Orbea Urrun 10 review

Spanish brand's top-tier electric hardtail with lightweight motor and battery

This competition is now closed

By Mick Kirkman

Published: September 14, 2022 at 9:00 am

In the Basque language, ‘urrun’ means far, and the Spanish brand says the Urrun 10 is designed for "long rides and big adventures".

At first glance, it's hard to tell the Urrun is even an electric mountain bike. Its elegant shape is accentuated by the way its cables are hidden inside the frame, and the quality of its paintwork and finish.

Accordingly, it's more expensive than some of its rivals.

The sleek aluminium frame has a slim down tube housing a compact, lightweight battery.

This powers a specially tuned Shimano EP8 RS motor, said to be up to 1.5 times more efficient than the standard version, so the 540Wh powerpack should provide assistance equivalent to 810Wh on a standard electric bike.

Geometry is pretty modern, including a relatively relaxed 66-degree head angle for calmer steering. The frame sizes are way smaller than most, though, with the 440mm reach on the large size more typical of a small frame on many modern full-suspension mountain bikes.

Up-front, the Fox 34 Performance fork feels exceptionally smooth, especially over exposed tree roots.

The steerer tube on my review bike was cut too short though, so I couldn't add spacers to raise the bar for a more upright riding position.

I pumped up the fork to 120psi to keep it high in its travel. You could also buy a higher-rise bar; neither is ideal.

The Maxxis Rekon tyres are fast-rolling but grippy and pack a more protective EXO+ casing, and Shimano's 12-speed XT drivetrain is high-quality and smooth.

However, the Magura MT5 brakes don't have enough bite when really trucking downhill and the 160mm rear rotor is too small, meaning they’re simply not powerful enough.

Being tuned for long distances (or massive ones if you buy the 252Wh range extender), the Urrun gets you out into the wilderness with smooth assistance and a natural feel when coming on or off the power.

There's noticeably less torque and boost on top of your own pedalling power than with the regular EP8 motor found on other electric mountain bikes, though, once gradients tip upwards.

Orbea has designed it this way, limiting the bike to 60Nm maximum torque (rather than the 85 to 90Nm of full-fat eMTBs).

This means peak power stays within a range that allows Orbea to spec ‘regular’ trail bike parts, such as lightweight wheels, which makes the Urrun easier to manoeuvre, lift and carry.

The RS motor is quiet in operation, with just a background whir in each of its three assistance modes, and the internally routed cables are rattle-free.

The long 70mm stem creates an old-fashioned, cross-country style riding position, with your backside up and head down.

This puts your centre of gravity forward, which helps with climbing balance and ergonomics (making up for the RS motor having less power), but it can feel twitchy on technical trails.

At faster speeds, the Urrun is much less capable than rival bikes on off-road trails.

Because each frame size is short and the bottom bracket high, your weight gets pitched forward if you ride down anything steep, and this has you feeling hesitant when the terrain isn't super-smooth.

The weight distribution also results in the highly sensitive fork getting overloaded in berms and compressions, and the front tyre wanting to tuck under you.

This is at odds with what I’d expect based on the bike's head angle, but it's noticeable – even when pottering about a campsite with a washbag slung over the bar – how much less manoeuvrable and stable-steering it is than rival bikes.

On top of this, the slim frame feels really stiff. It's uncomfortable on bumpy ground, transmitting a lot of trail feedback through the bar and frame.

The Urrun isn't that easy to handle on techy trails and feels so much less sure-footed through steep sections that I didn't even tackle one particularly tight corner, because I was worried about the lack of braking power and being unable to get my weight back.

While this isn't what bikes such as this are designed for, it's a good indication of what a novice rider might experience on mellower terrain.

Orbea's new electric hardtail is a stunning-looking bike that lives up to its Basque name thanks to a sizeable range that can be extended further and quiet, smoothly delivered power.

Some lightweight parts choices make it easier to throw around, but a stiff frame means things become uncomfortable when the going gets rough.

The forward ride position and twitchy steering can cause the Urrun to come unstuck at higher speeds off-road and the lack of braking power is a further limiting factor.

Electric hardtails such as the three on test here don't have any rear suspension, but do come with big, grippy tyres and front suspension to help smooth out the ride and boost confidence.

Specialized, Canyon and Orbea have designed these machines to handle proper mountain bike trails, but also to double up as all-purpose bikes, with features such as lockable batteries, lights, accessory mounts and kickstands.

We took them around our local woods and bridleways, and also on a camping trip to the Lake District with kids in tow, to find out which is the most practical and comfortable to sneak off to the trail centre on, nip about on gravel lanes on or explore the countryside with.

Contributor

Mick Kirkman is a bike and product tester for BikeRadar and MBUK magazine. A childhood spent messing about on, and then racing, BMXs eventually led to downhill and four-cross as an adult. Mick peaked at elite level in DH and was a dual slalom nationals medallist back when that was even a thing. As well as tinkering in bike development, he's ridden, raced and documented mountain biking non-stop for two decades, and is one of only a handful of bike testers experienced enough to have hundreds of reviews in print and on the web. Mick is also a talented photographer, taking images for BikeRadar and MBUK magazine among others.