Orbea Gain M10i review

The new third-generation Orbea Gain is claimed to offer a ‘pure road’ ride experience rather than being simply an ebike that looks like a road bike.

Throughout testing, I’ve been incredibly impressed by the bike’s natural ride feel and excellent handling – pedal assistance is integrated in one of the most thoughtful ways I've seen.

Although the M10i specification might be unnecessarily high, with a punchy price tag, it is nevertheless one of the best electric road bikes you can buy.

Orbea Gain M10i frame details

The Gain has a very clean-looking frame. Orbea uses an FSA-developed ICR internal routing system on the frame and stem to fully enclose the brake hoses.

The bike’s silhouette looks very similar to the previous-generation Orca OMR – only the slight oversized diameter of the down tube suggests this is, in fact, an electric bike.

Otherwise, it has quite classical tube shapes, with subtle nods to aero profiling, as Orbea looks to prioritise ride quality over out-and-out speed.

Neat hidden mounts for mudguards or fenders add all-weather appeal and the finish (all Orbea’s bikes are painted at its Basque facility) is superb.

Orbea offers a decent range of off-the-peg colour options, and the Gain is included in the brand’s MyO ordering system, so you can choose your favoured colours.

Orbea Gain M10i geometry

The geometry largely mirrors the brand’s Orca OMR frames, though the Gain is tweaked slightly to put it even more in the endurance bike space.

It has a little more stack (613mm on a size XL, compared to 590mm), while the reach is down to 402mm from 404mm.

The wheelbase has been extended by 32mm, to 1,036mm.

The ride position is further relaxed by using a bar with a 15mm rise (though Orbea offers a bar with no rise, if that’s too much).

Even with these more relaxed numbers, Orbea has been careful not to slow down the Gain’s handling. The 72.2-degree head angle combines with the 50mm fork rake and 700x30c tyres to create a 57mm trail.

Overall, this gives the Gain a nicely balanced feel with quick steering at slower speeds, yet stability when you up the pace.

Orbea Gain M10i build

The drivetrain is excellent, as you’d expect from Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200, and while it makes the M10i a rather expensive proposition at £9,299, it’s less expensive than Specialized’s S-Works Turbo Creo SL Evo (£12,000), Trek’s Domane SLR9 (£12,500), and the Wilier Filante SLR Hybrid (£11,800).

That said, I’d opt for a cheaper model. The M20i Ultegra Di2-equipped model will get you 99 per cent of the same performance for £2,300 less, while a similarly slick experience could be had from the 105 Di2-equipped M30i at £5,999.

Here though, Orbea’s choice of 50/34-tooth chainset and close-ratio 11-30 tooth cassette is a great compliment to the Gain's electric bike motor system.

The 42mm-deep carbon rims look good. With a 21mm internal width, they shape the 30c Pirelli tyres well and true to size.

At the rear is a 55Nm Mahle X20 hub motor, but up-front Orbea uses a Mavic hub.

The contact points are all good. The riser road bar and Fizik saddle both get high marks for comfort. However, if these aren’t your cup of tea, you can switch them out for a no-rise Orbea RP10 compact drop carbon bar (in your preferred width), and a Selle Italia SLR Boost or Prologo Scratch M5.

Orbea Gain M10i ride impressions

The key to the very best e-road bikes is they retain as much of the real riding experience as possible. This is opposed to your efforts being overwhelmed by the motor, or the motor becoming more of a dead weight when it’s not assisting.

The Gain’s ride feel outclasses every e-road bike I’ve tested in the past, and it’s down to how Orbea has tuned the assistance, along with the extras included as standard.

The way in which the motor mirrors your input in a linear path gives the Gain an incredibly natural ride feel.

Even in the highest mode, the Gain never feels as though it’s leading or shoving you up a climb – the bike never surges ahead of your pace.

The clever motor mapping is also tuned so that when you exceed the motor’s regulatory limit (15.5mph/25kph), the power tapers out rather than being cut suddenly.

It means that, on climbs especially, you get over a steeper-gradient ‘hump’ sooner, and the bike rewards you if you put in the effort. It helps you get into and maintain a steady cadence rhythm too.

You also use less of the energy reserves on climbs and that has led to some impressive ride ranges on a single battery and charge.

On my first ride, I’d racked up 62.25 miles (100.18km) with 3,795.8ft (1,157m) of ascent. This would be impressive for any e-road bike, but it’s even more impressive that I got home with 45 per cent battery energy left.

Subsequent rides saw me reach 93.97 miles (151.2km), with 3,455.45ft (1,053.22m) and 97.68 miles (157.2km), with 3,466.2ft (1,056.5m).

The upshot is, for lighter riders who apply a bit more frugality with the assistance, I think the Gain could achieve well over 100 miles. You can even add a piggyback battery to further extend the range.

Charging the Mahle battery took 3 hours, 5 minutes.

The other big plus is Orbea’s inclusion of Mahle’s wired remote motor controls, which enable you to shift up and down the motor settings from the bar.

The TQ remote triggers on the Trek Domane SL6 are arguably in a better place (on the side of the hoods), but Orbea’s placement on the tops is the next best thing and perfectly positioned for extended climbs.

This meant I ended up using the three modes much like another set of gears, moving between them freely on climbs.

Aside from the assistance system, the Dura-Ace drivetrain and braking performance is excellent.

The Gain feels superbly balanced, with the low-down weight of the assistance system not upsetting the bike's handling. I felt confident dropping a shoulder and committing to fast, twisty road descents on the hills and climbs out in Girona and back here in the UK.

The Pirelli tyres are set up tubeless as intended and were subjected to a mix of dewy to dry conditions.

They never felt anything less than full of grip and were compliant enough (with some pressure released) for a couple of light gravel excursions on my test rides.

The front end felt taut when climbing and responsive to steering inputs, but not harsh.

It copes with rougher surfaces well and the riser carbon bar does a great job of reducing road buzz.

At the rear, it’s a little firmer, perhaps because I ran a slightly higher tyre pressure than usual to compensate for the rear hub motor weight.

Orbea Gain M10i bottom line

The Orbea Gain M10i impresses hugely and it’s great to see Orbea tuning a motor system with the aim of improving the ride experience.

The tuning has worked to deliver proper power assistance at all levels, without the bike dominating your efforts, and the remote controls enhance the interaction with the system.

Although many riders might be better off saving a chunk of cash in favour of a lower-specced model, there’s no denying the Orbea Gain M10i sets a very high bar for e-road bike performance.