Whilemost brandsarepushingtheir full-powereMTBscomplete with massive batteries and enough torque to shift the earth momentarily on its axisitsrefreshing to see something a little different fromOrbea. ThenewRallonRS is based onOrbea'sRallon enduro bikeandletsbe honest, looks very much like it, too.Itsgot plenty of travel and burly components, but despite being aneMTB, itdoesntweigh much more than its non-powered counterpart. Itsa modern take on a lightweight eMTB. Remember those? It was a nice idea butrarely, if ever,came to fruition. However, the newRallonRS takes that concept and harnesses the technological advancements to right the wrongs of the early SL bikes. Housed within the carbon tubes,youllfind a motor one of the smallest on the market capable of only 200 watts of peak power, and the small290Wh battery that powers it, along with a host of other electronics. And thats where things getreally cool.Orbeahas integrated every electroniccomponenton theRallonRS in a waywevenot seen before. Those low power and torque figures will no doubt put people off, but I'm here for it. The dinky motor meansyoullget some help when you need it riding uphill, butyoullstill need to work on the climbs no matter what modeyourein. And I like that. Orbeahas taken a risk with the newRallonRS and clearly ploughed a lot of cash into it, but I thinkitsworth it.Hereswhy Read more: OrbeaRallon/M RS-LTD first-ride review: in 20 years testing MTBs, I've never seen anything like this. It's awesome A different kind ofeMTB Powering the Rallon RS is the TQ HPR40 motor, which can deliver 200 watts of peak power and up to 40Nm of torque. Roo Fowler / Orbea Withthe Wild, Rise (SL andLT)andUrruneMTBsalready inOrbea'sstable, you could argue theRallonRS is less of a risk,and the lower-powered sibling complementstheline-up. But when you consider how theeMTBmarket has shifted sinceAmflowssuper-powerful DJI-motorequippedbikes arrived,launching a bike with power and torque statsat the oppositeend of the spectrum might not make a lot of sense. However, theRallonRS has the potential to appeal to purists riderslooking for a bit of help on the climbs, but whovaluethat regular-bikefeelon the descents. That might sound like a stretch. After all,whodoesntwant more power? Butthis bikeispretty special. When we first started seeing SLeMTBsbeing launched, their promise of minimalassistanceand a natural ride feel was extremely appealing. Letsnot forget,Orbeawas one of the first to the party with the Rise RS, which was a greatbike. The problem was, the motors were still quite hefty and took up a lot of space.The bikes were often quite heavy, and in a bid to keep weight down,generally usedtrail-bike parts,whichwere too fragile. Early 'SL' bikes often had low power and torque figures, and weren't always particularly light. Etienne Schoeman With only a few kilos between many SL models and their full-power counterparts,itseasy to see why those (onlyslightly) lighter bikeswereoverlooked. As ebike motors became smaller and more powerful, SL bikesmorphedinto mid-power bikes, with more power and torque, along with slightly tougher components. But if you wanted to ride with mates on full-power bikes,youdstill struggle, making the whole SL category something of a conundrum. ThenewRallonRS harks back to that original SL concept in a lot ofways, butuses advances in tech to right many of the wrongs and offers somethingvery differentfrom the high-power,torque-tasticeMTBsthat seem to be everywhere right now. The 200 watts of peak power and 40Nm of torque mean theRallonRSisntall about the motor feel.Itsnot the dominant factor here by a long stretch. The silent, compact TQ HPR40 motor and its low weight help, boosting your input and making the climbs feel easier,but this bike is way more than its drive unit.Itssmall form factor and unobtrusive feel have enabledOrbeasengineers to create a bike witha veryspecialride. Weighing a claimed 1,170g, the HPR40doesnttake up much real estate in the frame.At first glance, youdprobably behard-pressed to realise this is aneMTB. Its compact size means, unlike bikes of old,the geometry and suspension layoutaren'tcompromised. Using the small motor limits packaging problems. This meantOrbeacould createa long-travel enduro bikewith tough parts to suit, rather than a shorter-travel trail bike with flimsy tyres. Yet it still weighs just over 17kg (claimed) in size medium. The TQ HPR40 motor is seriously compact, enabling Orbea's engineers to limit compromises when it came to the suspension layout and geometry. Roo Fowler / Orbea Even consideringall ofthe above, along with the impressive ride feel andalmostsilentmotor, the sticking point for many riders will be the low power and torque figures. ButI think this bikeneeds to be considered slightly differently. Ifyourelooking for a bikethatssuper-fast up the climbs and aim to clock up as many laps as possible, thisisntthe machine for you. But, ifyourea bit of purist,whodappreciate a little helping hand when riding with fitter friends on regular bikes or are keen on riding a little further than usual this could be the bike for you. Integration stations The one 290Wh battery located in the down tube powers the motor, rear derailleur, Fox Live Valve NEO rear shock and Orbea's own dropper post. Orbea Orbeahas gone beyond building a great bike with an intriguing motor thats only half of what makes the Rallon RS interesting. It takescomponentintegration to the nextlevel andcould be a sign of where eMTB tech is going next. Orbeahasdesigned the bike to be used with an electronic, auto-adjusting rear shock,itsown electronic dropperpostand electronic gears. These components are hard-wired intothe main 290Wh battery via a central control unit. Whatsmore, they communicate with one another, in a bid to enhance the ride. Havingpartnered with Fox suspension andTQ motors for this project,Orbeasaysenabling the shock to receive data