Orbea Wild 2023 Headset spinblock broken

Rocketship

Member
May 23, 2023
36
7
UK
I have a 2023 Wild and the collector spinblock has broken in half. - (the part that sits directly underneath the stem). It is made of plastic and has a really thin section where the cables run through.
Orbea are sending new parts under warranty to the local shop to fix it. Anyone else had issues with this?

Headset.jpg
 
Last edited:

Mosand

New Member
Feb 21, 2024
1
0
Oslo, Norway
I had the same thing happening to my Rise. I have a 5mm split spacer under it, so I epoxied it together to make one part. Works fine.
I was told by my LBS that Orbea is adressing this with a new part made of alu.
 

Rocketship

Member
May 23, 2023
36
7
UK
That makes sense to make it in alu as this design is daft. Also if you have an off and the handlebars take a knock, I think it will twist and break it?
 

Rocketship

Member
May 23, 2023
36
7
UK
Update - new Spin block has finally arrived at the dealer. I had to keep chasing Orbea all the time and they took 2 weeks to send out the part from Spain!?

The new part is still plastic like the old one.

I am still wondering about this design through. It has a solid stop which restricts the bars from spinning. If you came off and the bars take a knock, wont the stem try and turn and put a lot of pressure on the plastic spin block?
 

Dr.m4rc3l

New Member
May 30, 2024
1
0
Germany
I got the same problem which is so annoying that it even was the reason to open account on forums to do some research and hopefully to find a better solution for me. I got a 2023 Wild M10 which I really like, but that annoying piece made me almost wanna sell the bike when trying to fix it the first time. It began around Christmas last year when I bought a good headlight that could be connected to the smart system ( Battery Headlights were a pain in the a** and not working for me with ADHD, cause I either forgot to charge or forgot to have them with me accidentally or even on purpose because I thought I will be back home before it gets dark :p .... )
That was the first time I realized how much effort is needed for the 'supposedly' simple task of 'screw the LED light to the handlebar and plug the other end of the cable into the socket at the motor'!!
Disambling the stack that literally fell into pieces after unscrewing the stem. Fiddling the cable through the rubber sealing and assembling the stack again would be doable, but routing the cable through the frame was impossible for me to without removing the battery, which would also require to remove the motor first....
At that point I decided - for my own good - to change the procedure of mounting the headlight. My task was now to assemble the stack and mount the bar while ranting and cursing the engineers that designed this fancy shit the apple-way just to show off and keep the customer away from DIY and maintenance on their own. And the rest was handed to bike shop mechanics.... At least the 100€ price tag for that confirmed to me that I don't suck and it was really not easy to do that.

On the second trip after the installation, it happened the first time. I guess the reason that it didn't happen before was that the pressure on that plastic piece was a bit higher now with another cable running through the sealing and making it stiffer and tighter overall. Because it was no crash what soever. I just leaned the bike sideways with one handle against a garage wall to open a gate. I messed up, cause when I went to away from the bike it tilted more towards the wall while turning the bar until the saddle hit the wall. The wheel and the bar had some momentum and turned until the spinlock got hit and I heard it crack. I was pretty surprised when I went back to check where the sound came from, and I saw a part of the collector sticking out. It was just a small impact; the bike was still kinda upright leaning against the wall (not lying at the ground) but still that part was broken exactly on both thinnest parts left and right where the sealings are.

I was mad already cause it didn't know how and WHY that happened so easy, but I didn't know that it will get worse when I try to get a spare part!!! No availability. Nowhere. For weeks. After a while I found one or two listings from shops at the other side of the world without detailed shipping dates, but a price of around $39 plus $30+ for shipping kept me away from further investigation....

Quickfix was to glue the pieces together and remount. Turned out to be not a workable solution. The metal spacers for the stack are split pieces which you put from left and right onto the steering tube. But since the collector is a closed ring that has an inner diameter of just a bit over 50mm, to get all cables and brake hoses through it you must even disconnect all of those from levers and handles!! Come one! Really?! The weakest part of the whole front, supposed to be the weakest and to brake first to protect the rest need all this effort to get renewed??? SMH! I need a better solution.... still

.... anyways, I tried diverse ways to glue it in place with differnt types of glue. Broke it a couple of times again. Tried to find 3D files (nothing found so far) of that part to 3D print myself a few and experiment with materials and mods on that. Right now - since it broke 2 days ago again - I even cut the parts additionally at the 'notch' to create a split part (left and right like the spacers) and glue those parts to the thinnest set of spacers to make it a bit stronger and easy to assemble. Still have to come up with an idea how to hold both parts a bit better together once assembled. So far it stays in place by compressing the whole stack when tightening the stem screws and sitting in the groves with the metal spacers which keeps all the spacers aligned.....

