Flow reviews the Orbea Wild

The Orbea Wild has been completely redesigned for 2023 with an all-new frame, updated geometry and the latest Bosch Smart System. It’s still a burly long-travel e-MTB that’s designed to conquer the highest peaks and the gnarliest descents, and that puts it into direct competition with fellow big-hitters like the Trek Rail, Specialized Levo, Norco Sight VLT and Rocky Mountain Altitude Powerplay.

We reviewed the previous generation Orbea Wild back in 2020, which impressed us with its bullish attitude and rock-gobbling suspension performance. And so we were very keen to see just how different the new bike would be, and how it would stack up alongside the best e-MTBs currently on the market.

Watch our video review of the Orbea Wild here:

Mystic Mountain Bike Park – Bright, Victoria

As well as testing the Orbea Wild on our home trails, we decided to take it over to the Victorian High Country to put it through its paces at the Mystic Mountain Bike Park in Bright. The Wild felt right at home on the rugged and steep singletrack of Elevation and Curtain, as well as the high-speed flow of Hero, Shred Kelly and Tina Turner.

For those wondering, we were able to complete the pedal from the bottom all the way up to the launch pad, using just under 20% of the battery while in the eMTB mode. That means most riders could do three to five whole laps of the park before you’d get close to running the battery flat. Sounds like a bloody good day out to us!

Keen to know more about Bright and the Mystic MTB Park? Visit our Destination Hub for maps and local tips.

An overview of the Orbea Wild

Produced in both alloy and carbon variants, the Orbea Wild is an e-Enduro bike that’s equipped with 160mm of travel front and rear. It can also be spec’d with a 170mm travel fork for those who are after a little more oomph.

Unlike some other e-MTBs in this category, the Wild is purpose-built around 29in wheels. You won’t find any flip chips, and that means there are no provisions to set it up as a mullet. Orbea cites the improved traction and stability of the big wheels as the reasoning behind its decision, making it clear that it wanted this bike to be fast both down and up the mountain.

As with most of Orbea’s full suspension mountain bikes, the Wild employs a four-bar suspension platform with a concentric pivot around the rear axle. While the progressive leverage rate is coil compatible, complete bikes are equipped with high volume air shocks. Bearings are employed at both ends, with the lower trunnion mount anchoring to a dedicated brace built into the frame.

Bosch power

Like its predecessor, the new Orbea Wild is equipped with the Bosch Performance Line CX motor. You’ll find a 625-750Wh Powertube battery inside the downtube, though it’s no longer designed to be easily removable. This allows for a vastly sleeker chassis that’s claimed to be stiffer and almost a kilo lighter than the old bike.

Orbea has integrated the Bosch System Controller into the top tube and there’s a wireless Mini Remote next to the left hand grip for cycling through the assist modes. The wired speed sensor used on the old bike has been ditched in favour of a much cleaner wireless setup. There’s a magnet fitted to the tubeless valve on the rear wheel, while a hidden sensor inside the motor casing registers each wheel revolution to calculate your riding speed.

Further functionality can be tapped into via the eBike Flow app — see our separate article on tuning the Bosch motor for a deeper dive on the latest Smart System.

Geometry updates

There are some big updates to the geometry on the new Orbea Wild, which brings it into line with what we’ve come to expect from a modern long-travel e-MTB these days. The head angle has gotten 1.5° slacker, the seat angle is 1.5° steeper, the stack is taller and the reach has basically jumped up a full size.

One number worth pointing out is the 448mm rear centre length. This is 7mm shorter than the old bike, and it’s on the compact side for a 160mm travel e-MTB equipped with 29in wheels. Whereas other e-MTBs often resort to a 27.5in rear wheel to get the chainstays sufficiently short (the Specialized Levo and Giant Trance X E+ Elite being two notable examples), Orbea was able to achieve a sufficiently short rear end while still having clearance for a chunky 29×2.5in tyre. Impressive!

