Orbea's Rallon RS - An E-Bike That's Not for E-Bikers 34

Orbea has always been at the forefront of the lightweight, SL e-bike category. Their Rise model was one of the first bikes to push the idea that you can have an e-bike that’s pretty light, decently powerful, and shares similar ride qualities with a regular mountain bike.

Today, Orbea is launching the next evolution of this ‘less is more’ concept with the Rallon RS. However, this isn’t an SL e-bike in the traditional sense. Yes, it has a motor and a battery, but it's positioned to feel and ride like an analog bike.

It’s definitely not going to be a bike for everyone, but it offers a lot to talk about as it challenges how we currently incorporate electric assistance into the mountain biking experience.

Highlights

• 170mm of rear wheel travel // 180mm fork
• Dual 29-inch or mixed wheel (requires separate link)
• Linkage-driven single pivot design with Orbea's Concentric Boost rear axle pivot
• 290 Wh battery (160 Wh range extender sold separately)
• TQ HPR40 motor w/ 40 Nm torque and 200 W power
• Orbea’s dropper/controller, FOX’s Neo shock, and Shimano’s Di2 drivetrain are all electronically integrated with the motor/battery
• Adjustable head angle and bottom bracket height
• 4 sizes
• Weight (size large, no pedals): 39.5 lb (17.9 kg)
• MSRP: RS-LTD - $14,999 USD // RS-Team - $10,999 USD

If you tune in to World Cup downhill racing, you are well aware that Orbea joined forces with FMD racing in 2025 and launched their all-new enduro/downhill model, the Rallon. The bike won a few World Cups last year under Tahnee Seagrave and was met with a lot of excitement from riders. It’s one sick-looking bike with all the features you’d want in a long-travel bike.

The Rallon RS is a blend of what Orbea has learned from its Rise and Rallon models. It takes the capabilities of Rallon’s suspension design and geometry and combines them with the innovative mentality and integration of the Rise.

The main goal of the Rallon RS was to create a trail/enduro bike that descends like their DH bike and climbs like their XC bike. The nuts and bolts of how they've aimed to achieve this are that they’ve gone with TQ’s smallest and lightest HPR40 motor, which produces 40 Nm of torque and 200 W of power, and combined it with a small 290 Wh battery. The motor's claimed weight is 2.57 lb (1.16 kg), and the battery is 2.3 lb (1.04 kg).

Orbea tested their XC and enduro bikes and found that ~60 W was the increase in power input required to climb the enduro bike at a similar speed to their XC bike. So the HPR40 makes up for this difference, plus some. They’ve also applied their own ‘RS Tune’ to give the motor the most natural assistance by limiting it from ever providing more power than you input. There are two assist profiles, but you can go in and create up to ten if you want more of a shifting-gears vibe as you change motor input.

The bike is equipped with a Shimano XT or XTR Di2 drivetrain, a FOX Float X2 Neo shock, and Orbea’s own RS control system, which is their electronic dropper post and assist remote/dropper lever. All components are powered by the main battery, so you only need to charge the bike from a single source. This does mean everything is connected with wires.

This is the first smart shock ecosystem we’ve seen, where it pulls info from the dropper to know its position, as well as speed and cadence from the motor to better adapt to the trail ahead. You can also change between custom shock tunes created in FOX’s app with Orbea’s control switch.

Orbea is launching the bike with just 2 top-tier build kits, priced accordingly. There will be build options available when ordering, and like any other Orbea bike, you can fully customize the paint job.

Geometry

We rode a large M RS-LTD build that weighed 39.5 lb without pedals. That is about 3.5 lb lighter than the Rise and 3.2 lb lighter than the Rallon enduro (w/ weights installed) that we tested last year. I actually just built up a Levo SL that weighs around 41.8 lb. 

The One Ride Test

I scored one day on the Rallon RS. The concept of the bike sounded very intriguing over email. As someone who likes to pedal, doesn't love how full-size e-bikes handle, and is down with some bigger travel, I could see what Orbea was going for. Sort of. 

I also wondered how the heck they planned to convince people to spend a ton of money on an e-bike that didn’t offer the range or power of any other eMTB on the market. Especially in the current trend of more power, more range, the Rallon RS seemed likely to fall on deaf ears.

