Could Orbea’s Gain offer a glimpse of an e-bike future?
The Focus Project Y shocked many with a concept bike that was visually indistinguishable from a regular road bike, but the bold new Orbea Gain takes the deception to another level. The aim has been to conceal all the electric features inside a bike that resembles a regular bike. And by god have they achieved that: I had to do a double take when I first saw it.
“We’re at the doorstep of a new era,” reckons Orbea. That’s a bold claim indeed. However, the company says it focused on designing an e-bike that enhances the ride, rather than dominates it. It’s for those people that want a better adventure or want some assistance on a commute, those people getting into cycling for the first time or after time away from the bike, or would-be cyclists daunted by the fitness barrier, of helping people switch from other forms of transport to a bicycle.
At the heart of the new Gain road bike is a 250wh battery in the downtube powering a 250w motor housed inside the rear hub manufactured by fellow Spanish firm ebikemotion. It’s claimed to be good for a range of 75km, though external batteries can extend that to 250km. The motor delivers up to 40 Nm of torque and it’s been tuned to offer the best performance between 15 and 25kph.
Much of the focus of attention with the latest generation of e-bikes has been on bottom bracket-based power units like those from Bosch and Shimano. The ebikemotion X-35 system takes a different approach and houses the motor inside the rear hub. Not only does this offer better integration potential, as highlighted by how much the new Orbea Gain looks like a normal road bike, but also less weight as the motor, battery and associated gubbins weigh 3.5kg.
Claimed weight for the Orbea Gain, even with the aluminium frame and fork, is around 13kg, so lighter is definitely possible with a move to carbon fibre. The battery has all the necessary controls neatly integrated into it, with an on/off control button on the top tube also providing battery and assist level. There’s also a smartphone app providing control over the system along with ride tracking and route planning.
The motor is hidden in the rear hub with a magnetic cassette lock ring and sensor integrated into the dropout monitoring pedalling input and feeding in power assist as it’s needed. Moving the motor to the freehub allows a bike manufacturer to use any bottom bracket and crankset they want, but ebikemotion adds that this system offers lower friction, which could be useful when surpassing the 25kph speed limit that all e-bikes must adhere to by law. You can learn more about the motor system here
How much is the Gain?
Orbea is offering five Gain bikes, three road bikes and two adventure models.
The Gain D40 (€1,799) uses an aluminium frame with a Shimano Claris groupset and RS305 mechanical disc brakes with an 11-32t 8-speed cassette. https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/gain-d40
Move up to the Gain D30 (€2,299) and you get an upgrade to a Shimano Tiagra 4700 drivetrain with RS405 hydraulic disc brakes and an FSA Omega Compact chainset.
The top-end Gain D10 (€2,999) is equipped with Shimano Ultegra R8000 parts with hydraulic disc brakes and an FSA Gossamer chainset.
Moving onto the adventure bikes, the Gain D20 (€2,899) is specced with a SRAM Rival 1×11 groupset with a FSA Omega Compact chainset and Schwalbe G-One Allround 40mm wide tyres.
The Gain D15 (€3,899) keeps the same SRAM Rival parts as the D20 but upgrades the crankset and cassette to SRAM Force and has upgraded contact points.
More info at www.orbea.com/ie-en/ebikes/brands-road
51 thoughts on “Orbea’s Gain e-bike looks just like a normal road bike but packs 250w motor”
I’m all for these ebikes,
I’m all for these ebikes, think they are a fantastic idea.
I would happily own one in a few years for longer/faster commuting if it weren’t for the fact that my average commute speed is 17+ mph.
I wouldn’t want the penalty of a heavy bike just for the improvement it would make on the 1 or 2 steep parts of my commute.
They look SO much better than old ebikes too.
Pure, unadulterated evil…
Pure, unadulterated evil….BURN TILL DEAD!!
The popularity of e-bikes is
The popularity of e-bikes is going to hit another level now that they have got the aesthetics sorted.
There’s a strong argument for increasing the cycle to work scheme threshold in order to accommodate them.
