Orbea Rallon M20 2022 - Jade Green/Stone Silver

ORBEA RALLON M20 - JADE GREEN/STONE SILVER

Where to start with the brand new Orbea Rallon?

There are so many things this carbon Enduro bike does right - especially for Aussie trails - that it has to be on your shortlist of new bikes to consider.

This Rallon M20 preview will go through Why and Who should be considering the Rallon.

WHO SHOULD BUY THE RALLON M20?

You’re a rider who is coming off a 140mm or 150mm travel full-suspension mountain bike.

You’re currently riding an old 160mm travel Enduro bike and want access to new school, modern Enduro geometry and handling.

Or your riding has progressed to a level where you’re comfortable riding at warp speed over raw and technical trails - but your current bike isn’t.

Your new bike has to deliver stability, confidence, traction and control at high speed and do all this without feeling like a big brute of a bike on trails where you still need to use your body to generate speed and pedal.

THE FRAME

Like the Rocky Mountain Altitude, there is simplicity in the Rallon’s frame design.

The Rallon uses Orbea’s OMR (Orbea Monocoque Race) carbon.

Only excellence is good enough. That’s why you won’t see wrinkles, bubbles and voids, excessive resin or cheap quality carbon used in the production of the Rallon.

It’s difficult to convey the proportions of the Rallon. Its broad tubing sections (like, the broadest you’ve ever seen) and sharp lines definitely give it a sense of presence.

What this means is:

Massive chain stays, bottom bracket and broad tubing profiles will deliver incredible torsional stiffness and handling out on the trails.

FRAME FEATURES

Steep ‘N’ Deep is one of the frame features.

Most riders prefer to use a longer drop seatpost and a low-standover height.

To cater for this, the Rallon’s seat tube is short and there are no pivots or bolts stopping the post from being fully inserted into the frame (the “Deep” part).

The new Rallon has been designed with a ridiculously low stand over height. The short seat tube means riders can use a much longer drop length dropper post. This gets your saddle out the way (deep into the frame) when the trails get steep.

Then it’s got FRAME STORAGE. Orbea calls it the LOCKR. And there’s 3 (yep) LOCKR zones.

There’s 1 in the downtube. It has 2 sealed bags that can easily house tube, tyre levers and 2 CO2 cartridges.

Then there’s 1 in the main pivot which houses a multi-tool, held in place by magnets. Lastly, there’s a LOCKR zone in the rear axle that holds a spoke key.

SPEED & BALANCE

Moving at Mach speed requires balance. This combination of balanced handling and stability at speed is what makes the Rallon so appealing.

Rallon has two settings - Low and Lower.

In Lower, the 64-degree head angle is perfect for straight lining it through janky rocky sections and off-camber tree roots.

While still maintaining a powerful climbing position via the 77-degree seat tube angle.

Bottom bracket drops to 35mm to lower the Rallon’s centre of gravity.

In Low:

This setting is for those who prefer faster low speed direct changes, the Low position offers a 64.5-degree head angle, 77.5-degree seat tube angle and a 28mm bottom bracket drop.

Just note that if you decide to turn the Rallon into a Mullet then you lose the 2 geometry positions.

Of course, geometry itself isn’t enough.

It needs to be paired with exceptional suspension kinematics.

The Leverage Ratio on this Rallon is a little higher than the old one.

High leverage ratio = more supple suspension.

For every mm the shock compresses the rear wheel travels about 3.10mm.

Mid travel support is kept the same around the 80mm travel mark; allowing riders to pump the Rallon into turns and over obstacles.

Next, we have the Rearward axle path.

New pivot placements allow the rear wheel to move slightly further back and out of the way of rocks and tree roots.

This makes the latest Rallon maintain momentum better through janky sections of trail - and reduce fatigue on the rider.

RALLON M20 BUILD

The Rallon M20 is the first of the carbon Rallon models.

It’s a solid and reliable build for someone who wants to start off on mid-range components and (perhaps) upgrade over time.

Fundamentally the frame is exactly the same as the other Rallons, so it makes perfect sense to do this.

Orbea designed the M20 build features Fox suspension. A Fox 38 Performance is paired to the latest Fox Float X rear shock.

Thankfully, suspension setup is much quicker using the Rallon’s Blue Paper here.

The Rallon M20 is built with Shimano SLX components.

And Shimano M6120 4-piston brakes.

Shimano SLX parts are paired to a Race Face Aeffect crankset.