LONGTERM RIDES
JCW’S ORBEA RISE H10 £6,623 (w/ upgrades)
Right now, our editor’s only got eyes for the Rise
It was a little late arriving, but I’m stoked with my ride for 2022 – the relatively lightweight yet high-powered and extremely easy-on-the-eye Orbea Rise H. And that isn’t just my opinion – this is the only bike I’ve had that’s caused a passing lad in a hot-hatch to wind down his window and shout: “What’s that mate? It looks amazing!” A particularly impressive result given that it’s XL-sized and an e-bike.
Now, health issues and limited time to ride have made me a firm e-MTB convert, but there are elements of regular bikes that I’ve really missed – their lightweight manoeuvrability, being able to pump for ‘free’ speed in places where most e-bikes require pedal strokes to keep their extra heft rolling, and being able to get them into the boot of my car without risking a hernia... On paper, the Rise H sounds like the perfect compromise.
It uses a full-fat Shimano EP8 motor, custom-tuned for a less torquey ride, with a peak output of 60Nm instead of 85Nm. Orbea have also tweaked the software, to give a more ‘natural’ ride feel and get more range out of the 540Wh battery. Weight is saved by ditching the customary bar-mounted display (there’s a mode LED and emergency battery indicator on the cabling instead),
