When Orbea released the new Rallon earlier this year, their first-ever downhill bike, it caused quite a buzz. It helped that Tahnée Seagrave came out and won the first World Cup of the year on the bike, but a lot of riders appreciated what Orbea had created.
They came up with a single frame design that could be set up as an enduro or downhill bike with a very active kinematics package and tall and low geometry. They also squeezed in frame storage, plenty of adjustability, and optional weights located at the bottom bracket. And they managed to wrap all of this into a tidy and sleek frame design.
As one of the hottest new bikes on the circuit this year, we wanted to see for ourselves what makes the Rallon a successful race bike, and how those abilities translate to day-to-day bike park riding.
Rallon DH Highlights
- 200mm rear wheel travel // 200mm fork
- Mixed wheels only
- Carbon front & rear triangle // alloy rocker and lower link
- Linkage-driven single pivot design with Orbea's Concentric Boost rear axle pivot
- Progressive and linear leverage rate options
- 442mm or 450mm (tested) chain stay length chosen from factory
- +/- .75-degree head angle adjustment via lower bearing cup
- Internal frame storage and water bottle mount
- Optional weights can be added to the lower link (totaling 583g)
- 148mm boost rear spacing
- Sizes: S-XL
- Weight (size large, weights installed): 37.62 lb // 17.06 kg
- MSRP: $8,299 (frame only - $4,299)
Frame Details
Two bikes in one—You can change a few parts on the Rallon DH to morph it into an enduro bike with 170mm of travel. It requires changing the lower link, shock, and fork, as well as drivetrain and seatpost if you want to go full enduro-mode. But Orbea sells the necessary frame parts needed to make the switch.
E-bike inspired—The Rallon was developed over the past few seasons with Martin Maes, who raced a modified version of Orbea's Wild e-bike with the motor removed. The whole idea was to sort out weight distribution and kinematics. This explains the Rallon's low-placed shock and linkage-driven single pivot design with a concentric rear axle pivot—the same layout found on the Wild.
Carbon-tuned frame—Carbon front and rear triangles are connected via an aluminum rocker. The front triangle is intentionally stiff, while the rear end is more compliant, featuring a bridgeless seat stay that enables increased rear wheel roll.
Dedicated mullet—The Rallon DH rolls only on mixed wheels across its four sizes.
Make it heavier—Many riders are tuned in to the benefits of adding weight to the bottom of their bike. It's why e-bikes ride so planted and why we see most World Cup riders strapping weight to their bikes. Orbea decided to build this option into the Rallon, giving riders the choice of running 188g, 395g, or 583g of weights that screw into the lower link.
In-frame storage and water bottle cage—Because the enduro and DH bikes share a frame, this might be the first DH bike that has in-frame storage and a water bottle mount. Both of which are pretty handy when riding bike parks.
Tweakers gotta tweak—It's 2025, and you can't launch a bike without giving riders ways to change its geometry and kinematics. The Rallon DH offers three ways to dial in your setup:
- You can change the head tube angle by +/- .75 degrees by rotating the lower headset bearing cup. The bike comes with a neutral cup and a 63.8° head angle.
- When you order the bike you have the option of a 442 or 450mm chain stay length. We tested the longer option. Orbea also sells rear ends separately for those who want both lengths.
- The lower shock mount has a leverage rate flip chip with two options: 25% or 30% progression. Both curves are quite linear to play nicely with air or coil shocks and offer a consistent suspension feel throughout travel.
Geometry
Other frame details—Threaded bottom bracket | Internally routed cables that don't enter through the headset | Boost 148 rear spacing | Blocked chainslap protector | Drainage port in lower shock guard to clear water and mud around shock mount
Highlights of our test bike—Orbea currently only offers the one DH build that we tested—the D-LTD. It retails for $8,299, and includes a FOX Factory 40 with a GripX2 damper, FOX X2 Factory air shock, Shimano Saint drivetrain and XTR brakes with a 220mm front/200mm rear Galfer rotors, Orbea's own 20mm rise handlebar with a 40mm reach Race Face Atlas stem. We swapped the Oquo Mountain Control alloy wheels and Maxxis DHR2 tires for our control wheels and tires: Crankbrothers Synthesis 2.0 alloys with DH-casing, Maxxis MaxxGrip High Rollers.
Customize—You can fully customize the paint job of your Rallon DH through Orbea's MyO program, and it's completely free. They build and paint all their bikes in Spain, so it has to get painted anyway. It might as well be the color scheme you want
X01 build highlights—FOX Factory 40 with a GripX2 damper, FOX DHX2 Factory Coil, SRAM X01 drivetrain and Maven Silver brakes (220mm F/200mm R rotors), OneUp cockpit with 30mm rise alloy bars, and then we swapped the Reserve 30|HD alloy wheels and Maxxis Assegai/DHR2 combo for our control wheels and tires: Crankbrothers Synthesis 2.0 alloys with DH-casing, MaxxGrip Maxxis High Rollers.
Test Riders
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What's The Bottom Line?
Jason's Bottom Line
Strengths | Weaknesses |
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Shock / Fork Settings
- 190 psi (25% sag), HSC: open, LSC: 12, HSR: 4, LSR: 9
- 85 psi, 2 VR, HSC: 4, LSC: 14, HSR: 5, LSR: 5
It took a few extra runs to find the balance I was seeking on the Rallon. I feel the most balanced on a bike when my body weight is evenly distributed between both wheels. That way, I can hold traction and more easily predict and react to what the bike is doing. The Rallon has a tall stack, low bottom bracket, and a short-ish reach. This caused me to stand taller and more off the back of the bike to avoid feeling like my arms were crunched behind the bars. At the same time, I found the bike tended to rise under heavy braking, causing my weight to shift forward over the front. It was a contradictory sensation, feeling like I was too far back and too far forward at different times throughout a run. The Rallon also wasn't the smoothest bike through big, successive hits. It felt like the rear wheel struggled to get out of the way, adding to the pitching sensation. But to add to my confusion, the bike was great at gliding over low-angle chatter. Through off cambers littered with roots or straightaways where I could let off the brakes, the bike was smooth and tracked well.
