First Ride Review of the Orbea Muga – Less Commuting, More Adventure

Bikepacking trips, evening rides or daily commutes – the Orbea Muga claims to do it all. “Life is about living” they say in the Basque Country, and that’s exactly the spirit their SUV ebike aims to capture. With a Bosch Performance Line CX motor and plenty of smart details on board, we put the bike to the test in the golden glow of autumn.

Spanish brand Orbea are best known for their performance bikes – from the Rallon enduro bike to the WILD eMTB. But alongside their high-performance machines, Orbea regularly roll out city, trekking and SUV ebikes too. The latest addition to their line-up: the Orbea Muga.

It’s a full-suspension SUV ebike packed with features you’d usually expect on performance-focused machines, rather than on bikes with integrated lights and mudguards. That’s no big surprise – off-road know-how runs deep in Orbea’s DNA, and they’re not about to give that up.

With the Muga, Orbea are reaching deep into their bag of tricks, both technically and digitally. The Basque brand have taken a cue from the car industry rather than the traditional bike-buying process: through Orbea’s in-house MyO configurator, future owners can choose between the three versions of the Muga – 30, 20 and 10 – and then customise their bike to taste. Optional extras include different battery capacities, a range extender, and a front basket.

Our test bike, the Orbea Muga 20, came equipped with a 750 Wh battery and a mullet wheel setup, pairing a 29” front wheel with a 27.5” wheel at the rear. We set out to discover whether it lives up to its € 5,999 price tag.

The Orbea Muga 20 in Detail – Motor, Battery and Display

No matter how you configure your Orbea Muga, it’s always powered by Bosch’s Performance Line CX motor. It packs plenty of punch, and it can be paired with either a 600 Wh or 750 Wh Bosch PowerTube battery.

The battery on the Muga is built into the frame. According to Orbea, that saves weight, allows for a sleeker design and keeps the overall look clean, further enhanced by the tidy cable routing. This looks great, but if there’s no plug socket where you park it, you’ve got two options: an absurdly long extension lead, or an impromptu upper-body workout to haul the 28 kg Muga upstairs for a recharge.

For anyone keen to squeeze in an extra ride after work, there’s the Bosch PowerMore range extender. It can be added straight from the configurator for around € 500, and boosts capacity by an extra 250 Wh. The same goes for the display: the standard setup only includes the Bosch System Controller, which uses LEDs to show battery status. If you want more ride data at a glance, you can upgrade to the optional Bosch Purion 400 display for € 120.

We tested our Muga 20 in a stripped-down configuration – without a display, but equipped with the electronic 11-speed Shimano CUES derailleur, whose wide gear range is well suited to our local hills.

Spec Variants

We tested our Muga 20 in a pared-back, utilitarian setup – no display, but equipped with Shimano’s electronic 11-speed CUES Di2 drivetrain, which offers a wide gear range well suited to our local hills. The top-end Orbea Muga 10, on the other hand, comes with a low-maintenance belt drive, paired with Enviolo’s stepless automatic gearing system. It’s an ideal setup for comfort-focused city riders, as there’s no need for chain cleaning or lubrication. However, it’s worth noting that the Enviolo hub offers a narrower gear range, which limits its suitability for hilly terrain. The Orbea Muga 30, by contrast, sticks with a classic mechanical Shimano CUES drivetrain.

Between Analog and Digital: Off-road Exploration in Comfort

Muga Muga! A playful nod to the legendary Marsupilami, the Orbea Muga 20 has earned plenty of affection in our editorial team. Just like the jungle creature that’s constantly fending off outside threats, the Muga can hold its own in the urban jungle thanks to its digital theft protection via the Bosch Flow app. Unfortunately you can’t add this feature online, so you’ll need to visit your local dealer. It’s no replacement for a proper lock, of course, but it’s a clever extra – especially if you park your bike outside the office every day.

Heading to the gym after work? No problem – the sturdy rear rack with MIK HD and QL3.1 mounts easily carries your backpack, sports bag or shopping. With a 30 kg load rating, it’s even approved for child seats. There’s just one thing to keep in mind: the Muga is a full-suspension SUV ebike, which means the rack moves with the rear wheel. It’s best to avoid hopping kerbs or rolling too quickly over speed bumps when you’ve got a little one on board, as their ride won’t be quite as comfy as yours. The aluminium mudguards are nicely designed and wide enough to keep dirt and spray well under control.

If you’d rather skip the gym and head out exploring after work, you can securely mount your phone on the pre-installed SP Connect holder – all you need is a compatible SP Connect case. It makes navigating the trails around town a breeze, and if you do happen to get lost, just see it as a bonus: at least you’ll have a great story to tell later – maybe about that time you wrestled a wild bear.

