So you’re a cycling enthusiast that loves riding on the road. You want to go faster and farther, but most of all enjoy each ride. You’ve been looking at ebikes, but there doesn’t seem to be very many that check all the boxes. They’re not high enough quality, they cost too much, or they’re the wrong type of bike. After all, you want a true road bike experience, not a comfort bike with a motor that you ride on the road.
Enter the Orbea Gain M20: an ebike that gives you a truly enjoyable road bike experience. Just like a Porsche or any other fine piece of machinery, the Gain delivers something special. On the climb, feel like you’re in the lead breakaway. Then carve out the twisty descent with confidence and precision. It’s hard to miss that smile on your face. Who would’ve thought you could have this much fun and not totally break the bank!
Bike Category: Endurance Road/Gravel
The Gain is geared towards the cyclist looking for a comfortable endurance road geometry that performs well. It boasts a lightweight carbon fiber frameset and tire clearance to fit up to 40c tires. Yes, the Gain can function happily on gravel roads with the right tires. The Shimano Ultegra components and Mavic Aksium Elite wheels represent a good value for the budget-minded enthusiast.
Who It’s For: The Serious Road Cyclist
You’re a serious road cyclist and you care about weight. At 27.9 pounds as tested, the Gain rides very much like a regular endurance road bike when the power is off. The ride quality is very good thanks to the carbon fiber frame and 28c tires. The bike feels responsive when you stand up out of the saddle and nimble when you’re carving out that windy descent. Then find a hill, turn the power on, and the Gain becomes a climbing machine.
Bike Specs
- Frame – Orbea Gain Carbon, Monocoque carbon structure
- Fork – Gain Carbon
- Headset – FSA 1-1/8 – 1-1/2″ Integrated Carbon Cup ACB Bearings
- Handlebar – FSA Energy Compact
- Stem – FSA Energy
- Shifters – Shimano ST-8070
- Brakes Shimano R8070 Hydraulic Disc
- Crankset – Shimano Ultegra R8000 34x50t
- Cassette – Shimano Ultegra R8000 11 Speed, 11-32t
- Rear Derailleur – Shimano Ultegra R8000 GS
- Front Derailleur – Shimano Ultegra R8000
- Chain – KMC x11
- Wheels – Mavic Aksium Elite Disc, tubeless ready
- Tires – Mavic Yksion Pro 700×28, tubeless ready
- Pedals – not included
- Seatpost – OC III Carbon, 31.6mm
- Saddle – Prologo Kappa Space
- Motor – Ebikemotion X35 – Up to 250 watts
- Battery – Ebikemotion 36V/6.9A
- Handlebar Plugs – Orbea Anti-Slippery/Shock Proof
- Charger – Ebikemotion X35
- Remote – Ebikemotion iWoc ONE
Pros
- A great value for the price
- Lightweight and responsive
- Good tire clearance for gravel riding
Cons
- Doesn’t include a visual display for speed, battery life and other ride metrics
- Assist cuts out at 20 mph, we wish it was 28 mph instead
Features
- Reasonably Priced
The Gain represents a good value to the budget-minded enthusiast. You get a carbon fiber frame, Shimano Ultegra components and Mavic tubeless ready wheels without breaking the bank.
- Carbon Fiber Frame and Fork
As you might already know, carbon fiber really is the superior material as far as weight and ride quality are concerned. It’s the superior ride quality that comes as a pleasant surprise to some folks.
- Ebikemotion X35 Ebike System
The Ebikemotion X35 system, designed by MAHLE, seems to have a lot of potential. This is a lightweight, smart ebike system that is being used by quite a few different brands out there. The entire system weighs in at under 8 pounds!
- Mavic Aksium Tubeless Ready Wheels
Tubeless technology really is superior when it comes to ride performance and quality. Run lower tire pressures for improved ride quality while decreasing rolling resistance and preventing flats.
In-Depth Review
Performance
The Gain M20 provides a true road bike experience. It is relatively lightweight which helps improve handling and makes it easier to pedal with the power off. Our test model weighed in at 27.9 pounds with pedals.
The carbon fiber frame and fork were built with an endurance geometry in mind, which provides additional comfort for longer rides and predictable handling. The Gain feels stable and predictable on windy descents. We took our test model down a windy descent at over 35 mph just to be sure.