I’m all for making them look
I’m all for making them look better but there should be some sort of identifier so I know I’m not getting sh!tter…
alansmurphy wrote:
read up on the motors and controllers, although these days unless you get a really cheap E-BSO you can’t go wrong, like halfords stocks a bunch with SR suntour E-bike systems which are pretty good, and even if you bought a conversion kit from the likes of panda E-bikes(i’ve got one) they are still pretty good and and neat for adding to an old beater you’ve got in the shed, and the trans-X systems raleigh uses are still pretty good but still not as good as bosch or shimano, although if you don’t want to research, as long as it’s got a system by a brand you recognise it’ll do you well until the battery dies in 5-6 years.
ashliejay wrote:
Hey Ashleigh,
My point was that it looks so much like a standard road bike, I don’t want to see someone twice my weight flying by me looking casual and not knowing they’re on an e-bike.
A year or two ago a friend and I were on an uphill drag in Anglesey and failed to close a gap on a lady with a shopping basket looking casual. As we finally got their she told us not to worry as she had special powers.
I have looked at a few options for the wife to commute the few miles to work and also help her get on board with myself and the kids on weekend jaunts. I do actually love these and it will be a consideration at some point, and with potential debilitating issues this kind of addition to a recumbent would be epic!
alansmurphy wrote:
So your tiny male cycling ego requires that you are able to go faster than a little old lady taking her shopping home?
Mungecrundle wrote:
I should hope so! Bloody pensioners needing putting in their place, cheap houses, big pensions, 6w/kg!!!
Mungecrundle wrote:
read up on the motors and controllers, although these days unless you get a really cheap E-BSO you can’t go wrong, like halfords stocks a bunch with SR suntour E-bike systems which are pretty good, and even if you bought a conversion kit from the likes of panda E-bikes(i’ve got one) they are still pretty good and and neat for adding to an old beater you’ve got in the shed, and the trans-X systems raleigh uses are still pretty good but still not as good as bosch or shimano, although if you don’t want to research, as long as it’s got a system by a brand you recognise it’ll do you well until the battery dies in 5-6 years.
— alansmurphy Hey Ashleigh, My point was that it looks so much like a standard road bike, I don’t want to see someone twice my weight flying by me looking casual and not knowing they’re on an e-bike. A year or two ago a friend and I were on an uphill drag in Anglesey and failed to close a gap on a lady with a shopping basket looking casual. As we finally got their she told us not to worry as she had special powers. I have looked at a few options for the wife to commute the few miles to work and also help her get on board with myself and the kids on weekend jaunts. I do actually love these and it will be a consideration at some point, and with potential debilitating issues this kind of addition to a recumbent would be epic!— ashliejay So your tiny male cycling ego requires that you are able to go faster than a little old lady taking her shopping home?— alansmurphy
Er… yes!
2 days before an event riding approx 115 miles around the island we had a little ride. Would you not be concerned if your legs couldn’t keep up with a little old lady on a heavier bike?
I was hardly aggressive and thelling her to get off the road because she was on an e-bike, we had a little chat and some fun with her. As for your tone young man, chill…
I could see something like
I could see something like the D20 or 30 in my future. Would help to reduce fatigue over a weeks commuting. Alternate e-bike and push bike to reduce workload, so I’d be fresh for weekend rides under my own steam and know if I felt ropey on Monday I could use the e-bike to help out. A few more years yet though. Touch wood.
I think this is a retrograde
I think this is a retrograde & unecessary step as an assisted bike and a “normal ” bike are 2 different things and there should be no need to disguise the former to look like the latter. You can also say goodbye to any meaningful comparison with other riders on Strava etc. when these become common place.
Timsen wrote:
“Strava etc.” has never been the place to look for any “meaningful comparison”.
A bike is a bike. What’s the difference between someone on a 13kg touring bike and a 8kg road bike, or a MTB or a Dutch bike? It just doesn’t matter what it looks like. Ride whatever bike you choose, wherever you choose and it is always better than not riding.
If you want a “meaningful comparison” then enter a race, time trial or maybe even a triathlon where the rules make that possible.
Maintainability?
With e-bike reviews, I’d be interested in how maintainble or replaceable the drive components are, as they might not be expected to last the lifetime of the bike. E.g. if the battery or motor need replacing, how easy is this?
Helping an old timer with
Helping an old timer with creaky knees get his/her shopping home is fine but encouraging inexperienced riders to go faster (& possibly race) on the road is dangerous. This development will lead to calls for compulsory registration, insurance and ultimately the death of cycling as we know it !
Timsen wrote:
They’re limited to 25kph.
