Why I don't ride Orbea bicycles anymore.

[@MossieRidesBikes]

After too many requests asking what happened with Orbea, I finally made a short video about why I got rid of my Oiz. Next up we are getting back to some racing and an investigation into Pon Holding!

[@notpablo8369]

Update on the "what mtb should i buy for xc" please 🫰

[@openwheelracing88]

My wife has an Orbea Orca 2021. The seatpost bolt washer kept breaking. The dealer tried to get it warrantied but we never got it resolved. The shop actually gave us a cheap Salsa seatpost to use. We got fed up with the shop thinking the shop is giving us the run-around. Well after your story I think the shop was being truthful and couldn’t get Orbea to help.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Im glad you gained clarity on the matter. I see some bad business practices going on there. I would have pulled the plug when i was told a wishlist of bikes was actually an order list that I was being contractually held to the fire on. Take me to court, were done here, my company doesnt run on misinformation. Its sad, I wanted Orbea to be in the running for my next bike. Now I feel I would be better off neglecting them as an option.

[@billysmith2243]

Your video confirmed that I also dodged the "Orbea bullet". Thank you for sharing the insight from the dealer's perspective. Enjoying your videos for a while now, keep it up!

[@zoppotromp1958]

Incredible story. Thanks for the video, and this probably was the right decision. Orbea disappeared from my wishlist. However, I still wish we would have a store like yours around here. Keep on the great work !

[@lindonandlisa8114]

Great to see a bike shop with integrity and honesty. Thanks for your great videos really love them

[@MustYouHaveAUsername]

FYI there are several non magnetic steel alloys used in bikes, so called austenitic stainless steels. They are particularly resistant to rust, which is why bike manufactures love it. The bolt might actually have been steel.

[@MossieRidesBikes]

I wouldn't have thought much of it but in the same shipment of bolts they sent the correct steel bolt that was magnetic and weighed more than the standard aluminum one. When I compared the wrong replacement bolt to the one that broke they were nearly identical

[@MustYouHaveAUsername]

@@MossieRidesBikes Fair enough, thanks for answering. The same factory probably produces both bolts and they mixed them up... Probably a QC issue.

[@jeremyprice2936]

Great video, i wish more people were as honest. Just don’t risk buying from them. Bought an e-bike (rise) in May. It’s got multiple KNOWN manufacturing defects and is a horror to ride. It’s been in a UK Orbea service centre most of the time I’ve had it and they’ve tried to fix with new parts multiple times and failed. Orbea themselves don’t want to know and sent fairly blunt emails saying “talk to the service centre” and have no interest in helping me. The bike has now been sent to another service centre as I’ve asked for a full refund as it’s “defective goods” but they won’t give me my money back. Are insisting on being allowed another go at fixing the bike AGAIN so now it’s nearly 7 months and I still don’t have my £4000 bike or my £4000. Like I said, don’t risk buying a bike from them. Their online / direct sales / partner service centre model is obviously as flawed as their manufacturing, as you can see from this video! My advice - buy a different brand bike from a trusted bike shop with its own mechanics who you can go back to if there are any issues.

[@davisjl1979]

I bought a Rise and in the box it came with a note stating the carbon cranks that were supposed to come with the bike we’re not included and the note said they would ship them when they were back in stock. Tried to get the cranks and they said it was a mistake and that the note was not supposed to be in my box. No cranks. Parts are hard to get and take forever. Never again will I buy an Orbea.

[@JMcLeodKC711]

That non-steel, steel pin was really the kicker

[@badagaioo]

Cmon, they are busy sponsoring GMBN content 😢

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I wanted a Rallon so badly but couldn't find a demo nearby... There's like 4 Orbea dealer in my region...😅

[@mipko]

Recently it looked like Orbea is being replaced by canyon in their content

[@Sustrii]

that channel is the most bait thing in the planet. They are all washed out mid of the pack wannabes

[@brandonhoffman4712]

I prefer berm peak to Global conglomerates. Ive even found a GTN global triathalon network... next step is the Universal moniker. Or perhaps interstellar? They also seem to like the word network, mostly just replacing the word in between global and network to provide actual context.