Climbing on the Gain is an absolute pleasure. The bike climbs reasonably well with the power completely turned off. Turn the power on and even on the lowest level of assist you have a much more capable bike. Crank up the assist up to the highest level and you can breeze up 10% grades with relatively little effort.
About the Electrical System
The Gain is a class 1 ebike, which means the pedal assist will work until 20 mph and then it cuts off. This makes riding down slight grades, where pedaling is required, a bit more challenging. Especially when your speed is hovering just above 20 mph. In a perfect world it would be nice to raise the cutoff to 28 mph. However, then the Gain would no longer be a class 1 ebike.
When it comes to controlling the ebike system, the Gain has only a single button. This feature adds to it’s sleek design and low profile. At first glance, most people don’t even know the Gain is an ebike. However, a single button may not be enough for some users. It would be nice if the bike included a display to show detailed metrics such as battery life, mph and distance traveled. There is a consolation though: you can download the Ebikemotion app for free and get those metrics on your phone.
Note – the Gain does come with a display unit to display ride metrics.
Power Modes
The assist is relatively easy to use. Simply hit the button to scroll through the different modes. Here is a list describing each mode and how it feels:
- Level 0, no assist – the button flashes white – feels pretty much like riding a regular road bike
- Level 1, low assist – the button flashes green – noticeable power increase, hills become much easier
- Level 2 medium assist – the button flashes orange – noticeable power on flats and very good on hills
- Level 3 high assist – the button flashes red – very good power on flats and excellent on hills
Electric System
The Gain features the Ebikemotion X35 ebike system, manufactured by MAHLE. The whole idea behind the Ebikemotion system is to provide an experience that feels more like riding a regular bicycle: meaning the drivetrain is lightweight and not too overpowering.
Here are a few key advantages to the Ebikemotion system:
- Lightweight – the entire ebike system weighs under 8 pounds, including the motor.
- Hidden – the X35 system is hidden inside the bike for the most part. The biggest giveaway is an oversized rear drive hub.
- Connectivity – Connect to the ebike system and get metrics with a handy app. Features Bluetooth.
- Modular – Add an additional battery that fits inside a water bottle cage to essentially double your mileage range.
The system is driven by a rear hub motor, rated at 250w and 40Nm maximum torque. MAHLE explains that the motor reduces drivetrain friction. This helps the Gain feel more like a regular road bike, especially when the system is not switched on. The bottom line is, the Ebikemotion system provides a great balance between power and weight, helping the Gain to perform well in a variety of riding situations.
Battery
The battery is a 36V, 6.9A Panasonic unit with a pretty decent mileage range. During the review, we were able to ride 70 miles with the assist on various modes before needing a charge. Recharge time typically takes 3-4 hours.
Want to go further in between charges? Orbea makes it easy. Add an additional battery pack shaped like a water bottle for $650 and you can ride twice as far.
The Build
The Gain comes with good quality Shimano components that don’t break the bank. At this price point you will have to forgo premium options such as electronic shifting, but this is still Shimano Ultegra, one tier down from their top-of-the-line. On our Gain we found that the hydraulic disc brakes were very powerful and the shifting action was light and crisp. Just like you would expect from Shimano Ultegra.
One great feature of the Mavic wheels and tires is the ability to go tubeless right out of the box. In fact, we highly recommend it! Riding on tubeless tires will give you a noticeable increase in performance and ride quality while helping to prevent puncture flats.
The carbon fiber seatpost saves weight, and the FSA aluminum handlebars and stem are adequate. All in all, the Gain M20 gives you a very good selection of components for the price.
Recommendation/Final Verdict
The Orbea Gain M20 was designed with the road bike enthusiast in mind. It provides a unique experience based on the right blend of performance and comfort. Climbs become much more fun, descents feel lively yet controlled, and it pedals efficiently with the motor off.
The bottom line is the Gain M20 provides a truly enjoyable cycling experience for the enthusiast at an appealing price point. It checks many boxes. You will be hard-pressed to find a better all-around value. I highly recommend you try the Gain if you have a chance. You won’t be disappointed.
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