Orbea Kemen Tour 20 Mid

£3,799 Rugged touring all-rounder gets a makeover

- Warren Rossiter

Weight 21.14kg (L) Frame Hydroformed 6061 aluminium alloy Fork SR Suntour NX1-32, 80mm travel Motor Shimano STEPS EP600 Battery Orbea internal 630Wh Drivetrain Shimano Cues 10-speed with KMC eGlide chain (40t, 11-48t) Brakes Magura AT2 Wheels Alloy, tubeless Tyres Schwalbe Marathon 700c x 50mm Finishing kit Orbea alloy 31.6mm seatpost, Selle Royal Vivo Ergo saddle, Orbea integrated stem (60mm), Orbea Urban handlebar (720mm)

Orbea have softened the mountain bike influence found on the previous Kemen (now called the Kemen Adventure) on the new Kemen Tour, instead providing a specification more suited to tarmac. In fact, comfort-focused components and increased battery capacity have turned this e-bike into a full-on tourer.

The front end of the 6061 aluminium frame is smoothly hydroformed (shaped using pressurised fluid), with a flattened and kinked top tube that slopes steeply towards a triangular seat tube. A slightly oversized down tube houses Orbea's compact battery cell configuration. This gives the Kemen Tour a huge capacity of 630Wh, which offers a potential range of more than 100km (depending on topography and rider). The Shimano motor is smoothly integrated into the oversized bottom bracket shell, and includes a watertight charge port on the non-drive side. This well-appointed frame has a direct-mount fitting for a kickstand, plus rack and mudguard eyelets.

Sitting below the flagship Tour 10, the Tour 20 Mid comes with a collection of solid-performing components and plenty of useful integrated accessories. Suntour's NX1 suspension fork is a simple affair with an air spring in the left leg and a damper in the right. The 32mm-diameter stanchions (the telescoping upper 'legs' of the fork) and oversized Boost axle provide ample stiffness, and an adjuster on top of the fork crown allows you to lock out the suspension for a more efficient feel on smooth roads.