Skip to main content

Orbea Rallon X30


When the going gets rough, the Rallon’s supple suspension truly shines. None of our testers had a bad word to say about the only Fox-equipped bike here when it came to its bump-eating capabilities. Point it at the ugliest set of braking bumps and it’ll chew through them in stealth-like silence, all the while keeping its quality Maxxis rubber glued to the dirt. Even with an upgraded fork and shock plus a dropper post the price of our bike was kept under $4500. What’s not to like then? Although the Rallon’s dimensions are alright on the whole, all of our testers commented on the lofty 145mm head tube and 70mm stem. Even after swapping to a shorter, zero-rise stem and totally slamming it, the almost flat bar felt too high for many, which was offputting through the turns.

Price $4484

Popular posts from this blog

ENVE M50 29" Wheels

Utah based company ENVE have been making drool-worthy carbon components for some years now. Despite the fact that carbon rims are becoming more and more common on mountain bikes these days, you can guarantee that ENVE wheels will be a talking point when someone is eyeing off a steed. Instantly, the big bold logos on each rim scream "fast", "light" and to some extent, "expensive" The kids call this 'bling'.

Merida Big Seven 100

We've rolled up to our local woods, with a meandering blue trail, some natural wooded tracks and a bit of fire road chucked into the mix to see how the Big Seven 100 tackles trails that entry-level riders are likely to cut their teeth on.

Scott Scale 950

The Scale 950 uses the now traditional-for-cross-country 29er wheels to excellent effect, with a fast but fun character that's happy racing or railing.

COMMENCAL EL CAMINO 3

Commencal are going from strength to strength at the moment and they’ve taken their tough trail hardtail bang up to date with 650b wheels. With its skinny rims, crankset and fork, the El Camino certainly isn’t perfect and it’s the least hardcore bike here. The handling, smoothness, speed and all-round agility of the basic bike still make it a real blast for technical trail riding though, and it’s a great base for upgrading over time.

CUBE REACTION GTC PRO 27.5

Cube have kept their strong 29er race hardtail range for 2014 but added four new bikes with 650b wheels. The Reaction GTC Pro 27.5 is the second-tier carbon model.