Ride Stats

• 10.17 miles
• 3,087 ft climbed
• 50% battery used
• Spent roughly 60% of the time in the highest assist mode
• Average heart rate: 144 bpm (40% Z3, 32.6% Z2, 18.2% Z1)

My first question was whether the motor would even help on climbs. 40 Nm?! What is this an e-bike for ants?! The feel of the HPR40 was mild, like a gentle push rather than getting pulled up climbs as a passenger. It took the edge off punchy jaunts and kept me from walking a few sections I always have. It wasn’t as reliant on my cadence like many motors and seemed to make up for the lull in power at the top of the pedal stroke. Up a steady paved climb, I switched between off, Range, and Rally assist levels. The difference was basically one gear—I was able to shift up a gear with each increase in assistance. So I wasn’t flying up the hill with the motor wide open, but I was going faster than usual. I noticed the biggest improvement in climbing speed on easier climbs. When things got steep, the lack of torque and power was clear, and I was moving only slightly faster than usual.

I jumped between off and the two assist levels a ton at the start of my ride to save battery. The bike was totally rideable without assistance, but if I were spending $15k on the Rallon RS, best believe I’m using the motor 95% of the time. As I got further into my ride, the battery lights (which are not easy to see or interpret while moving) weren’t going away. The last half of the ride, I only used Rally mode. I finished with 50% battery remaining, which was a surprise. If you just double my ride stats, you are at 20 miles and 6,000 ft of climbing. I’d bet you could do even more if you rode conservatively. Not to mention the possibilities with a range extender.

The other big question I had going into the day was why not spec at least a bigger motor? On paper, the HPR40 just didn’t make sense to me. Post-ride, Orbea’s position became clearer. The HPR40 pumped out more power than expected. You have to lower your expectations, but if your reference is your own legs, it can take you further, faster. Again, it's not a massive delta compared to a regular ride, but it's something. I actually have to commend Orbea for having the self-control not to spec a bigger motor or battery, as all that would have done was create an SL version of the Rallon. The increase in weight would have put the bike on par with other bikes already out there. By going smaller, they’ve carved out a new category of e-bike that climbs and descends uniquely.

I’m happy Orbea applied this concept to a long-travel platform like the Rallon. It makes a lot of sense and is an idea I'm sure many enduro/downhill riders have daydreamed about since e-bikes became popular. If only I had time to test with a dual crown fork... Given all the focus I put on how the bike climbed, it needed to exude a certain type of personality descending to justify its smaller e-system. Even though I only did one ride, it’s undeniably a bike you can ride carefree. I never noticed its weight in a bad way, and smiled every time it settled into a corner or held straight through chatter. Not once did I think I was piloting an e-bike, and I’d compare the experience to that of riding any other long-travel, 37+ lb enduro bike.    

Finally, it would be rude not to discuss the level of integration on the Rallon RS. Having one charging point for your entire bike is dreamy. Clean cable routing further hides the bike’s sophistication. The assist controller/dropper lever combo is also the cleanest and best-feeling dropper lever I’ve experienced. When I tested the bike, all the apps were in beta mode, so I didn’t mess with any motor or suspension tuning. The stock motor settings were completely fine, and beyond setting sag and external adjustments, the shock felt excellent. Rock-solid and firm one moment, supple and supportive the next. Just as advertised. My mind was racing with thoughts about who the Rallon RS was for and how it fits between the current crop of e-bikes that I didn’t put much thought into all the electronic gizmos. But that’s kind of the whole point of this level of integration, no? The components communicate with each other to best respond to the trail so that all you have to do is hold on. I’m really curious whether this degree of integration is where bikes are headed over the next 5-10 years. It’s fine with me if they do. I just hope there will be economic builds available.

What’s The One-Ride Bottom Line?

The Rallon RS definitely challenges how we currently identify an e-bike versus a regular bike. It has enough power to help on climbs, and enough range to take you on a proper-length ride. But you'll be sweating, panting, and tired at the end. Orbea nailed the objective of making an enduro bike that climbs as well as an XC bike. You tack on all the new integrated tech, and the Rallon RS is probably a dream bike for a select few (wealthy) riders in the world.

The biggest hurdle Orbea will likely face is convincing everyone else to buy an e-bike that doesn’t amplify their power to a degree that makes climbing easy. However, what I realized after one ride is that the Rallon RS really isn’t an e-bike. The difference between it and a regular mountain bike is slim, and that feels like the whole point of this project.

View key specs, compare e-bikes, and review the Rallon RS in the Vital MTB Product section.