Make two out of one. Since its launch in 2018, the Orbea Rallon has had to fill two gaps in the Basque company's model range. It had to be an all-mountain and enduro bike at the same time, be easy to pedal and descend hard. Since the launch of the new All Mountain Occam (Here is the presentation with the first driving report), however, the situation for the Rallon has eased a little. A good time to give in to the EWS team's insistence and turn the Rallon into what it was always intended to be. A true competition enduro bike.
New rocker, new kinematics, more suspension travel
Although only three components have been changed compared to the 2018 bike, the character of the new enduro bike is likely to be somewhat different to its predecessor. Thanks to the new rocker link and new shock linkage, the bike now tickles 160 millimetres of travel out of the rear instead of the previous 150 millimetres. The characteristic curve has also been revised to match the suspension travel and is now slightly more progressive for better sensitivity and more end progression. This should allow the new Rallon to be chased downhill even faster over the roughest trails.
Consequently, the fork has also been changed to be able to continue to stand up to the rear. This is why Orbea now uses 170 millimetres of travel in the front of the Rallon, while the head angle and seat angle are each half a degree slacker compared to the old bike (now 75 degrees seat angle and 64.5 or 65 degrees head angle - depending on the flip-chip position). As the frame otherwise remains the same, the reach shrinks by four millimetres. A marginal change that should not be noticeable in practice in combination with the slacker seat angle.
New rocker as a retrofit kit - MyO and equipment
The good news for all those who already own a Rallon: The new rocker can be ordered as a retrofit kit for 249 euros, so that all existing Rallon owners can also upgrade. Otherwise, as always with Orbea, there is a lifetime frame guarantee and some customisable features. The three more expensive models M-LTD, M-Team and M10 can also be painted and customised at no extra cost using the familiar MyO configurator. As before, however, there will unfortunately only be models with carbon frames; complete bikes cost between 3999 and 8999 euros and are still only available in sizes S/M, L and XL. As before, smaller riders in particular should therefore try out whether the intermediate size S/M really fits them before buying.
All information about the new Orbea Rallon for 2020 can be found on the Website of the manufacturer.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
