2023 Orbea Rallon Ride Review // Fast and Floaty

Check out the Orbea Rallon at Jenson USA here: jenson.sjv.io/...
and FYI, anything purchased from that link will directly help support my efforts. Thanks for all your support!
bit.ly/FoxX2vo... I did go slightly larger on volume reducer, and the results were really good!
jenson.sjv.io/... There are PLENTY of other affordable trail/enduro bikes available these days. Have a look at the rest of what Jenson USA stocks with this link.
Head to www.DrinkLMNT.c... to get your free sample pack with any purchase.
If you enjoy my videos, you might like my monthly riding tutorials, which I post ONLY to my Patreon page: / jeffkendallweed
Did you know I post a new riding tutorial every month? These are ONLY posted to my Patreon page, so join now to see these rad videos! Here’s the full list of my riding tutorials posted through June 2023:
4 (and ½) Summer Riding tips: / 4-5-summer-tips-85207251
How to Hit New Jumps: / hitting-new-and-83883299
Berm line choice: / line-choices-for-82322348
How to ride like a pro (and not a squid): / how-to-ride-like-80864886
How to MANUAL: / how-to-manual-my-79363708
Wet weather riding tips: / wet-weather-tips-78055037
How to ride ROUGH corners: / how-to-ride-76582910
50 tips to be a better mountain biker: / 50-tips-to-be-75352100
How to land jumps: / how-to-land-74063598
How to ride steep trails: / how-to-ride-72705363
How to sprint without pedaling: / how-to-sprint-71580461
How to ride flat corners: / how-to-ride-flat-68552084
How to jump found gaps: / 67255256
How to stoppie turn: / 65842496
How to drop: / 64552391
How to LEAN in corners: / how-to-lean-in-63176556
How to Ride Light on the Bike: / how-to-ride-on-61941975
Riding technique differences between hardtails and full suspension: / 60435182
How to rut track: / 59366938
5 tips to make flat trails more fun: / 58058983
5 tips to improve bike control and balance: / 56839920
How to levitate out of corners: / 55607066
Three simple cornering tips: / 54371316
How (and when) to rock roll or drop: / 53126562
How to jump with fluidity- and not DEAD SAILER! / 51914476
How to Lanual: / 50695443
How to climb ledges without a bunny hop: / 49476021
Which brake to use when: / which-brake-to-48108425
Different bikes, different riding techniques: / 46925782
How to ride FLAT PEDALS through the ROCKS: / how-to-ride-flat-45662347
How to ride wet roots and steep chutes: / 44507851
How to ride with style: / how-to-ride-with-43349450
How to jump for height vs distance: / 42202183
Common manual questions answered: / 41006264
How to land jumps: / 39928153
My 3 favorite skills drills: / if-i-could-only-38809964
How to manual: / how-to-manual-37684861
Cutty: / 36579859
Manual a berm: / 35496772
How to ride in Sedona: / 34436065
Switchbacks: / 3-ways-to-33345804
Nosewheelie: / 32742504
Bump jump: / 31881231
Trials basics for trail riders: / 31145344
Tight berms: / 30389457
Aggressive braking: / 29579507
Confidence for mountain biking: / 28817411
Cornering: / 27981205
Flowing/pumping down the trail: / 27288868
Stoppie through turns: / 26296762
Technical climbing: / 25234847
Boost jumps: / 24161821
Bunnyhop: / 23396959
Utilizing the wheelie on the trail: / 23017910
How to wheelie: / 21879606

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Check out the Orbea Rallon at Jenson USA here: jenson.sjv.io/OrbeaRallonJKW and FYI, anything purchased from that link will directly help support my efforts. Thanks for all your support!

[@daskleineM]

The Rallon is a proper Enduro Bike! I ride the little brother, the Occam. Orbea is such a great brand with an interesting history.

[@MikeesTexas]

Really appreciate all the hard work you and your crew put into these videos. Years ago you had mentioned you didn’t really see yourself as a bike reviewer. But i’d argue you’re leading the charge here!!!

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks Mike!

[@mdmattmann]

Absolutely love my Rallon!

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Right on! It's a great bike!

[@Eric.V.]

“More nervous than a pedo on his 1st day of prison” 😆 I’ve definitely been waiting patiently for you to review this bike! Sick video 😎👍

[@spicycoco1]

I have this bike and love it. I find the tool that stashes in the linkage to be almost perfect as it's super easy to grab and use. The rear axle lever has a 6mm and a spoke wrench. I put a Specialized chain tool in my headset (replaces the cap) and carry a tube, CO2, master link, zip ties, tire levers in the glove box thing. Only thing missing is an 8mm hex.

