FIRST RIDE REVIEW

The New Orbea Wild eMTB

Review by Robert Johnston | Photos By Roo Fowler

Today, Orbea has launched the new Wild eMTB. What changes have they made to justify a new model so soon? On first inspection, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference to the existing Wild that was launched in 2023. Look a little closer though, and there’s a few things that Orbea has done in the hopes of pushing the performance of the Wild even higher – including the new MY25 Bosch Performance Line CX Drive Unit. Learn all about the new Orbea Wild and find out our initial impressions in this First Ride Review.

ABOUT THE NEW ORBEA WILD eMTB

This is very much evolution rather than revolution, with the general silhouette being ever so similar, but it’s safe to say that the existing Orbea Wild was a bike that we were very fond of. It won our 2023 eBike shootout, and received an award for the best race eMTB in this year’s shootout. 

Although the silhouette is similar, there’s changes to the suspension, drive unit and geometry, to further enhance the capabilities of Orbea’s E-Enduro machine. Answering the prayers of many, the new Wild can now be converted to a mullet wheel setup by changing out the rocker link.

DRIVE UNIT AND ELECTRONICS | The new Bosch CX Gen 5 motor may have been a key driver in Orbea’s decision to release a new Wild so soon. Be sure to check out our other videos for a more detailed look at this new system, but in essence, Bosch has knocked off around 100g from the weight; made it slightly quieter in operation, and made it slightly more responsive to your input for better control.

This Gen 5 Bosch CX motor can be powered by your choice of the existing 750Wh PowerTube battery or the new 600Wh unit. Orbea decided not to make the frame of the new Wild compatible with the new 800Wh Bosch battery due to its fatter profile.

This new 600Wh Bosch PowerTube battery is an impressive 600g lighter than the existing 625Wh, helping the overall ride dynamics of the bike. Both of these can be boosted by a further 250Wh using the PowerMore range extender. 

Orbea uses the standard LED System Controller integrated into the top tube, with the wireless Mini Remote on the handlebar. There’s no display as standard.

FRAME AND FEATURES | Orbea is going to offer the new Wild in both the carbon we’ve tested and their High Polish Alloy frame, which carries all the same features but weighs around 1.2kg more. 

Granting the biggest wish of all with the previous Wild – you can now run a 27.5” wheel in the rear to make a mullet setup. Orbea uses a dedicated link to correct the geometry and kinematics for each wheel size. This will be offered as a standard option for no extra charge using Orbea’s MyO configurator, or Orbea expects to make the link available aftermarket for around 200 euros or dollars.

The rest of the details carry over from the previous generation Wild. There’s the SIC internal cable routing through an Acros headset, with a stainless steel upper bearing to reduce the likelihood for maintenance to be required. The suspension pivots are double-sealed; a custom-molded motor skid plate; and protection for downtube, seat and chain stays, and even a small flap over the lower link.

Orbea has also introduced the new Wild ST, which is a more affordable full power option for less aggressive riders, with 150mm suspension and more general purpose geometry.

SUSPENSION | Orbea increased the travel on the new Wild, now delivering 170mm travel on both ends as standard with their Linkage Driven Single Pivot with CB2 system. This 170mm travel also receives around 4% extra progression, in a bid to increase sensitivity and bottom out resistance. Anti Rise sits at around 62% at sag, and Anti Squat hovers around 110%, dropping smoothly down to 55% by bottom out. 

Orbea worked with Fox on custom tunes for both the Float X and Float X2 shocks to pair best with this revised rear end, ensuring that all customers get the best performance out of the suspension as possible.

GEOMETRY | Some minor tweaks were made to the geometry to further boost the capability and confidence of the MY25 Wild on the descents. The head tube angle has been slackened to 63.5°, and the Stack height has increased slightly across the board thanks to longer head tubes. Orbea has taken their “Steep and Deep” seatpost philosophy a step further, increasing insertion depths to fit a 200mm dropper slammed on all sizes.

BUILD SPECS  | Standard builds will be offered from around €6,500 euros to €12,000 euros, with tweaks and changes possible to get it dialed into your preferences using the MyO configurator.

Across the board you’ll get burly forks, piggyback equipped shocks, powerful brakes and more aggressive tires. 

We tested their M-LTD build, but with the alloy OQUO E-MC32 Team Power wheels instead of the carbon MC32 LTD wheelset. Decked out in high quality componentry throughout, this build gave us absolutely no reason to complain. At around €11k though, you’d certainly hope so.

THE DIRT

I’d have been hard pressed to demand any changes to the existing Orbea Wild. However, there’s no such thing as a perfect bike, so Orbea’s decision to make some slight tweaks as well as offering the mullet compatibility is still welcome.

ELECTRONICS & INTEGRATION | Little has changed in terms of the integration, and so the Orbea Wild is still exceptionally clean. The LED System Controller and Mini Remote combo give a clutter-free cockpit, and the new MY25 Bosch drive unit is neatly integrated into the frame. 

Orbea’s choice to make the new Wild only compatible with the new 600Wh or existing 750Wh is understandable, but a shame for those looking to regularly cover big ground. The new 800Wh is a more efficient offering in terms of Wh/kg than the 750Wh or a 600Wh plus the PowerMore Range Extender. But when you consider the larger diameter that the 800Wh demands, you can perhaps forgive Orbea for deciding to preserve the clean lines and slimmer profile of the down tube.  

CLIMBING | The seated position and pedaling platform are still excellent with the new Orbea Wild. The new Bosch motor follows on from the excellent performance of the Gen 4, producing a slightly “smoother” noise and feeling a touch more sensitive to your input. This allows you to obtain the power with slightly improved control, almost mimicking the feeling of connection to the rear wheel that a pedal bike delivers.

DESCENDING | On the way down the hill, this still very much feels like an Orbea Wild, albeit with slightly improved comfort from the rear end and a slightly slacker front. I experimented with 29 and mullet and found both to work great, with none of the feelings of a “mulleted” bike that some can give. Instead, the balance of the bike is retained, and it’s just the clearance and a small amount of the turning dynamics of the bike that are changed. The mullet was my preference for flicking around in tight successive corners, and I didn’t feel much in the way of detriment through rough terrain or on the climbs. 

Overall the bike was dialed as the previous generation, and left me with absolutely zero complaints. The reduction in rattle of the Bosch drive unit added to the calmness and quality feeling on the descents, and the suspension feels a touch more comfortable through the roughest portions of trail. 

While the new Wild is sick – and on first impressions even better than the 2023 version – I’d be unlikely to sell up my existing Wild to replace it with a like-for-like model of the 2025. That said, if you must have the latest and greatest Bosch system, or feel like it would be worthwhile to obtain ever so slightly more descending capability with no loss to the climbing performance, then you do you. For shorter legged riders or those who live for the steepest descents, that smaller rear wheel will likely be very much appreciated, too.

The Wolf’s First Impression

Orbea has successfully given the Wild a little nudge to keep it at the top of the list for me. But many may be surprised that it’s not so much of a revolution. The updated Bosch system, mullet compatibility and a small boost to the descending prowess are all likely to be appreciated, and I’m looking forward to getting my long-term test rig to hammer some more miles and report back.

Price: €6,499 (H20) – €11,999 (M-LTD)
Website:  orbea.com