By Katherine Moore

Published: Monday, 11 April 2022 at 12:00 am


Born proudly out of the Basque region of Northern Spain, Orbea is a worker-owned co-op bike brand dating back to 1840 that boasts a full suite of modern builds across all disciplines.

From commuter hybrids to road race bikes, enduro mountain bikes to triathlon machines and electric mountain bikes to gravel and endurance bikes, Orbea covers it all.

Orbea also offers some of the most customisable bikes going, allowing you to design your own dream colour scheme online using Orbea’s MyO tool at no extra cost.

You can also make component tweaks using MyO – whether that’s getting the correct-sized stem and cranks or upgrading your saddle, the tool will help make sure you’re getting the best build for you straight out of the box.

Orbea’s new Rider Connect platform will help find bike availability near you, whether that’s a standard build or your own MyO design.

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Customise your own frame and build using the Orbea MyO tool.
Orbea

You can check out current stock, including sizing, models and colourways across Orbea dealers in your area, as well as see when specific models are due in and reserve them. With stock updated every week, finding the best bike for you has never been so simple.

With more than 150 stockists across the UK and Ireland, not to mention mainland Europe and the rest of the world, you might be surprised at just how easy it is to find the right Orbea for you.

Orbea Rise H

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The Rise H is an electric trail bike built from aluminium alloy.
Orbea

The Orbea Rise is a sleek lightweight electric trail bike with a neatly integrated motor and battery. Originally released with a carbon fibre frame, the newer Rise H model is built using aluminium alloy, offering the same all-terrain capability in a more cost-effective package.

Pedalling assistance comes in the form of a Shimano EP8 RS system, with a slimmed-down motor, battery and electronics compared to many other electric mountain bike systems. Not only does this give a ride feel and appearance more adjacent to a conventional mountain bike, but it also helps extend the battery life to keep you pedalling further.

Orbea claims the Rise H’s 540Wh battery, housed in the down tube, can power up to 3,500 metres of climbing in eco mode. Looking for even more? Opt for the 252Wh range extender to unlock an extra four hours of riding time.

The 29er Orbea Rise H can be found in the popular trail bike category, with the option of a 140mm or 150mm suspension fork, paired with 140mm travel at the back.

Models start from £4,899 / €5,299 / $5,699, with the range extender for the Rise H retailing at £449 / €499 / $599.

Orbea Rallon

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The Rallon has seen a raft of updates for 2022.
Orbea

With 170mm of suspension up front and 160mm in the rear, the Rallon is Orbea’s tried and tested race-ready enduro rig that’s equally at home in the bike park or razzing down your local trails.

The 2022 Rallon has had a hefty rework, including a new frame design, geometry and suspension.

Just as with other bikes from Orbea, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to speccing your Rallon. Choose from a 29er or mullet setup (29in wheel on the front and 27.5in wheel out back) to start with, which you can adapt later because the bike is supplied with two yokes, allowing you to switch between configurations.

If you’re coil-curious, check out the top-level Rallon M-LTD (£8,999 / $9,999 / €8,999), fitted with a Fox DHX2 Factory coil shock. Other models feature an air-sprung shock, starting from £4,299 / $4,999 / €4,299.

The new frame boasts Orbea’s Lockr internal storage system in the down tube, equally handy for stashing spares and tools whether you’re riding or racing.

Shorter riders will be pleased to hear about the seat-tube updates, with enough insertion depth to allow a long-travel 200mm dropper post to be fitted, even on a size small – perfect for tackling the steeps.

Don’t think that pedalling has been forgotten about though, with a 77-degree seat tube angle to yield an efficient pedalling position and get you back up to the trailhead.

Orbea Orca Aero

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The Orbea Orca Aero borrows heavily from the Ordu time trial bike.
Orbea

The brand’s flagship aero road bike, as raced by UCI Continental women’s team CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling, the Orca Aero has been designed to optimise aerodynamic efficiency without making compromises on handling or stiffness.

The 2022 Orca Aero boasts all the features you’d expect from a world-class aero bike, with carefully shaped tube profiles to reduce aerodynamic drag, as well as strategically placed junctions to reduce air turbulence. The result is a claimed 15-watt saving at 40kph compared to its predecessor, according to Orbea.

Orbea’s premium OMX carbon fibre layup has been designed to yield an optimal stiffness-to-weight profile for efficient power transfer.

A shortened wheelbase and chainstays ensure the handling remains snappy and responsive, while size-adjusted geometry at the front end enables riders of all sizes to experience the same great level of control.

The proprietary aero cockpit can be configured with no fewer than 28 combinations of stem and handlebar, meaning there’s a wide range of fits available to suit riders of differing sizes and position preferences.

When it comes to kitting out your bike with tools and hydration, you don’t need to compromise the aerodynamic efficiency either, with an aero toolbox that clips onto the down tube and an aero water bottle, taking hints from Orbea’s Ordu time trial bike. Both improve the system’s speed, rather than detract from it, according to Orbea.

The Orca Aero is priced from £4,199 / €4,199 / $4,999 for the M20, Shimano-Ultegra equipped model.