Orbea claims its new flagship Rallon is not a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of two.
The Rallon is a big-hitting enduro race bike, but the latest generation boasts downhill credentials too, winning a World Cup piloted by Tahneé Seagrave before its official launch.
But can one frame boast the capability to be a world-beating downhill bike and be pedalled uphill as an enduro bike?
Wheel of fortune
The first Rallon was introduced in 2013 and it has been revamped numerous times, most recently in 2024.
That iteration could be run as a full 29er or as a mullet setup with mixed wheel sizes, so it’s no surprise to see the latest Rallon enduro bike with 29in wheels fitted. There's also the option to run a mullet setup by fitting a different shock yoke (which Orbea is calling a Gravity Link).
Strangely, though, the DH version is only available with a Gravity link for a 27.5in rear wheel, despite the chainstays and all other architecture being ready to accommodate the larger wheel.
Travel options
The new Rallon can run either 170mm travel for enduro and bike-park riding or 200mm for full downhill duties. The travel is changed via the Gravity Link, which is a plate that bolts into the frame to form the lower shock mount.
This plate is the key to the Rallon’s versatility. It's used to change the geometry, wheel size, suspension travel (with a different shock) and suspension progression.
The enduro-specific Gravity Links (providing 170mm travel with a 205x62.5mm shock) have four possible adjustment positions – high/low bottom bracket height, and greater or lesser progressivity in the shock actuation ratio.
The downhill Gravity Link works with a longer shock to provide the full 200mm (eight inches) of suspension travel we've come to expect from a downhill bike. It does not offer adjustable BB height, but the shock actuation can be switched between 30% and 25%
Adjustment
Orbea says this is the most adjustable bike it has ever made and that there are around 250 setup combinations. In addition to the three Gravity Links on offer (DH 27.5in, Enduro 27.5in and Enduro 29in), there are also multiple headset cups offering 0.75 degrees of head-angle adjustment either side of the straight-cupped middle setting with 63.7 degrees.
Suspended animation
Orbea's OOLAB technicians have tuned the bike with the help of long-time enduro and downhill team rider Martin Maes and are proud of the results. The Rallon has minimal pedal kickback thanks to low anti-squat numbers, which help the bike in the rough terrain; the anti-rise characteristics are designed to help it remain neutral when braking, just offering enough anti-rise to assist the bike in holding its shape under heavy braking.
Like the outgoing bike, the suspension on the new Rallon sports a single-pivot axle path, defined by the position of the main pivot above the bottom bracket.
The bike sports a concentric pivot on the dropout to help manage the bike’s braking prowess in the rough stuff. A rocker link actuates the shock, providing 170mm travel with the shorter shock on the enduro bike or a DH-capable 200mm with a longer shock.
Weighing in
The new Rallon features a shuttle to add weight to your bike, with options for one, two or three weights (395g, 95g, and 93g respectively), which bolt to the Gravity Link where the lower shock mount attaches.
We saw Tahnée Seagrave’s race-winning Rallon in downhill guise at the first round of the downhill World Cup in Poland, and it’s suspected that she’s running over half a kilo of ballast in the shuttle.
Increasing the amount of weight low down on your bike can improve stability thanks to lowering the centre of gravity.
Adding weight to the frame also increases the ratio of sprung to unsprung mass, which should in theory reduce the input required from the rider when the bike hits a bump, improving how well the suspension works.
Martin Mae’s testing on a heavily modified Wild eMTB test mule revealed he was fastest with 1kg of weights bolted above the BB.
We don’t know the weights of the new bikes yet, but the 2024 bike weighed 15kg, so we’re expecting it to be heavier but in the same ballpark.
Size matters
The new Rallon is available in small, medium, large and XL. The large offers 474mm reach in the DH setting and Orbea tells us each size will be larger or smaller in 25mm increments from there.
The downhill setup sees the bike with a 63.7-degree head angle in the middle setting, whereas in enduro guise, with the enduro Gravity Link for either a 27.5in or 29in rear wheel, the Rallon has a 28mm BB drop and a 64.25-degree head angle, with the steepest angle-adjusting headset cups fitted.
There are two chainstay options, which you can specify when you buy the bike – the shorter and 'more playful' 442mm or the 450mm racer option.
Interestingly, these are not specced according to the size of the bike. Instead, the downhill bikes will come with 450mm chainstays and the enduro bikes will ship with 442mm chainstays (unless requested otherwise).
This suggests both chainstay options will fit 27.5in and 29in wheel sizes, because the enduro bike will ship with 29in wheels front and rear as standard, and the downhill bike will only be available with a mixed wheel-size setup, with a 27.5in wheel at the rear.
Orbea’s engineers shared that using flip chips is impossible at the rear (thanks to the concentric pivot) and it would create potential structural issues to attempt this on the front of the chainstay where it bolts to the frame pivot.
Orbea is proud of the Rallon’s low standover height and 'steep and deep' seat tube, saying all riders should be able to run a 240mm dropper post using this bike.
The seat tube angle is the only part of the Rallon that looks out of place on a DH bike, with most downhill rigs’ seat tube angles coming in considerably slacker than the Rallon’s 79.1 degrees.
The Rallon also has in-frame storage, which Orbea calls the LOCKR.
Smart shocks
Orbea is keen to stress how effective the Fox Neo is when paired with the Rallon on the top spec E-LTD model.
When the Neo shock is activated, sensors in the brake calipers can unlock and open the suspension’s damping in the blink of an eye. Orbea says this enables the Rallon, with its downhill credentials, to ride efficiently on flatter or ascending sections of trail, while meaning it shines on the rough stuff too.
Bonus features
Orbea has incorporated a storage box into the Rallon's carbon down tube, which is useful for enduro riding but perhaps looks out of place on a downhill bike.
In the enduro guise, a multi-tool with 2, 3, 4 and 5mm Allen keys fits magnetically onto the Gravity Link and there is a 6mm Allen key in the rear axle.
The three weights that bolt onto the Gravity Link are included with all builds (both enduro and DH).
The frame runs on sealed bearings, but Orbea has handily incorporated some tough-looking external rubber seals to provide extra protection from dirt and water. There are smart protective covers over the chainstays and the Gravity Link under the BB shell.
Orbea Rallon spec and pricing details
Four models are available in the new Rallon range: three enduro builds and one downhill spec.
The enduro builds start with the most basic model, the E-10, followed by the E-team and the top-spec E-LTD, which includes the electronic Fox Neo suspension.
Orbea Rallon E-10: £5,399 / $5,699 / €5,399
Orbea Rallon E-Team: £6,899 / $7,199 / €6,999
Orbea Rallon E-LTD: £9,999 / $9,999 / €9,999
Orbea Rallon DH-LTDL: £7,899 / $8,299 / €7,999
