Why I don't ride Orbea bicycles anymore.

Why I don't ride Orbea Mountain Bikes anymore.

So many people have been asking what the heck happened to all the Orbea Bikes. The story isn't a super exciting one but here it is. Orbea can make a great bicycle and I loved my Oiz but I can't support a company that treats it's dealers like that. I know everyone makes mistakes but after dealing with multiple events and being talked down to for 9 months we decided to part ways.

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[MossieRidesBikes]

After too many requests asking what happened with Orbea, I finally made a short video about why I got rid of my Oiz. Next up we are getting back to some racing and an investigation into Pon Holding!

[openwheelracing]

My wife has an Orbea Orca 2021. The seatpost bolt washer kept breaking. The dealer tried to get it warrantied but we never got it resolved. The shop actually gave us a cheap Salsa seatpost to use. We got fed up with the shop thinking the shop is giving us the run-around. Well after your story I think the shop was being truthful and couldn’t get Orbea to help.

[zoppotromp]

Incredible story. Thanks for the video, and this probably was the right decision. Orbea disappeared from my wishlist. However, I still wish we would have a store like yours around here. Keep on the great work !

[billysmith]

Your video confirmed that I also dodged the "Orbea bullet". Thank you for sharing the insight from the dealer's perspective. Enjoying your videos for a while now, keep it up!

[lindonandlisa]

Great to see a bike shop with integrity and honesty. Thanks for your great videos really love them

[MustYouHaveAUsername]

FYI there are several non magnetic steel alloys used in bikes, so called austenitic stainless steels. They are particularly resistant to rust, which is why bike manufactures love it. The bolt might actually have been steel.

[davisjl]

I bought a Rise and in the box it came with a note stating the carbon cranks that were supposed to come with the bike we’re not included and the note said they would ship them when they were back in stock. Tried to get the cranks and they said it was a mistake and that the note was not supposed to be in my box. No cranks.

Parts are hard to get and take forever.

Never again will I buy an Orbea.

[JMcLeodKC]

That non-steel, steel pin was really the kicker

[da_the_menace]

I don’t blame you for dropping them. Thanks for sharing

[nickentz]

Stoked on your content. I like that your videos are short and straight to the point.

[kenbest]

Interesting that YouTube fed me this because I've been considering becoming an Orbea dealer because nobody around here carries them. And maybe this is why. How was your experience with doing warranty service? I had to get a replacement wheel for my Rise through Mike's Bike's in California where I bought it (online) and it was a fairly straightforward experience. But for all I know, the guy at Mike's may have had to jump through a million hoops. After my experience with this hub exploding (they used cheap chinese hubs when Shimano couldn't meet demand) and the fact that the bike creaks like crazy, I'm starting to wonder if the quality is really there.

[chopperz]

I was looking at an Orbea XC bike but glad I chose to go with another brand.

[willbros]

AMEN! I'm not surprised at all by your video. I'm hesitant to say anything negative about the brand, because they're still selling and renting them here at a very popular local shop here in Bentonville. But I think it's OK to say that when they first wanted a presence in the US, and set up in Little Rock, the 3.5 hours seemed like 5 minutes. Most everything minus very obscure parts were sent overnight, and they were at that time the BEST bike brand to work with! They got a little worse over time, but then when they moved to Boulder, things screeched to a halt. I won't say more about the issues, other than to say that it was once a pleasure to deal with Orbea, and it went from them being the best brand to deal with, to the mechanics now cringing when one is brought in the shop, knowing the potential hassle they are going to have with getting anything taken care of that needs parts or warranty. IT'S HORRIBLE, and it is absolutely not just the local rep.

[ThunderStruckMTB]

Absolutely loved this and would love a series on what a small LBS goes through... both the bad and the good.

[Jean-jkzv]

My Orbea Alma got a faulty rockshox fork, they replaced it within one week delivered at home without any hassle. Life time warranty on frames. I own two, would highly recommend them. My Salsa Cutthroat had a faulty fork also, yes I'm unlucky, it took three months to get a replacement and they forgot to cut the carbon tube so I had to go to a bike shop to get it trimmed. Not sure I would buy a Salsa bike again. You had a bad experience but others have great ones. I agree nonetheless, received my first Canyon bike with the frame cracked, will never buy Canyon again. It could have been an Orbea. My point is if you take a step back, reputable brands are good, there is just a lottery factor.
By the way in my town there is an official reseller for like 15 years, they still sell them and love this brand. (bought it elsewhere anyway)
It's in France and Orbea is Basque, maybe it helps 😅

[classactracing]

Sadly dealing with Orbea. I have experienced the same when trying to contact them. You know what they say in Spain There is always tomorrow - Hay siempre un mañana! In 2024 there is absolutely no excuse for bad customer service.

[ryankraai]

Great job on your recent history type videos. Would love to see a series on bike shop operations as well.

[letourrr]

Tried buying an Oiz last year after watching all your videos praising it. Local dealer said he may or not be able to get one, he didn't know. He had no visibility into their inventory or availability, but if I wanted one I needed to pay for it all up front. No thanks. Glad to hear I dodged a bullet. Guess I'll just keep racing my 2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er.

[jeremyprice]

Great video, i wish more people were as honest.

Just don’t risk buying from them. Bought an e-bike (rise) in May. It’s got multiple KNOWN manufacturing defects and is a horror to ride. It’s been in a UK Orbea service centre most of the time I’ve had it and they’ve tried to fix with new parts multiple times and failed.
Orbea themselves don’t want to know and sent fairly blunt emails saying “talk to the service centre” and have no interest in helping me.
The bike has now been sent to another service centre as I’ve asked for a full refund as it’s “defective goods” but they won’t give me my money back. Are insisting on being allowed another go at fixing the bike AGAIN so now it’s nearly 7 months and I still don’t have my £4000 bike or my £4000.
Like I said, don’t risk buying a bike from them. Their online / direct sales / partner service centre model is obviously as flawed as their manufacturing, as you can see from this video!
My advice - buy a different brand bike from a trusted bike shop with its own mechanics who you can go back to if there are any issues.

[petekutheis]

Thanks for posting this. I toured their US headquarters in North Little Rock when it was located there. Seems things went south quickly. I will avoid based on this; I had no idea....