Orbea Occam M30 LT 2023 - Metallic Mulberry

ORBEA OCCAM M30 LT (2023) - METALLIC MULBERRY/MATTE BLACK

Occam LT is the wilder side of Occam thanks to more aggressive geometry, Fox 36 forks, and 10mm more travel. Occam LT is hugely capable but also more versatile than a full-on enduro bike with efficient pedaling for all-day rides.

KEY FEATURES

• 150mm front and rear wheel travel.
• Fox 36 Performance suspension fork.
• Fox Float X2 Factory rear shock.
• Shimano SLX/XT, 12 speed.
• Painted and built in Spain.
• Lifetime frame warranty.
• Orbea premium OMR carbon frame.

WHAT KIND OF BIKE IS THE ORBEA OCCAM LT?

The Occam LT (Long Travel) is Orbea’s trail bike. Similar to the Giant Trance X Advanced, Rocky Mountain Instinct, Trek Fuel and Specialized Stumpjumper.

It’s the bike you reach for when you want ultimate versatility. You still want to cover distance easily and do those big days in the saddle but not at the expense of confidence attacking technical descents and stability.

At 150mm of front and rear wheel travel, it’s got a little more travel than most of the options listed above but still has efficiency and pop to make the Occam LT feel nimble and fun.

And lastly, I wanna emphasize that Orbea are (in general) hyper-focussed on creating bikes that are super efficient at transferring power from your feet. And torsionally stiff frames to improve handling in technical terrain.

IS THE ORBEA OCCAM LT A TRAIL BIKE?

Yes, it is.

The Occam LT is perfect for riders who are currently riding an old-school (pre-2019) aluminium cross-country or trail bike.

If you’re on a 100 to 120mm travel cross-country bike, you may be reaching a point where the bike isn’t coping with the trails that you’re riding. Or it could be you just need something a little more forgiving on harsher and more technical trails.

And if you’re on an old-trail bike, well, trail-bike geometry has changed so much in recent years; it’s not even remotely similar to what it was. From angles to lengths, to tubing profiles and overall carbon technology.

WHAT THE ORBEA OCCAM ISN’T

The Occam LT isn’t an enduro bike.

This means if you’re consistently riding technical and steep black diamond level trails then you’re better off considering the Orbea’s Rallon.

The Occam isn’t designed for massive jumps or drops either. If you’re regularly attacking obstacles over 1.5 metres, then consider the Rallon.

But if a lot of your time is spent at Plenty Gorge, Lysterfield Park, Silvan, the blue and single black diamond trails at Red Hill and You Yangs, then the Occam LT should be on your shortlist.

WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT THE OCCAM LT?

The Occam LT is all about finding the right balance. And geometry - the numbers - has a lot to do with this.

All the numbers in yellow above relate to the Occam LT.

It’s 65.5° head-tube angle means the handling stays precise and direct on technical climbs. On the flip side, there’s enough stability generated to ensure the front wheel doesn’t oversteer into corners and deflect when hitting rocks and tree roots.

Then, the 76.5° seat tube angle helps the rider’s weight move over the cranks and bottom bracket, and at the same time helps the front end stay planted on technical climbs.

Similar to Giant’s Trance X 29 (438mm), the chainstay dimension on the Occam LT is 440mm.

However, the bottom bracket drops by 40mm on the Trance X 29 versus 32mm on the Occam LT. By placing the cranks a little higher, you can pedal through technical sections with less chance of striking the pedals on roots and rocks.

Numbers aside for a sec, it’s also how the suspension reacts to the trail too.

That’s important.

The Occam LT has a 150mm of rear wheel travel.

Compared to the Trance X, the Occam LT has a more rearward axle path. This means the rear wheel moves away from obstacles (and not into them), helping you carry momentum over roots and rocks and speed through corners.

It also helps you climb better too. The rear wheel isn’t skipping over obstacles, it’s flowing over the terrain. This helps keep the tyre on the trail and generate enormous traction. Perfect for climbing and braking into corners.

Rocky Mountain’s Instinct is very similar.

The key difference is where the pivot is placed.

On the Rocky, the pivot is located in front of the rear axle and is supported by 2 bearings on each side of the frame for extra stiffness.

Orbea has done things a little differently; they’ve placed this pivot in line with the rear axle. This means the frame can be stiffer (because there’s less joins) and lighter.

THE OCCAM LT M30 BUILD

Firstly the basics; the M stands for Monocoque Carbon.

Second, anytime you see an M30 in Orbea’s range generally indicates it’s the stepping-stone bike in the product family.

Orbea’s premium-grade OMR carbon frame is made from the best carbon manufacturing processes; eliminating imperfections such as wrinkles and voids - stuff that severely impacts carbon’s durability.

Every Occam is built in Spain.

Starting with suspension.

The Occam M30 LT is suspended on Fox Float 36 Performance fork and is paired to a top-of-the-range Fox Factory Float X rear shock. Both ends output 150mm of travel for a balanced feel.

Upfront, the Float 36 allows you to adjust air pressure, compression (soft, medium and firm) and rebound.

The rear shock does exactly the same, except there’s more compression (or “firmness”) adjustments (11) instead of 3 the fork.

Fox’s top-of-the-range Factory rear shock is paired to the Fox 36 fork.

Factory level products are easy to notice; the dark gold *Kashima** finish is unmistakable. Kashima significantly enhances the durability of the tubes because it’s more hard-wearing than an anodised finish. It also self-lubricates, so it’s super supple over rocks, roots and chatter bumps.

Next, the drivetrain.

The Occam M30 LT is built with Shimano and RaceFace components.

All RaceFace components are beautifully finished and durable. The crank itself is paired to a threaded bottom bracket (instead of a press-fit unit) which will significantly reduce creaking and unevenly distributed loads on the bottom bracket bearings.

Shimano SLX components are paired to a Shimano XT rear derailleur. These are solid performance components. It’s not the bling of Shimano’s XTR, but they work flawlessly. And especially under power and load, Shimano’s HyperGlide+ tech is unmatched.

The Shimano drivetrain is paired to Shimano 4-piston brakes:

Occam’s main pivot also houses a magnetic multi-tool inside the main pivot.

And finally, here’s a slideshow of all the other parts of the Occam M30 that weren’t featured above: