2023 Orbea Wild First Look

The Orbea Wild (heretofore known as the Wild-FS) is not new to the Spanish brand’s eMTB line, but it has mostly lurked in the shadow of Orbea’s groundbreaking lightweight, down-torqued Rise trail bikes, which have flown out of bike shops since their introduction in 2020.

The Wild is the Rise’s longer-legged (160 millimeters of front and rear travel), full-powered cousin, with greater suspension travel, more aggressive geometry, bigger battery, and all the newton meters of torque its Bosch mid-motor had available. More all-mountain e-rig than the Rise’s trail orientation, to put it simply.

For 2023, Orbea has made over the Wild into a full-fledged enduro eMTB, with a stiffer yet lighter carbon frame, slacker head angle, longer reach, a steep 77.5-degree seat tube angle, two battery choices for either lighter weight (625Wh) or longer range (750Wh), and, on the top-end M-LTD build, Bosch’s Performance Line CX Race mid-drive motor (regular Performance Line CX at other spec levels). The M-LTD also gets a bump up to 170 millimeters of front travel with a Fox 38 Float Factory Grip2 fork.

In making the Wild frame stiffer and lighter, Orbea has fixed the eMTB’s battery in place rather than having it be removable via a door on the underside of the downtube. The new Secure Battery System (SBS) brings several benefits, according to Orbea.

“Frame designs which focus on removing the battery for charging necessitate many structural compromises. Extra mounting hardware adds weight and complexity, and opening access to the battery greatly compromises frame rigidity,” the company states. “Our SBS fixes the battery rigidly in place, resulting in a frame structure much like that of your favorite non-ebike, adding security, removing noise from covers or rattling battery mounts, and limiting the possibility of damage to the battery.”

Now the Wild frame closely mimics Orbea’s acclaimed Rallon non-electric enduro model in behavior as well as geometry, according to the brand, all while coming in 51 percent stiffer and up to 32.5 percent lighter than the Wild-FS. Complete builds tip the scales at as little as 21 kilos (46.6 pounds).

The 2023 Orbea Wild comes in four carbon and three aluminum models that share “all the technologies of the carbon frame but at a more accessible entry price.”

Prices range from $5,699 (Wild H30 alloy) to $11,999 (Wild M-LTD carbon), with availability expected in early 2023.

More information: orbea.com.