After testing the top spec Orbea Wild at the launch, Pete gets hold of the M10 model to run out on home turf to see how it holds up.
Pete gives his opening thoughts on his latest test whip, an upgraded Orbea Wild M10 to see how the Basque enduro ebike performs in northern climes.
Key features:
- Fox 38 Factory 170mm fork
- Fox X2 Factory shock
- Shimano XT 12-speed drive
- Bosch Performance CX Line motor
- Bosch 750Wh battery
- Shimano XT 4-piston brakes
- Oquo Mountain Control MC32 Team wheels
- OC Mountain Control MC20 dropper
- From £7,999.99 RRP
Essentially the Rallon in ebike form, with a change in suspension layout to fit the battery and motor, the Wild is designed for being chucked down some big hills before turning around and rallying back to the top. The big 750Wh battery means that some serious range or absolutely hammering the Turbo mode is on offer.
The fixed battery allows the frame to be considerably stiffer than the previous Wild, over 50% stiffer according to Orbea. Despite this, some serious work has gone into dropping over 900g from the frame, making it barely heavier than the Rallon frame.
Geometry
The Orbea Wild is available in Small, Medium, Large and XLarge.
Reach on on Medium is 455mm combined with a 415mm seat tube. Head angle is 64 degrees paired with a 77.5 degree seat tube angle. Chainstays are 448mm across the sizes with the wheelbase on the Medium of 1247mm.
Opening moves
With Orbea’s MyO offering upgrades options to almost every component going, this Wild M10 is far from stock. Both Fox dampers have been upgraded, the shock from a Float X Performance to an X2 Factory, and the forks from 38 Performance to Factory units. Brakes have gone from Shimano Deore 4-pots to XT 4s, making the most of that extra braking power is a jump from Maxxis Minion DHF EXO+ tyres to a DH-casing Assegai/Minion DHR II combo. This bumps the price up from £7,999.99 to £8,478.00 but vastly improves the capability of the bike whilst still coming in under two grand cheaper than the top tier M-LTD.
In an unusual twist, the first outing on the Wild was chasing a rider around a race to take photos, so its run out lap was a little different. This outing showed that the tyres were too firm and the shock a little overdamped. Thankfully the Factory suspension has all the twiddlers to rectify this, but it would be with the help of the experts that I’d get it dialled in.
With the assistance of Taj and Jules from Fox on what was actually a social ride, the shock was singing and it gave me the confidence to charge into some trails at Dunkeld I’d never ridden before with hubris that I was hoping might not be ill-advised.
The loamers were in full effect and despite some over-exuberance, I never once found the bike lacking. The 750Wh battery showed me at 37% when the others were turning for home, so I could have quite happily kept hammering out the laps. The joys of being circa 60kg on a full fat ebike is range for days.
Everything I’d enjoyed about the Wild in the Basque Country was in effect at home in Scotland. I wasn’t a passenger on the Wild like I have found myself on other full fat offerings, and I felt like I could ride it the way I wanted to. The only downside was that my shoulders were clearly out of practice of doing so and were complaining by the ride’s end.
I didn’t miss the ‘Race’ mode personally, I think that is the reserve of those who need to race, and was happy to cut about in Tour or eMTB for the most part. The larger capacity battery and sensible use of the motor modes meant we were back at the top for more before we knew it.
Perhaps the only thing I could find to grumble about is the rotors. Galfer rotors are, for the most part, class, as are the XT 4-pots, but even on an ebike at the lighter end of the spectrum, larger rotors are always going to be welcome. The rate at which you can fling this bike down a hill means that getting it all back under control takes a little more effort than it would on a normal bike. 203mm rotors are sufficient on the latter but 220s aren’t going to go amiss on a bike this fast.
It’s an easy enough change to make though and Galfer do make a 223mm rotor in exactly the same style as the ones fitted here. It would be cool to see these offered as an upgrade on MyO. That said, the Wild is a very fast bike in all directions, and I’m looking forward to finding the limit.
