# Orbea Rise climbing with no assist.



## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

I love my orbea rise, it handles amazingly well and asides from a few issues its almost my perfect bike. One of the issues I experience is during climbing. If I go from an assist mode to no assist the bike seems to have a motor drag. But if I start out with no assist and climb the bike has virtually no drag. Anyone else experiencing this with their rise? Or is this just a characteristic of the ep8? I noticed my levo sl doesnt do this.


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

I haven't tried climbing without the motor, have tried turning it off on descents and pedaling the flats and noticed some drag but to be expected I guess. One thing that has surprised me is that it's pretty quiet when descending thru chunk and not pedaling, after reading comments online I was expecting a lot more of a rattling noise but it's pretty minimal. Maybe cause mine is still relatively new?, I do notice a noise when I stop/start pedaling tho like a slight clank noise, was wondering if that's normal


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## Rotund (Jun 24, 2012)

I’ll try again tonight, but I think I feel this too, but I just assumed it was my perception of the bike just feeling much heavier without assistance. 

I’ve felt it similar when pulling away quickly in boost, getting to the power cut off, and then supplying all the power myself. It’s much less noticeable when going from eco to self powered.

Chris


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## RBoardman (Dec 27, 2014)

The hotter the motor gets, the more drag that appears in my experience. Which doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. I try to avoid pedaling it without the motor at all costs.


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## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

RBoardman said:


> The hotter the motor gets, the more drag that appears in my experience. Which doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. I try to avoid pedaling it without the motor at all costs.


Makes sense, I like to go to no assist if Im stuck in a section where Im not able to pass or if I just want to grind out a climb. Lately I've been starting by grinding out a few climbs before I turn the bike on and hit the fun button.


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## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

I'm surprised nobody has answered this. I guess not that many people actually try to ride without assist on any regular basis.

I have a Levo (which of course has a Brose motor), but most of these motors share a similar design element: a sprag clutch (which is a kind of one-way bearing), which exhibits the same characteristic.

If you go from assist to no-assist on-the-fly (meaning that you are still putting in some, maybe just minimal, pressure on the pedals), the sprag clutch can fail to release, which leads to dragging the motor. You can release the sprag clutch engagement in the no-assist-but-still-locked-to-the-motor state by backpedaling a-rotation-or-two. You will see me do this a lot on flatter rides.

When you start from no-assist, the sprag clutch hasn't had motor force put through it to lock the motor output to the cranks, which is why the cranks freewheel relative to the motor without much resistance (like it's supposed to).

Try it (the backpedaling) and feedback here to confirm/deny whether this solution works for you, and therefore confirm if this was indeed the overall phenomenon you were experiencing.


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## waltaz (Oct 14, 2004)

I’ve got maybe 5 rides on my Rise M-Team, and have turned the assist off multiple times. I haven’t really noticed any drag, but I’ll try to be more attuned to it. But good tip to backpedal to release it, if necessary.


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## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

DtEW said:


> I'm surprised nobody has answered this. I guess not that many people actually try to ride without assist on any regular basis.
> 
> I have a Levo (which of course has a Brose motor), but most of these motors share a similar design element: a sprag clutch (which is a kind of one-way bearing), which exhibits the same characteristic.
> 
> ...


Sorry it took a while to respond. I was hoping your solution would work for my rise but it seem like it still has a bit of drag after using assist. I tried several times to backpedal and still a bit drag.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

I ride/climb on my Rise LTD without assist often. There's a tiny bit of drag, but it's SOOOOOO much less than my previous E8000 powered eMTB. I think a lot of the sense of drag on the Rise when switching assist off is just the perception of, well, less assist, rather than actual drag. It's still a 38-40 pound bike in the end.


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## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

RickBullottaPA said:


> I ride/climb on my Rise LTD without assist often. There's a tiny bit of drag, but it's SOOOOOO much less than my previous E8000 powered eMTB. I think a lot of the sense of drag on the Rise when switching assist off is just the perception of, well, less assist, rather than actual drag. It's still a 38-40 pound bike in the end.


