Orbea Occam: Asymmetric All Mountain in 29 inch

It's been a good two years since the Orbea Rallon saw the light of day. A historic date for the Basque MTB manufacturer Orbea, as we must say today. Because the new development of the enduro bike hit like a bomb. The geometry, equipment, price and look were just right. The bike pedalled willingly, shone with balanced handling and left nothing to be desired downhill anyway. This was followed a year later by the XC-Fully Oiz, the very first bike from the Basque company to receive the test rating "super" in the BIKE test. cleared.

Between Oiz and Rallon: the new Occam - 140 mm travel, 29 inches

Now a new Occam is set to close the gap between cross-country and enduro. The Basques have given their all-mountain bike 140 millimetres of suspension travel, large 29-inch wheels, a slacker steering angle and a steeper seat angle (66 and 77 degrees) paired with a longer reach (470 millimetres in L) and a low bottom bracket (-35 millimetres). The bike should pedal efficiently and still descend with confidence.

Orbea Occam 2020: Geometry and frame details

The low bottom bracket ensures a low centre of gravity and good cornering. The new carbon or aluminium frame has an asymmetrical design to achieve the ideal combination of weight and stiffness. The shock is mounted horizontally, leaves space for a water bottle and is controlled by a four-bar linkage with high progression. The old bike's problem of rushing through the suspension travel too quickly at a sporty pace should therefore be history. And for all those for whom this is not enough, Orbea also includes two additional spacers for the rear shock with the purchase. Thanks to a lower anti-rise value, the new Occam should also react more sensitively to small bumps when braking hard and thus generate more traction overall

There will be a total of six models between 2299 and 7599 euros. From 2299 to 3299 euros, the Occam comes with an aluminium frame, from 3799 euros carbon is used. The carbon frame of the new Occam in size M without shock but with Enduro Maxx bearings and a lifetime guarantee is said to weigh around 2.3 kilograms. All of the suspension comes from Fox or its subsidiary Marzocchi, otherwise Orbea largely relies on the new 12-speed SLX/XT groupsets from Shimano and wheels from DT Swiss.

++ You can buy the Orbea Occam H-20 and M-30 (Eagle) at Fahrrad XXL ++

12-speed Shimano and Fox suspension - models and equipment

Particularly exciting: Thanks to the cooperation between DT Swiss and Orbea, special wheelsets have been created for the Occam M10 carbon premium model (€4999) (update: a similar process has already helped to create the Occam M10). the Canyon Spectral a few years ago to wide, lightweight and yet affordable wheels). The special wheels are called XM1650 Spline and combine the rim of the expensive XM1501 wheelset with slightly cheaper hubs. This is intended to combine the good acceleration values and lively handling of the XM1501 with a still acceptable price/performance ratio and allows the Basques to equip the M10 with a complete Shimano XT groupset (brakes, drivetrain), carbon handlebars and Fox Factory suspension in addition to the DT wheelset.

DT Swiss XM1650 - expensive rims with cheaper hubs

But the more affordable Orbea Occam models also benefit. The XM1650 wheelset can be added to some models via the drop-down menu on the Orbea website for an additional charge, as can a longer fork (Fox 36 RC2, 150 millimetres), carbon wheels or weight-optimised XTR parts. The length of the retractable seat post (125, 150, 170 millimetres), which Orbea has designed especially for the Occam, can also be adjusted at no extra cost. Update: In the MyO Configurator on the other hand, only the two top models, the Occam M-Ltd and the M-10, can be configured. Here, the customer can also have the frame painted as desired, implement their own logo, put their own name on the seat stays and much more. The cheaper models below the M10, on the other hand, only come in a choice of two colours.

Ride report Orbea Occam 2020

We were able to get a first impression of the new Occam over two days near the Spanish town of Ainsa. The test bike, an Occam M10 for € 4999, weighed in at just over 13 kilograms with Fox Factory suspension, Maxxis Highroller II/Rekon tyres and a complete XT. On the climbs, the bike proved to be efficient, comfortable and traction-strong despite the smooth rear end - we only used the shock platform on tarmac. Very good!

The handling is also well-balanced downhill. There, the bike conveys a lot of confidence and is very composed, without tight corners demanding a lot of effort. The long reach feels significantly less long in practice than the data on paper would suggest - it is also possible that the steep seat angle makes the front feel shorter. The rear suspension is progressive and poppy, making the bike lively. It swallows small to medium obstacles well, but clearly indicates when the end of the line has been reached on particularly big hits. Nevertheless, a very good downhill performance for a bike that actually falls into the classic all-mountain category.

And with the Fox 36 RC2 with 150 mm travel, available for an extra € 150, the Occam even mutates into a mini enduro bike - a tip for all those who like to let it rip a little more, or for heavier riders who, in addition to spacers in the fork, also value a separately adjustable high-speed rebound and compression damping. The in-house seatpost was just as convincing in the first test as the new XT groupset, which, thanks to massive four-piston calipers, still showed plenty of stability and good modulation even on long descents and with "small" 180 mm discs. Only the pedals were more prone to bottoming out in rocky terrain due to the low bottom bracket and the long 175 mm cranks, and the grips caused some testers to develop strange blisters on the palm of their hands. Otherwise, the first impression remains a positive one.

All information about the new Orbea Occam can be found on the Website of the manufacturer.