Last updated for MY15, the Orbea Oiz was completely reworked with a pivotless rear triangle and much stiffer frame up front. In our long term review of that model, we thought the rear end could have been a bit stiffer, so the update to Boost axle spacing for 2017 should make an already fast XC full suspension race bike even better.
In addition to Boost, the Oiz moves all cables and hoses inside the frame, adds stealth dropper seatpost compatibility and switches to a direct mount front derailleur…
For the full suspension design overview, check our launch story on 2015 model. The basics are this: Orbea called it Advanced Dynamics, which is their way of tuning the shock and suspension to use less sag than normal (15% is recommended) without hurting bump compliance. This keeps you sitting a little higher in the travel, which is good for cross country, but with a progressively higher leverage ratio through the first 3/4 of travel to remain active through the most used range. At the end, the leverage ratio falls off slightly and combines with the air shock’s natural ramp to prevent bottom out. Total rear wheel travel is 95mm.
From a performance standpoint, the news is the switch to Boost axle spacing, which allows for stiffer rear wheels. They kept the chainstay length the same (425mm for 27.5 frames, 440mm for 29ers), but the extra 3mm let them increase max tire size to 2.4 widths.
The prior models already put most cables and hoses inside the frame, but now everything is internal…no more brake hose running along the downtube. Ports include room for dropper posts now, too.
Lastly, they finally switched to thru axles, too. The MY15/16 bikes kept 135mm QR for its lightweight and simplicity of wheel changes (it is a World Cup XC race bike, after all), but with Boost, it just made more sense to go with 12×148 thru axles.
New colors and updated spec finish the story. All bikes get 11-speed rears, with plenty of 1x options at the crank. Wheels are either Mavic or DT Swiss, and the lightweight Fox SC 32 makes appearances on the high end models. And, the M-LTD model comes in just under 10kg, making it the lightest Oiz ever. Available now.
