Review: 2024 Orbea Rallon - Enduro-er Than Ever

But don't worry - the Rallon hasn't become an uplift-hungry sled. Climbing has long been a strong suit of previous Rallons and the latest iteration is no exception. It's also among the lightest enduro bikes these days, at a shade over 15 kg (33 lb) in the biggest frame size. It's primarily designed as a race bike with 29" wheels but can equally accept a 27.5" rear wheel for park riding or to suit shorter riders.

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Frame Details


The Rallon ships with two different shock extenders that accommodate either rear wheel size while keeping the geometry the same. You can order the bike with either wheel setup, but the alternate extender is included in the box. The 29er extender has a flip chip to fine-tune the geometry, with a 7 mm bottom bracket height and 0.5-degree angle change. The 27.5" extender doesn't have this flip chip, and the mixed-wheel geometry matches the lowest setting in 29".


There are four models of Rallon and all use the same full-carbon frame and carbon fiber layup. A single-sided strut stiffens the frame while allowing access to the shock. A water bottle fits underneath although clearance is tight with longer bottles when combined with the Float X2 shock. There's a downtube storage compartment with a rattle-free door but a narrow opening. Another neat feature is a small tool hidden in the rocker link pivot, held in place with a magnet, which provides hex keys from 3 to 6 mm and a T25.


Cable routing helpfully bypasses the headset and goes via internal conduits for minimal rattling. Frame bearings get extra seals for longevity and there is extensive co-moulded frame protection.

While the geometry and suspension have been tweaked, the construction and features of the frame is similar to the 2022 Rallon.

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Suspension Design

The Rallon still uses Orbea's Concentric Boost suspension, where the chainstay and seatstay pivot concentrically about the rear axle, but Orbea says they've totally revised the suspension kinematics to give a more progressive leverage curve and a more rearward axle path. That's in addition to the bump in travel from 160 to 167mm.


According to Orbea's kinematic charts, the leverage curve is about 27% progressive, which means it should play nicely with coil or air shocks and resist bottom-out without being too extreme. The main pivot is fairly high and forward, which means there's a generous amount of anti-squat throughout the travel. This results in a firm and efficient pedalling response.

Orbea imply that the more rearward axle path helps it better deal with bumps than its predecessor, but this is probably a marginal benefit. The amount of anti-rise (how much the brake caliper forces act to compress the suspension and resist brake dive) is middle-of-the-road. Because anti-rise levels increase throughout the travel, this may help the suspension remain sensitive and consistent under braking compared to some other designs where anti-rise drops off throughout the stroke.

Orbea say the travel measures 167mm, but when I measured the useable travel by compressing the suspension with a ratchet strap until it bottomed out hard, I could only access 159 mm. It's difficult to define exactly how much travel a bike has because it's impossible to fully compress the bottom-out bumper, but most bikes measure closer to the quoted travel when measured in the same way. That's not to say the Rallon isn't capable of delivering the full 167 millimetres, but with this specific shock, I wasn't getting that much out of it. In a separate test, I removed the air from the shock and bottomed it out (really) hard, and I could only use at most 61 mm of the 62.5 mm of shock stroke, so it seems the Fox X2 is restricting the travel in the case of the specific shock on my test bike. I asked Orbea about this and they say the bike should deliver 167 mm exactly with the mullet shock extender and 166 mm with the 29" one, so any shortfall from that is down to the shock.

Either way, we are only talking about millimetres here, but I think this makes a difference on the trail when comparing the Rallon to other long-travel (> 165 mm) enduro bikes.

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Geometry & Sizing


Enduro bikes have matured into the era of minor tweaks rather than reinventing themselves. Aside from being half a degree slacker, Rallon's geometry chart is almost identical to the 2022 version.

Measuring the bike's geometry myself reveals a few differences from the geometry chart, though. My XL test bike is longer - I measure 1,305 mm wheelbase and 445 mm chainstay. It's slacker - I measure 63.1° in the low setting and 63.6° in the high, while the effective seat angle at my pedalling height measures 76.4° / 76.9°. It's lower too - I measure 333 mm or 340 mm.

There are four sizes (S-XL), with recommended height ranges of 150-170 cm (S), 160-180 cm (M), 170-190 cm (L) and 180-200 cm (XL). At 190 cm, the XL was the obvious choice for me.

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As well as being able to customise the frame colours to your heart's content, Orbea allow you to pick and choose certain components on their website, which is a huge advantage. I specified a 35 mm rise handlebar, 40mm stem, 165mm cranks and 230mm dropper post. I would have liked the option for DoubleDown enduro tires, but Orbea only offer EXO+ or DH casings, neither of which seem like the Goldilocks choice for this bike.

Test Bike Setup


Testing Info

Testing took place in the Tweed Valley, Scotland, at Glentress, Cademuir, Thornilee and Innerleithen. The Rallon is a great all-rounder that feels out of place approximately nowhere but shines on rides that involve a lot of climbing and trails that reward maintaining speed through rough terrain. Alistair Lee's trail at Innerleithen is where I was most impressed. It's rough, rocky and not especially steep.

Climbing


The Rallon pedals very efficiently and stays on top of its travel nicely on steep inclines. And I don't mean "considering it's got 167 mm of travel" - it pedals well full stop. There is a climb switch but unless you're trying to save every last watt you can just ignore it. I didn't notice the suspension hanging up when pedalling over bumps either. Some bikes create a more isolated sensation while pedalling through chunk (the Hope HB.916 for example), but in this situation there is something to be said for the long-travel and lightly-damped suspension that relies on anti-squat to pedal efficiently. While the BB is low, the suspension doesn't slouch and the optional 165mm crankarms increase clearance, so I had no problem with pedal strikes.

However, in the low setting, the seat angle was too slack for me. In back-to-back tests, it was noticeably harder to keep the power down and control the front wheel on steep climbs in the low mode. Even in the high setting, I would prefer a steeper seat tube for tackling those trickiest of inclines. But for all-day pedalling missions, the Rallon is comfortable and quick.

Descending


I felt comfortable quickly on the Rallon thanks to the self-selected high-rise bar, long dropper post and 40mm stem. The shock needed some fettling to unlock the best performance and improve suppleness, but it was never the bump-swallowing "mini DH bike" that the 167mm travel would suggest. I rode it back-to-back with the Scott Ransom, which has similar suspension and geometry numbers, and the Scott felt a little more comfortable on rough terrain and big hits.

I measured the useable travel after this test and discovered I was struggling to get more than 159 mm of squish out of the Rallon (the Scott over-delivered at 172 mm measured in the same way), The helped explain the difference in plushness between the bikes. It's not that the Rallon is harsh, but it's not a plow. The X2 has a substantial bottom-out bumper, which in this case probably restricts the useable travel and makes the suspension less good at soaking up the big hits than you might expect from the quoted travel. The combination of a progressive linkage, air spring and bottom-out bumper which affects a significant fraction of the end-stroke add up to make the Rallon less good at erasing bumps than some bikes in this travel bracket.

Don't get me wrong: the small-bump sensitivity is good, (really good if you optimise the shock setup for it) it just feels like a 160 mm travel bike rather than 167 mm, because that's effectively what it is. The flip side is that there's no hint of harshness when you get to the end of the (usable) travel on a heavy landing (I have a 2-meter drop with a flat-ish landing that I use to test this), and there's plenty of support deep in the stroke when pushing into a berm or compression. Pump or pedal out of a corner and the support is there to get you going quickly.


I tried both high and low settings, but I didn't have a strong preference on the descents. Even on tight twisty steeps, where I usually prefer lower bikes, I didn't notice much benefit to the low setting, and in the higher setting the suspension felt more balanced through flatter sections and berms. The high setting is noticeably better for climbing too, so that's what I used most. But even then, the BB is low and the head angle is slack, so it's very stable and surefooted on steep and techy trails. The low mode is there if you want it, but the high setting offers a great balance for climbing and descending that you can set and forget.

On flatter sections and flow trails the Rallon offers good support and balanced handling, making it easy to carry speed. It responds well to pedal inputs too, making it as rewarding on faster, less demanding trails as it is on steep and gnarly ones. If a Rallon was your only bike you wouldn't wish for a trail bike to go with it.

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What's the Best Value?

All four models use the same full-carbon frame. The two entry-level builds get Fox Performance level suspension with the Grip fork damper - which is less supportive than the Grip2 but more forgiving and easier to set up - and Float X shock, which might get closer to the full 167 mm of travel than the X2. The M10 uses the Shimano XT drivetrain and brakes while the M20 makes do with an SLX drivetrain and Deore brakes. That's no bad thing as the Deore brakes are more consistent than pricier options in my experience. The M20 build is all you need, but it's still a lot of money for a "good enough" spec.


How Does It Compare?


The Scott Ransom is comparable in many ways - it's another highly versatile lightweight-yet-long-travel enduro weapon. Check out the video for my in-depth impressions on how they compare, but the bottom line is that I marginally preferred the Scott for both climbing and descending, although the Orbea is probably easier to live with thanks to simpler cable routing and suspension layout.

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Technical Report

In-frame storage: The Rallon's downtube storage compartment has a narrow slot which makes it tricky to get bulkier items like tubes in and out. There's a big range in the usefulness of the concept, and Orbea's implementation is relatively limited in what it can stash away. Similarly, the tool located in the rocker pivot could get you out of a scrape on a local hot lap, but it's far from the full complement of tools so I always rode with a 19-function multitool in my pocket regardless - and always reached for that when things needed tweaking.

Shimano XT brakes / Galfer rotors: The debate about whether Shimano has addressed the wandering bite point issue rumbles on. It seemed to be improving in recent years, but these brakes were inconsistent out of the box, and after a thorough bleed the problem soon returned. This is the first time I've tried Shimano brakes with Galfer rotors and the first time in a while it's been this noticeable from day one, so perhaps they'd work better with Shimano's rotors, but I can't say for sure. Either way, I'd prefer a different brake spec.

Shimano XT drivetrain: It seems like every high-end bike has to come with SRAM Transmission, and while I like the electronic shifting for e-bikes, I was happy returning to mechanical. The shifter is more intuitive to me because the levers give you instant tactile feedback rather than interchangeable buttons. I never had to worry about charging it either, and the shifting was almost as consistent.

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Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Enduro Bikes Orbea Orbea Rallon