Orbea Laufey H10 long-term review

The Orbea Laufey is the brand’s trail-focussed hardtail. This latest iteration gets updated, more aggressive geometry. The head angle is one degree slacker, reach has increased across the sizes and the bottom bracket sits lower.

There's a refreshed top tube design, moving away from the curved seat tube junction to a much more sleek continuous line. This creates the illusion of a straight line from the head tube to the rear axle.

The bike also features Orbea’s Steep’n’Deep seat tube, designed to provide space for fully inserting long-travel dropper posts on all sizes.

There’s 140mm of suspension travel up front, provided by a Marzochhi Bomber Z2 on my H10 model. On the £1,599 / $1,899 / $1,499 H30, there’s a Rockshox Recon RL and the top-spec £2,699 / $2,999 / €2,499 H-LTD gets you a Fox 34 Float Performance.

To aid its descending qualities, there are wide 2.6in Maxxis Dissector tyres front and rear. The EXO casing should provide adequate puncture protection, without the added weight of a thicker casing.

Orbea claims this creates a bike that can handle anything you can throw at it. I’m hoping this claim holds true because I plan to take it down techy singletrack, bike-park jumps and do some longer rides to test its versatility.

Orbea Laufey H10 frame and specifications

The frame is full aluminium and heavily hydroformed to increase strength and remove unwanted flex.

The cables are internally routed but there’s no fiddly headset routing in sight. Instead, they run from the side of the down tube through to the chainstays and up to the dropper, maintaining the sleek look.

There’s 148x12mm Boost rear-axle spacing, a 73mm threaded BSA bottom bracket and two sets of bottle cage mounts on the top tube and down tube.

Also located on the down tube is the brand’s LOCKR internal storage. Integrated with the bottle cage mounts, the hatch opens to reveal a fabric pouch for storing any ride essentials.

I’m known for my lack of preparation on rides, which has resulted in many a walk of shame. This is my first time having a bike with internal storage, so I’m hoping it can help me be more prepared.

This H10 model has a Marzocchi Bomber Z2 fork with decals to match your chosen frame colour. There’s a lockout switch on the right-hand side, as well as rebound adjustment on the underside.

The 2.6in Maxxis Dissector tyres are set up tubeless straight out of the box. They roll on 29in unbranded alloy wheels, which may not be the lightest but are built sturdily.

The Shimano Deore 1x12 drivetrain features an upgraded SLX derailleur.

Shimano M6100 brakes provide the stopping power, with 180mm resin pad-only rotors.

The cockpit consists of an OC Mountain Control 800mm bar, with OC lock-on grips and an unbranded 35mm alloy stem.

The Selle Royal 2058 saddle is attached to an OC Mountain Control dropper post. This has 150mm of drop on my size-medium bike and goes up to 170mm on large and extra-large frame sizes.

All this comes in at a weight of 14kg in my size medium, without pedals.

Orbea Laufey H10 specifications

• Sizes (tested): S, M, L, XL
• Weight: 14kg (30.86lb), M size without pedals
• Frame: Hydro Triple Butted 29" Boost 12x148
• Shock: N/a
• Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z2, 140mm (5.51in) travel
• Shifters: Shimano Deore M6100
• Derailleurs: Shimano SLX M7100
• Cranks: Shimano MT512 (1×12)
• Cassette: Shimano CS-M6100 10-51t 12-Speed
• Chain: Shimano M6100
• Wheelset: Unbranded alloy, Tubeless, 29", 29c, 32H
• Tyres: Maxxis Dissector Exo TLR 29X2.6in
• Brakes: Shimano M6100 180mm rotors
• Bar: OC Mountain Control MC30, 800mm
• Stem: Unbranded alloy, 35mm
• Seatpost: OC Mountain Control MC21 dropper
• Saddle: Selle Royal 2058 DRN

Orbea Laufey H10 geometry

The 64.5-degree head angle creates a stable platform at speed and remains consistent on steeper terrain.

This has been paired with a steepened seat tube angle, from 75 degrees on the previous model to 77 degrees. This should aid the bike’s ability to winch you to the top of any climb.

The reach on my medium frame is 451mm, which sits right in the range I’d expect of this size. On a small frame, the reach is 427mm, and it rises to 500mm on an extra-large.

The chainstays are 440mm across the sizes. This could be an area of improvement, because size-specific chainstay lengths can improve the relative handling. This is especially true with the fixed rear end of a hardtail.

However, as someone who sits in the middle of the sizing scale, I’ve found this chainstay length to combine well with the rest of the geometry.

Why did I choose this bike?

Living in Bristol means I’m fortunate enough to have plenty of trails only a pedal away, but it's a laborious pedal aboard my long-travel enduro bike.

So, I was looking for a bike efficient enough to enjoy the pedal to the trails but capable enough to not hold back once I got there.

I was drawn to the simplicity of a hardtail mountain bike, despite not owning one for a few years. The steep angles of a 120mm or 130mm cross-country hardtail would have got me to the trails quickly, but I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy the descents quite as much.