Above that you’re on your own with an extra 3.5kg dead weight.
Twice recently I’ve had
Twice recently I’ve had people say to their cycling buddies that I’m probably on an e-bike as I overtook them up a climb. I took it as a compliment and didn’t attempt to disprove their comment but gone are the days when cyclists said hey you’re strong or good going. No more compliments anymore : (
Anyway this is where motors belong in my opinion. On road bikes which will be a massive boon for commuters. Even I may purchase one if my next job is further away.
For off road. Sorry I’m not in favour of them. I think the countryside is under enough pressure as it is without potentially de-restricted (and yes I’ve encountered a couple already) motorised bicycles scaring horses which struggle with the lack of connected bridleways as it is. It’s hard to prove these e-bikes are de-restricted until they go burning past and there’s never anybody to police them. Some of their owners know they won’t get caught.
Twowheelsaregreat wrote:
Agree on these points, although I don’t care about the horses at all. Electric MTBs just make it too easy for the scarce resource to be consumed and destroyed.
Laws of unintended
Laws of unintended consequence will undoubtedly apply, but for now I consider eBikes to be the renaissance of cycling as round town transport for the modern, slightly lazy, masses and a godsend to otherwise keen riders who suffer old age or other disability that would otherwise see them not cycling at all. If I owned one, and I could see that being a reality one day, then personally I’d have “e-Bike” emblazoned on the downtube and be proud of the fact.
I only use Strava to look at
I only use Strava to look at my performance. Yes, I share and follow other riders but that’s purely social. Oh dear I won’t be able to beat strangers on Strava. Shame it’s already been shown people using cars etc to look Strava good. Ha haw!
Ebikes
Don’t think they are right. Just another way of extracting money from the masses. They’ll flood the market with them and then insist they be taxed.
Jimnm wrote:
Brilliant. More people on the roads. Less motorists. Tax can pay for better cycling provisions.
gimme, this can replace my
gimme, this can replace my recently bought folding E-bike for my commute, and it looks comfy enough to do the whole 10 miles, so i can ditch the bus half.
If it wasn’t for awkward laws, a 250w E-bike can comfortably do 32KPH, which while it doesn’t sound like much of an increase of the 25-26KPH limit, it makes a huge difference.
In the movie “wall-E”, the
In the movie “wall-E”, the inhabitants of a spaceship spend their days riding hoverscooters, while they sip giant sweetened drinks while looking at screens. All of them are obese and know nothing of the outside world.
This is the world we are headed for, and e-bikes, in my opinion, are hastening this future. They do this by tolerating, and promoting, weakness and frailty, instead of health, strength and independence. All this blather about how e-bikes will permit those who cannot cycle regularly to enjoy a bike are just a convienient excuse for these types to perpetuate their infirmities (and to sell more e-bikes).
Strength is the most basic human quality, and others derive from it – balance, power, speed. People that cannot ride a bike need to get stronger, and whatever infirmity they have that prevents them from riding a regular bike will be improved or eliminated, enabling them to ride normally.
Getting stronger involves a putting forth of effort, in the form of strength training. I guess this is not the place to go into detail about the methods of training, so I will just say that there is hardly a physical, or healthy attribute that cannot be improved through strength training. I think anyone able enough to ride a bike can engage in strength training.
A stronger populace would render e-bikes unnecessary, but as long as they exist, people will bypass methods to improve their physical condition, because they will always have a motor to fall back on, when their condition deteriorates even further, which it most certainly will. Soon the “bike” part of “e-bike” will be forgotten, and it will be all “e”, just another powered vehicle to compete with on the roads and paths.
All those bike lanes and paths that are being built throughout the world for regular bikes? Soon they will be “E-bike highways and expressways”, and regular cyclists will be shut out once again.
A weaker future lies ahead, which is why I have said, and will continue to say, that e-bikes suck.
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
If only someone would invent a device that could help people build up their cycling strength.
Maybe a bicycle with adjustable levels of assistance so you could gradually taper it down until you can ride unassisted?
E-bikes can actually help people get in to cycling and enjoy all the health benefits associated with it.
Also, not all conditions will respond to training, there are many people who will never be able to ride a bicycle unassisted, e-bikes will also allow them to enjoy our sport.
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
This, and the rest of your post, is pompous nonsense.