[@kaippe77]

The tool is also missing T25 Torx which is pretty essential for Sram components

[@Shotgoon]

Please try it as a mullet and let us know if it feels different!

[@jasoncass8771]

After butt buzzing at Whistler, I'm going to switch mine to a mullet. Cool that they give you a link to do that.

[@romand123]

Jeff doesn’t like mullets.

[@markroesner1308]

I ride it in mullet and it was awesome very cool

[@bottejan3712]

I had the Ripmo v2 and now the Rallon. I had them both for some time and couldn't descide which one to keep. The Ripmo frame looked better and more refined for me. The internal cable routing on Ripmo was great. The biggest advantage of Ripmo was pedaling efficiency. If you have strong legs and like to pedal hard the Ripmo would respond better and goes faster on pedaling sections than Rallon. Rallon was a bit more stable on descends, especially with coil and that was the main factor for me to keep the Rallon. But the Ripmo will always be one of the best bikes I owned and sometimes I feel like I miss it.

[@jeremyperkins1890]

I had a Ripmo and the Rallon together for a couple months and found the Rallon to be a better pedaler (with the Float x) than the Ripmo (with the float x). I also felt it was much better because of the steep progression. Anyway, I sold the Ripmo after loving it for over 2 years. The Rallon was straight up better in every way (in my opinion).

[@jasoncass8771]

I have a Rallon and agree with your observations on the ride characteristics. It's a hoot on the Galby blue trails and an incredibly sweet ride on the Whistler and Squamish steeps. I swapped the tires for something stickier and agree that the stock seat post is way too short for the bike's intentions.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks Jason!

[@StefanWollweber]

Hi Jeff, always a pleasure to see you on the bike. I ride the Orbea Rallon for a year and can agree with you, the storage space is there, but neither for tool or tube useful. The minitool in the link I had lost in Finale Ligure. To the driving behavior I love it and for me exactly what I was looking for. Ripmo I have unfortunately never seen in Germany, at least in the regions in which I drive. Thanks for your awesome videos and your inspiration. Greetings from Germany

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks for watching, Stefan!

[@MichaelAverycarhauler1969]

+10 bonus points for the Shimano Saint PD-M828 pedals on the Rallon! Interesting comparison to the Ripmo. Anxiously awaiting the Rallon v. SB160 vidyah. Ride safe!

[@PKMz3ta]

Vancouver guy here - cool to see our local North Shore trails in your footage mixed in with the Bellingham trails!

[@paulthompson6357]

Your reviews are always fun to watch, but even more fun is how you lay down your grammatical genius. I often chuckle at your analogies and enjoy your humor. One only needs to pay attention and the jokes are abound.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks Paul!

[@anianprice5642]

grate day when this man posts

[@RyandeMilliano]

I just built up a 2020 Stumpy frame, it’s been an amazing bike build, I’m looking forward to getting it out around BC later this month. It was great to hear your comparison to the Rallon, I’d be stoked to try them out side by side but your informed comparison was appreciated! Cheers.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Congrats on your Stumpy, that's a great bike! Enjoy!

[@nagval7592]

Они в разных классах. Stumpjumper это trail bike 140/150 а Rallon полноценный эндуро с ходами 170/170 мм и современной геометрией. Сравнивать надо с Specialized Enduro. А Ваш Stumpjumper это Occam и то гео у Orbea будет интереснее.

[@mrvwbug4423]

I was actually surprised you went with the Medium Pivot Firebird for your long term instead of a small. The Firebird is a huge bike and at 5'10" the medium is quite literally the same size as my size L Ripmo.

[@RedRidesMTB]

I had the same issues with the stock dropper and wheels/tires on my GT Force. I have a 150mm dropper that I’m going to install once the new hose for it comes in (reverb stealth problems), and I switched to Versus Tires and Hunt Enduro Wide V2’s and the whole bike came alive. Now I’m running an Öhlins RXF36 M.2 up front and the bike runs like nothing else.

[@francescofoschi8941]

I recently moved from an orbea occam to an orbea rallon, I was waiting for this video to fight my buyer's remorse! At first it felt quite harsh to ride and I couldn't really push it. However, after a while, I found the confidence to just let got the brakes, and oh boy did this bike come to life. I find that you really need to adapt your riding style to its riding characteristics but I now feel very fast and confident on it and I would definitely recommend it as a great aggressive all-rounder.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Glad you're enjoying it Francesco! I prefer the Rallon over the Occam for nearly all riding scenarios here where I live. Congrats on the new rig!

[@rpiian]

Thing is most def a looker and a ripper! Probably would be my current bike if I didn't crash replacement my way into a new 153 RIP your toe - jeez - hope it heals up soon!

[@justsayin3600]

I almost bought 1. It's the only bike I couldn't test ride. I rode the Pivot Firebird, Switchblade, and Yeti SB 150 TC1. I decided to go with a Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Pro because of the insane adjustability. After seeing this I'm kind of glad I didn't get it.

[@josemorenoporras7506]

10:00 That space is very useful but the real deal is multi-tool integrated in the headset or like in the Stumpy. I would love to see you riding an Specialized Enduro and Michelin DH tires hehehe. Nice video!

[@FoundHarpy438]

NBD is the best kind of day 😁

[@CraptacularOne]

Great review. I really like your honesty and point making in your reviews. A lot of other reviews are just gushing about whatever bike they are on, but you temper your enthusiasm with well thought critical takes and reasoning. I ended up buying an Occam LT based on your review and takes on it and am considering adding a proper enduro rig to my quiver and am looking at a Rallon and the Niner WFO. What's your take on those 2? Keep up the great work Jeff!!

[@zacharykiger9810]

I was in the same situation as you, just picked up a WFO yesterday.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Hey Craptacular, the WFO was a great bike! Niner wanted it back ASAP so I only got to do one quick vid on it. It was great- better than I ever expected! It rides kinda similar to the Orbea, but IMO, almost a little more of a better long term choice. The dual link suspension was faster through the rough, and the frame was torsionally a bit stiffer. The main downside to the Niner was the ultra low BB. I wish I had time to try an offset bushing on there! Some 2.6 tires would have been sweet on the WFO.

[@CraptacularOne]

@@JeffKendallWeed thanks for the reply, I was leaning towards the WFO too. As for tires, I’m seeing Jenson listing it with 2.6 tires as standard? I’m a fairly aggressive rider too and if you’re saying the WFO is stiffer that’s a big plus for me too. Jenson has a 2 star build for $3269 on their site I may just grab and swap out the crappy SX shifter and derailleur. I think you’ve helped me yet again Jeff! Thanks for being awesome and keep posting these killer reviews!

[@marknoftall5763]

I also noted the foot issue on the bike.. Run more front fork pressure and that should stop.. Bike likes 20 - 30 psi more than what you expect on the fork!

[@aaronburela432]

Looks like an awesome bike to ride 🔥

[@MrHawkis]

Loved the video and riding! Do you think you'll ever test ride a Trek bike by chance? Would be great to hear your thoughts and opinions on their design and ride quality. Maybe a Slash or Remedy?

[@ThisIs4Cody]

A more capable Ripmo sounds pretty dang cool tbh. Good stuff!

[@mikebatiste]

Muahahah

[@pauleddy5146]

I always appreciate your honesty in bike setup. From experience, you know what will or will not work for you. I too, hate a low engagement rear hub. Why do they still make these? A crappy hub runes the bike, and you were fair to say so. Your pedals are in limbo, like loose steering components, vague is not confidence inspiring.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Well it turns out the stock hub was 36 points of engagement- which is OK. But when the other bikes are all 110-690, it's a bit noticeable. I've always wanted to try upgrading that freehub, so this was a good chance to do that! The 54 poe is great in that I no longer notice the lag nearly as much. It does feel like diminishing returns when it comes to engagement- 36 to 54 is more noticeable than 110 to 690.

[@harrie205]

Nice video HD6 would be nice to see

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Stay tuned....

[@nickzarnetske9994]

Great video as always! Good luck getting to 100k!!!

[@markroesner1308]

I think bikes that you would love is the santa cruz Bronson and the Transition patrol there are bikes how the stuntjumper evo. The forbidden Dreadnought is a very interresting bike maybe you would love it. Sorry for may bad englisch im 15years old from germany

[@gstpierre69]

Love your videos, figured I would let you know that I find that the rear suspension will loose some psi as the two chambers equalize. You probably know this but I would put it out there for other people with the bike.

[@rookieboy9203]

Great video and honest thoughts. You are referring to Stumpjumper EVO Alloy if I am correct? Since Rallon is carbon SJ EVO Carbon would be a better fit for comparison.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

Jeff's bikes have a front wheel. It's mostly unnecessary, only steers the bike here and there, but usually just rides in the air like an AM/FM antenna.