[@nickentz4614]

Stoked on your content. I like that your videos are short and straight to the point.

[@KDubber]

I feel like I dodged a bullet. I was in the market for my first eMTB and was strongly considering the Orbea Wild, it was on sale, price point was good, it got great reviews, had a Bosch motor etc, but there was a lingering question about dealer support here in Canada. Started doing some research and came across various posts where people complained about radio silence, long delays in getting replacement parts, hassles in even just starting the warranty process, etc. And then another bike, Specialized Levo, came across my attention I had been looking at, which was also on sale, slightly more than the Orbea Wild, but with positive comments regarding dealer support, the fact they have a head office in Canada, it became a no brainer.

[@jeroenberger9064]

Be a man, buy a normal mtb

[@damondanieli]

I was on the fence with Orbea too. The Wild is getting great reviews but I like mixed sized wheels. I can safely cross Orbea off of my list now.

[@Richa98]

I was in a similar situation here in the UK before buying a Levo mid last year. Did look at the Rise and Wild but after looking at their stockists and warranty issues I went with the spesh. 1k miles later and only one small niggle that spesh resolved immediately. I'll probably buy a Levo SL later this year to go alongside the full fat. It's a shame because the orbea bikes look nice but not worth the risk

[@willbros1499]

AMEN! I'm not surprised at all by your video. I'm hesitant to say anything negative about the brand, because they're still selling and renting them here at a very popular local shop here in Bentonville. But I think it's OK to say that when they first wanted a presence in the US, and set up in Little Rock, the 3.5 hours seemed like 5 minutes. Most everything minus very obscure parts were sent overnight, and they were at that time the BEST bike brand to work with! They got a little worse over time, but then when they moved to Boulder, things screeched to a halt. I won't say more about the issues, other than to say that it was once a pleasure to deal with Orbea, and it went from them being the best brand to deal with, to the mechanics now cringing when one is brought in the shop, knowing the potential hassle they are going to have with getting anything taken care of that needs parts or warranty. IT'S HORRIBLE, and it is absolutely not just the local rep.

[@Jean-jk4zv]

My Orbea Alma got a faulty rockshox fork, they replaced it within one week delivered at home without any hassle. Life time warranty on frames. I own two, would highly recommend them. My Salsa Cutthroat had a faulty fork also, yes I'm unlucky, it took three months to get a replacement and they forgot to cut the carbon tube so I had to go to a bike shop to get it trimmed. Not sure I would buy a Salsa bike again. You had a bad experience but others have great ones. I agree nonetheless, received my first Canyon bike with the frame cracked, will never buy Canyon again. It could have been an Orbea. My point is if you take a step back, reputable brands are good, there is just a lottery factor. By the way in my town there is an official reseller for like 15 years, they still sell them and love this brand. (bought it elsewhere anyway) It's in France and Orbea is Basque, maybe it helps 😅

[@aneczka2114]

Man, that's gotta be stressful....for a bike company to do that to you. Good on you for moving on.

[@kenbest76]

Interesting that KZbin fed me this because I've been considering becoming an Orbea dealer because nobody around here carries them. And maybe this is why. How was your experience with doing warranty service? I had to get a replacement wheel for my Rise through Mike's Bike's in California where I bought it (online) and it was a fairly straightforward experience. But for all I know, the guy at Mike's may have had to jump through a million hoops. After my experience with this hub exploding (they used cheap chinese hubs when Shimano couldn't meet demand) and the fact that the bike creaks like crazy, I'm starting to wonder if the quality is really there.

[@MossieRidesBikes]

Honestly, I think warranty is a toss up and may depend on who you get a hold of within Orbea. Sometimes the process was easy and they were great then other times it would be terrible and would take weeks or months to get resolved

[@tekyla77]

Sí tienes problemas con los crujidos, la solución es desmontar las bieletas y engrasar todo con grasa anticrujidos. Además de que tienes que revisar el tornillo de la bieleta, su medida a de ser 20mm de largo. Siento decirte que orbea no te soluciona nada, yo tengo la Orbea rise 2022 y le quite los crujidos de esa manera. Sí necesitas ayuda, comentame y hablamos.

