Really interested to hear how it rides if anyone has tried one?

Likewise !

taking one out tuesday afternoon, i’ll let you know.

Rode one. Simply superb bike. So forgiving. I just couldn’t afford the 5.5k price tag! Although there is a cheaper version but the Team would have had to be it. sadly.

B45hr – yes please do. Speedstar, did you do much climbing or any tight Singletrack on it? Keen to know how good it is for non ‘enduro’ duties too…

Got a frame on order, Geo seems to be perefect for me

The chap at my lbs was showing me the bottom of the range one, and it really is a lovely looking bike. I had to leave as soon as he mentioned interest free credit.. It was all too tempting for a bike I have no need for..the last ‘enduro’ bike I had was so capable that it made 95% of trails I rode pretty boring.. So I hate to think what a monster like that would be like.

Love the fact you can customise all the colours free of charge though..

gp, yeah it climbed fine albeit with a GX Eagle groupset. But i’m putting that on my Mojo too. Seemed like a total rocket ship and actually quite short in reach so manoeuvrability was not an issue. In the Tweed valley, i’m finding longer bikes pretty tiring..

Yup 🙂 I loved it but sadly don’t have one. I spent a month on it. Ask anything you want, for an honest answer!

why dont you have one?

Decent Enduro bike. One of my mates got a 2017 which I borrowed for a while. The only other 160 mm travel bike I’ve ridden for any length of time I can compare it to is a Cannodale Jekyll, which was technically higher spec but older geometry! I’ve thrown my leg over a YT Capra but not had long enough on it to comment on how it compared.

To me it felt well sorted, rode light and reasonably poppy. It still had that wallowy feel when going slow compared to shorter travel bikes I normally ride, but you get that with all longish travel bikes! Start piling on the speed and it all makes sense, as the bumps are swallowed up like they are not there, it was nice and supple. Compared to the Cannodale it felt lighter, fun and a bit easier to peddle up hill, but not quite as plush (the dale had higher spec suspension so not like for like). Looks the part and I’d buy one without hesitation for the right price.

Bruneep I got one to do the press launch and test it a bit after. Before that I did a bit on the prototype. Then it went back to Orbea!

Chester, you are talking about the old Rallon I think. The new one is carbon and 29″

Hi Doug, I guess I want to know if the rallon is just completely overkill for me. I want something really capable that I can enjoy when I do make it to gawton/bpw/antur (and I’d love to get out to see you and do some alpine riding too), but I wonder if it is the kind of bike that is only happy pointed down steep techy stuff, or whether I can take it somewhere like Surrey hills and enjoy pedalling it about too? I enter a few uk enduros too but many (esp down south) are often more flowy Singletrack type trails with the odd brief feature to tackle, so again maybe not what the rallon was designed for?

The bike pedals great, technical climbing is amazing. Flow trails… I found that I changed the setup of the bike when the trails got less gnarly. As it was set up for the gnarly stuff it felt a bit unwieldy in the flatter, tighter stuff. I ended up putting it back in Low, instead of LOWER. I also added a few turns on the dials until it was a bit less plush for want of a better description. Then it felt great. My usual bike is the old Rallon and Occam 27.5 AM so I am comparing to that.

Does that answer your question? The bike is definitely amazing at really technical stuff and high speed but it’s not a one trick pony. You can sort of get that idea from the geometry I think. It’s light and agile too. Maybe best with a bit more adjustable shock and fork than the base model? For me the best model is the middle one but upgrade the shock to coil. 🙂 That’s what I will order with XT or Code brakes and in the orange/blue ford GT colours.

Just to add. I’m writing my thoughts down at the moment for a blog post but can’t get a second to finish it as I’m riding a lot these days. Once it’s done I’ll put a link here if people want.

(Written from the back of a bumpy uplift van in the Pyrenees, excuse grammar etc!)

Hi Doug that’s great thanks, yes nicely answers my question. I’d defo go for the upgraded x2 (maybe consider coil now you recommend it!) and 36 factory shock ( and dt 1501s too) . Will book a demo and will report back…

Doug Yes please post the link when done!

The wheels I’d get at the DT 30cc ones. Orbea really pushed for those and have exclusivity for a year. They felt it really made a difference over the standard 28 or 28 ones. They felt (and me too) that unless you are racing the carbon wheels weren’t one of the essential upgrades. For my riding, given the wheel breakages I’ve seen over the last bit, I’d agree.

Speedstar what size did you try? asking as I fancy one for use in the Tweed valley.

Sizing is weird

5’10” and L here.

Yeah I tried the L although at 6’3 I should have been on the XL. They seem sized like the Santa Cruz’s. Could even have done with an xxl for really big chaps, who always suffer restricted choice IMO

I’m 5 ’10 too and thought large looked right. Both 1501 and 1900s are listed as 30c….