[@aok5555]

I bet he has never worn out a front tire.

[@exothermal.sprocket]

@@aok5555 He could just put a Minion DHRII on a unicycle and ride the trail. Technically it would be a wheelie the entire way.

[@aok5555]

while juggling @@exothermal.sprocket

[@nickrome6372]

Nice review and your mad skillz are fun to watch - Thanks. Any chance you could compare Rallon mullet to 29" version? I have a 2018 Rallon and was thinking of trying it out

[@SnakeC666]

Great review as always! I would like to see your review of the Santa Cruz Megatower v2 🤞 :)

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks Snake! I wish I could get a Hightower and a Nomad to try, they compare great to the HD6 and Ripmo! SC didn't really have any bikes avail last time I spoke with them.

[@micheandmikey]

Right off the bat the whole 6Nm for the stem......I demo'd a We Are One Arrival 130 during NW Tune Up and I'm sure that stem was at "said torque" 6Nm. As I was descending Shoot To Shell the and trying to turn my bars went the direction I was turning, the fork post did not. Laid it down to avoid going OTB or worse over the edge. I'm a machinist/mechanic and have been for 30 years. Tighten your stem to "tight" to avoid this happening to you. It might be 8Nm, at any rate, just make sure its tight. Their torque spec on a fork tube is only to avoid stripping out the threads, not clamping. Be smart about it and don't strip out the threads....torque specs were made for gasket crush and bolt yield. Ok, sorry Jeff....off my soapbox and clicking play ....love that frame by the way. Yeewwwww!!! Adding a second comment at minute 7:35. Seeeeeee, what did I just write up above!!!

[@azonicds]

I would never trust a tourqe wrench for the controls on my bike, way too risky. I use them only on the linkage, pivot and shocks. Great videos as always anyhow 👌

[@doubleamtb8922]

I've always thought you should have more subscribers, self burn 😂 great memes sprinkled throughout

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks double A!

[@audiophizile13]

Thought about this bike but ended up getting a stumpjumper frameset to build up. 130mm should be enough for 90% of my riding coming from a hardtail. Hardtail was beating me up pretty bad on harder stuff. Hoping for a bit more traction and take the edges off primarily.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Right on Audio, you'll dig that Stumpy!

[@rodolforubio1824]

Great review bro like all of them . Comparing the rallón with the sentinel are similar? Any difference descending? Which one it's more stable on high speed ?. In the end I resigned to the spire to big for local trails now am between the rallón or the sentinel . Cheer bro

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Thanks! I posted exactly that comparison the other day- My Ultimate Enduro Mountain Bike Comparison kzbin.info/www/bejne/noDQh3t4oqyqnrc

[@rodolforubio1824]

Thanks 😎

[@garyharmon5386]

Great review

[@gregmccandlessmusic]

Great video, great riding, great presence on camera…but way overkill on the comedic metaphors within the VO. Made me cringe a few times. You do way better unscripted I think - save the time!

[@xav_1029]

Surprised to hear issues with Galfer rotors. My experience is completely different. My XTR rotors did not have the bite on long descents vs my Galfer. I've never had a rotor loosen ever.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

I've ridden at least 3 Orbeas with Galfer rotors (Occam, Rise, and Rallon) - none worked as good as the Shimano Ice Tech rotors. And I even tried swapping out the rotors/pads on all bikes and noticed the improvement when using genuine Shimano stuff. On the Rise (47 lbs) it was particularly noticeable- Ice Tech could go nearly twice as far before heating up. My hunch is that Galfer is significantly cheaper, as they are also a Spanish brand, and likely give their peers extra good pricing.

[@brandonbigford8837]

When you said the Specialized Stumpjumper is dorky, what about it seems dorky?

[@MrSupermugen]

My friend has a Rallon, hes had a few issues, everything orbea reply with "can only offer crash replacement" not even at discount. All warrantable issues. I want one but a few searches return orbea is terrible with warranty, especially on their ebike.

[@jmgoggy]

They warrantied mine, with minot desalination issue on seat post area, with no questions asked. Even updated linkage and gave me myO paint job. Love my Rallon

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Which country are you in? That sounds like a local distributor issue. We have a really good Orbea representation here in the USA, with Orbea having a US head quarters and all, so it's rare I hear about bad Orbea warranty experiences.

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Wow JM, that's rad. Where are you located? USA? Eu?