This seesawing sensation of my body weight and smooth but unstable suspension feel made it tough to settle on a setup. I started by dropping the fork 5mm in the crowns and changing to the slack head angle position. This pushed the front axle out further, adding stability in steep sections and lowering the sensation of forward weight transfer. I also went from 2-3 VR in the fork to help hold it up during really big hits. I then went up in shock pressure to increase ride height and to keep from feeling so sunk into the bike. I ran HSC fully open, allowing the rear wheel to get out of the way of compressions more easily, and ran LSC in the middle of the clicks to achieve the support I wanted when pumping. We got some insider advice from an Orbea athlete who, by chance, parked next to us one day during testing, that the team primarily rides in the progressive leverage position. So that's what I changed to. It wasn't a massive change, but it did give the bike a little more hold up during bottom-out events, making up for the lack of damping I was running. Once I got my rebound set, I installed all the weights. The Rallon is a light bike, and the weights helped calm it down. They also added to the bike's biggest strength: railing corners, especially berms. Once I got the bike feeling more balanced with all those changes, I don't think I've ever hit turns as hard as I have on the Rallon. The Frameworks was a close second, but the Rallon was a touch more responsive and snappy when turns became tighter.
My struggles to get the bike to ride active and planted through steep, rough sections forced me to approach such sections with more intent. I couldn't just blast into things and expect the Rallon to plow its way through. My braking points especially become more methodical to hold traction and maintain my body position. It actually didn't feel much slower than the other bikes we tested once I shifted my approach. However, when we put the Rallon against the clock, that wasn't exactly true (more on that in the coming weeks). Given more time with the bike, I would switch to slightly taller bars (like 30mm rise) to keep my weight from getting tossed over the front in heavy braking moments.
All that said, the Rallon did offer a lot of useful adjustments and unique features (like frame storage and a bottle cage mount) that make it a compelling bike. It was super engaging and fun on flowy, jumpy, techy trails in the bike park. I don't think it would be my first choice to go racing, and I'd love to know more about how the FMD Orbea team has their Rallon's set up as they clearly haven't struggled to go fast on the bike. For anyone who decides to pick up a Rallon, I recommend adding extra chainstay protection and experimenting with stuffing the frame with various materials to help quiet the bike down. I'd also go with any drivetrain other than a Shimano Saint. Your ears, riding friends, and mental health will thank you.
Ryan's Bottom Line
Strengths | Weaknesses |
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Shock / Fork Settings
- 190 psi (30% sag), HSC: Open, LSC: 12, HSR: 4, LSR: 9
- 85 psi, 2 VR, HSC: 5, LSC: 10, HSR: 6, LSR: 5
This bike felt great in the park. The first thing I noticed was how well it cornered in the berms. My guess is the super stiff front triangle paired with the more compliant rear triangle gave it a slight two-wheel steer effect, but I'm not completely sure. It rode playful and had plenty of platform to pump against.
The rear end did bottom out every now and then, but it wasn't a concerning amount. The wheel moved out of the way of bumps well, so it ate up terrain. You just had to be ready to handle the big hits when it did go through all of its travel. The rear triangle was comfortably compliant but never wound up or squirmed in corners. On the flip side, the oversized front triangle tubes made rock strikes loud. When a rock flung up and hit the downtube, it echoed like a carbon drum. We stuffed the downtube full of shop rags, which helped alleviate the problem.
The bike has very low anti-rise, so the rear wheel digs into the ground under braking for more traction. Like I mentioned with the Frameworks and V10, there are pros and cons. The upside is you can brake later into corners since your rear tire is clawing for grip and you can scrub speed quickly. The downside is that the suspension moves toward bumps when braking, so it does not get out of the way as easily. That can make the rear rise slightly and shift your geometry. The lower your anti-rise, the more it happens. You can tune around it with bar height, but on really steep, rough sections, the extra forward pitch can get sketchy if the bike is too long for your arms. Your arms top out on travel and the bars start pulling you down the hill. I am used to that feeling and actually like the added braking traction, but it is definitely a balance. The Orbea's very low anti-rise gives tons of grip, which I like, but again, you need enough free arm travel to soak up that extra pitch. So choose your size with that in mind. Riders who value late braking will probably love it. Others may not, but it is something you can adapt to.
To me, the bike rode more like a big enduro bike than a pure downhill race bike. Nimble, easy to move around, but not quite as flat out fast as some of the other DH bikes. The tradeoff is versatility. You can ride it in the park all day and not get bored, race it on the weekend, and with a few part swaps, even pedal it during the week. Most downhill bikes cannot pull that off.
The Orbea would not be my first choice for chasing World Cup wins, but I would be stoked to own it. It gives up a little raw speed compared to full-on race bikes, but that is fine for most riders. It is still competitive (it has won World Cups), but it is also more useful and fun outside of racing than a dedicated race bike. That is what makes it stand out.
View key specs, compare bikes, and review the new Orbea Rallon models in the Vital MTB Product section.
9/26/2025 5:00am
View replies to: New Kid On The Block - Testing Orbea's Rallon DH Bike
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