I know, my ranting and my story doesnt really help you with the same problem, but maybe someone here has an idea how to get the 3D files so that I could edit the parts and make some printed parts (I could ship them afterwards) Or ideas for changes and mounting that could help to create an easier and printable solution for that in the end.
I mean the way it is designed it will happen a lot of times to a lot of people I guess?! If I can't change the fact, then at least I want this 'consumable' part be printable for a few cents within a brief time and change it in a few minutes....
Thx
 

Rocketship

Member
May 23, 2023
36
7
UK
Yep that is exactly the issue.
It’s a rubbish design.

If it goes again I am going to change it for the other version. That type does not have the lug that goes into the stem so you can run a standard stem. Then if the bars take a knock they should turn and not twist and snap that part
 

b33k34

Member
Apr 15, 2021
270
99
UK
I've got a new Rise on order and the headset is the part I'm not looking forward to. I get why manufacturers think a 'spinblock' might help save parts of the bike, but, as the guy says in the video when the bars spin *something* has to give.

We had similar on a Canyon Spectral a few years ago - the forces in even quite a small off are enough to break the anti-spin device.
 

markloch

Active member
May 14, 2021
188
154
NorCal
I just received my '23 Urrun in XL and though the Blue Paper lists a spinblock, mine doesn't have one ... dodged a bullet? Prior to cockpit adjustments the brake levers were turned down enough to make contact with the top tube but not now. The fork of course clear the down tube.

I removed the knock block from my XL Trek Rail when I swapped stems.
 

OZ-E

Member
Jun 21, 2021
27
22
Australia
I have a Medium and from new the fork always hit the rubber downtube protector first. Shouldn't this prevent strain on the spinblock?
 

dom_quattro

New Member
Dec 1, 2023
8
10
Bay Area, CA
I have a Medium and from new the fork always hit the rubber downtube protector first. Shouldn't this prevent strain on the spinblock?
Are you running to OE Fox fork or another brand, and OE stem/collector? The spinblock may not be fully seated in the headset area.

I'm gonna post an in depth video soon - but I've been dealing with some fun issues with my spinblock after going to the Orbea universal collector (took 2+ weeks to get it from Spain) with an aftermarket stem. My OE spinblock collector for the integrated cables exploded after a light to moderate crash, so I figured I'd go aftermarket stem and new collector.

However, I was running a RS Zeb fork - which has a taller damper adjustment dial than the OE Fox 38. So when I removed the spinblock the top was hitting the rubber downtube protector. So - I installed a different headset bearing and new crown race (3mm lift) and swapped to a Fox 38 - and it still barely hits. So I'm gonna try a 6mm crown race and report back. Not sure I want to adjust the geo that much, but I'm gonna give it a shot and see how it feels.

Apparently large clears with the 3mm, but I'm on a medium. I know you didn't ask for a rant - but it's all pretty relevant for a fellow medium owner. I plan to post up an in depth video of all I've learned from this.
 

OZ-E

Member
Jun 21, 2021
27
22
Australia
Are you running to OE Fox fork or another brand, and OE stem/collector? The spinblock may not be fully seated in the headset area.

I'm gonna post an in depth video soon - but I've been dealing with some fun issues with my spinblock after going to the Orbea universal collector (took 2+ weeks to get it from Spain) with an aftermarket stem. My OE spinblock collector for the integrated cables exploded after a light to moderate crash, so I figured I'd go aftermarket stem and new collector.

However, I was running a RS Zeb fork - which has a taller damper adjustment dial than the OE Fox 38. So when I removed the spinblock the top was hitting the rubber downtube protector. So - I installed a different headset bearing and new crown race (3mm lift) and swapped to a Fox 38 - and it still barely hits. So I'm gonna try a 6mm crown race and report back. Not sure I want to adjust the geo that much, but I'm gonna give it a shot and see how it feels.