[@MrSupermugen]

@@JeffKendallWeed nz.

[@bottejan3712]

On my rallon, the link bolts came off after the first hard enduro descends and scratched the paint pretty badly. Obea gave me a new frame without any problems.

[@michael1617]

Do the canyon spectral and strive

[@aevans692]

im on the fence .. not sure if its too much bike .. also looking at the fuel EX ... out of interest for a tweener of 177cm tall what size to opt for ?

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Hey there- I have not ridden a Fuel EX, but many trek bikes in my area. The ‘23 Rallon was a sick bine, and for someone 177cm (I’m only 174) I do think a size L would be a great all around, long legged trail bike.

[@shredntread9600]

How does this compare to Transition Spire? IF you wanted an Enduro bike which would be yr choice ? I am currently looking at both of these bikes.

[@ThisIs4Cody]

Is the Rallon too much and too long for tighter, slower East Coast singletrack, or could it still double as a trail bike here on the Right Coast? Size large is 1260mm base...

[@user-rl9rf8ry7g]

Which size for rider with 1.83 recommend I your point of view ? L or XL?

[@durace99]

Pedal kick back causing foot slippages? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@TylerCloke]

Thanks Jeff! How would you say it compares to the RM Altitude?

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Well it's been 2 years since I last rode the Altitude. But the Altitude was, from what I recall, a little bit more- more racey, more adjustable, more stable, more predictable. I'd use the Rallon as more of an all around trail bike, but the Altitude as a true enduro race bike.

[@TylerCloke]

@@JeffKendallWeed Nice! I have a yeti sb130 but I've been dabbling in the bike park so I've been thinking of the right bike to pair. Can't decide if I want something more enduro-y or a true downhill bike like the slayer or spire.

[@zeroshifter1]

Hey Jeff, you mentioned that you just can't ride teh EXO or EXO+ casing. Curious why that's the case? I see your replacement assegai's are running the DD casing. Is it a durability thing?

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Hey Zero, I flat maybe once a year or so with DD/DH casing tires. With EXO+ tires I'll flat every few rides. Also, I have to run so much more air pressure with the EXO+ to prevent constant bottoming on the rim that I lose a lot of traction. At 170lbs, I'm simply too heavy for EXO+ with the way I ride.

[@zeroshifter1]

@@JeffKendallWeed Thank you so much for getting back to me and that makes perfect sense. Btw I also ride an Ibis Ripmo and it was your videos in part that helped convince me to pull the trigger on it. I've been loving the bike and your youtube videos rock!

[@michaels8607]

I'm confused..They let you cut the bars of a loaner bikes? Nice bike..

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Why would they not? The bike is now worth thousands less since it's been ridden all over Whistler, Squamish, and Bellingham for the last two months. A $20 handlebar seems insignificant. Besides, if I don't cut the bars to fit, how can I even safely ride the bike in the first place?

[@laurynasjagelo5075]

How did you find the stock float x on it? Is it worth swapping out?

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Oh it was fine! I liked how I could make it more progressive, the bike needed that for bigger jumps.

[@ianbales]

just fyi, grabbing onto the end of the torque wrench (as you did in the clip of you tightening the stem bolts) while tightening a bolt will result in less torque being applied to the bolt than the wrench indicates

[@hannes6114]

Why?

[@ianbales]

@@hannes6114 well imagine you hold onto the end of the wrench as hard as possible. then all the torque from the wrench will be applied to your hand and none will go into tightening the bolt. with your hand just loosely in place it will only reduce the bolt torque by a few Nm at most, but definitely enough to cause slipping like mentioned in the video

[@mrpachuco696]

Oh

[@benediktmerl4510]

"you get more nervous than a pedo on his first day in prison" - that's some Rob Warner level commentary right there Jeff

[@FoundHarpy438]

Yo! What do you think of a ripmo for lighter use? Mostly blues at Galbraith. Is it too much bike? Trying to find a good bike for a friend

[@JeffKendallWeed]

A Ripmo does great on the Galbraith blues. I prefer it over the Ripley, as the Ripley is more based around a 34 fork. A Ripley can ride the gnarlier stuff, but IMO, it's a lot more fun on a Ripmo.

[@FoundHarpy438]

Ok, thanks!!

[@ubaidillahd132]

Danihart

[@chadson5244]

It creaks like hell

[@JeffKendallWeed]

Mine doesn't yet, but it's still kinda young and fresh!

[@stevehunter7402]

I’m sooooo bad at jumping.