way to test.

 

[mheher]

To my ear that is not caused by wind...there are no harmonics. It sounds to me like metal against metal. Given you say it is above a certain speed regardless whether the motor is on or off and regardless whether you are pedalling or not that would suggest the source of the noise is one of the wheels and I would guess something to do with a brake rotor. Maybe see if applying either front or rear brake has an impact on the noise? Downhill on tarmac would be the easiest way to test.

Definitely not the brakes, just know that from my years of experience mountain biking, in which case applying some brake or not would change the noise, which it does not. The XT brakes make their own noise, that can be heard at the end of the video.

I don’t think it’s tire spinning and know it’s not from pedaling because it happens when not pedaling.

it’s either something with the motor or some type of weird wind noise... granted does everyone have the same hole that is having this problem? That’s possible, but seems sort of screwy.

I will do some more testing, also reached out to the dealer who is reaching out to Orbea.

He also reached out to the Santa Cruz rep because they use the EP8 and it seems like they’ve heard of this a bit also.

Seems weird too it’d be wind because it’s not like it’s an audible noise at 8 MPH and then a bit louder at 10 and then 12 and then screaming at 20, it’s on or off and is the same volume and pitch.

I’m quite confident it’s E-Bike related based on all the random noises these motors are putting out and based on all my years of biking having never heard anything like it.

 

[DanMcDan]

Nothing like that on my M20, likewise if it still makes that noise whilst coasting then hubs/discs etc would be my guess.

 

[mheher]

Put the bike on the stand and cranked it in the hardest gear as fast as I could. Nothing there. Not the brakes.

Ok, I need to ride at 15 MPH with a wind block in front of the bike to determine if it’s wind related, hahaha.

 

[soundwave]

Hmm, I might have heard something similar. Not sure. I have tinnitus and I have learned, a very hard way, that it is best NOT to get fixated on particular sounds. Trust me on this.

 

[enewb]

I think you guys just have that special Holset turbo add on hence the whistle! ?

No noise on my M20 with only 40mi. Will keep my ears open.

 

[Steve G H]

Not got that on mine , I've got the normal whirring from the motor but that higher pitched whistle doesn't happen . Can't understand how it can still be there if freewheeling , very strange and can see how it would be annoying

 

[jka]

It could still be something from the hubs or wheels even though it wasn't there cranking in a stand. I've had odd sounds from hubs on other bikes that were only there when spinning with the riders weight on the bike. I had no sound cranking in a stand, but clearly there when riding the bike. No weight on the bike means no pressure on the hubs. The only way I really figured it out was to put a different set of wheels on the bike and magically, it went away.

 

[Bigkatoomer]

It wasn't until you mentioned it, I recalled that I did hear that on the M10. I figured it was at around 15mph as the motor ramps down / off pedal support so didn't think anything of it.

I heard it in the first week or so, but I've either zoned out or it's stopped since.

 

[Mikerb]

The OP said the noise was there even with the motor off.............if the motor is off nothing in the motor is moving. I agree withthe comment above that extraneous wheel noises often only occur when the wheel has weight on it. The front wheel is obviously easier to swop out than the rear so finding someone that can let you try their front wheel would at least enable that to be eliminated. Torque caps on a front wheel...if fitted...can often make weird noises because grit etc can get between them and hub end caps. I mentioned the rotor because there is often minimal clearance between the rotor and forks and/or rotor adaptor and any through axle play on hub can enable the disc to foul.