This led me to more aggressive hardtails, which is when I came across the Orbea Laufey. It seemed to promise the combination of pedalling efficiency and descending ability I was looking for, with the eye-catching olive green colour and sleek frame design being the cherry on top.

A secondary consideration was bikepacking. I’m relatively new to this form of cycling, but I’m looking to do more trips this year.

The Laufey may not have the host of rack mounts you can find on other hardtails, but the open frame leaves plenty of room for bikepacking bags.

With a few tweaks, I think it could be a mean bikepacking machine. I’ll be putting this to test, just as soon as the UK weather gets a bit more bearable.

Orbea Laufey H10 initial setup

The initial setup was very straightforward. Without the need for the usual tubeless hassle, most of the time was spent setting pressures.

I’m running the tyre pressures at 20psi front and 24psi rear, which I’ve had no issues with thanks to the tubeless setup.

I’ve set up the fork with 75psi of pressure and five clicks of rebound adjustment, although I plan to tweak this over time.

Adjusting the brake lever position was easy, thanks to the integrated mounts for both the dropper post lever and shifters. The Shimano M6100 levers allow for simple reach adjustments as well.

The 20mm rise of the bar suits me well, but the 800mm width, while adding to the bike's stability, is slightly wider than I would usually run.

I’ll either be cutting the bar down to 780mm or, more likely, swapping it out.

I’ve initially set the bike up with flat pedals, but I plan to switch to clips to test the potential benefits when descending on the rigid rear end.

Orbea Laufey H10 ride impressions

In this first month of having the Laufey, it has already become the bike I ride most.

It’s had me smiling from ear to ear since I first pointed it down a trail and has got me doing more rides from my front door than ever before.

So far, I’ve ridden it on cross-country loops, narrow singletrack, and some steeper and more technical trails.

The geometry creates a stable but playful platform that boosts your descending confidence.

This is my first full 29er bike and I was slightly apprehensive about it being harder to corner and manoeuvre through tight sections.

I’ve had no such issues though. There’s plenty of space to move my weight around and I can pop off trail features as much as I can on the 27.5 inch wheels I’m used to.

I definitely noticed the increased momentum from the 29in wheels too, whether cranking the pedals or heading through a rough section of trail.

The wide 2.6in tyres add some extra compliance and provide plenty of grip.

I feel this is slightly more rubber than the bike needs though, with the descending benefits not being worth the added drag. I’ll be testing the bike with narrower tyres to see how it affects the all-round performance.

The Marzocchi Bomber Z2 performs excellently, with the 140mm travel just the right amount to plough through descents but not weigh me down on the way up.

Speaking of climbing, the Laufey is even more efficient than I would have expected.

The steep seat tube puts you in a good pedalling position and I rarely felt the need to use the fork lockout, other than on long tarmac sections.

It puts you in an upright position on the bike, which may not be for everyone. It works well for me though and I’ve noticed this puts less pressure on my hands and wrists. I anticipate this will reduce hand fatigue when spending long periods of time on the bike.

I've been impressed by how quiet the bike is, even through rough terrain. There’s very little cable rattle or chain slap, thanks to the internal cable routing and protection on the chainstays.

The Shimano Deore drivetrain may not be the lightest or flashiest, but the shifting feels smooth and efficient. The 10-51t cassette provides enough gear range for any climb.

One thing that surprised me is the Shimano M6100 brakes. There’s great lever feel, with a sharp bite and plenty of braking power. This made steep trails a much more enjoyable experience on the bike.

However, brake pad choice is limited due to the resin pad-only rotors. Sintered pads are not only my preference, but often feel like a necessity in wet winter months.

The capability of the bike has seen me hucking even the sketchiest of jumps and exploring further without the concern of the pedal back home.

I look forward to testing the bike's limits more and seeing how well it works for a bikepacking trip.

Orbea Laufey H10 upgrades

The first change I’ll be making is the switch from flat pedals to Crankbrothers Mallet E clip pedals. I think being clipped in is a great upgrade on hardtails to keep you more planted during bigger impacts at the rear end.

The rest of the bike is ripe for upgrades and I already have a few in mind.

While the spec is sensible, a few simple swaps will bring that overall weight down.

The stem and handlebar is one place I plan to do this.

Another likely upgrade is the wheels. A set of the best mountain bike wheels will improve any bike, but this is especially important on a hardtail.

The current alloy wheels perform well but swapping them out will remove some of the rotational mass and should add extra compliance, particularly at the rear end.

I’m intrigued to see how things change with a narrower set of tyres too. I’ll be concious not to remove too much grip because the current 2.6in tyres add to the enjoyment of the bike.

However, reducing the rolling resistance will make my pedal to the trails more enjoyable and potentially faster. I plan to switch to a tyre width around 2.4in, such as the Maxxis DHR/DHF.

Finally, I’ll be looking to swap the saddle to improve comfort during longer stints on the bike.