JONNY’S ORBEA RALLON M10£3,899
Our workshop boss inds that big-wheeled free speed comes at a cost
Trees don’t move and 35mm bars are pretty tough. That’s the summary of my last month on the Rallon.
I’ve been really enjoying my riding recently, so much so that I’m starting to think that 29in wheels are better suited to me than 650b. Every ride on the Orbea has been a good one, even quiet solo jaunts. The big wheels winch me along flatter sections and coming back down is as good as it’s ever been. I feel really confident with way the bike is set up – the tyres, the brakes, the whole thing is just dialled.
I’ve had a couple of chances to get over to the Black Mountains Cycle Centre too. The first trip was a washout after two very greasy runs, so my mates and I went home early.
My second visit, to shoot some bikes and test products with Steve Behr, was in perfect conditions. Following Shaun Bevan down his trails opened my eyes to what was possible – little hips, transfers and trying not to brake just to keep up with him meant I was pushing pretty hard.
Towards the end of the day, we were playing on a series of tight turns near the bottom of the hill, and Jimmer mentioned that Ed was looking quicker than me. Now, I’m not a naturally competitive person… so obviously I took a couple of extra pedals into the section, went way too fast and overturned the last corner, sending me straight into a tree. Sadly, Steve didn’t get the shot, because I hadn’t called out that I was coming. Amazingly the bike was fine, with the 35mm-diameter Race Face bar and Shimano XT brake lever taking the brunt of the impact. I didn’t break anything either, getting away with a sizable bruise on my arm and a big headache. It might be time to retire my Troy Lee D3 though!
Bringing the bike back for a thorough checkover gave me the chance to fit a 1x lever for the RockShox Reverb post and reroute the hoses and cables, to tidy them up and get them away from the frame. I’ve also pinched a new RockShox Lyrik RC2 from Seb to replace the Orbea’s Fox 36 Performance fork, so it’ll be interesting to see how that changes the ride. www.orbea.com