[@blurglide]

Orbea Orca was my dream road bike when I was younger- just a sexy looking bike. I was close to pulling the trigger until I heard horror stories of frames collapsing under people.

[@letour32rr]

Tried buying an Oiz last year after watching all your videos praising it. Local dealer said he may or not be able to get one, he didn't know. He had no visibility into their inventory or availability, but if I wanted one I needed to pay for it all up front. No thanks. Glad to hear I dodged a bullet. Guess I'll just keep racing my 2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

I like this channel, it feels like a fresh take for me. Stories from the bike world is how I would put it. I like it more than the myriad of component reviews and training advice. Though to be honest I find the training advice the most beneficial to my life currently.

[@awesometuscaloosa7203]

I am a consumer, and videos like this help me a lot on what to buy (or not to) Good vid, cheers!

[@classactracing]

Sadly dealing with Orbea. I have experienced the same when trying to contact them. You know what they say in Spain There is always tomorrow - Hay siempre un mañana! In 2024 there is absolutely no excuse for bad customer service.

[@ryankraai5502]

Great job on your recent history type videos. Would love to see a series on bike shop operations as well.

[@lenolenoleno]

Glad these videos are made. The bicycle industry operates like a cottage industry but sell hundreds of millions of dollars of stock. Worked in the bicycle industry - got to say it is one of the least professional (just totally OK to ghost/gaslight distributors and shops) industries I've worked in.

[@nicolaspade1341]

Sucks when business relationships are this complicated :( I have an Orbea Alma and an Occam and I love both! Very happy with the price I paid and the spec on them. Never had a problem with them!

[@qcguy29]

Amain hobbies is huge. The owner is an avid biker who started performance bike. Not sure if they perform install services but I can vouch for great part service and fast shipping. He has a podcast floating around somewhere about his move to Charlotte and his two companies.

[@MossieRidesBikes]

That's super interesting. It looks like he also played a part in Nashbar. Definitely going to look into this a little more. Thank you for the info!

[@jmortier71]

I have a bikeshop in Belgium. The Lotto-team changed there bikes from Ridley too Orbea. Many collegues where shocked and we are all staying with the perfect Ridley-service !

[@geetee4037]

Just about to start selling Ridley, that's great to hear.

[@OneRiverMedia]

I absolutely LOVE my custom ‘23 Oiz M Pro, BUT, it was the biggest PITA to buy it. The “My Oiz” custom ordering was a huge hassle (took me over 2 years for the system to work) and I couldn’t order it through my LBS, who were an authorized Orbea reseller (they too had really bad experience with Orbea). I could only get it shipped across the country from Spain, only to have it re-shipped to my LBS. Took about 6 months from order to final delivery in-hand to my LBS. Again, I truly love my Oiz, but it’s heartbreaking I’ll never buy from Orbea again.

[@c1mat1]

Just scratched Orbea off my list of new bikes. Thanks!

[@TomCollins-c4h]

Not worth the risk.

[@petekutheis3822]

Thanks for posting this. I toured their US headquarters in North Little Rock when it was located there. Seems things went south quickly. I will avoid based on this; I had no idea....

[@Mo.Jo.MTB_101]

Thanks for the video!!! I had some not so good experiences with Orbea and their customer support as well and I was thinking this was my shops fault for some time, after having tried to deal with them myself that changed. And this video puts it into more of a perspective... I find it said because my Occam (apart from chewing up it's bearings and frame bolts) looks amazing and rides really nice... It was my first Orbea and will remain my last... I'll probably replace the frame with a Raaw Jibb or Stumpy Evo...

[@MrMojoRisin22]

Same deal with my LBS. Awful support from Orbea, so my shop dropped them.

[@chopperz127]

I was looking at an Orbea XC bike but glad I chose to go with another brand.

[@martinkrutz5698]

Great Video, I am in the market for a new bike, and had throught about this bikes. Orbea is now off my list

[@svenball5384]

Thanks for some insights in a dealers day to day business. Thats the part we dont see that often but should be aware when choosing our LBS

[@liantechtube7921]

Wow I was looking at buying an oiz. Might have to look into the Trek Supercaliber again.

[@t1murik]

Thanks, helpful for my decision.

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

Absolutely loved this and would love a series on what a small LBS goes through... both the bad and the good.

