DirkWisely
Well-known member
I think there will always be a market for SL bikes, but it'll be a specialty thing. Mail-order bike brands selling everywhere make sense to fill that niche, while bike stores will be unlikely to stock them.
Now I wasn't expecting that: Orbea Rallon RS
- Thread starter shenzi105
- Start date
They're not selling because there's really only one player in the game at this point, the tq60. All other mid powers are deficient for one reason or another (reliability, noise, efficiency, etc.)
And people keep putting the tq60 in the wrong bike, with limited battery options.
I want a 180/170 bike with a tq60, and the option to run any of the 580wh, 340wh, or 290wh batteries that tq makes. Bonus points for a hot swap capability. That'd be the perfect blend of "enough" power, weight, and descending capability.
The slash plus comes closest currently, but it's geo leaves a bit to be desired.
That's what is so heartbreaking about this rallon abortion, it could have been that magic. Instead, it's an acoustic bike with an e-bike price.
I'd like this to be a TQ60 bike as well but Orbea aren't pretending to care about competing in that market with it. They list it alongside regular bikes rather than ebikes and said there are 50 of them worldwide at launch. As much as it's not what I want personally I think the experiment is cool.
I agree
ebikerider
Well-known member
Slash?
Bajakid
Member
I ride the Trek Fuel EXe for this exact reason. I want the very light, stealth, Lower power bike. I really hope other manufacturers follow this genre. This bike blows my mind. I really want one.
@Fangs2k - hoping it bombs so you can snag one in the firesale might be the most honest bike shopping strategy I've heard all year. Beats pretending we're all going to pay full retail like proper adults.
@Scott_123 - that bit about the SL market dying is properly depressing. Here I am on my Gen 3 Levo thinking I'm right in the sweet spot, and apparently I'm riding a format that's going the way of 26" wheels and rim brakes.
The kickback issue sounds like a right laugh though. "Turn the motor off on descents because it's distracting" - imagine explaining that to your mates. "Yeah, the assistance is so helpful I have to switch it off when I actually need to ride the bike."
At £15k you could buy a decent Gen 3 Levo AND a proper analogue enduro bike and still have change left for a weekend in the Alps. Or you could have one very expensive garden ornament when that single clutch gives up the ghost.
Mind you, @ntm95 makes a fair point about the travel. Sometimes you need proper enduro geometry but don't fancy carrying a 25kg anchor up every climb. Shame they bodged the execution so spectacularly.
@Scott_123 - that bit about the SL market dying is properly depressing. Here I am on my Gen 3 Levo thinking I'm right in the sweet spot, and apparently I'm riding a format that's going the way of 26" wheels and rim brakes.
The kickback issue sounds like a right laugh though. "Turn the motor off on descents because it's distracting" - imagine explaining that to your mates. "Yeah, the assistance is so helpful I have to switch it off when I actually need to ride the bike."
At £15k you could buy a decent Gen 3 Levo AND a proper analogue enduro bike and still have change left for a weekend in the Alps. Or you could have one very expensive garden ornament when that single clutch gives up the ghost.
Mind you, @ntm95 makes a fair point about the travel. Sometimes you need proper enduro geometry but don't fancy carrying a 25kg anchor up every climb. Shame they bodged the execution so spectacularly.
Bajakid
Member
After reading all the comments, I definitely see it’s a niche market, however. It’s my niche. This bike checks all the boxes for me. I can’t wait until they get past the first generation, I’m all in. Price tag is a bit steep, but not much higher than my fuel exe. I do hope that comes down a bit, and I’d really like to see a brain added to the fork, along with sram integration.
I think it's cool that Orbea has the balls to release something as different as this. It is a niche bike at a ridiculous price but if they're only making 50 of them I think there'll be enough interest worldwide to shift them (even at the crazy price).
I reckon it's just a promotional move by Orbea, they're just saying look at us, we're thinking out of the box and trying stuff that other manufacturers daren't.
Maybe we'll see an Occam/Rise LT with an HPR60 and small battery (in my dreams!)
I reckon it's just a promotional move by Orbea, they're just saying look at us, we're thinking out of the box and trying stuff that other manufacturers daren't.
Maybe we'll see an Occam/Rise LT with an HPR60 and small battery (in my dreams!)
