Spanish bike brand Orbea is redefining the urban SUV with an all-new e-bike that’s packed with features and priced right.
Orbea is calling the latest version of its Kemen utility e-bike an “SUV,” and say that it’s designed to provide everything you need in terms of urban practicality— and just enough in the way of off-road chops to take you onto some rougher terrain and even light trails.
The company is offering the Kemen in both diamond and step-through frame styles. Either way, you’ll get a triple-butted aluminum frame with smoothened welds to make it look more like an ultra-expensive carbon bike, and (according to Orbea) results in a lighter, sturdier frame.
The e-bike battery is fully integrated into the frame, making it almost impossible to tell you’re on an e-bike at all and enhancing the bike’s already clean, “carbon-like” lines. With 2.25″ inch tires, standard mudguards, a kickstand, a built-in trailer hitch, and a standard rear rack certified for up to 40 lbs. of stuff, the Orbea Kemen might just be that hybrid city e-bike that can do it all … but if you still need something tougher, the Kemen SUV spec. ups the ante with bigger, knobbier tires and a sturdier rack that can carry 60 lbs. of gear.
Where the Orbea is a crossover like the Chevy Bolt EUV, the Kemen SUV is a more off-road capable— well, maybe not a Jeep Wrangler, but certainly a Grand Cherokee, if you want to put it in automotive terms.
Both specs of the bike ship with a Shimano Steps EP8 motor powered by Orbea’s patented, 540Wh high-energy density battery that the company claims will give you more than five hours of riding time per charge (which really is a more useful metric than range, we think).
Pricing starts at a relatively low $4599, which puts it in a premium league— but still places it at about half the price of top-shelf Pivot Shuttle or Greyp e-MTB. Just right, in other words, for a stylish urban commuter who likes to explore the local forest preserves and pull the kids along for the ride.
If that sounds like you, then you should check them out— but either way, we’d love to hear what you think of Orbea’s latest e-bike in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Orbea Kemen | Gallery
