2023 Orbea Wild Review - The Best EMTB On The Market - 6 Months Later - Pro's & Con's

I have ridden several ebikes over the last couple of years. There are a lot of companies making great ebikes. My Giant Reign E+ has great over the last two years. I put over 4k miles on that bike. When it came to purchasing my next ebike, there were several things that were a necessity. The first was a Bosch motor. Next, was at least a 750wh battery. I definitely wanted 29er's, and for it to look good. The 2023 Orbea Wild fit all of these wants. It has been quite the journey, but I am very happy with this purchase. I will go over all of the Pro's and Con's of this bike, and give my honest review of it.
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[@dom_says]

Hey, nice video! I remember seeing you on Frankie's channel. I also went the H10 route with some very similar upgrades. I was also completely blown away when I realized the Bosch "Smart" system was actually too dumb to connect to my Wahoo bike computer. A recent update allows connection to HRMs, so there's hope in the future I guess. Also, on a recent ride I had a little fall and bent the handlebars a bit - and my dropper stopped working right. Realized that OE plastic piece with the cable routing below the stem cracked, which was cramping the dropper cable. My current project is installing the Orbea bit to run an aftermarket stem, delete the bar lock, then pop in the new V3 OneUp dropper & lever to replace the overall pretty bad Orbea dropper & lever. I've also experienced the random loosening bolts. Owning this bike reminds me of owning a luxury European car.. Lots of work and $ to keep it running right, but when it's running it's ABSOLUTELY amazing and addicting. Despite the issues I plan to keep riding the crap out of this thing.

[@graysquirreltreeservice7299]

Just ordered 2024

[@MTBraging]

That was a great review Danny. Having lived through this with you, I honestly was turned off by Orbea's lack of customer service in light of how quickly the situation came up. You're stoked with your bike and to each is own, therefor I'm happy for you. I would not be a fan though of the shock being upside down, makes ZERO sense. And that is, or can be a fairly regular tunable thing depending on where you're riding. With that said, you seem super comfortable on now.

[@uosocal]

Orbea's customer service is great, Jenson not so much.

[@SDmountainbiker]

Great comprehensive review. Like how you were honest about Pros & Cons. Had my custom Wild for about 6 months and concure with your observations. Seems like we ride some of the same trails. I made lots of upgrades as well (see spec list below). Have been VERY impressed with agility and climbing abilities of the Wild. My dh/gravity emtb is a YT Decoy I have set up to be plush. My Wild totally complements the Decoy. FRAME Orbea Wild Hydro 2023 Carbon, Custom Paint/Ridewrap Taylored Kit SHOCK MRP Hazard Custom 205x65mm Trunion/400lb Progressive Spring FORK Fox 38 Float Performance 170 Grip 3-Position E-Bike Optimized, DSD Runt and custom Slik Graphics Fox 38 Decals HEADSET Alloy 1-1/2", Black Oxidated Bearing CHAINRING SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission Direct Mount 36T Boost CRANK SRAM XO Eagle Controller SRAM Eagle AXS Transmission Pod Ultimate CASSETTE SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission 10-51t 12-Speed REAR DERAILLEUR SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission CHAIN SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission HANDLEBAR SQLab Carbon, 4-degree upsweep, 12 degrees backsweep, 45mm rise, 780 x 31.8mm GRIPS Revolution Pro Series Large (black grip/silver lock-on rings) STEM Nukeproof Horizon 31.8 x 50mm (silver body/black end cap with silver bolts) BRAKES FRONT/REAR BRAKES Shimano Saint Brake Levers Magura MT7 Calipers Magura 220mm rotors Front Pads - Sport (green) Rear Pads - Performance (grey) WHEELSET Rims Industry Nine EN 305 V3 29" Hubs Industry Nine Hydra - 6 Bolt Front 15 x 110mm Rear 12 x 148mm/SRAM XD Driver TIRES Swalbe Eddy Current 29 x 2.6" SEATPOST Rockshox Reverb AXS Ø 31.6 mm 170 mm travel SADDLE Ergon SM E Mountain Sport PEDALS Deity TMAC Signature Silver

[@uosocal]

That is quite the tricked out bike. The Shi/guras are a great combo. The bike is great. Definitely like full 29ers over mullet bikes.

[@cardifftube7633]

@@uosocal @sdmountainbiker Curious if the 2023 is the current one, or is it different than the 2024? I'm in the hunt and want to ride one so bad, but it seems impossible to demo in north San Diego where I live. Would love to try and meet up with either of you if you've got a size Large...

[@uosocal]

I have an XL. They run big as well.

[@trailpimp6369]

Looks like a solid bike and glad you like it. Ever since I got my e bike that is all I ride now. I sold my pedal bike

[@uosocal]

That is great. Ebikes are such a game changer.

[@trailpimp6369]

@@uosocal yeah 100 my man

[@rufusbass]

As usual great review- direct and covering crucial stuff. Questions- I own a Rise m10- I've put well over 5 k on it, one new motor , and replaced linkage twice due to failure ( a known issue) Why choose alloy frame for your Wild? Purely cost related? Did you try the carbon too? Am considering alloy for next bike... Did you compare this to any other Bsch equipped 29-ers-like say the Pivot EMTB's. Cheers.