• Head Angle – 64°
• Seat Angle – 77.5°
• Reach – 435mm (S), 455mm (M), 480mm (L), 505mm (XL)
• Stack – 621mm (S), 630mm (M), 639mm (L), 648mm (XL)
• Rear Centre – 448mm
• BB Drop – 25mm

Orbea Wild price & specs

There are six models available in the 2023 Orbea Wild lineup, with three of those using the Hydro alloy frame and the other three getting the OMR carbon frame.

Prices kick off at $10,999 AUD for the Wild H30. That bike comes standard with a 625Wh battery, while the rest of the range gets the bigger 750Wh battery. Several models are also available through the MyO program, which gives you the ability to customise the spec and choose your own unique paint job.

The bike we’ve been testing is an off-the-shelf model that sits one step down from the top. It’s the Orbea Wild M10, and the current price on this is $15,499 AUD.

2023 Orbea Wild M10

• Frame | OMR Carbon Fibre, Four-Bar Suspension Design, 160mm Travel
• Fork | Fox 38, Performance Series, GRIP Damper, 44mm Offset, 160mm Travel
• Shock | Fox Float X, Performance Series, 205×65mm
• Motor | Bosch Performance Line CX, 85Nm
• Battery | Bosch Powertube 750Wh
• Wheels | Oquo MC32 Team eBike, 30mm Inner Rim Width
• Tyres | Maxxis Minion DHF 3C Maxx Terra EXO+ 2.6in Front & Minion DHR II 3C Maxx Terra EXO+ 2.6in Rear
• Drivetrain | Shimano SLX 1×12 w/e*thirteen Alloy 34T Crankset & 10-51T Cassette
• Brakes | Shimano M6120 4-Piston w/203mm Rotors
• Handlebar | OC MC20 Alloy, 20mm Rise, 800mm Width
• Stem | OC MC20, Length: 40mm (S-M), 50mm (L-XL)
• Seatpost | OC MC20 Dropper, Travel: 125mm (S), 150mm (M), 170mm (L), 200mm (XL)
• Saddle | Fizik Aidon, Manganese Rails
• Confirmed Weight | 23.29kg
• RRP | $15,499 AUD

What do we dig about the Orbea Wild?

For a start the Orbea Wild is a great-looking bike. We love the sharp and straight lines, and the lack of whacky screens or remotes in the cockpit.

Orbea very much has its finger on the pulse in terms of geometry, with the steep seat angle affording a comfortable climbing position. The bars do sit quite high, though dropping the stem down a few spacers helped to get more weight over the front wheel to keep it tracking on technical ascents. Once dialled in we found the Wild was able to negotiate tight uphill switchbacks quite easily, despite the long and slack front end.

Of course the Bosch motor is a real standout, providing loads of controllable power in the adaptive eMTB mode. It’s immediately intuitive, and combined with the 750Wh battery, it’s possible to get well over 2,000m of climbing over a pretty epic ride. We like the way the top tube console indicates the battery status in 10% increments, and how it automatically dims the brightness of the LEDs when you’re riding in low-light conditions. Combined with the wireless remote and speed sensor, this is for sure our favourite full-powered setup.

Get out of the way!

With 160mm of travel and 29in wheels at both ends, the Orbea Wild offers bucketloads of traction and control across rowdy terrain. There’s good sensitivity from the Fox suspension, and the 2.6in wide tyres put plenty of tread on the ground to maximise grip. The BB sits a touch higher than the old bike, and along with the short crank arms, powerful Bosch motor and steep seat angle, this is quite possibly the best climbing e-MTB we’ve ever tested.

It’s an absolute monster on the descents too, with its slack head angle and long wheelbase keeping it well balanced regardless of the gradient. The sturdy fork and strong brakes allow you to plough with confidence, and the suspension just seems to get better the harder and faster you push.

Despite the outrageous high-speed stability, the Wild isn’t a total barge.

