New Orbea Gain: the e-bike that doesn’t look like an e-bike

Orbea has hidden the battery in the down tube and fitted a rear hub motor for a sleek look

(Image credit: Antton)

Orbea says that the new Gain is designed to add enough power to enhance your ride, without dominating it. One outcome of this approach is that the bike is light at around 13kg, another that it looks more like a normal road bike.

At the heart of the bike’s design is a battery pack enclosed inside the down tube, where it’s out of sight. It can still be accessed via a cover for servicing and charging though.

Orbea will sell a Gain gravel bike with single ring and wide tyres

This is coupled to a motor which drives the rear hub, avoiding an unsightly mid-frame unit and allowing the use of a standard chainset. It also means that there’s no drag in the drivetrain when the motor is not operating.

>>> Orbea launches new Orca Aero model

The electronics to allow you to control the unit sit on the top tube, in the shape of a small button. This allows you to power up the unit, check motor assist level and see how much battery charge you have remaining, all via a set of coloured LEDs.

Gain options include hybrids - the button on the top tube controls the motor
(Image credit: Antton)

Built into the bike’s down tube is a charging port, which also lets you perform system diagnosis and attach an external backup battery. Orbea has its own smartphone app for ride tracking, route uploads and diagnosis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSAUAVf1uss&feature=youtu.be

Working out how much power to deliver requires a power meter to be part of an e-bike system. Orbea has hidden this away too: the sensor is integrated into the dropout and uses a special cassette lockring with 20 embedded magnets.

Orbea will sell the Gain as a disc brake road bike, a gravel bike and a hybrid, with clearance for tyres up to 40mm and mudguard mount options.

Prices for the nine bike Gain range start at £1699 for the entry level hybrid and head up to £2999 for the road bike with an Ultegra hydraulic compact groupset. The top gravel spec with SRAM Force 1 hydraulic comes in at the same price.

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Paul Norman

Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.

He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.