Over the years, the Orbea Rallon has impressed us with its speed and stability, but about every two years the Spanish brand reinvents the model. Not content with minor updates, the prior iteration was a whole new animal than its predecessor. And this one is, too, getting a stiffer, asymmetric design with a meticulously laid up OMR full carbon fiber frame.
The most striking feature is the one-sided support brace running alongside the rear shock. It’s there to eliminate suspension-induced stresses, but leaves one side open for easy shock tuning and adjustment. Behind it is an oversized upper linkage, all leading back to their concentric axle pivot design from the prior model. But, the leverage ratio, brake jack and anti-squat are all improved. Oh, and it’s only coming in a 29er now…
Beyond the design, the most interesting change is that they’ve gone from 27.5″ only with the 2016 model to 29er only for 2018. They’re citing the obvious, like bigger tire contact patch for better traction, faster rolling, and better roll-over capabilities to maintain speed. All important things for enduro…and riding in general. This should come as no surprise now that even some DH bikes are coming out with big wheels.
Rear travel is 150mm, paired with 160mm Fox 36 forks.
Orbea has always had sharp tube shaping and they’re present here, too, to improve frame stiffness. They say the front and rear of the bike are tuned to have similar stiffness, but it’s tuned to work with the rider rather than be too stiff and unforgiving.
An oversized alloy upper rocker pairs with an alloy yoke to drive the shock, which can be any of Fox’s current models – DHX2, Float X2, or the new Float DPX2.
