Revised and Revitalized: the New 2020 Orbea Occam Trail Bike
From our perspective, we see trail bikes as the ideal mountain bike for nearly everything Utah has to offer. Our longer climbs, particularly around Northern Utah, require a bike that can take the rider to the top of the trail, but at the same time descend well enough to take on a wide range of trail features at high speeds. Orbea's new 2020 Orbea Occam trail bike looks to do just that, with updated geometry, proper build kits, and impressive value for the money.
Our first thought when we laid eyes on the new Occam what that it looks like a mini Orbea Rallon, one of our absolute favorite long-travel 29er mountain bikes. This new Occam has largely simplified, as it features a 29er-specific chassis designed for a 140 mm rear shock and a choice of 140/150 mm fork. Like the Rallon, the Occam receives an asymmetric frame design, here utilizing an asymmetric frame brace to join the seat tube and downtube. Orbea claims that without it, the seattube would have to be more curved toward the center of the frame, affecting effective seattube angle, particularly on larger sizes.
The brand has also updated to a four-bar Horst link and the concentric pivot rear end design of the Rallon, which replaces the UFO flexing seat stay suspension system of the previous Occam and current Orbea Oiz. The advantage here is that by removing the rear wheel, and the chainstays can split to provide easy access to cleaning and replacing bearings. Elsewhere in the frame, you'll find a built-in chain guide, internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, and rubber frame protectors around the bottom bracket and on the chainstays. A size medium carbon frame, hardware, and paint weighs in at 2300 grams.
Perhaps the biggest change in the Occam line comes in geometry. The bike features a 66-degree head tube angle, 77-degree seat tube angle, 450 mm reach on a size medium (500 mm on size XL!), lower bottom bracket height, a longer wheelbase in all sizes, and a 44 mm-offset fork. Longer and lower is the key, but Orbea has done a good job of balancing some of these enduro-ready numbers with balanced front-end numbers. This has the makings of a well-balanced trail bike with just-right descending ability, a proverbial quiver-killer.
The reach numbers effectively bump a small up to the previous medium reach number, but the addition of lower standover heights in all sizes also make the Occam a bike that fits a wider range of riders. Orbea have also increased anti-squat and significantly reduced anti-rise numbers in an effort to make the bike more active under braking.
Our favorite part of the Occam has to be the breadth of build kits available. Orbea's new trail bike is offered in both carbon and alloy versions, with the carbon model using the brand's best OMR carbon layup. Carbon frame models like the M-LTD comes to a complete weight of only 26 pounds, while carbon frames start at just $3999 or the Occam M30. Add in the aluminum Occam H30 starting at just $2599 with the new SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, and you have the makings of a trail bike perfect for our favorite trails that won't break the bank.
Like other Orbeas, the Occam is available with the Orbea MyO program, which allows for part customization and custom paint customization. This allows for a custom paint job with a choice of 22 primary and 22 secondary frame colors, and decal and detail colors with optional custom text for no extra cost.
The Orbea Occam trail bike will be at our shop early next week. Contact us during business hours by phone, or any time by email at info@contenderbicycles.com for any questions.
Our first thought when we laid eyes on the new Occam what that it looks like a mini Orbea Rallon, one of our absolute favorite long-travel 29er mountain bikes. This new Occam has largely simplified, as it features a 29er-specific chassis designed for a 140 mm rear shock and a choice of 140/150 mm fork. Like the Rallon, the Occam receives an asymmetric frame design, here utilizing an asymmetric frame brace to join the seat tube and downtube. Orbea claims that without it, the seattube would have to be more curved toward the center of the frame, affecting effective seattube angle, particularly on larger sizes.
The brand has also updated to a four-bar Horst link and the concentric pivot rear end design of the Rallon, which replaces the UFO flexing seat stay suspension system of the previous Occam and current Orbea Oiz. The advantage here is that by removing the rear wheel, and the chainstays can split to provide easy access to cleaning and replacing bearings. Elsewhere in the frame, you'll find a built-in chain guide, internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, and rubber frame protectors around the bottom bracket and on the chainstays. A size medium carbon frame, hardware, and paint weighs in at 2300 grams.
Perhaps the biggest change in the Occam line comes in geometry. The bike features a 66-degree head tube angle, 77-degree seat tube angle, 450 mm reach on a size medium (500 mm on size XL!), lower bottom bracket height, a longer wheelbase in all sizes, and a 44 mm-offset fork. Longer and lower is the key, but Orbea has done a good job of balancing some of these enduro-ready numbers with balanced front-end numbers. This has the makings of a well-balanced trail bike with just-right descending ability, a proverbial quiver-killer.
The reach numbers effectively bump a small up to the previous medium reach number, but the addition of lower standover heights in all sizes also make the Occam a bike that fits a wider range of riders. Orbea have also increased anti-squat and significantly reduced anti-rise numbers in an effort to make the bike more active under braking.
Our favorite part of the Occam has to be the breadth of build kits available. Orbea's new trail bike is offered in both carbon and alloy versions, with the carbon model using the brand's best OMR carbon layup. Carbon frame models like the M-LTD comes to a complete weight of only 26 pounds, while carbon frames start at just $3999 or the Occam M30. Add in the aluminum Occam H30 starting at just $2599 with the new SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, and you have the makings of a trail bike perfect for our favorite trails that won't break the bank.
Like other Orbeas, the Occam is available with the Orbea MyO program, which allows for part customization and custom paint customization. This allows for a custom paint job with a choice of 22 primary and 22 secondary frame colors, and decal and detail colors with optional custom text for no extra cost.
The Orbea Occam trail bike will be at our shop early next week. Contact us during business hours by phone, or any time by email at info@contenderbicycles.com for any questions.
