Orbea Gain M40

The Orbea Gain M40 is built for someone who wants a proper road bike that still gives a hand on the hills, rather than a heavier utility e-bike that happens to have drop bars. Its Orbea Gain OMR carbon frame and matching rigid carbon fork keep the geometry and ride feel close to an unassisted road bike, while a discreet rear-hub motor and a battery hidden inside the frame do the rest of the work. Fitted front and rear lights mean it's ready for longer rides that start early or finish after dark, without adding anything to your shopping list.

Quiet help when the road tilts up

The assistance comes from a Mahle X20 motor built into the rear hub, which Orbea rates at 50Nm. Because it sits at the hub rather than around the bottom bracket, the bike keeps a slim profile and behaves more like a very fit riding companion giving you a push than a motorbike in disguise. Power comes from a 353Wh battery built into the frame, controlled through the Mahle ONE Head Unit and the PulsarONE display, and topped up using the Mahle Active Charger, which is rated to charge at up to 4A. If you want more range for an all-day ride, Orbea's own eX1 external battery adds 185Wh, though it's an optional extra rather than something the bike comes with, and fitting it takes the place of a bottle cage rather than sitting alongside one.

A road groupset with the range to match the motor

The M40 build uses mechanical Shimano Cues 2x10, with a 50/34T crankset up front and an 11-39T cassette at the back, giving you low enough gears to keep spinning on the sort of climbs the motor is there to help with. Stopping power comes from Shimano's U6030 hydraulic disc brakes, and the bike rolls on tubeless-ready wheels fitted with 30mm Pirelli P Zero Race X SmartEVO tyres. If you want more cushioning, both frame and fork are rated for tyres up to 700x35mm, which gives some room to go wider for comfort on rougher tarmac, though this remains road-bike clearance rather than anything built with gravel in mind.

Don't let the year on the label decide it for you

UK listings for the Gain M40 turn up labelled both 2025 and 2026, and that difference alone doesn't tell you anything about the bike underneath. What matters is whether the offer matches the X20 motor, the 353Wh integrated battery and the Shimano Cues 2x10 build described here; if it does, the year in the title isn't a reason to hesitate or expect something different. It's also worth keeping this Gain 26 M40 separate in your head from the similarly named Gain D40 or any 20mph-market version of the M40, since those aren't the same specification as the UK Gain 26 build covered here.

Sizing built around six frames, not one

Orbea offers the Gain M40 across six sizes, from XS to XXL, with published reach running from 370mm up to 410mm and stack from 525mm up to 635mm across that range. Stem length, crank length and handlebar width are also set differently for each size rather than being the same part bolted onto every frame, which matters more on a bike you might be riding for several hours at a stretch. It's worth working through the full set of geometry and cockpit figures for your own height rather than assuming a middle size fits, since the gap between the smallest and largest frame is wide enough that comfort will vary noticeably with your reach.

One detail that's easy to miss on a spec sheet: both position lights switch on and off automatically via a light sensor, so there's no separate switch to remember before setting off on a dawn start or a ride that runs into the evening.