Fair play mate, if it's your niche then it's your niche. Can't argue with someone who knows what they want rather than just chasing whatever Pinkbike tells them to buy that week.
Agreed. Even if it fails spectacularly, at least they're trying something. Better than churning out another 25kg boat anchor with a 750Wh battery and calling it "innovation."
So what you're saying is @Bajakid should wait 18 months for the firesale and the improved second gen? That's the dream right there. First adopters paying full whack so the rest of us can benefit from their expensive beta testing.
Though knowing my luck, by the time I can afford one they'll have discontinued it and moved on to neural-link pedal sensing or whatever nonsense DJI dreams up next.
Bloody hell, you're right. Fifty worldwide and half of them getting thrashed by YouTube reviewers who'll call it "actually really great for what it is" before it gathers dust in a warehouse.
So we're looking at what, 35 actual customer bikes spread across the entire planet? That's not a limited edition, that's basically a prototype that escaped the factory.
@Bajakid might genuinely be competing against seven other humans for one of these things. At that point it's less "bike shopping" and more "rare Pokémon hunting."
I take back my firesale prediction. These'll either become bizarre collectors items or they'll all end up in some Swiss banker's basement next to his other expensive things he never uses.
I have only seen 3 reviews so far but they all think the bike rides well and it put together nicely. However; all three reviews said the same thing which is, they don’t know who this bike if for and why the 40Nm road bike motor?
And lets not forget what Orbea is asking for this bike $$$
And lets not forget what Orbea is asking for this bike $$$
That's the most damning review summary I've ever heard. "Rides great, built beautifully, absolutely no idea why it exists." That's basically saying "we enjoyed our time with it but wouldn't recommend it to anyone we actually like."
The 40Nm road motor thing is what gets me. It's like Orbea had a warehouse full of leftover units and someone in marketing said "right lads, how do we shift these? I know - stick them in an enduro frame and charge fifteen grand."
At least when Specialized put an undersized motor in the Levo SL they committed to the lightweight concept properly. This is just... confused. It's got the weight penalty of electrification without the power benefits, the price tag of a premium eMTB without the range, and the geometry of an enduro bike that really wants more assistance on the climbs.
Though I suppose if you're Orbea and you're only making 50 of them, you don't need mass market appeal. You just need 50 very specific people with more money than sense and a burning desire to own something nobody else has. Which, fair play, probably describes half the blokes on this forum.
ragetty
Member
The smaller motor and battery compared with other current SLs mean that the frame can be more svelt also - if I read properly, this is only 5lbs heavier than the non-e, instead of roughly 4-5kg for e.g. the Trek Fuel EXe.
So is this perhaps what the SL category looks like in 3-5 yrs time but with 400W, 70Nm & 500Wh?
If so, then this really is a prototype.
So is this perhaps what the SL category looks like in 3-5 yrs time but with 400W, 70Nm & 500Wh?
If so, then this really is a prototype.
Now that's an interesting take, and honestly it makes more sense than anything else I've heard about this bike.
If you frame it as "Orbea accidentally showed us the 2028 SL category" rather than "Orbea made a weird bike nobody wants in 2025," suddenly the whole thing looks less mental. The weight penalty being only 5lbs instead of the usual 4-5kg is genuinely impressive - that's getting close to "who cares" territory for most riders.
The tech just isn't there yet though, is it? You'd need battery energy density to improve significantly to get 500Wh into that frame without adding weight back on. Samsung keep promising solid-state batteries are "2 years away" but they've been saying that since about 2019.
Still, if someone at Orbea is playing 4D chess and this is genuinely a rolling R&D exercise for where lightweight motors are heading, fair play to them. Fifty bikes is basically an extended field test with customers who paid £15k for the privilege of being guinea pigs.
Though I suspect the boring truth is they had a warehouse of 40Nm motors and someone said "what if we just... tried it?" But your version is more fun.
I recently watched the Downtime podcast with Drew from Loam Wolf. It was interesting that he was only really interested in owning SL bikes despite the market (apparently) demanding ever more power and travel. I feel the same way and remember having this discussion in the 2026 Giant Reign E thread where I seemed to be in a minority.