I’m not sure which wheels it was I used… sorry. I’ll check the photos when I can. Aluminum 30cc DT’s is all I know.

I find orbea have the sizing charts spot on. I use them when I rent the bikes and even if people doubt the size I suggest I’m almost always correct.

Good to see the feedback. The Rallon is looking to be my next bike. I’ve got a demo bike coming to my local dealer in Dec and if it’s as good as it seems to be i’m in. Already designed and upgraded on the MYO facility on the Orbea website! If I ordered now it says delivery in March though so expect a bit of a wait. Cycle surgery in Leeds does have an XL M10 in if anyone interested.

The guys from Pedals in Edinburgh have ridden them and either have them in or are expecting them very soon I think – James sometimes posts here so maybe he will add some thoughts.

Got one on order, should be here in a few weeks I hope! Its the M10 model, but with X2 coil, 36 factory, DT 1501 and dropper post upgrade. I’ll be swapping over the stem and bars to the renthal carbons I have at the moment and may change the brakes at a later date. Didn’t see too much point in going for the Team model as, although the drivetrain would end up better, I tend to smash derailleurs…

Theres a few folk over on MTBR that have had one for a while and seem to rate it fairly highly (http://forums.mtbr.com/orbea/orbea-rallon-2018-ride-review-1056312.html). I’ll report back when I’ve had some riding time on it, but they look beautiful!

Only thing that concerns me is the RF dropper posts. I’ve not heard many good things about their reliability.

@ doug_basqueMTB.com – Oh yeah the new one is near enough a completely different bike, looks even better TBH.

@nickism, ive had quite a lot of experience with the race face droppers, the turbine’s are utter crap that are super sensitive to cable length and endlessly lose air.
the aefect posts are basically rebadged tranz-x posts and far superior in both action and reliability.

They have demo ones in Pedals in edinburgh. http://pedalsbikecare.co.uk/2018-orbea-rallon-uk-demo-bike-and-free-stock/

The rf posts aren’t great and their raceface customer service is appalling. We have 12 bikes with the turbines and they are frustrating but work. During the press launch we had zero post problems and I had the new bike for a month without any problems. The jury is out. In my size the bike is great with a 170mm drop and there aren’t many options for that. I’m almost certain that orbea will sell the bike without the post if you wanted.

If you’re in the south D&D Cycles have also got a large demo bike.

Had a go on an XL Rallon and liked it so much I sold my bike and bought one! Ordered in stealth black its being delivered on December 1st.
Be careful with sizing as they come up small, the XL felt more like a large to me. The funny thing about the bike however it just doesnt look or ride like a 29er, feels more like 650b. The negative thing about the build is the dropper, it returns so violently that it has the capacity to take your nuts clean off, really odd design, I’ve bought a Factory Transfer which will go really nicely with the Factory fork and X2.

I’m down south so will get a demo at D&D booked in… To those with bikes coming yes please report back!

@b45her and Doug. Cheers for the info on the posts. I guess I’ll see how she goes but can always warranty and sell it on if it really is that bad. Not sure if I want to be castrated though.

@ circusnormal how tall are you? I went large (at 5″11/181cm). I’m coming off a large capra with a reach of 443mm and the rallon is 455mm. I’m comfortable with that length of reach, and although I have ridden bikes with longer numbers, still feel that the 485mm of the XL would be too long. Didn’t get a chance to demo one before purchase though…so I might be regretting the decision when it arrives. Hopefully not!

@nickism I thought that about XL. I’m just shy of 6ft and the XL reach felt OK but I could have happily opted for more, I think the geometry factors in here. But to be sure I’d sit on one

Doug wrote

writing my thoughts down at the moment for a blog post but can’t get a second to finish it

Hanging out with brewers will slow you down even more. Damn the beer and damn the bikes!

@scuttler Damn those purveyors of fine, fine beer 🙂 Bikes and beer is such a good combination I just can’t say no!

Anyone else had a chance to spend time on one of these?

Curious about rear tyre clearance and rear end stiffness in general?

Back end is really stiff. That´s something they improved a lot from the R4 Rallon. People who were riding jumps / park and really getting g´s were finding that the R4 wasn´t stiff enough in the rear triangle. I never found that at all, despite riding reasonably quick, but it was some of the feedback they received. The R5 is much, much stiffer. We were testing with a 2.4 in there, I´m not sure what the maximum clearance is but there was plenty of space back there with a 2.4 in. We were running Ardents I think but some people were putting the 2.4 Minion in there as they were getting punctures.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

Thanks Doug – did you write your blog post on the bike? Might have a read of that!