The sub-450mm rear centre length keeps it surprisingly agile for a bike of this size, and the supportive suspension encourages you to work and play with the terrain. Orbea says the new Wild is less progressive than the old bike in order to improve mid-stroke support, and we have no reason to doubt those claims. Paired to the Float X shock, there’s plenty of support to push off of, allowing active riders to pop up the front wheel, load the tyres up through the turns, and take to the air when needed.

What didn’t we like?

Although the Orbea Wild feels close to unstoppable on chunky trails at race pace, it does require some commitment in order to get it to that point. At slower speeds it has a tendency to feel a bit unimpressed, which boils down to the geometry, dual 29in wheels and racy suspension tune.

With the Wild being pitched as an e-Enduro bike, Orbea has prioritised support and responsiveness from the rear suspension. The relatively high anti-squat level gives it great pep, but it does mean it’s not the floatiest when you’re pedalling through the chunk. On longer rides we didn’t find it to be quite as forgiving as the Specialized Levo or Trek Rail. If you’re after a comfortable cruiser for backcountry exploration, there are more suitable options out there.

You do have some options to add more cush however. The Wild is compatible with coil shocks, and it’ll accommodate a 170mm travel fork. Gravity-hungry riders will be happy to know that you can run up to 220mm brake rotors front and rear.

On the note of options, some riders will be disappointed by the lack of mullet compatibility built into the Wild. On our Medium sized test bike, our 175cm tall testers had some arse-buzzing moments from the big 29in rear tyre, and we suspect that will be more of an issue for shorter riders on the Small.

Component highs & lows

For $15,499 AUD, the Orbea Wild M10 isn’t exactly bursting with value. For less money you could get a Specialized Levo Comp Carbon ($13,400 AUD), a Norco Sight VLT C1 ($12,899 AUD), or a Trek Rail 9.8 GX ($12,499 AUD).

That being said, we’ve encountered few issues with the parts package on our test bike. The Fox suspension works well and is easy to setup, the Shimano brakes are powerful and the shift performance has been crisp and trouble-free.

The Oquo wheelset rides nicely with its reinforced DT Swiss 350 Hybrid hubs and compliant low-profile alloy rims. Tubeless setup was straightforward, though the occasionally vague 2.6in wide Minions with their lightweight EXO+ casings wouldn’t be our first choice for an e-MTB that’s this capable. A slightly narrower tyre and sturdier DoubleDown or even DH casings would offer more precision while letting you descend with reckless abandon.

While the Bosch drive unit is as good as it gets for a full-powered motor, the clacking noise is still annoying on the descents. You do get used to it, but it would be nice if it didn’t make this noise to begin with. And although the 750Wh battery is beautifully integrated into the frame, the fact that it’s not easily removable for charging separately may be an issue for some riders.

We’ve not been overly impressed by the headset cable routing on the Wild. Like the Oiz we recently reviewed, the cables pass through the split headset spacers making stem adjustments more awkward than they need to be. Our test bike also exhibited some annoying cable noise from inside the frame.

It’s worth noting that rubber seals have been utilised at the cable entry point to minimise water ingress, and Orbea has also spec’d high-end Enduro headset bearings to improve long-term durability. We also like that the hidden Spin Block system prevents the handlebars from over-rotating in the event of a crash, but the 124-degree range means the steering limiter is never noticeable while riding.

Flow’s Verdict

Though it isn’t perfect, there’s still no doubt that the Orbea Wild is one of the best e-MTBs we’ve ever tested. Built around the exceptional Bosch drive system with a huge 750Wh battery, it’s got the capability of riding far and wide, and preferably at full gas.

It offers incredible grip and stability when charging hard on challenging trails, and while not all riders will gel with the slack geometry and dual 29in setup, there’s no denying its penchant for eating up technical climbs and rowdy descents. It’s a genuinely rapid bike both up and downhill.

Smaller riders and those chasing a comfy cruiser will want to look elsewhere. But for skilled riders wanting a responsive, stable and highly capable e-MTB for riding absolutely anything in their path, the Orbea Wild is about as good as it gets.