E-bikes will not make people fat or weak.
The decline in activity in general, including the abandonment of manual labour in many developed countries, has been accompanied by the mass production of cars, TVs etc, the rise in availability of very cheap, calorie-dense factory food, among other things. Even before the internet became the time-swallowing behemoth it is now many people lived quite sedentary lives.
Simon E wrote:
You’re both correct, from my sample group of one an e-(motor)bike user has said they’ve lost fitness/condition and rarely goes out on their non-motor bikes. On the other hand those who adopt e-(motor)bikes will see a rise in fitness although it’s debatable how much that will be. In the long run engines & batteries will get better & much like the Yamaha Fizzy, the pedals will be for show and really it’s an electric scooter
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
Say what you want about cycling on this site (it’s subjective) but get your movie facts right: in Wall-E they did not use scooters, the humans sat in hoverchairs, there was no scooting. Blue is the new red.
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
You seem to be assuming that ebikes require no effort or level of power input from the rider? In comparison to driving (or sitting on your arse in front of the tv) even the highest levels of assistance require some pedalling input, they’re not an electric scooter. So someone who has done no exercise in say the last decade, gets on one of these, starts riding to the shops on a sturday, maybe using it once or twice a week to get to work or go for a ride with the kids/spouse, they’re going to be getting more exercise than they were, and that comes without the effect that a lot of people who try to take up casual riding experience, after a few rides they get over ambitious and have a ride they don’t enjoy, which puts them off, should they be discouraged? or mocked for not being strong enough to keep pushing through like the apparent superhuman you are?
If everyone who owned a car owned an ebike and used it for all sub 10 mile journeys the obesity crisis would be massively reversed. some exercise is vastly better than no exercise, and surely it’s better than driving to the gym to do your 20 minutes on the exercise bike and driving home?
As for those bothered by not knowing you’re being overtaken by someone on an ebike, get over it, if you’re that concerned about your performance go and join a race league, or organise your own. If you’re that easily offended by someone overtaking you that you deem shouldn’t be able to, then you really are worrying about the wrong thing, at least it’s not another car going past you.
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
Of course you have not got to the stage in life when a medical/health issue gets in the way of doing something you have spent half your enjoying. For example cycling.
This is where an e-bike comes into its own . Don’t knock it you ignorant kill joy !
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
All a bit too ‘blood and soil’ for my liking. Netizche almost certainly suffered from untreated syphilis, and is not to be taken seriously unless one is a perpetual public-school 6th-former and tosspot.
Anyway, there already exists a means to ‘bypass methods to improve their physical condition’ – it’s called the motor car. So that ship has sailed long ago.
The absolutely critical issue, for me, is that these things be very strictly speed limited so they can’t end up bullying active travel off the throughfares that are intended for it.
Other than that I don’t care, nobody forces anyone to use them, people can develop infirmities no matter how much ‘strength training’ the undertake, these things take up a fraction of the space of those motor cars, and their finite battery-life is probably always going to limit their use anyway.
Watch out !
Watch out !
The Mamils (Middle Age Man In Lycra) will become eonXLs (Electrified Old Narcicist In Xtrasupportive Lycra)
I’m sure Sir Chris Hoy will agree !
I think its great.
I think its great.
But
My next bike will be a eMTB to commute and to MTB. Kill all birds with one stone.
I can’t wait for super plush ride to work.
Every locked internal
Every locked internal combustion vehicle in a garage is win for me. Take bicycle, e-bicycle, public transport, walk do whatever you want. As long as city’s air is clean, everybody will win
*sorry auto fill on your name
*sorry auto fill on your name…
Losing Fitness
I have to say that using an e-bike for my job is great, but I definitely lost some fitness.
I did up a retro 80s racing bike at the beginning of the summer and have ridden it a lot. At first I struggled on some of the hlls because I’d been letting the motor take the strain. It took a few weeks to get back into the kind of shape where a 20 mile ride is nothing, never mind getting into proper long rides.
The e-bike is great for short commutes with the shopping thoough.
