RAZOR SHARP RIDE
Orbea’s Occam trail bike is now 29in-only, with more travel, progressive geometry and almost in inite customisation options
With riders hitting increasingly gnarly trails and some potentially confusing crossover within Orbea’s 2019 range (should a trail rider buy the 120mm-travel Oiz TR 29er, the 130mm Occam TR 29er or the 150mm, 650b-wheeled Occam AM?), the Spanish brand have redesigned the Occam to give it a clear trail-riding focus and greater capability. It’s now available with 29in wheels only, with 10mm more travel (140mm), longer and lower geometry, and improved pedalling and braking performance. This is a bike aimed squarely at epic days and steep trails. Here are the key features...
Asymmetry
Asymmetric frames seem to be the talk of the town. Orbea chose that route to get the seat tube at the angle they wanted and the rocker link in the right place for the best suspension performance. It allowed them to better tune the frame’s stiffness too. The driveside strut only increases the weight by 100g, but they reckon it’s enabled them to get the shape of the bike and the ride to be spot-on.
Trail-focused
The geometry is well within the long, low and slack trend, with reach figures effectively a size longer than before and seat tubes a size smaller. This allows more riders to fit on a wider range of sizes, depending on preference. With a 474mm reach and 457mm seat tube on the large size, combined with a 66-degree head angle and 77-degree seat angle, it’s bang up to date.
Killer Kinematics
As almost every manufacturer will claim, the kinematics have been improved. Increased suppleness early in the stroke, with increasing progression towards the end, gives all the usual desirable traits. Orbea say a higher leverage ratio on the shock means lower pressures and therefore lower friction, for a smoother ride.
Frame Finishes
Both carbon and alloy frames will be available (prices range from £1,999 to £6,599 for the stock builds), so there are options for most pockets. The alloy frames have as smooth a finish as possible, inside and out, to reduce stress risers that could lead to early failures. Finishing touches include threaded BBs, neat internal cable routing and a sound-deadening chainstay protector.
Custom Finish
Buying online allows you to pick from selected upgrades, depending on your budget or preference. For example, the bike we rode had a 150mm Fox 36 fork fitted, instead of the standard 140mm Fox 34 – a worthy switch, we reckon! Furthermore, the ‘MyO’ programme gives over a million possible colour combinations, at no extra cost, allowing for almost limitless creativity.