from the motor,itsalgorithm is able to usepower,cadenceand speedto help optimise shock settings more effectively and efficiently. The dropper post plays its part here, too. When the post is fully compressed, the shock knows it needs to keep its damping circuits open to maximise downhill bump absorption. Orbea uses its own electronic dropper post, which includes smart features. Orbea If the post is dropped and the motor sensors detect the bike is on adescent, it can lowerassistancemodes to avoid any unwanted or untimely bursts of power. Thatsa lot of electronics,whichgenerally meansa lot ofbar-mounted buttons and remotes.Thatsnot the case here, though. While you lose the wireless capability of the Fox Live ValveNEOshock and Shimano XTR Di2 gearing because both are wired into the main battery,it hasenabledOrbeato control everything(with the exception ofthe gears)using one remote. Orbea partnered with Fox and TQ, enabling them to build better integration into the Rallon RS. Orbea The HMI (Human Machine Interface) remoteenablesyou to tweakjust about everything. That means altering motor modes, shocksettingsand the dropper post, which has a programmable smart mode. Enduro travel,geoand build It's all about enduro levels of travel and geometry, ready for tackling the toughest trails. Roo Fowler / Orbea Orbeamanufacturesthe newRallonRS fromitsOMR (OrbeaMonocoque Racing) carbon in whatitclaimswasitsmost challenging project to date. Toreduce weight, compensating for the use of a motor and battery, theRallonRS is equipped with a carbon rocker link.Thissaves a reported200g, yetis asstrong and stiffasits alloy equivalent. BecauseOrbeadesigned theRallonRS around a shock that was able to control damping levels automatically,there was less need to build in the ability to resist squatting or bobbing as the pedals are being turned(often referred to anti-squat) into the suspension system. Instead, leaving the automated shock to do the heavyliftingand keep theRallonRS as efficient as possible,Orbeadesignedrelativelylow levels ofanti-squat into the platform (just over 80 per cent at sag), with the aim of keeping the back end more sensitive and active. As with the regularRallon, the RS version also uses a linkage-driven single-pivot system, which places the rear pivot concentric to the rear axle. Theres 170mm of travel on tap at the rear,paired with a massive 180mm-travel fork up front. Should you want to get a little rowdier, the frame is designed to handle a dual-crown fork, upping its versatility further thatsnot something many SL-style bikes can boast. The enduro statsdontstop there. Reach figures span 430mm on the small to 505mm on the XL. Seat tubes are short, with the medium coming in at 405mm. All frames use the same 445mmchainstay. Orbeahasntshied away from geometry adjustment.Theresa flip chip on the lower shock mount, enabling you to alter the bottom-bracket height by 8mm and head tube angle by 0.5 degrees. You can also make use of the angled headset cups,whichenable you to tweak the head angle further by +/- 0.75 degrees. In the neutral position, the head angle is 64.25 degrees, while the seat tube angle is steep, at just over 79 degrees. You can run a 29in or 27.5in rear wheel by swapping the rocker link, which ensures geometryremainsthe same between the two rear wheel sizes. Fit for purpose Despite all the electronics featured on the Rallon RS-LTD, the single HMI controller enables you to control everything, with the exception of the Shimano gearing. Roo Fowler / Orbea Orbearealises this bikewontbe for everyone. As well as being a fresh take on lighter-weighteMTBs,itsalsovery expensiveand only available in two models. The top-end RS-LTD build features some drool-worthy kit. But, most importantly, that kit is fit for purpose and suits theRallonRSs intentions.Theresa burly fork, big brakes and suitably tough, grippy tyresthatlltake an absolute beasting. All in,Orbeasays the RS-LTD model weighs 17.45kg in size medium, which is impressiveconsidering this is a big bike with some heavy parts bolted to it. Who will buy it? The single charging port enables you to charge every component connected to the battery. Roo Fowler / Orbea During the presentation,Orbeawasvery openabout the risks involved in creating a bike like this. Whileitsclearly pushing boundaries in terms of integration, those motor stats go against wherewereseeing a lot of the interest in eMTBs. But Ilove theidea of theRallonRS and how it feels on the trails. I wasa big fanof SLeMTBs first time around and,although they had issues, always had fun riding them. TheRallonRShastaken that old blueprint and improved uponit it offers something for those whoarent keen on the big-motoreMTBs. Thisisnta bike for everyone, butImsold. Orbea Rallon RS range details OrbeaRallonRS-LTD (29in or29in/27.5in wheels) Orbea offer both spec levels with either 29in wheels at the front and rear, or a mixed wheel set-up, featuring a smaller 27.5in rear wheel. Orbea Frame:OMR carbon, 170mm travel Motor:TQ HPR40 Battery:TQ 290Wh Fork:Fox 38 GRIP X2 Factory, 180mm Shock:Fox X2 Live Valve NEO Factory Brakes:Shimano XTR Drivetrain:e*thirteen Helix Race alloycrankset, Shimano XTR Di2 gearing Wheels:OquoMountain Control MC32 LTD (29in) /OquoMountain Control MC32 Team (27.5in) Price:12,999 / $14,999 / 14,999 (29in) / 12,499 / $14,199 / 14,199 OrbeaRallonRS-Team (29in or29in/27.5in wheels) The difference in price here isn't in relation to the different wheel size options, but because you can upgrade the Team build, adding a Fox X2 Live Valve NEO shock if you wish. Orbea Frame:OMR carbon, 170mm travel Motor:TQ HPR40 Battery:TQ 290Wh Fork:Fox 38 GRIP X2 Factory, 180mm Shock:Fox X2 Factory Brakes:Shimano XT Drivetrain:e*thirteen Helix Race alloycrankset, Shimano XT Di2 gearing Wheels:OquoMountain Control MC32 Team (29in or MX) Price:9,999 / $10,999 / 10,999 (29in)with Fox X2 NEO shock/ 9,499 / $10,199 / 10,199