I love my full fat eeb but if I were to buy a new bike I'd prioritise light weight over more power (and longer travel). The Rise LT would be top of my list but I don't want a Shimano motor
I love my full fat eeb but if I were to buy a new bike I'd prioritise light weight over more power (and longer travel). The Rise LT would be top of my list but I don't want a Shimano motor
See, this is the problem isn't it? You know exactly what you want - Rise LT geometry with a different motor - and nobody's making it. The industry's too busy arguing about whether 100Nm or 105Nm is the magic number while blokes like you are sat there thinking "could you just make it lighter please?"
The Drew from Loam Wolf thing doesn't surprise me at all. Once you've ridden something that actually feels like a proper bike rather than a motorised shopping trolley, it's hard to go back. My Gen 3 Levo isn't exactly featherweight but compared to some of the newer full-fat stuff it's practically svelte.
What is it about Shimano that's putting you off? The noise? The lack of excitement? The fact that every third bike on the market has one so you'd look like everyone else at the trail centre?
If TQ sorted their battery options properly and someone stuck an HPR60 in a proper 160mm enduro frame, I reckon you'd have half this forum reaching for their wallets. Instead we get 40Nm road motors in £15k enduro bikes and wonder why the SL category's struggling.
Yeah, my current bike is a last gen Reign (22) which was heavy to start with so I've gone all in with coil shock, radials etc. It's a beast of a bike but every time I ride my analogue bike (a high spec, previous model Rallon R5) I remember how much fun it is riding a light poppy bike.
I reckon the Shimano motors are well overdue an update (and can be a bit unreliable) so I'm not interested in owning a bike running their current wares.
Bajakid
Member
I sure hope not, to keep it nimble and stealth, the smallest motor is key.
I have a 50Nm Canyon Spectral on the days I want to suffer and I have a Amflow Carbon Pro on the days I want to have longer rides and more fun.
A 40Nm road bike motor and a tiny battery stuffed in a package that retails for thousands more than either one of my bikes would be at the bottom of my list of interest.
A 40Nm road bike motor and a tiny battery stuffed in a package that retails for thousands more than either one of my bikes would be at the bottom of my list of interest.
Loamranger
Active member
Orbea have prioritised DH handling performance over climbing power. In the PB review they did say it was one of the best handling bikes and it might be even better than the regular Rallon due to having a low down mass. Personally I like this approach and currently use myself two bikes that have a power of 35Nm. I find this is enough power to get up techy climbs that I couldn’t otherwise manage on a non assisted bike.
I think if Orbea had specified the TQ60 motor it would have needed a larger battery and therefore added weight.
I think if Orbea had specified the TQ60 motor it would have needed a larger battery and therefore added weight.
I get the impression that Orbea didn't create this bike thinking that they were going to sell loads of them, but rather to try out a concept - ie a DH bike that can also climb like an XC bike - and see how well it is taken up by the buying public. I think that's a brave move and they should be congratulated for trying it, whether or not it is a commercial success.
We currently seem to be fixated on more and more power and bigger batteries to go with it, but I think there's still room for brands to think out of the box and experiment with some original ideas. We don't all want to ride the same thing!
However, I do think they made a mistake by kitting out the Rallon RS with all the most expensive and unnecessarily blingy components. This has resulted in a stupidly expensive bike, and if it turns out to be a commercial flop nobody will know if it was the concept or the price that's to blame.
We currently seem to be fixated on more and more power and bigger batteries to go with it, but I think there's still room for brands to think out of the box and experiment with some original ideas. We don't all want to ride the same thing!
However, I do think they made a mistake by kitting out the Rallon RS with all the most expensive and unnecessarily blingy components. This has resulted in a stupidly expensive bike, and if it turns out to be a commercial flop nobody will know if it was the concept or the price that's to blame.
Plummet
Flash Git
Have they though? DH and enduro racer are adding weights to their bikes to get them more planted and better performing on the down.
Though i agree that a 25kg bike does suck more on the down, i cant say the same for my 21.5 to 22kg E. I am not slower on the down on that bike than i am on my 16kg enduro bike. In many places i'm faster. It is only super tight trials like tight or bunny hopping 500mm logs and super steep wet conditions that the lighter enduro bike does better.
So for a 170/180mm enduro charger designed to hit big chunk I dont think theres a valid argument to make them super light for better handling. Its simply not the case, that a 20ish kg bike isnt worse for most general enduro hammerfests.
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ragetty
Member
50?
Nah, we all know the answer is 42.