[@mwsaab9]

Anybody had bad experiences with orbea customer care in Germany? Looking to buy soon and Orbea are in a narrow selection of possibles...

[@quadzillacyclist1304]

I love my Oiz for 3 years now. Was going to purchase a new one. Getting static from dealer, so I had a uneasy feeling. This video was great . So I'm bending towards a Scott Spark which is similar .

[@mandretti2381]

Wow, didn't know. Please, what bike are you riding now and planning to race with???

[@jharsh3376]

Orbea was on my short list for my new spring bike but after this I think it's off the lst. I already have a bike from a company that's horrible to deal with in my Giant. Cannondale or direct to consure, here I come. lol

[@thomasszalankiewicz8266]

I own an Occam and have had quite a few issues. The shock bolt snapped and they said they wouldn’t help me. I will never own an other one. I have no intention in going back

[@bigchedds8389]

Are they still putting the aluminum bolt for the rear shock in 2023-24 Occam's?

[@Accuracy158]

I was under the opinion previously that they have been using the "steel" one since some time in 2022. It's the only one you can buy on their website now. I bought the super overbuilt txperformance replacement bolt (that weighs like 3 the original :P) when I bought my 2022 Occam but I never swapped them out and thought this problem kind died out after the initial 2020 bikes... At least since they started doing their own supposedly steel bolt.

[@bigchedds8389]

@@Accuracy158 appreciate the response. I stumbled on the issue reading up on the bike through some forums. Most of the people talking about the bolt snapping were back in 2020-2021. Couldn't find much information beyond that but wanted to hurt to throw around the question out of curiosity. As you mentioned on their website all I've found is the steel bolt replacement.

[@arejee3380]

Thanks. More outstanding bikes for Europe where service seems to be no problem for dealers.

[@overseer_grimal]

I hate that their marketing team sends hundreds of bikes to influencers. When I see an Orbea bike on Instagram, it is a sponsored bike. Do you know who pays for it? The consumers

[@hannae7298]

Scheiße, was planning to buy an Orbea... Do you have recommendation on a MTB bike? Will be used for bikejoring with dogs. Middle range in price

[@dirkjonckers5038]

Sorry to hear that as they have a pretty good product. I will check with my dealer here in Belgium how he feels. Have to contact him as the rear suspension of my OIZ suddenly lost all of its oil....

[@jmortier71]

I have a shop in Belgium.... Sticking with my Ridley's (lotto). Nooit v mijn leven verdeel ik Orbea 😉

[@robvanduren761]

My dealer tried so hard to get me to demo an E wild for the weekend. I could do anything i wanted on it. Turned the offer down and kept my 2019 Giant E+1 thats had no issues. I brought a lightly used DH bike instead and loving it.

[@MarcKroetch]

We have a small bike shop in North Idaho and like to see more content about bile shop perspectives and topics. Rock on, we’ve subscribed to your channel…

[@edavis5451]

I own an Occam and a Gain and live in the Charlotte area. I was very disappointed when all the area Orbea dealers started dropping, because now any work that would be covered under warranty can’t be done without shipping the bike off. I love Orbea and it sounds like you had a bad experience with them. That sucks.

[@Erik-rc7iy]

I have an Orbea occam and so far so good, but definitely will stay away from Orbea in the future. Great video!

[@bigmikeshooter]

What is Orbea...? Great video, greetings from Greece.

[@gustifer0311]

Man I really love you videos and your channel. I’ve used them before several purchases. I’m literally a day away from ordering an Orbea Rise H10. 2023. Should I be hesitant about ordering one? Has there been several issues that have been unresolved for customers?

[@MossieRidesBikes]

They still make a great product. I would honestly ask your local shop how they're interactions have been with Orbea. No matter which brand you go with, your local shop are going to be the ones that take care of you

[@mytoyota80]

Interesting and well put out

[@ThomasMTube]

Not surprised tbh. I owned an Orbea Bosch e-bike few years ago plagued with electrical gremlins from the get go and to say they were useless is an understatement.

