THE 2025 ORBEA RISE LT

MORE TRAVEL, MORE POWER

Words, Photo and Video by Cole Gregg

SPONSORED CONTENT

Orbea is launching the new generation of their Rise lightweight eBIke for 2025, with a full 85Nm torque drive unit and options for a Long Travel or SL setup. How have they managed to achieve a capable full-power eBike at this weight? Watch the video or keep on reading below to find out in the latest episode of the Dissected series.

As with all of our Dissected Features, this is not intended to be a long-term review or endorsement of a product but is instead a chance for our viewers and readers to get a deep dive look into some of the newest tech and products in the mountain bike space. We thank Orbea for the opportunity to create this feature and getting you some valuable beta on this exciting new lightweight eMTB.

ABOUT THE NEW ORBEA RISE

The goal for Orbea with the second generation of the Rise was to retain the well-rounded capabilities of the original, while working to deliver a frame that will allow riders to push this bike even harder both up and down the hill.

RIDER SYNERGY PLUS | The drive unit is Shimano’s EP801 RS, now delivering up to 85NM of torque. Additionally, this new model has two motor profiles with the option to deliver the full torque for the most challenging climbs. The RS+ mode answers the prayers of many who felt short-changed by the limited maximum torque of the old system. With Orbea’s “RS” philosophy, Profile 1 will still give a more natural feeling and range-minded assistance compared to your standard EP801; but Profile 2 or RS+ is closer to a standard Shimano setup and lets you unleash the full power of the motor for the times it’s needed.

BEST IN CLASS BATTERIES | The 2025 Orbea Rise Carbon is being offered with a choice of either 420Wh or 630Wh batteries, with an optional 210Wh range extender for those big epic days. Orbea worked to optimize the capacity to weight ratio of these batteries as much as possible, and claims to have delivered industry-leading battery units as a result. Compared to the competitors, Orbea has managed to obtain 16% more energy for every gram, delivering an impressive range for its weight.

FRAME UPDATES | One of the biggest visual changes to the new Rise is the addition of the side support connecting the top tube to the down tube, as seen on other Orbea models. This was done to increase frame stiffness allowing you to push harder into rough terrain without compromise. Front triangle stiffness received a boost of around 8% stiffness, and is tuned with a different stiffness figure to suit each frame size. Rear triangle stiffness was boosted 14% to match these front ends and deliver a more precise and hard-charging bike overall.

STEEP AND DEEP | As with the Wild and many other of Orbea’s mountain bikes, the new Rise uses their Steep And Deep philosophy to maximize seatpost insertion depths in each frame size, allowing riders to use the longest dropper posts possible to obtain the most clearance on the descents. Thanks to a custom designed charge port and tweaked pivot points, riders are able to get impressive insertion depths across the board.

LONG TRAVEL OR SUPER LIGHT?

Orbea is offering two configurations of the new Rise, using the same main frame but different shock link, fork travel and built kits to give two distinct characters to suit two different camps of rider. Much like the most recent Occam trail bike, the new Rise is offered in LT or SL versions.

RISE LT | The LT we tested in this feature has 150mm rear and 160mm front travel, with an All Mountain to light Enduro-appropriate build. On the Rise LT, you get the same genius geo-adjust flip chip as recently introduced on the new Occam LT. This allows you to quickly switch between a “high” and “low” geometry setting with a simple half turn of an allen key. Head and Seat Tube angles can be adjusted by 0.5° and bottom bracket height by 8mm, tailoring rider preference of agility or stability on-the-fly.

RISE SL | The SL build is targeted more at the mile-munching trail crowd with a lighter weight build kit and 140mm travel on both ends. The SL instead receives a carbon fiber shock link without the geometry adjustment to shave weight, and has more agile and climb-focused geometry to excel at more pedal-heavy ride scenarios.

NEAT FEATURES | All Carbon Rise frames come with a “second skin” helping keep your new bike looking like new for many rides to come. Orbea’s Fully Loaded Pivot brings easy access to a multi tool. Expansive chainstay protection keeps chain slap at bay. The frame pivots feature fully sealed bearings with chunky O-Rings on the outside to prevent water and dirt ingress. The cables are routed internally with their SIC headset routing system, which may cause contention amongst commenters but offers up a clean cockpit that Orbea stands by as being suitably durable.

HAVE IT YOUR WAY – MyO | Orbea offers five different standard models in both the SL and LT packages, with different frame materials depending on the build selected. LT builds range from the $6,999 LT M20 and top out at the $11,999 M-Team. SL specs top out at the $12,999 SL M-LTD.

With the MyO Configurator, customers can order their Orbea Rise and tailor everything from the frame paint to the build spec to their liking. Beginning with one of the standard build specs, components can be swapped to the user’s preference, including upgrades and different fit components from cockpit to dropper post.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

So far, our time on board the new Orbea Rise LT has been limited to two days during the creation of this Dissected feature. While it by no means constitutes a long-term review and so should not be taken as our final say on the performance of the bike, our initial time on the bike has presented us with some initial impressions that we feel confident in sharing.

When it comes to pointing the new Rise uphill, there is a very familiar feel that the RS-tuned Shimano EP801 motor delivers, carried over from the previous generation. This remains true when talking about profile 2 – or RS+ – with its full 85NM of torque. RS+ delivers some extra kick when the climbing gets steep, and while it may not feel like a turbo charged winch yanking you up the hill, there is plenty of support there. Profile 1’s power delivery offers an incredibly natural feeling, and the motor is whisper quiet. It makes you feel as if you just came off a 3 month training block and are at peak fitness. Sure after a few hours you may start to feel the burn, but nothing like on an analog bike.

The initial stroke of the shock with the updated kinematics is noticeably more supple than previous versions. While this not only makes the ride more comfortable and easy to enjoy on long days it also greatly has improved the amount of traction you have on tap. The cockpit is roomy and allows my long legs plenty of room around the bars on tight switchbacks without feeling overly long. It is very easy to get up and over the front when the hill points straight up, and only the steepest of climbs let the front wheel become a little light.

On the way down the hill, the new Orbea Rise LT has proven to be a blast so far. Tight corners are handled without issue, yet there’s enough stability to entice you to push the speed limit on rough sections of trail. With the increased progression at the end of the stroke, it has been very easy to find a happy place when it comes to air pressure in the rear shock. The middle of the stroke has a unique feeling of support without delivering any harsh feedback on high speed sequential compressions. Because this feels like you are riding a normal bike, the thought of having a motor between your feet drifts away while you are popping and playing your way down the trail.

During our test rides so far we have kept the bike in the high setting. I’m eager to experiment with dropping it into low and choose some higher speed trails to really push the bike to my limit for its long term review. If first impressions are anything to go by, this is going to be a good one.

ORBEA RISE LT BUILDS