2023 Orbea Wild eMTB eyes up the podium with new geometry, revised suspension and a stiff frame

New Bosch-powered electric enduro bike sports 29in wheels and 160mm travel

This competition is now closed

By Luke Marshall

Published: November 17, 2022 at 3:00 pm

Orbea's new Wild eMTB is designed with the aim of being the best enduro electric mountain bike on the trails. It has full 29in wheels and dishes out 160mm of rear-suspension travel.

Frame stiffness, weight, geometry and kinematics have all been tuned to improve performance.

Seven models are available, with four carbon-framed options and three aluminium bikes. Prices range from £5,299 / $5,699 / €5,699 up to £10,999 / $11,999 / €11,999.

These employ Bosch's full-power CX and CX-R electric mountain bike motors, delivering 85Nm torque with 625Wh or 750Wh battery options. The bike also uses Bosch's latest Mini Remote that enables you to change mode settings wirelessly.

Removable batteries increase weight, complexity and noise, yet reduce stiffness. Orbea uses its SBS (Secure Battery System), which houses the battery within the down tube to reverse these issues.

Orbea told us it spent a lot of time optimising the frame stiffness and making it as light as possible, while achieving the desired rigidity.

Because of an electric bike's additional weight due to the motor, battery and more robust components, Orbea suggests an ebike's frame needs to be 10 per cent stiffer than a non-assisted bike to achieve the same ride quality.

Orbea has forgone battery removal and uses an integrated battery to achieve this. It says cutting a large hole in the down tube significantly reduces a frame's stiffness, which seems logical. The new Wild has a claimed 51.59 per cent stiffer front triangle over the outgoing model.

Orbea has learned that stiffer isn't always better, though, and there's a balance to be struck. To put this new front-triangle stiffness into perspective, the latest Wild is just shy of 10 per cent stiffer than Orbea's Rallon enduro bike.

We shouldn't forget that the rear triangle has undergone some refinements too, and is eight per cent stiffer than the 2020 Wild.

To help get the best ride character from the bike, Orbea refined the details to shave off as much weight as possible. For a size-large carbon frame, it has trimmed the Wild frame down by a claimed 901g. This is just 70g heavier than the Rallon frame.

The rocker is now a one-piece carbon unit (on the carbon frames) to highlight a frame detail.

To help keep the weight as low as possible in the frame, Orbea has built new battery-mounting hardware. In addition, the latest Bosch PowerTube batteries and mounts also shave off weight.

A large Orbea Wild M-LTD with 625Wh battery weighed in at 20.90kg.

Orbea didn't think having a lighter electric bike with refined stiffness was good enough, it had to handle well too. So, the Spanish brand looked to its new Rallon enduro bike and refined the geometry for the Wild.

The four frame sizes, small, medium, large and extra-large, have undergone the usual longer and slacker treatment but are, in fact, a little higher off the ground.

These have all been built around 29in wheels front and back. This was done to help give the bike the best traction possible when climbing steep, technical trails.

The reach has increased by 25mm to a typical 455mm for a size medium. The other bike sizes have 435mm, 480mm and 505mm reach numbers for sizes S, L and XL, respectively. These reach numbers are for a 160mm fork. If you run a 170mm fork, expect the lengths to shorten by 5mm.

The head tube angle is a moderate 64 degrees, which should balance precise steering with front-centre stability. Plus, the effective seat tube angle is 77.5 degrees across the sizes. This is now typical of modern mountain bikes and should seat riders comfortably above the bottom bracket.

Another feature brought over from the Rallon is the Steep’ N’ Deep seat tube that is uninterrupted and optimised for long-travel dropper posts. As a result, even the size small will fit a 200mm Fox Transfer SL dropper post.

The short seat tubes also mean you can choose between three sizes depending on whether you want an agile, balanced or stable bike. Most riders will have two sizes to choose from.

Orbea says it furthermore refined the motor mount to enable it to make the chainstays shorter. These are 448mm across all sizes, which should keep the bike relatively agile.

The bottom bracket drop is now 25mm, which gives a little more ground clearance to help reduce pedal strikes.

The 2023 Wild retains the 160mm of travel from the last model and is compatible with 170mm or 160mm-travel forks.

The overall progressivity of the Wild had been reduced to 37 per cent. However, it still has similar starting values that should give the bike good initial stroke sensitivity.

The main change is to the mid-stroke portion of travel. Here, Orbea has increased the support to give a more playful and poppy ride feel, so it's not so planted to the ground. This should enable riders to move the bike around more easily.