I am not sure what I think
I am not sure what I think about ebikes*. My starting point is “why do I ride a bike?” Obviously the answer can be different – sometimes it’s for racing, sometimes it’s to arse around with my mates (sometimes this is the same things as racing, just with a bit more arsing about), sometimes it’s just because it gives me time to think (or not to think), sometimes it’s to get from A to B. With the potential exception of the last of these (commuting), I can’t see a circumstance where any of these experiences would be improved by adding a motor. I don’t really get the theory that you should buy an ebike to keep up with your mates mostly because I tend to the view that if your “mates” drop you and then leave you to find your own way home they probably aren’t really your mates. As to commuting, I tend to do either medium journey of 20km (to and from work) or short journeys (max 1km) around home running errands, visting friends, collecting children. A bit of pedal assist on the medium commutes might come in handy but if I still have to shower when I get to the other end (because its pedal assist) then I am not sure its worth it, esp because over 20km with a lot of traffic lights I can’t see myself saving all that much time. And who wants to get to work faster anyway. And for shorter journeys of c.1km, not really worth it. So I don’t think an ebike is for me at this stage in my life.
* Although I have a pretty firm view that they DON’T belong off road.
On the plus side, I really
On the plus side, I really like the bike, it looks pretty smart and Orbea really seem to have thought about what someone needs on a bike like this, I didn’t see if there were details about mudguards and rack mount points, I would assume there would be otherwise that seems like a bit of an oversight.
And nice to see that orange appears to be one of the colours of the new season bikes, hooray for not just black and red bikes (disclaimer, I ride a black and red bike)
I think the only objection I
I think the only objection I have is… Why does it have to be disguised?
The fact that it looks like a ‘normal’ pushbike, with hidden electrics, suggests they know their market is people pretending to be on a normal bike, when they’re on an ebike.
Why?
davel wrote:
I think it’s more the fact that previous e-bikes were hideous.
I’m sure that put off a lot of people.
Rich_cb wrote:
They were indeed.
The electrics are a bit too hidden, though, for me… a bit ‘here you go, Strava warriors, nudge nudge wink wink’.
Probably because we all
Probably because we all prefer the aesthetics Davel…
Why do vegetarian sausages
Why do vegetarian sausages exist?
alansmurphy wrote:
Good question. I often wonder how you can still buy Linda McCartney sausages in the supermarket? She died 19 years ago and she wasn’t a big woman…
alansmurphy wrote:
To cater for those who have yet to smell a bacon sandwich.
I would suggest “Great Cock and Seagull Race” (2012) but she was a “Golden Earth Girl” (1993).
Maybe we should let it be…
I’ve got mixed feelings.
I’ve got mixed feelings.
On the one hand, if they get more people into biking, then great. If I bought one for my wife, then she’d get out more and we could ride together, which would be a good thing. There’d be no danger of her using it for anything other than leisure rides, though, due to various practicalities.
On the other hand, I had some big, unfit chap sat on my wheel at the trail centre last time I went, which was bloody annoying and he was really too close for comfort. He went past at a break in the sections – happily, he was the only one that managed to get past me and make it stick.
50 mile+ sportives are going to get pretty rammed if they really take off and I’m not going to sponsor anyone using an e-bike, regardless of charity 🙂
LastBoyScout wrote:
There are plenty of knobheads riding sportives already. I can’t see how adding e-bikes will make much difference TBH. Blame the rider, not the machine.
Why are you riding a trail centre like it’s a race? I don’t know why you didn’t just let the faster rider get past. It doesn’t matter whether he’s Nino Schurter or a fat bloke on an e-bike, you were holding him up.
I thought ‘vegetarian sausage
I thought ‘vegetarian sausage’ was a euphamism for erectile dysfunction.
When you young tykes get too
When you young tykes get too old to do Alps dHuez on 34 – 28, then you’ll think that these ebikes will look like a good option.
She will catch up with you at some point, everything will get harder and the hills won’t be as easy (unless you’re the 60+ ex pro who breezed past me on a French climb)
If it keeps me riding when I’m old, then I’m all for it.
My neighbour is 84, and he still goes out for a 60mile ride, despite having problems with his hip after fracturing it in a call from his bike.
I like riding up alpine climbs for the ride back down, I want to be able to do this when I’m old, especially on an ebike that looks like a normal bike. Bring it on
E-bikes are the new helmet
E-bikes are the new helmet-debate. Polarising for certain, but there’s no right and there’s no wrong. Actually, whatever your views are, you’re right. And more bikes on the road – we’re all winners.
simonmb wrote:
Yes. And using both, especially together, makes sense !