2018 Orbea Rallon Gets 29in Wheels & Asymmetric Frame

With the all-new 2018 Rallon enduro bike, Basque-based brand Orbea enters the 5th generation of its longstanding full suspension platform. However, the new Rallon is a far cry from the original 26in bike, having grown in almost every way (not in THAT way – geez you guys).

Back in 2014, Orbea changed the Rallon’s tone completely when it released one of the most progressive geometry mountain bikes of its time. That bike was at the slack/long/low level that many other brands are only just waking up to now. It also had nicely tight chainstays, meaning it wasn’t a total pig to ride through narrow singletrack. Two years later, Orbea updated the Rallon with a few minor massage to its frame and suspension package, though the bike fundamentally retained a similar shape and its burly alloy-only construction.

Another two years later, and Orbea is now ready to bring the latest Rallon out of the cage. Though as you can tell very quickly, this is one very different animal…

For a start, the Rallon is crafted from carbon fibre – not alloy like the previous models. Orbea is of course well versed with the plastic fantastic material, having played at the high end of the road racing market for a very long time now. Going to carbon fibre has allowed Orbea to produce some pretty radical shapes, including the single-sided top tube strut that passes by the offset shock.

The other big change to the Rallon is the move to bigger 29in wheels – the current in-vogue wheelsize for the enduro set, who are slowly being won over by the rolling and traction advantages of the larger diameter hoops.

Of course there’s a metric shit-tonne of extra stuff going on with the new Rallon, so lets dive in and get a decent look.

Orbea Rallon Features

• Long travel full suspension enduro bike
• 29in wheels
• OMR full carbon fibre frame
• 150mm rear travel
• Asymmetric shock mount
• 160mm travel fork w/51mm offset
• Adjustable geometry chip
• 65° – 65.5° head angle
• 76° – 75.5° seat angle
• 1x only
• 73mm threaded bottom bracket shell
• ISCG 05 chainguide tabs
• Boost 148x12mm rear hub spacing
• 435mm chainstay length
• 31.6mm diameter seatpost
• Internal gear cable, brake and dropper line routing
• Clearance for water bottle inside mainframe
• Available sizes: S/M, M/L, L/XL
• RRP: £3899 – £6899

For a start, that shock. Much like Specialized has done with the latest Demo platform, the Rallon chassis is one sided. With the top tube splitting in two at the upper shock mount, one side continues on to the seat tube, while the other wraps around the non-drive side of the shock to meet the rocker link pivot. It’s a radical look, and likely the main reason Orbea went with such a design, though admittedly it does provide much easier access to damping and spring controls on the shock.

And if you’re wondering, no your knees won’t bang about on the frame or shock. Orbea has actually offset the shock to the driveside by 12mm. So the top tube strut that runs past the shock doesn’t actually sit out that wide.

Depending on the model, the Rallon comes with either a Fox X2 coil shock, a Fox Float X2 air shock, or a Fox Float DPX2 shock.

The back end of the Rallon uses a four-bar suspension design. There’s a main pivot that sits higher up from the bottom bracket compared to the previous Rallon frame, and a rear pivot that rotates concentrically around the rear axle – much like Trek’s ABP and Dave Weagle’s Split Pivot designs do.

Much like Trek’s ABP and Dave Weagle’s Split Pivot, the rear pivot on the Orbea Rallon is designed to decouple brake forces from the rear suspension for more traction, and smoother suspension whether you’re on the anchors or not. The result? Less skidding on loose descents when you’re trying to burn off speed.

Moving back up the bike, you’ll find a compact alloy rocker link that connects the upper seatstay to the lower eyelet of the rear shock by an alloy yoke. This yoke captures the rear shock eyelet to do away with a traditional DU bush, instead getting two cartridge bearings at the back of the yoke where it connects to the rocker link. The rocker link itself is made from forged alloy, and uses a hollow alloy axle, kind of like a BB30 crank axle, that locks the rocker link onto the frame. You can just make out the hollow silver axle in the above image.

Also part of the alloy shock yoke is a small offset chip that connects the shock eyelet to the yoke. This offset chip has two positions, basically changing how far forward the shock eyelet sits. The result? Adjustable geometry.

The head angle can be set up at 65.5° in the ‘Low’ position, which delivers a 343mm bottom bracket height, or 28mm BB drop if you will. Think you’re a bit more gnarly than that? Then you can flip it around into the ‘Lower’ position to achieve an even slackerer 65° head angle, along with a 336mm bottom bracket height (35mm BB drop).

2018 Orbea Rallon M-LTD Specifications

• Frame // OMR Carbon Fibre, 150mm Travel
• Fork // Fox 36 Float Factory Series HSC/LSC, 160mm Travel
• Shock // Fox DHX2 Coil Factory Series 2-Position
• Wheels // DT Swiss XMC-1200 Spline 30mm, Boost Front & Rear
• Tyres // Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5in 3C EXO
• Drivetrain // SRAM XX1 Eagle 1×12
• Brakes // SRAM Guide RSC
• Bars // Race Face Next 35, 800mm Width, 10mm Rise
• Stem // Race Face Turbine R 35, 35mm Length
• Seatpost // Race Face Turbine Dropper, 150mm Travel
• RRP // £6899

2018 Orbea Rallon M-Team Specifications

• Frame // OMR Carbon Fibre, 150mm Travel
• Fork // Fox 36 Float Factory Series HSC/LSC, 160mm Travel
• Shock // Fox Float X2 Factory Series 2-Position
• Wheels // DT Swiss E-1501 Spline 30mm, Boost Front & Rear
• Tyres // Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5in 3C EXO
• Drivetrain // SRAM X01 Eagle 1×12
• Brakes // SRAM Guide RSC
• Bars // Race Face Next 35, 800mm Width, 10mm Rise
• Stem // Race Face Turbine R 35, 35mm Length
• Seatpost // Race Face Turbine Dropper, 150mm Travel
• RRP // £5699

2018 Orbea Rallon M10 Specifications

• Frame // OMR Carbon Fibre, 150mm Travel
• Fork // Fox 36 Float Performance Series FIT4, 160mm Travel
• Shock // Fox Float DPX2 Factory Series EVOL
• Wheels // DT Swiss E-1900 Spline 30mm, Boost Front & Rear
• Tyres // Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5in 3C EXO
• Drivetrain // SRAM GX Eagle 1×12
• Brakes // Shimano Deore XT M8000
• Bars // Race Face Aeffect 35, 780mm Width, 20mm Rise
• Stem // Race Face Aeffect R 35, 35mm Length
• Seatpost // Race Face Aeffect Dropper, 125mm Travel
• RRP // £3899

On top of those three spec options, Orbea also offers the Rallon as part of its MYO customisation program, which allows customers to up-spec components such as the wheels, suspension, cockpit and brakes, while also offering the ability to have the bike spec’d with a chainguide or an oval chainring.

Get a look in at the new Rallon via the Orbea Bikes website, and keep your eyes on the website for an upcoming first ride review.

Disclosure:

Orbea provided flights. accommodation and hospitality for this story

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