2022 Orbea Rallon | Basque enduro brawler gets mullet wheel option and on-frame storage

If you have been paying close attention to the Enduro World Series, you may have noticed the Orbea Fox Enduro Team riding a frame with a geometric camouflage paint job. This zebra stripe paintwork is used to hide something in plain sight, and with today’s launch of the all-new Orbea Rallon, everything has been illuminated.

The Rallon has long served as the Basque outfit’s enduro platform, but 2017 was the first time we saw the asymmetrical frame design. Since then, it has received regular updates, with a 29er version launched in 2018 and a new ‘Rally On’ linkage kit the following year. This upgrade bumped the rear travel up by 10mm, and was said to make the leverage curve more progressive and increase sensitivity. Orbea spec’d this new linkage on all the Rallons sold after it launched, effectively making a 2019/2020 version of the bike — luckily, the link was backwards compatible.

Wooof, that is a good looking bike.

For 2022, Orbea has given the Rallon a revamp from top to tail, with new geometry, updated suspension kinematics and a cubby to store your things.

Longer, lower and slacker with a new haircut

The previous model of the Rallon was a solid climber for a 160mm bike, that could monster truck down steep chundery descents but also wasn’t as dull as watching the Fantastic Four movie on flatter, less technical trails. The new bike hasn’t had an overly dramatic change to the geometry and should maintain a lot of this character, with some extra stability.

The head angle goes half a degree slacker in the ‘Low’ (which is actually the high) position, the reach grows by 30mm in size large, the chainstays add 5mm, and the BB drop is 3mm lower. Orbea has also steepened the seat angle by 2-degrees, decreased standover height and used a straight, uninterrupted seat tube to maximise long dropper post compatibility.

The seat tube is arrow straight to accommodate as much seat post insertion as possible. 

Orbea continues to offer adjustable geometry thanks to a flip-chip in the shock yoke, allowing for a ‘Low’ and ‘Lower’ position. This drops the BB by 7mm and slackens the head and seat angle by half a degree.

Orbea worked with a measured hand when mocking up the new Rallon in BikeCad because the tweaks to the geometry are just that — tweaks.

Mullets are everywhere these days, and the new Rallon can either be run full 29er or with a smaller rear wheel without affecting the geometry, thanks to interchangeable shock spacers.

‘Lockr’ Frame Storage

We’ve seen bike and components brands pushing the idea of on-bike storage in recent years so that your spares and tools are always to hand, and you only need a pack for all-day epics.

Orbea is the latest brand to add a trapped door to the downtube for in-frame storage.

Orbea has introduced what it’s calling the ‘Lockr Zone.’ Underneath the bottle cage mounts, on the downtube, is a removable door that reveals a space inside the frame, large enough for a tube, tyre levers, and a pair of C02 cartridges.

Taking advantage of otherwise unused space, Orbea has hidden tools inside the main pivot and rear axle; you’ll find hex keys, a T25, and a tyre repair kit, all held in place with magnets.

A OneUp EDC style tool is stowed in the main pivot.

Suspension

The 2022 Rallon is still based around 160mm of rear travel, and is paired with a 170mm fork.

The Rallon continues its use of a split pivot at the back, using the rear dropout as a concentric pivot. This isolates braking forces from the swingarm and allows the suspension to stay active, even when you drop the anchors.

Orbea also says it left the anti-squat figure largely unchanged, with the explanation essentially being, ‘don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.’

The brand did, however, adjust the pivot points in the linkage to create a more rearward axle path, particularly early in the stroke, to help the wheel float past square edges. Orbea also tweaked the leverage rate, creating a high starting leverage to give the rear end a plush and active feel early in the stroke. As you sink deeper into the travel, progressivity ramps up to provide support and control after big hits.

With this, the Rallon can be run with both coil and air shocks. Every model, except the top-spec LTD build, is sold with a Fox Float X or X2 rear shock.

Quiet cables and creak free

Previous versions of the Rallon have been a bit noisy on the trail, so Orbea has changed up its internal cable guides to prevent rattling and improved the silicone cable port plugs and conduits that link the front and rear triangle.

Rattles be gone, the new Rallon gets upgraded cable management to keep things quiet.

The brand has also beefed up the co-moulded plastic frame protectors on the chainstays, seatstays, and BB area to quiet chain noise and fend off trail debris kicked up by your tyres. Orbea also says it increased the sealing on the pivot bearings to keep grit on the outside for as long as possible.

Orbea hasn’t gone as heavy as some other brands on the frame armouring.

2022 Orbea Rallon pricing and availability

Each model of the Rallon is built around the same carbon frame, and we will be getting four builds here in Aus. Prices start at $7,499 for the Shimano SLX and Fox Performance equipped Rallon M20, and climb to $13,999 for the M-LTD model that sees Shimano XTR, a Fox DHX2 Factory coil shock and Fox 38 Float Factory fork.

Orbea’s Australian distributor BikeBox has confirmed we can expect the new Rallon to be available locally in April 2022. We have also confirmed that the M-LTD, M-TEAM, and M10 models will be available to customise through the MyO program — you’ll see some of the component customisation options in the spec list in italics, bear in mind these upgrades may affect the price.

Orbea Rallon M-LTD

The top-spec Rallon M-LTD is the only build to come out of the box with a coil shock, though that can be swapped for a Float X2 should an air shock tickle your fancy.

Orbea Rallon M-Team

The second tier Rallon M-Team is dripping in Kashima, with a paint job that almost matches the low friction coating on the suspension.

Orbea Rallon M10

Sitting third in the lineup, the Rallon M-10 is the only build to feature SRAM drivetrain components, but the brakes are still Shimano.

Orbea Rallon M20

Rounding out the lineup is the Rallon M-20 with Fox Performance level air suspension and a Shimano SLX drivetrain.

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