[@JohnPilling25]

I went into the Orbea campus store in central Barcelona recently and wow have prices skyrocketed from €2000 to over €5000. Nobody in there seemed at all interested in helping me. Was looking at a potential e-bike for my wife - we ended up leaving and bought a Cannondale e-bike in the UK which we took over to France on the train/ferry/train and it now lives there for our use in the summer. Can't fly with an e-bike from the US because of the battery so we had to get one in Europe. The Cannondale with the secondary battery is super and gives us over 120km per charge in the Pyrenees. - obviously very hilly.

[@Jcee4]

I would have done the same without knowing the small print in the Orbea agreement. I work in distribution, by refusing the consignment that seems damaged in transit the cost recuperation stays on the courier. There is clearly a big disconnect between design/production and their customer service department, they would do themselves a favour by setting up a distro or desk for the U.S. wholesale, a common problem with businesses that aren't fully equipped for sales outside their region. Whether is was a bad sales rep or their ToS at fault, you guys are at the receiving end having to cope with the issue. What do you do in this scenario, look for alternative brand to fill their space or boost levels of pre-existing brands?

[@MossieRidesBikes]

Great insights and one of the reasons I've thought about showing more of the small business side of the channel. We initially were in talks with Kona to help fill the Orbea void but then they were purchased and we decided to just hold off until at least spring to see what the market decides to do.

[@zdrofenik]

One question sir: you got a package/bike and didn't pay for it in advance? .., it doesn't work that way here. I have to pay everything up front and I've been working with them for over twenty years!

[@dbusby77]

Wow! I am glad I read this as Orbea was top of my list for an EMTB but this news changes that. It seems as they are too busy with new R&D and not in giving good dealer and customer support. It sounds like their support services are on siesta most of the time. 😊

[@TimR123]

Yes please. I’d love to know more about the shop business. Particularly in these interesting times.

[@EngineeredTheMind]

Definitely would suck to deal with, but after looking at brands for years, I went with the Occam M10, seemed to be the only bike option out there, expensive but not insane that allowed you to customize it and order it yourself through a dealer.

[@bryanthomason270]

Almost bought a Rise on sale until I saw this!!! Yikes, thank you for sharing your experience

[@Chunky246]

Interesting... I'm in the UK and a couple of shops I know have also dropped Orbea 🤔

[@Michael-fi6ve]

Please pick up ibis!! We have a huge amount of people on Ripleys and ripmos in the charlotte area. Even see Hakkas around occasionally

[@Bike4adventure]

I've heard a lot of bad about Orbea and it is too bad. I really like their bikes. Maybe in the future they will get themselves figured out.

[@MossieRidesBikes]

You and me both. The Oiz is still one of my favorite short travel race bikes on the market

[@silasmoorefield5549]

Dang that's ruff back in 2014 when I used to ride for orbea they where awesome with warranty stuff I broke 6 or 7 of there frames and they would replace them no problem.

[@naromsky]

Thanks for sharing. Now I have second thoughts.

[@SavvyBayAreaHomeOwner]

I saw that bolt breaking first hand in Spain on a brand new Occam.

[@drill_fiend1097]

My dream bike was Orbea Terra. This makes me think again.

[@nikospitsakis9096]

i try to found what bicycle to buy after this no orbea ..

[@MC-ey8kw]

I literally have an Obea Wild in the cart and now I'll be skipping that purchase. Thanks for sharing.

[@PG-xr4uh]

I was going to get an Orbea because my LBS sells them now, but will probably look elsewhere for something else.

[@kaylamoss1768]

Now, don't get us sued Cameron. 😅😅😅

[@MossieRidesBikes]

Psshht, it's not like I didn't say anything that's not in emails. Plus my channel is too small 🙃

[@kaylamoss1768]

But you're so famous@@MossieRidesBikes

[@wvjeepguy8178]

Good info.

[@bluegull1541]

I own 3 Orbeas!!

[@oldnslowpopi]

Just bought a Rise E MTB. Hoping there is no issues. I agree with their CS Dept. they kinda suck

[@garybird8646]

Similar experiences in the UK, we dropped them and so did most of the other dealers we know. Our rep left too.

[@strider7008]

Love my orbea but their prices have got insane and you get less for your money. Waited 15 months for it too and no one was giving me straight answers on their end.

