ORBEA WILD M-LTD
£10,999 Designed to be the best enduro e-bike on the market
The Wild M-LTD is a bike built to take on the EWS-E series under the Orbea Factory Team. Designed with ride quality and performance as priorities, and a clear focus on racing, what’s it like for mere mortals like us to ride?
THE FRAME
Orbea have made significant updates to the Wild frame, improving its stiffness, weight, geometry and suspension kinematics, while retaining the previous bike’s enduro-friendly 29in wheels and 160mm of rear-wheel travel. An integrated, non-removable 625Wh battery helps make the new front triangle a claimed 50 per cent stiffer, while also shaving approximately 900g off the weight.
Orbea are one of the first brands to use Bosch’s Performance Line CX Race motor, which is around 140g lighter than the non-Race version. In ‘Race Assistance’ mode, which replaces ‘Turbo’, it delivers 400 per cent assistance, rather than the 340 per cent of the standard CX drive unit.
Bosch’s wireless Bluetooth Mini Remote on the handlebar lets you toggle between the modes, displayed – along with battery level – on their top tube-mounted 2023 System Controller.
Other frame details include Orbea’s SIC (Sealed Internal Cables) system, which threads the brake hose and gear/dropper cables through rubber plugs in the headset cap. To reduce maintenance, the Basque brand use Enduro stainless steel bearings, which they claim will last the lifetime of the frame. The suspension bearings have additional seals to prevent water and dirt ingress, too. There’s plenty of frame protection to minimise noise and damage, and inside the headset is Orbea’s Spin Block, which stops the bar and fork rotating fully to prevent them damaging the frame in a crash.
Suspension-wise, Orbea have tweaked the leverage curve to give the 2023 Wild a more playful ride. They’ve also reduced overall progression, increasing mid-stroke support. The geometry overhauls keep it up to date with other modern long-travel bikes, without taking it to extremes. We tested the medium size, with a 170mm fork. This has a slack 63.5-degree head angle, moderate 450mm reach, steep 77-degree effective seat tube angle and snappy-ish 448mm chainstays.
THE KIT
The Wild M-LTD justifies its hefty price tag with a Factory-level Fox 38 fork and Float X2 shock, top-end Shimano XTR brakes and drivetrain, and carbon fibre e*thirteen cranks and OQOU (a new Orbea brand) wheels, shod with triplecompound Maxxis Minion tyres.
THE RIDE
Sit on the Wild M-LTD and it feels like many modern enduro bikes, its steep effective seat tube angle putting you in a strong, reasonably upright pedalling position that’s comfortable for long stints in the saddle. We found it easy to shift our weight forwards and backwards – which was something we needed to do to maintain traction on steep, technical climbs when using the powerful Race Assistance mode.
This setting is great for helping you up steps, steep rolls or drops where you can’t turn the cranks without hitting the pedals. Having all that power when tackling slow, technical hairpins can make you lose balance, although using the rear brake helps avoid this.
With the rear shock’s damping left open, the Wild provides a comfortable ride with plenty of traction, and it doesn’t feel like suspension movement is robbing you or the bike of any power. The new Mini Remote is a big improvement for Bosch and makes changing modes much easier, and we didn’t miss having a handlebar display.
The Wild’s handling is intuitive, with well-balanced proportions that mean you didn’t have to ride aggressively over the front to weight the wheel and find grip. Instead, we could remain centred between the wheels, and were able to lean the bike into corners confidently, too. The slack head angle, 448mm chainstays and 21kg weight provide more than enough stability when speeds pick up, while the new kinematics give the bike an active ride. Pumping through high-load berms or compressions, we found there was enough support from the suspension to prevent the bike from wallowing, but not so much as to inhibit its ability to track the ground. Through braking bumps and square-edged hits, the rear end isolates you well enough that the ride isn’t harsh.
On longer descents, we noticed more hand fatigue than expected. We attributed this to the Wild’s stiff and direct handling – which in most situations is a positive, giving it a responsiveness that’s excellent for quick direction changes and correcting line-choice mistakes or rider errors.
The high-spec components worked without a glitch throughout testing. While the Wild is lighter than other fullpower machines, you can still feel that you’re riding an e-bike. However, it has fewer negatives than some chunkier rivals when it comes to braking points and handling. Luke Marshall
A race bike with responsive and direct handling that’s a lot of fun and inspires confidence on a wide range of trails
Vitus claim the Rapide FS is equipped for the challenges of modern cross-country courses, with aggressive angles and perhaps the longest reach on the race scene, blended with high-spec parts.
THE FRAME
The carbon fibre frame’s 100mm of travel is controlled by a flex-stay arrangement, with the main pivot located behind the chainring and a vertically-mounted shock. All the usual finishing touches are present, though marathon racers might like to see a second set of bottle cage bosses. Room for the shock’s controls is created by a well in the down tube, but this also collects water.
Vitus haven’t been shy when proportioning the Rapide FS, with geometry that takes inspiration from much bigger-travel rigs. The headlines have to be the 500mm reach (large) – longer than most enduro bikes – plus the slack-for-XC 67-degree head angle and steep 77-degree seat tube angle.
THE KIT
Suspension comes from RockShox – a skinny SID SL Ultimate fork and Select+ SiDLuxe shock, both controlled via an on-bar lockout lever. Shimano’s workhorse XT groupset provides the gears and brakes, with an XTR shifter upgrade. Reynold’s carbon XC wheels are a flashy touch, wrapped in Maxxis’ excellent Rekon Race tyres. Ritchey provide the bulk of the aluminium finishing kit.
THE RIDE
Uphill, the Rapide doesn’t feel as taut as some super-racy XC bikes. However, with the suspension firmed up for smoother climbs, it was rare the back end held us back, and on more technical ascents, grip was good, with the suspension free to move up and over steps and rocks, and the supple tyres boosting grip past what their fast-rolling tread pattern would suggest. The geometry works uphill, too, with the steep seat tube angle contributing to a good weight balance and placing your hips over the cranks for effective and efficient pedalling.
Downhill, the geometry – which is extreme in the XC world – shines. It inspires confidence when firing along twisty and steep singletrack, leaving the bike feeling stable and secure. Combined, the low bottom bracket, slack head angle and long reach encourage you to push hard through corners – although this can leave the tyres’ shoulder tread scrabbling in muckier conditions.
The suspension works well, too. Up front, the supple fork contributes to the bike’s composed feel. It may not be the stiffest around, but this is a race-focused bike, where lighter weight counts. The rear end, meanwhile, keeps the back wheel planted, to boost cornering and braking traction. Despite some awkward landings, we rarely had any bottom-outs, and when we did, there was little complaint from the Vitus. Some XC bikes have a touch more mid-stroke support when pumping along undulating trails, but this can result in a more chattery ride; we’re happy with the balance here.
Our only gripe is that the Reynolds wheels felt harsh and, combined with the skinny grips, transmitted enough chatter to our hands to cause some discomfort on longer rides. Overall, though, use the lockout wisely and the Rapide FS is a fast XC race bike with a killer spec for the money. Tom Marvin