The drag, after using assist, is definitely there at least it is on my rise. I usually start my regular afternoon ride with around 1000 ft of climbing before i switch into assist. Before going to assist the drag is minimal to non existent. Could be that the clutch is sticking, Maybe ill be able to see it when it comes time to change bearings . The rise is a good pedaling 40lb bike, coming from riding knollys the past 10years im used to heavier trail bikes.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

monstertiki said:


> The drag, after using assist, is definitely there at least it is on my rise. I usually start my regular afternoon ride with around 1000 ft of climbing before i switch into assist. Before going to assist the drag is minimal to non existent. Could be that the clutch is sticking, Maybe ill be able to see it when it comes time to change bearings . The rise is a good pedaling 40lb bike, coming from riding knollys the past 10years im used to heavier trail bikes.


There is some drag for sure, but less than earlier Shimano drive systems.


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## rod9301 (Oct 30, 2004)

You guys should get bosch motors

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## orbea_rise (Jun 8, 2021)

monstertiki said:


> I love my orbea rise, it handles amazingly well and asides from a few issues its almost my perfect bike. One of the issues I experience is during climbing. If I go from an assist mode to no assist the bike seems to have a motor drag. But if I start out with no assist and climb the bike has virtually no drag. Anyone else experiencing this with their rise? Or is this just a characteristic of the ep8? I noticed my levo sl doesnt do this.


i have the same feeling when i go from my Levo to a normal bike, the first time i used a non-ebike i thought there was something wrong with the brakes !


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## orbea_rise (Jun 8, 2021)

rod9301 said:


> You guys should get bosch motors
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk


sure, just swap the motors ?


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## rod9301 (Oct 30, 2004)

That won't work, but when you get a new bike

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## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

I finally figured it out lol. the b tension screw was off about 1/4 of turn. A slight crank of that and I couldnt believe the difference it made. The bike pedals amazing with no assist. Lol it looked fine when on the stand but after 3 months of riding the bike and just deciding to give it a tweak and presto problem solved On the plus side, after riding with that unnecessary added resistance, the bike feels even more amazingly awesome almost like a new bike lol.


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## mtbnutty (Aug 5, 2004)

monstertiki said:


> I finally figured it out lol. the b tension screw was off about 1/4 of turn. A slight crank of that and I couldnt believe the difference it made. The bike pedals amazing with no assist. Lol it looked fine when on the stand but after 3 months of riding the bike and just deciding to give it a tweak and presto problem solved On the plus side, after riding with that unnecessary added resistance, the bike feels even more amazingly awesome almost like a new bike lol.


I'm have trouble understanding this. Are you saying the B tension screw on the rear dr. is somehow causing the motor drag?


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

He musta meant the der pulley was rubbing on the big cog, if you still have stock shimano stuff there's a line on backside of der cage that you can use for proper adjustment of b tension, just line up edge of cog teeth with the line while in the big cog


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## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

mtbnutty said:


> I'm have trouble understanding this. Are you saying the B tension screw on the rear dr. is somehow causing the motor drag?


Nope just drag in general, it was like that from the shop. It was a c hair off, barely moved the b tension screw and presto night and day difference. Their is very slight drag but its miniscule.


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## mtbnutty (Aug 5, 2004)

monstertiki said:


> Nope just drag in general, it was like that from the shop. It was a c hair off, barely moved the b tension screw and presto night and day difference. Their is very slight drag but its miniscule.


So it was just mechanical drag between RD and big cog and not internal motor drag.

A c hair is pretty dang small......😉


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## monstertiki (Jun 1, 2009)

mtbnutty said:


> So it was just mechanical drag between RD and big cog and not internal motor drag.
> 
> A c hair is pretty dang small......😉


yes sir it is and it was. crazy the difference it made.


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## orbea_rise (Jun 8, 2021)

rod9301 said:


> That won't work, but when you get a new bike
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk


yes, i know


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## rod9301 (Oct 30, 2004)

I'm looking at my post and i have no idea what i was trying to say. 

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## Hotline (Aug 21, 2015)

Tickle said:


> I haven't tried climbing without the motor, have tried turning it off on descents and pedaling the flats and noticed some drag but to be expected I guess. One thing that has surprised me is that it's pretty quiet when descending thru chunk and not pedaling, after reading comments online I was expecting a lot more of a rattling noise but it's pretty minimal. Maybe cause mine is still relatively new?, I do notice a noise when I stop/start pedaling tho like a slight clank noise, was wondering if that's normal


so is the noise that youre noticing when stop/start pedaling (clank noise) still happening? I just noticed mine doing the same thing. Was thinking if should i go to the shop to get it check.