There's still enough progressivity at the end-stroke that while the bikes come specced with air shocks, they’re compatible with coil shocks too.

Orbea didn't make significant changes to the anti-squat and anti-rise, because it had good feedback from the Factory team on how the suspension behaves. However, there is a slight reduction in anti-rise, so the suspension is a little more independent of braking forces.

Across the range of bikes, Orbea is speccing Fox Float X2, Float X, and Float DPS shocks depending on the model. These are tuned to the Wild's suspension kinematics.

Orbea uses Bosch's 2023 Smart System for the new Wild, which includes the Performance Line CX and CX Race motors, Bosch PowerTube batteries and the new wireless Mini Remote and System Controller.

The CX and CX Race motors dish out 85Nm torque. However, the CX Race is 140g lighter and benefits from a Race power setting, which is the most aggressive assist mode Bosch has developed. The CX Race drive unit is only available on the top-spec Wild M-LTD bike.

This software update increases the amount of assistance from 340 per cent to 400 per cent. This motor is only available on the Wild M-LTD bike.

The Mini Remote and System Control connect via Bluetooth, so you lose a wire on the handlebar. In addition, the new remote has a much sleeker design and easier-to-press mode selection buttons. These were chosen to help minimise rider distraction on the trail and to give as clean a cockpit as possible.

The System Controller is mounted in the top tube and displays battery levels and modes with LEDs. You can forgo a display mounted on the handlebars. It's still possible to add Bosch's KIOX display if riders are keen on more detailed information though.

Two batteries are available for the Wild, with either 625Wh or 750Wh capacity. While models are specced with what Orbea thinks is most suitable for each model, these are customisable in the MyO process on the Orbea website.

There is around a 900g weight difference between the two batteries. Riders who want the best handling and agility can spec the smaller battery. Those who are more interested in range can choose the larger battery.

To make space for the Steep ‘N’ Deep seat tube, Orbea needed to move the charging port. This features a new cover to prevent mud and water ingress. The spring-loaded mechanism means the cover will never open while riding.

Orbea has made significant updates to the cable routing and now threads the gear, dropper and rear brake cables through its SIC (Sealed Internal Cables) system. This passes the cables through rubber grommets in the headset cap, and they then run internally.

This was chosen to help clean up the cockpit and keep everything safely out of the way, while also reducing noise.

To help reduce maintenance, Orbea has included Enduro bearings. There's a black oxidised lower bearing and a stainless steel bearing in the top headset cup that Orbea says won't corrode if moisture finds its way past the rubber seals.

Orbea claims changing a cable, stem or handlebar is no more time-consuming than before.

Another addition to the headset is the inclusion of Orbea's Spin Block limiter. This is a design in the headset that prevents the bars from rotating too far, so the handlebars, brake levers or gear shifters can't damage the frame in a crash.

The internal cables also run invisibly from the front triangle to the rear and pass through the motor casing area with tubes.

There is plenty of frame protection around the bike to keep noise to a minimum. In addition, the frame bearings get additional seals to keep grime out to help prolong its life and reduce maintenance.

Orbea has tried to cover as many price points as possible with seven models in the new Wild range. These start at £5,299 / $5,699 / €5.699 and top out at £10,999 / $11,999 / €11,999.

The three aluminium models feature the same technology as the carbon models, but for a more affordable price. These models include Fox custom-tuned shocks.

The carbon models have a range of specs and options.

Orbea says the new Wild will be available from the beginning of 2023. It's already possible to reserve a bike through Orbea's Rider Connect service.

One of the things that sets Orbea apart from other brands is the ability to customise your bike spec or colour through the MyO options on its website.

Here, you can upgrade parts or customise the colour of your bike. Suspension, wheels, battery capacity and spec changes can be made to suit your riding style and needs.

Technical writer

Luke Marshall is a technical writer for BikeRadar and MBUK magazine. He's been working for both titles since 2018 and has over 20 years of mountain biking experience. Luke is a gravity-focused rider with a history of racing downhill, previously competing in the UCI Downhill World Cup. Educated to a degree level in engineering and with a penchant for full-throttle speed, Luke is more than qualified to put every bike and product through its paces to bring you informative and independent reviews. You'll most likely find him on a trail, enduro or downhill bike riding the off-piste tracks around south Wales and the south west of England. He often makes an appearance on BikeRadar's podcast and YouTube channel.

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