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Bike Perfect

Lifestyle

Graham Cottingham

Orbea's Rise 2025 blurs the lines between a lightweight and full-power e-MTB with its uniquely tuned, second-gen Shimano motor

Orbea Shimano Garmin

Orbea Rise LT pictured side on in a quarry.

Lightweight e-MTB's have only been a thing since 2020 but since then the category has exploded, with all the best e-MTB brands now offering their take on the lightweight e-MTB including Orbea's Rise. Orbea has now released the fourth version of the Rise, which now comes with a revised frame, SL and LT versions, and the second-generation Shimano EP801 RS motor.

When the first Rise was released in 2020, there weren't as many lightweight e-MTB motors available to manufacturers. Orbea's solution was to work with Shimano to develop an RS (Rider Synergy) tune on the Shimano motor.

The latest Rise will come equipped with the second-generation Shimano EP801 RS, an Orbea-exclusive motor system developed with Shimano. This isn't a different motor from the standard full-power EP801. Instead, it's how the motor behaves that has been modified. Orbea has tuned the motor to offer more support when the rider is working hard but backs off when soft pedaling to give a more natural ride feel and save battery.

Orbea worked with Shimano to create the EP801 RS tuned motor (Image credit: Orbea )

One motor, two very different assistance modes

The Gen 2 Shimano EP801 RS motor has two modes – RS mode (56Nm) which is optimized to deliver power around the 70-90rpm cadence for a more natural feel. While a new protocol between the motor and battery forms RS+ mode to offer up to 85Nm at lower cadences (35-50rpm) to take on tougher climbs, this is selected through the Shimano E-Tube app.

The Rise uses a new generation 5.8Ah 21,700 cell battery, offering a higher cell density to create lighter smaller batteries with just as much power. Orbea claims the new batteries have 16 percent more capacity for the same weight.

There are two battery options, 420Wh (1.96kg) and 630Wh (2.88kg) units. There is also a 210Wh range extender, it weighs 1.03kg and is half the size of the previous version. Battery options can be chosen through the My Orbea shopping tool.

Orbea claims that in the 'Trail' assistance setting, it is possible to get 2,500m of climbing from the 630Wh battery, while the 420Wh should get you around 1,600m. The range extender can only power the Rise in Eco mode and is said to give an extra 1,100m of climbing.

Although there is no supplied screen, all bikes will come with a GPS mount and are compatible with Garmin, Wahoo, Sigma, and Bryton head units. If you prefer a smartwatch over a GPS computer, the RS Toolbox is also available on Garmin watches to show all the ride data. There is also the option of adding a stem-mounted Shimano display.

Increased stiffness is claimed to improve the Rise's handling (Image credit: Orbea )

Beefed up frame design

Orbea made changes to the front and rear triangles which aim to increase stiffness and make the new Rise more capable than before. The front triangle uses an asymmetric design and a new reinforcement tube from the downtube to the shock mount and is said to make the Rise between 8 to 15 percent stiffer depending on size. The rear triangle gets bigger cross-section chainstays and a new linkage to make the rear end 14 percent stiffer.

Now that the pivot is mounted to the front triangle beam, the seat tube can be straightened so the new Rise is compatible with a 230mm dropper across all sizes.

Orbea says that it made these frame updates without adding additional weight to the frameset, quoting that a medium unpainted frame is 2.2kg without a shock.

The LT features a a flip-chip in the linkage (Image credit: Orbea )

Rise SL and LT

The Rise will come in SL and LT model versions. The Rise LT comes with a 160mm fork and 150mm rear suspension. Geometry is almost the same as Orbea's Occam enduro bike, with only a minor difference in the bottom bracket height. A flip-chip adjusts the head angle between 64 and 64.5 degrees, making it considerably slacker than the previous Rise. The suspension has also been fine-tuned to give it a more progressive leverage ratio for increased support.

The Rise SL is aimed more at long-distance singletrack adventures. The Rise SL has 140mm front and rear suspension, swapping the 36mm fork and coil for a 34mm stanchioned fork and air shock. The Rise SL is more similar in geometry and kinematics to the previous Rise.

Both LT and SL use the same front and rear triangle, with the difference being the Rise SL also gets a longer carbon shock extender and shorter shock, instead of the flip-chip-equipped shock extender on the LT.

The EP801 motor weighs about 700g more than Bosch's SX motor so you would expect the Rise to be on the heavier end of the spectrum. Impressively, Orbea has managed to get the SL down to a claimed 16.2kg and the LT (with an air shock) to 17.8kg. For comparison, the the Whyte E-Lyte 140 Works weighs 17.4kg and Trek's Fuel EXe is 17.47kg, both with lightweight drive units.