Just below the SP Connect mount, where the top tube meets the stem, there’s a USB-C port for charging your phone. That’s also where you’ll find the discreet button to control the Muga’s neatly integrated lights.

At the front, the Muga combines two lighting systems. On top of the headtube sits a continuous LED ring that stays on at all times, taking the motto “see and be seen” seriously. On top of that, there’s a Supernova headlight integrated into the patented cockpit – its position is almost reminiscent of roof-mounted spotlights on an off-roader.

To get the beam perfectly aligned, you’ll need to adjust the handlebar position during setup. Thanks to the two-bolt cockpit design, that’s a quick and easy job. However, if you like your handlebars rolled back, and your light pointed down… you’re out of luck.

The real highlight of the patented cockpit, however, is its adjustability. Orbea offer adaptors to switch between upright and sporty riding positions – ideal if you want to transform the bike from city use to touring mode. It’s not a two-minute job, but it’s perfect if you’re gearing up for a cycling holiday in Sardinia and want to fine-tune the geometry beforehand.

Rounding off the lighting setup is the rear light integrated into the mudguard, which also stays on permanently when the bike is turned on. Speaking of practicality, the Orbea Muga 20 and 30 both feature a thru axle system which is compatible with standard bike trailers.
With four frame sizes from S to XL, Orbea cater for a wide range of riders. And since all models come with a dropper post as standard, you can set the seatpost to the correct height for efficient pedalling, without struggling to get on and off the bike.

Live, Experience, or Simply Ride the Orbea Muga!

Drop the seatpost, swing your leg over the top tube, and off you go. Depending on your chosen cockpit setup, the Orbea Muga offers either a relaxed or a sporty riding position. We went for the slightly lower, more active option to keep things fun on spontaneous detours to our local trails.

There’s a bit more pressure on the hands that way, but on dynamic rides, when you drop the post and move around on the bike, that’s all part of the experience. And in Stuttgart, many of those hidden side paths don’t end in smooth tarmac, but in what the locals call a Staffel – that’s a staircase. Sitting down is definitely not the way to go there, but the Muga takes it in stride: the plush FOX suspension handles steps and kerbs with ease.

In the urban jungle, the Muga shows a real sense of adventure. It responds instantly to steering input, feeling agile rather than sluggish. Even when weaving through pedestrians in a busy shopping street, it stays composed and inspires plenty of confidence.

At 28.24 kilograms, the Orbea Muga is no lightweight, but the Bosch Performance Line CX motor delivers dependable support in every situation – whether you’re in the city, on forest tracks or tackling gentle trails. In Turbo mode, the 750 Wh battery is put to the test pretty quickly, though that’s mostly because you won’t want to get off the bike in the first place. It’s impressive how much comfort, practicality and off-road potential Orbea have managed to combine here.

On trails we’d normally tackle with more travel and performance-oriented geometry, the Muga feels stable, confident and – quite unexpectedly – impressively quiet. The mudguards, chainstay protection and tidy cable routing all do such a good job that in the woods you can actually hear nothing but birdsong. It creates an almost meditative sense of adventure – until you realise night is falling faster than you thought.

While it’s great that the Muga is so well-equipped, it isn’t perfect. The LED ring on the headtube is a little too bright at dusk, ruining your night vision. Unlike in the song Blinded by the Light, there’s nothing joyful about it – and dancing is definitely off the cards. Luckily, the integrated headlight is bright enough to illuminate any bears on the trail ahead from quite some distance away – you just might find that you need to turn it on a little earlier to see past the LED ring.

City, Country, Cross-Country – Who Is the Orbea Muga For?

The Muga isn’t just a showpiece – it’s a true all-rounder. This SUV bike feels just as much at home on city streets as it does on country lanes or easy trails. Commuting, weekend rides or a quick blast down the trail? The Orbea Muga can handle it all.

When it comes to practicality, the sturdy rear rack offers up to 30 kilograms of load capacity, and if that’s not enough, you can add an optional front rack for another 10 kilograms. Plenty of room for shopping, or whatever else the day throws at you.

Conclusions on the Orbea Muga 20

For € 5,999, the Orbea Muga 20 gives you a whole lot of bike. It’s great fun on almost any surface, whether you’re on the road or forest trails. The SUV ebike feels stable and confidence-inspiring in just about every riding situation, and its component choice suits its versatile nature perfectly. The only downsides to keep in mind are the slightly dazzling daytime running light – that LED ring – and the permanently integrated battery. Apart from that, the Muga impresses as a quiet, comfortable bike that’s built for much more than just commuting.

More information at Orbea.com

Words: Robin Ulbrich Photos: Lars Engmann