Orbea also has its own all-new lightweight cross-country race bike in the works. And this prototype we spotted in Nove Mesto over the weekend looks quite familiar, just not like the Orbea Oiz that we know. Even though it shares the same core single-pivot layout as the current 120mm Oiz, this new OO Lab prototype mountain bike repositions its rear shock, tucked inside the lower half of the toptube for a more integrated, more lightweight look. But what can we tell from our sneak peek?2026 Orbea Oiz XC bike prototype spotted in Nove Mesto(All photos/Cory Benson)Unlike Scott-SRAM Racing, who were pretty much openly showing off their new unreleased Spark, the Orbea Factory Team were being a little more coy with their prototype OOLab XC bike. In fact, the Orbea mechanics had this pretty slick custom wrap to cover up what may be a version of their unreleased Oiz, already finished in the official Orbea Factory Team paint job? That would suggest that even though some of the raw carbon OOLab-labelled prototypes still looked like a work in process, this painted bike would suggest a launch very soon!Besides that bike hidden under wraps, we still spotted a couple versions of the new prototype out in the open as it was being set up, worked on, and raced over the weekend. But most of the Orbea riders were still racing on the existing Oiz.What do we know about the prototype?The nice bike we got the best look at was being raced this weekend by #69 Simon Andreassen.The all-new bike design takes Orbeas in-line shock layout one step further, tucking the rear shock up into the lower half of the top tube. It still has a shortened link to drive a normal shock, but overall, the raw carbon prototype frame appears more slender and visually lighter than the bikes the majority of the Orbea Factory Team were racing at the Czech round of the XC World Cup.Its also a frame design that looks very familiar. Weve seen several bikes align a toptube-mounted rear shock into the actual tube over the years, including the likes of Commencal, MMR, Trek, and Yeah, this looks a lot like a Specialized Epic World Cup to me.This Orbea Oiz prototype looks a lot like the current S-Works Epic 9 that launched just last month, but maybe its even closer in appearance to the 3-year-old Epic World Cup. Even down to the way the short linkage attaches from below to the smooth-ended seatstays and the one-sided upper shock mount bolt.Tech details we can see?We dont know how much travel this new bike gets. A short link only gave the Epic WC 75mm and the latest link-less Supercaliber, just 80mm. In an age of more aggressive cross-country racing, we find it hard to imagine Orbea introducing a new XC race bike with any less than 100-120mm of rear wheel travel. That little silver link does appear to be longer, more in line with the current 120mm Epic 9, so fingers crossed. than the EpiIm genuinely really curious to find out more about this machine.Until then, well have to speculate beyond the simple facts that we do know. That this next-gen Orbea Oiz will keep a threaded bottom bracket, UDH dropouts, fully integrated internal cable routing through the headset, and 2 sets of bottle cage mounts inside the main triangle.Is a new Orbea Oiz coming soon?As for when a new Orbea Oiz XC race bike will drop? We dont know that yet.Some signs, like that team-painted bike being hidden from view, point to an imminent launch. This dusty unfinished, raw carbon frameset spotted waiting in the Orbea Factory Team paddock at Nove Mesto World Cup could suggest theres still some time to wait. But it also has what looks like a more-finished black anodized short link, hinting of a more commercially-ready product than the raw machined link that Andreassen appears to still be testing.I guess we have to be patient.Oreba.comThe post Prototype OOLab Orbea Oiz XC Bike Raced At Nove Mesto World Cup Looks Pretty Epic! appeared first on Bikerumor.