[@uosocal]

I rode a carbon framed Wild up at Skypark. I like alloy more than carbon. The alloy is a little more forgiving, imo. I have ridden several other ebikes, but none with a Bosch motor. It also, is the best imo.

[@iain8837]

Great review and info! What glasses are you wearing? Cheers

[@uosocal]

100% Renshaws

[@iain8837]

@@uosocal I posted on the wrong video, it must have auto-played the next video then I commented. I wanted to know the type on your video about the Eddy Current tyres, kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIW1nWVuncSVndU

[@eliterox]

Hey mate, how did you deal with the screws loosening up as well as the chainring? I have an H20 which I love but I’ve had the same issues you described. Did you go for threadlock?

[@uosocal]

I put some blue loc tite on the screws. I haven't had a problem with the chain ring for awhile. I just check it periodically

[@KurtRWalker]

Been thinking about adding a Wild to my Rise stable. But as I started to think about doing travel trips to Peru, Spain and Italy to ride, I realize I wouldn't be able to travel with either the Rise or Wild. So I may need a third bike like a Relay or even an analog bike for largely the downhill enduro riding and shuttles in those areas.

[@uosocal]

Traveling with an ebike is difficult. Ive seen people mail their batteries ahead of time.

[@KurtRWalker]

@@uosocal Yeah has me thinking if I am mostly doing long days of descending and shuttling in Peru, Spain, Italy, that I should get an analog bike for travel only like a Canfield Lithium or something.

[@Berg4357123]

Likely having the same warranty issue as you did. I didn't replace the rear shock on my 2023 H10, but at about 200 miles the stanchion of the stock shock started to show significant sideloading wear / scratches. Bike shop agreed that it was likely the frame/rear triangle not being aligned properly when manufactured and they are putting in a warranty claim with Orbea. How long did your whole process take? And did Orbea fight the claim? [In my case I bought the bike online from am East Coast store, but am having a local Orbea dealer in Colorado handle the claim - so not sure how that will effect the process.]

[@uosocal]

Orbea replaced it right away, no problems. I think it took about 3 or 4 weeks.

[@Berg4357123]

@@uosocal Thanks that is good to hear. Although 3 to 4 weeks is a lot during the season - ha. Like you have loved the Wild - except for this issue. But hopefully it will be a smooth process and I'll just be out the rebuilding fee (and likely will replace/upgrade the shock due to the damage).

[@Berg4357123]

FYI Obrea is shipping out a new frame and rear shock. Shop said Obrea approved the claim with no issues. So that is a major relief. Thanks again for the info and quick replies.

[@Steevem23]

Hi there, what coil shock are you using please, ive tried the rockshox , it didn't end well

[@uosocal]

I bought the Push Industries hypercoil elevensix spring. bought it from The Lost Co.

[@hotdealwire]

How does this bike compare to other e bikes? Overall it sounds like a very bad ownership experience, yet you love it?. Would you love it more than other bikes that are less expensive and more reliable? Sounds like you're into this bike for about $7000 by now. I bought a $3200 ebike and the only issue i had was the rear spokes loosening up after i did about 30 medium sized drops on one ride. I was already planning a wheel upgrade so not a big deal.

[@uosocal]

Unfortunately, I have more money in it than that. Despite that, it is one of the best bikes I've ridden. There are several really good bikes in the $4000-$6000 range. It depends on how hard you ride your bike.

[@hotdealwire]

I have ridden 5 different ebikes - Specialized Levo, YT Decoy, Vitus E-Escarpe, Cannondale Moterra - the differences were not very noticeable to me. On regular bikes I notice huge differences between bikes but ebiking for me is just about reliability, fit, power and battery life. All of those ebikes were good, we will have to wait and see if they are reliable over time.

[@adamgriffin7055]

How tall are you? I’m 6’5” and 240 trying to figure out sizing. I ride an xxl canyon grizl gravel bike.

[@uosocal]

I am 6'2. The stock reach on the XL is 515mm. I put a shorter stem on it, and it fits really well.

[@Steevem23]

Hi there I just bought a M20 waiting for arrival now ...have you derestrict the motor if you have can you send me a link , thanks happy ebiking😂

[@uosocal]

I haven't, only because of the cost. Ebiketuner.com is where I have bought from before. It's $399 for the Wild because of the rim magnet setup.

[@Steevem23]

Yeah very expensive for that one ...thanks again cheers

[@adrianwilkes3300]

I have the same bike. I find the cable going through the headset is one of the most ridiculous designs I have every seen. Orbea have taken made a simple job 50 times more difficult for no advantage whatsoever. You need to remove everything, rear brake Lever, Dropper lever and gear shifter to change the Headset bearings. Then you have to reassemble which is like doing a Rubiks cube in your pocket. The routing causes a lot of wear in the outer cables and also the water ingress through the seals can cause problems with corrosion on the battery. (Ive already had one replaced under warranty). I have no is what is wrong with feeding cables directly into the frame! I will not buy another bike that has this stupid system on it.

[@uosocal]

I haven't had any problems with the bearing or the cable routing. I live in a drier climate, so not so much water ingress. It will be difficult once the bearing goes.