Orbea makes the Rise the smartest eMTB yet

Power may be the buzz word for eMTB development, but Orbea is bucking the trend. Sure, the new Rise has plenty of power, via Shimano’s EP801 motor. But Orbea is focusing on making eMTB’s smarter, and easier to ride, with the RS Control System.

Offering an impressive level of integration, RS Control System will feature on select Rise eMTB models.

Press now, drop later: A smarter seat post, and bike

Among the RS Control Systems’ innovative features is a delayed-action dropper post. Press the lever on the RS HMI dropper post and it will stay “open” for a preset length of time, until you push the seat down. This “Ready-To-Drop” mode makes it easier manage the bike when you’re, say, approaching a technical section where you want your dropper down but don’t want your hands off the bars when you hit it. Orbea’s electronic dropper also offers a partial-drop mode, were the post can drop to a pre-set height between full extension and full compression.

This MC10 RS Smart Dropper Post is just one element of Orbea’s new RS Control System. The new eMTB system builds on Orbea’s five-year experience with the RS system, in which the brand created its own firmware for Shimano’s established EP8 motor. With the addition of the new electronic dropper post and a six-LED display, the RS HMI, Orbea elevates RS to the whole-bike RS Control System ecosystem.

RS HMI: A very integrated remote

The heart of Orbea’s new RS Control System is the RS HMI remote. A single remote controls the motor level, dropper post and display. That’s a lot for one remote to do, and Orbea leans heavily on sizeable, textured buttons that the brand claims gives clear tactical feedback even through riding gloves.

This remote also allows riders to switch between assistance profiles (RS and RS+) from the motor, on the fly, and to tap into the new Super Boost mode, which lets the motor operate at a higher output for a predefined period of time.

Along with the remote, Orbea rolls out a new, six-LED display for the RS Control System. This gives a 100 per cent charge “Full Charge” indicator, shows power in 10 per cent increments between 100 per cent charge and 20 percent charge. From 20 per cent to empty, the display shows battery level in four per cent increments, “offering higher granularity where it’s needed most,” Orbea says.

All of this is customisable through Orbea’s…