LONGTERE RIDES

Team bikes ridden for a year

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ALEX'S ORBEA WILD M-TEAM £8,699
(CUSTOM SPEC) Could our senior tech ed's needs for a big-mountain gravity-focused e-MTB be met?

Orbea's Wild e-MTB caused quite a splash when it launched at the tail end of 2024. Not only is it a slacker, longer, lower, lighter and all-round better iterative update of the 2023 Bike of the Year-winning Wild I rode and loved, but it was raced - with modifications and without the motor - by Martin Maes in the Downhill World Cup series.

Clearly, this latest model has oodles of potential. But my requirements for an e-bike were quite specific. I wanted a Bosch CX motor and a big battery (700Wh-plus), plenty of suspension travel, slack geometry and - importantly - 29in wheels front and rear. That narrowed things down considerably, and put the Wild at the top of my hit list.

The frame is built from Orbea's 'OMR' high-modulus carbon fibre, which allows them to use less material while still retaining strength and rigidity. With 170mm of rear-wheel travel, the Wild is a big-hitter. Instead of a seatstay or chainstay pivot, it has one concentric with the rear axle - a design claimed to reduce the impact of braking forces on suspension performance.

Fitted with Bosch's Gen 5 Performance Line CX motor, the Wild M-Team boasts 85Nm of torque and 600w of peak power - with a firmware update set to boost this to 100Nm and 750w. This is powered by a 750Wh battery, although Orbea offer the option of Bosch's slimmer 600Wh battery, should you value weight-saving over range. Bosch's 250Wh PowerMore range extender can also be fitted to further boost battery life.