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

Yeah mine still does it but I really don't notice it much anymore, it's normal I'm pretty sure


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## underblu (Aug 24, 2021)

I feel similarly about my Rise. Just about the perfect ride. That said I don’t detect any drag when unpowered and I switch off the power often mid ride. It’s actually the most enjoyable ebike I’ve ridden unpowered.


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

Since nobody else brought up the obvious, I will.

Why would you want to ride the bike with the motor off? Eco mode is damn near no assist, and uses almost no power anyhow, why not just use that?


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

Only time I've done it is to see how it feels, feels like pedaling my old DH bike used to on shuttle rides. I would hate to have to pedal it any real distance or over any real climb without any assist! I did Kenosha pass to jefferson creek this past summer and was scared to death I would drain the battery, really should of had the extender. Used eco at the beginning then trail after the creek to get up to Jefferson, then switched to eco again for the descent then back to trail for the climb out to the trail head. Drained it and the little red light was on for the last couple miles but made it!


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## underblu (Aug 24, 2021)

_CJ said:


> Since nobody else brought up the obvious, I will.
> 
> Why would you want to ride the bike with the motor off? Eco mode is damn near no assist, and uses almost no power anyhow, why not just use that?


Yes eco mode is very efficient. I think my Rise in Eco mode drains less battery than my Heckler MX in Eco despite the larger battery in the Heckler


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## shreddr (Oct 10, 2009)

Why would you climb on an ebike without assistance? That is essentially the reason they are so cool. If you want to climb unassisted ride a regular bike, and all your ebike buddies can wait for you at the top 


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## underblu (Aug 24, 2021)

shreddr said:


> Why would you climb on an ebike without assistance? That is essentially the reason they are so cool. If you want to climb unassisted ride a regular bike, and all your ebike buddies can wait for you at the top
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I usually have it in eco to climb but sometimes I shut it off over flatter terrain. For me the benefits of an ebike, especially. lightweight ebikes are their versatility. You can dial in as much or as little assist as needed. -that together with multiple gearing choices provides for a highly customizable ride.


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## jupitersending (Nov 10, 2021)

I ride mine without power sometimes if I ride with other riders that ride normal bikes.


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## PS mtb (10 mo ago)

Tickle said:


> Only time I've done it is to see how it feels, feels like pedaling my old DH bike used to on shuttle rides. I would hate to have to pedal it any real distance or over any real climb without any assist! I did Kenosha pass to jefferson creek this past summer and was scared to death I would drain the battery, really should of had the extender. Used eco at the beginning then trail after the creek to get up to Jefferson, then switched to eco again for the descent then back to trail for the climb out to the trail head. Drained it and the little red light was on for the last couple miles but made it!


Tickle do you live in Durango ?


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## PS mtb (10 mo ago)

Last ride on my Rise I rode like 70% of the ride with it just turned on, no assist to see how it would ride, and it rode great. It was more of a test than anything


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

PS mtb said:


> Tickle do you live in Durango ?


Front range, love Durango tho but haven't been there in a number of years. How's the trail access with the ebike there?, would love to do Kennebec pass/CO trail on the Rise!


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## PS mtb (10 mo ago)

Tickle said:


> Front range, love Durango tho but haven't been there in a number of years. How's the trail access with the ebike there?, would love to do Kennebec pass/CO trail on the Rise!


My friend that owns Pedal The Peaks bike shop said Durango was going to start letting emtb ride Horse Gulch area, which is huge, the rest I'm not sure. Yes, Kennebec would be awesome, as would Hermosa Creek. I know people ride Twin Buttes on emtb.


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## PS mtb (10 mo ago)

Emtb's ARE legal to ride on Monarch Crest Trail as it allows motorized access. There are a few trails off of Monarch that they're not allowed, Silver creek, Starvation Creek, Fooses Creek, Little Cochetopa trail, but you can ride Greens Creek, and Agate Creek, and dirt roads back to hwy. Rainbow trail is also emtb. I have done this ride on my mtb and it's an epic ride for sure.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

…


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## Tickle (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm not sure if they are technically legal on the CO trail but I did the Kenosha section last summer, if they are legal on Monarch then that's the CO trail too.


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## PS mtb (10 mo ago)

We are going to ride Monarch this summer, not sure if I will ride my mtb, or emtb yet as my son will be on mtb...


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