Orbea has ditched the Rallon enduro bike as we know it, instead relaunching it as a downhill race machine… one you might have spotted Tahnee Seagave pilot to victory at round one of the World Cup last weekend.

The Spanish brand says falling enduro bike sales pushed it to drop the old Rallon, as riders look more to e-bikes like its brilliant Wild, and enduro racing becomes increasingly unwatched.

In a quirky twist though, the new Rallon for 2025 will actually be available as a sort of super enduro bike, with 170mm travel and 180mm fork. So while last year Orbea riders like Martin Maes had to race downhill on a modified e-bike, this year it flipped the tables and riders can race enduro on a modified downhill rig… just not pro team riders of course, because Orbea folded its enduro team last year.

Orbea has left enduro in a big way, first losing its pro team at the end of 2025, and now switching the Rallon up to a DH bike

Orbea Rallon need to know

• Rallon is now a downhill bike with 200mm front and rear and full carbon frame
• Enduro version uses the same front triangle as the downhill bike
• Gravity focussed bikes, with low antisquat for supple suspension
• Weights can be added to the BB area on both enduro and DH, adding up to 600g
• Bikes from £5,399 on the Enduro, up to £9,999; DH is £7,899
• Choice of chainstay lengths, head angle adjustment and progression flip chip
• Top end Enduro version uses Fox Live Valve Neo for pedalling efficiency
• Four models in the range, one DH bike and three Enduros

We should really think of the Rallon as a downhill bike now then, and you’ll understand more when I explain the new bike’s details, which are 100% focussed on downhill performance. That already sets it apart from the best enduro mountain bikes out there, which have to pedal well (at least some of the time).

The shock protrudes through the downtube and mounts to a plate called the GravityLink, lowering the Rallon’s centre of gravity and allowing for kinematic and geometry adjustments

Most excitingly, the new Rallon comes with interchangeable weights to let riders alter the centre of gravity, something downhill racers have been tinkering with since the dawn of the sport. Apparently Martin Maes did this too last year, packing out the motor area on the Wild e-bike with weights to improve its performance, but I’m pretty sure the Rallon is the first to try this on a production bike.

The big 395g weight here can be bolted to both the enduro and downhill bikes

Orbea’s done the same thing here, albeit in a more controlled and repeatable way. The weights slot into the bottom of its GravityLink (more on this in a minute), which also acts as the bottom mount for the Rallon’s shock. That’s going to let riders choose between three weights – 395g, 95g, and 93g and totalling up to 600g. And because it’s so low in the bike – actually poking through the bottom of the downtube – it dramatically changes the bike’s centre of gravity.

Orbea didn’t shout about this, but in theory it’ll also make the suspension work better. Adding weight to the frame will effectively decrease the unsprung mass ratio (wheels, fork lowers, and the back end of the bike), meaning it can slip into its travel more quickly and smoothly.

I’ve got to call this out as one of the best looking bikes of 2025

How does screwing in weight to some pre-drilled holes make the bike pedal? Who cares, when we’re talking about a downhill bike configured for gravity alone. Where it might matter is on the enduro bike version – Orbea says its really for bike park riding rather than racing, so riders might be on an uplift, but there’s always some pedalling involved in my experience.

There’s also no information on how much these two bikes weigh, either with or without their weight plates.

Fox’s Live Valve Neo on the top model enduro bike will help the bike overcome its natural gravity bias when you want it to pedal

Orbea has a way round this though, the Rallon enduro has been built for electronically controlled suspension like RockShox Flight Attendant 2025, and specifically for use with Fox Live Valve Neo active suspension. You’ve probably heard plenty about both recently, but the whole idea is bikes can be designed with super active suspension that excels on the descents, letting AI firm up the shock for the pedalling sections.

Orbea has really leaned into this, the new bike looks more active according to the suspension kinematic charts, with just 85% antisquat – the old Rallon sat at around 120%. That’s going to make for a bike with really active suspension, probably too much if you were hoping to pedal it around places or didn’t use Live Valve.

There are two dedicated GravityLink options, one for a 27.5in back end and a mullet setup, and one for full 29er

Maximum adjustability

Orbea’s designed something called a GravityLink on the new Rallon, it’s the lower mounting point for the shock and it sits lower than the frame itself thanks to a channel cut into the downtube. Of course the idea is to drop that centre of gravity as far as possible.