Apparently large clears with the 3mm, but I'm on a medium. I know you didn't ask for a rant - but it's all pretty relevant for a fellow medium owner. I plan to post up an in depth video of all I've learned from this.
Just the Fox 38 it came with. Both my spinblock and collector have crapped themselves. Also the rubber bumper fell off.

Thinking of just going the taller race and letting it swing one I get a new universal collector.

If it clears, I just won't bother putting a new bumper back on.
 

Weeksy

Well-known member
Subscriber
Dec 13, 2019
516
538
Reading
You can get a 10mm spacer that not only gives you 0.5deg of head angle slacker but obviously moves the top og the fork 10mm further from your frame. Worked well on my Trek Fuel ex.

2022%20geometry%20adjust%20angle%20spacer.jpg


 

Ronen

Member
Apr 6, 2022
7
3
Israel
Hey.
I had a similar problem. I bought a Rocky Mountain bumper and glued it to the Urba's bumper.
I tried all kinds of glues, the only one that lasts and doesn't come off even with strong blows is ALTECO quick glue.

20240801_164746.jpg IMG-20240214-WA0004.jpeg
 

Zave

Member
Subscriber
Jul 27, 2022
41
17
Surrey England
Are you running to OE Fox fork or another brand, and OE stem/collector? The spinblock may not be fully seated in the headset area.

I'm gonna post an in depth video soon - but I've been dealing with some fun issues with my spinblock after going to the Orbea universal collector (took 2+ weeks to get it from Spain) with an aftermarket stem. My OE spinblock collector for the integrated cables exploded after a light to moderate crash, so I figured I'd go aftermarket stem and new collector.

However, I was running a RS Zeb fork - which has a taller damper adjustment dial than the OE Fox 38. So when I removed the spinblock the top was hitting the rubber downtube protector. So - I installed a different headset bearing and new crown race (3mm lift) and swapped to a Fox 38 - and it still barely hits. So I'm gonna try a 6mm crown race and report back. Not sure I want to adjust the geo that much, but I'm gonna give it a shot and see how it feels.

Apparently large clears with the 3mm, but I'm on a medium. I know you didn't ask for a rant - but it's all pretty relevant for a fellow medium owner. I plan to post up an in depth video of all I've learned from this.
Anything to feedback on this?
Can you please post a pic of the gap created with the +3mm or +6mm crown race.
 

s.aristi.a

New Member
Subscriber
Oct 17, 2024
1
0
Colombia
The piece is a piece of crap. I have broken 3 of them wothout any mayor crash or event. Looking to have one made of aluminium, the problem is I dont know if the added hardness will affect other parts in the event of a crash.
 

doochenozzle

Member
May 16, 2023
37
17
Dildo, Newfoundland
Yep that is exactly the issue.
It’s a rubbish design.

If it goes again I am going to change it for the other version. That type does not have the lug that goes into the stem so you can run a standard stem. Then if the bars take a knock they should turn and not twist and snap that part
You can remove the little spinblock piece I thought - it sits at 6 o clock if you’re seated on the bike looking down at the head tube area. But f me I hadn’t even considered if forks would touch the frame.
But the whole system sucks. I dumped the split spacers and just got the cables out of this mess as quickly as possible and just used regular spacers. I think I’m left with too large of a frame top cover but I can’t be bothered to reroute everything.
I thought internal headset routing would suck but it’s exceeded my expectations.
 

markloch

Active member
May 14, 2021
188
154
NorCal
You can remove the little spinblock piece I thought - it sits at 6 o clock if you’re seated on the bike looking down at the head tube area. But f me I hadn’t even considered if forks would touch the frame.
But the whole system sucks. I dumped the split spacers and just got the cables out of this mess as quickly as possible and just used regular spacers. I think I’m left with too large of a frame top cover but I can’t be bothered to reroute everything.
I thought internal headset routing would suck but it’s exceeded my expectations.

Not sure if it’s been covered in this thread but there’s a “universal collector” which

Enables the use of standard non-OC HS02 stems compatible with round headset spacers.

Since the universal collector and standard stems do not have the Spinblock assembly profile, the Spinblock steering limiting function is lost on original Orbea assemblies that had the Spinblock function.


 

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