[@Southerncyclist]

So glad I bought a Cervelo in 2019 instead of an Orbea .

[@adamsmythe4723]

Same in the uk dealers have dropped Orbea

[@chrisprysok7634]

If you want to win enduro get a Yeti or Canyon. For fun id go Evil or We are One.

[@Chan1881]

My wife and I both have Orbea, partially due to your videos. We love them but don’t think we’ll buy an Orbea again. We tried ordering a new bike from Orbea... crickets. We thought, Wow, we’re trying to give them money, what will customer service be like if a problem comes up? Fortunately we decided to go with another brand and from Day 1 we knew the ETA and they had it built & delivered well before then.

[@BH-cy9tb]

Just saw on eBay a used 2023 oiz or whatever like new condition sold for 1,097.00 plus 100 shipping. Now I know why cheap aluminum bolts 😜 . If i needed another bike for that price I still would of bought it. But this does not show good for orbea as a company.

[@stepan.furman]

Thanks for sharing. I hope it's just a local distribution problem. I hope it's not a company mindset.

[@BrandonWatkins614]

Wont be buying an orbea after hearing this...ibis, yt, and fezzari have always treated me right and customer service has been excellent with them. If orbea is treating their shops like this, no telling how they handle their consumers...

[@johndef5075]

I was looking at one. Not anymore😅

[@stevent1565]

One of the best collaboration was bkxc and orbea. 6 of my mates bought the rallon after bkxc collaborated with them. Orbea apparently hv this warranty deal, where they will repair/restore thr paint work within 3 years of the sale of the bike. One of my mates tried to claim it and he was given the run around for months till he gave up. This was in 2019. Looks like a habit for orbea.

[@bobbybecker80]

Thanks and guess I'm another who just dodged a bullet because I tried to order one online today and the shop had just sold the last one. Good cautionary tale.

[@sherwin3williams]

maybe this is why the bike shop in my country close down , because the bike brand was doing well and then the owner said that retiring . the oiz is a great product . heard from a other shop that used to deal cannondale was also having issues with new leadership at cannondale. Brands needs to realizes that the dealers and the customers that make them.

[@davewallace9048]

When your Orbea breaks, good luck getting it fixed the support is awful!! You’re stuck with a broken bike and God knows how long it will take to get it fixed even under warranty!!

[@Nnomadd]

I just buy an Orbea Kemen, outstanding ebike.

[@trailpimp6369]

Orbea is not that great and very overpriced. Thanks for the tip on them and good to know.

[@sepg5084]

Using a magnet to verify if something is steel or not is misleading, some stainless steels are not magnetic.

[@brandonhoffman4712]

Dudes got a PS3? or is that a ps2 controller?

[@MossieRidesBikes]

PS3. But it is the fat man that's backwards compatible😁

[@wizzywizzua]

Two years ago, I bought a carbon orbea oiz м30. Recently, the rear triangle was damaged during transportation. I didn't ask to have the bike repaired under warranty, I just asked to sell me a new rear triangle. I was told that this model is already old (although it is actually 2 years old) and there are no more parts. This is sad. I was only offered a new frame with a small discount. But I don't want to spend that much money on a new frame i wan't to fix my current bike. Other manufacturers (such as scott, specialized, canondale) have less problems with spare parts for old models. You can easly order rear triangle for scott spark 6-7 years old :) So i think i'm out orbea fans next years

[@blrun129]

Wow that’s bad from Orbea, I love my Orbea racing bike and wanted to get a Oiz but their prices have become stupid and now watching this think I’m glad that I didn’t get the second Orbea

[@Paganiproductions84]

As a long time Orbea Alma Owner zero problems with my

[@simptrix007]

I am pretty sad I was looking at LAUFEY.

[@JJ-rp2df]

Post sale support's critical and priced in. Great psa thanks

[@Icehso140]

I thought I had something when I got my first Orbea at $3000. But when I found out it was the lowest priced bike...well you know. Propriety hangers and other parts...Orbea dealers that really don't know bikes...and the lack of dealers period. Kona and Cannondale are my choice now because the dealers in my area really know bikes.

[@sunkim8310]

Was considering a Rallon. But no way after seeing this!!