The zeitgeist for 2025 seems to be configurable progression, letting riders choose one aspect of their suspension kinematics

More than just a low mounting point though, you can also use it to switch between a mullet and a full 29er setup on the En enduro bike by switching out the link. Orbea’s also positioned the bike’s progression flip chip down here, letting riders choose from 25% progression to 30%, something that’s all the rage in bikes this year – the Santa Cruz Vala e-bike got the ball rolling on this, and most recently we’ve seen the DJI-powered Velduro Rogue doing the same thing.

There’s no tweaking of the BB height though because Orbea hasn’t added a traditional geometry-adjust flip chip. What it has done though is popped in an angle adjust headset capable of changing the head angle by plus or minus 0.75º

The downhill and enduro bikes share a front triangle, which means you get downtube storage and water bottle bosses even on the DH rig

Chainstay choice

This is a brilliant idea, Rallon customers can now choose which chainstay length they prefer. At the checkout you can opt for either a 442mm option or a 450mm, the former makes for a more playful ride and the latter gives you more stability at speed, Orbea says.

Choice of chainstay lengths is a pretty novel idea from Orbea, but there’s no changing it once you’ve made your choice, unlike on the Turbo Levo

Usually chainstay length is either fixed, as in the case with Propain’s Spindrift CF 5 Ultimate; comes in two sizes depending on the bike size you go for, like on the YT Jeffsy Core 5; or comes in proportionally sized lengths, a la Forbidden’s new Druid CorE e-bike. The other exception is the new Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo Gen 4, which has adjustable chainstays.

Orbea reckons this is feasible because it has such an established customisable order process. All its bikes are painted and shopped from the Basque County, meaning it can make changes to the spec as you load up your basket.

You can actually buy the same model Tahnee races on, just don’t expect to go as quick on it

Rallon DH details

The Rallon DH has 200mm travel front and rear. It comes as a mullet setup but you can opt for a full 29er at checkout. Sizing is pretty modest at 474mm on a size large, meaning it’s way smaller than the Canyon’s new 2025 Sender, which also has adjustable rate suspension. The Rallon DH isn’t as slack as the Sender either, at 63.7deg head angle.

How does it ride? Orbea says the Rallon frame is tuned for traction and confidence, rather than out and out stiffness. It also has low pedal kickback.

There’s just one downhill model on offer.

The new Rallon gets a super low standover height, and there’s space for the longest 240mm droppers too

Rallon En details

The Rallon En has 170mm travel and a 180mm fork. Like the downhill bike, it’s been designed with the same gravity ethos, and as such it’s almost certain to pedal like a dog! Which is why there’s one models available with the Fox Live Valve shock. Riders on the two lower teir bikes will just have to suck it up, I guess.

The enduro bikes also get the same progressivity change as the downhill bike, but it’s a more linear platform, going from around 22.5% to 27.5%. And unlike the downhill bike, there is a high and low setting to the geometry, accessed via a flip chip in the GravityLink. This adjustment changes the head angle by 0.5º and alters bottom bracket drop by 7 mm. On top of that you get an angle adjust headset to change the head angle by plus or minus 0.75º and at stock it’s 64.5.

The enduro bike also comes in four frame sizes (S, M, L, XL) and there are three models: Rallon E-LTD, Rallon E-Team, Rallon E-10.

The Rallon Range

Do I need a downhill bike in my life? No, but when it looks as good as this I really want one!

Orbea Rallon D-LTD £7,899 (€7,999)

The downhill bike gets a Factory level Fox 40 fork and a Float X2. Shimano handles the brakes and drivetrain, with XTR stoppers and Saint crankset and mech. The wheels are Orbea’s own OQUO MC32 Team alloy.

Orbea Rallon E-LTD

Orbea Rallon E-LTD £9,999 (€9,999)

The flagship enduro bike uses Fox again, with a Factory 38 up front and a Float X with Neo electronically controlled damping. It gets the same Shimano XTR brakes and Orbea wheels as the downhill bike, but a SRAM X0 drivetrain.

Orbea Rallon E-Team

Orbea Rallon E-Team £6,899 (€6,999)

You get the same Factory level suspension as the E-LTD, but there’s no Neo Live Valve as standard. The wheels are the same, but the brakes and drivetrain step down to Shimano XT

Orbea Rallon E-10

Orbea Rallon E-10 £5,399 (€5,399)

Again, Orbea keeps the same Factory level suspension as the other enduro bikes. Brakes are Shimano MT6120, and the drivetrain is SLX. The wheels change too, with Race Face Arc 30s.