Orbea has launched its all-new Laufey, a hardtail mountain bike aimed to be your best hardtail MTB of choice, ideal as an entry into mountain biking, it's also ready for a fun time and a lifetime of riding, coming with an Orbea lifetime warranty. They say the Laufey is a bombproof hardtail built to survive whatever you can throw at it, from cross-country epics to hitting big air on your local trails.
Like the recently launched Orbea Rallon, the brand's heavy-hitting and best enduro bike, the Laufey also gets a new "Ready to Rock" aggressive geometry update. The new model retains a hard-pushing 140mm travel fork, and there are three builds to choose from all featuring an advanced and weight-saving aluminum frame.
Orbea says a hardtail MTB is a choice, not a compromise and Laufey comes with all the features of a magic-feeling, smart and durable hardtail. To see how the new Orbea Laufey stacks up against its hardtail MTB competition we had a look over some of the details...
The magic is in the numbers
Orbea says the Laufey has an aggressive "Ready to Rock" geometry and like its enduro sibling the Rallon, it also has an uninterrupted, short and straight seat tube, ready to accommodate long travel dropper posts. The dynamic hardtail look of Laufey's frame continues with the low-slung top tube, which gives a low standover and plenty of space to throw your body around the bike, and more control.
The geometry numbers confirm the ready-for-anything vibe with a head angle of 64.5 degrees, is one-degree slacker than the old Laufey, and the seat tube angle is steepened from 75 degrees to 77 degrees, with chainstay lengths increasing from 435mm to 440mm across the sizing. Reach measurements are up 2mm to 475mm on a size-large frame, which they say adds to the stability of the bike and inspires confidence for those slinging their leg over an MTB for the first time.
Another feature on the Laufey's alloy frame is the Powerspine, which they say is designed to add improved stiffness around the downtube and headtube, with the top tube and whole rear triangle getting more compliance with the result, they say being magic handling, with added comfort during those big hardtail hits, and an overall reduction in trail buzz.
Laufey Lockr
Again like its enduro big bro the Laufey has been given the same new storage space as the Rallon, called Lockr Frame Storage it's housed in the downtube and has two sealed bags, with a tube, tire levers and space for two C02 cartridges, there is also space for essential tools and provisions.
Big traveling fork
Like the previous Laufey, the new bike continues to use a 140mm fork on the front and has room for 2.6-inch tires, rolling on 29-inch wheels all for added bump absorption. Depending on the model chosen suspension comes from either RockShox with the Recon RL on the H30 entry model, a Marzocchi Bomber Z2 on the mid-range H10, and a Fox 34 Float Performance on the top-of-the-range Laufey H-LTD.
Availability, pricing and specification
The new Orbea Laufey is available now sized S-XL, and comes in three new colors across the three models. Colorways are Tanzanite-Blue Stone, Blue Stone-Spicy Lime and Metallic Olive Green-Titanium Black. The Laufey has Orbea's lifetime warranty and is priced as follows Laufey H-LTD $2,999 / £2,699 / €2,499, Laufey H10 is $2,499 / £2,099 / €1,899 and Laufey H30 is $1,899 / £1,599 / €1,499.
The specification on the three builds is below with more information available at Orbea.com.
Laufey H-LTD
- Frame: Orbea Laufey Hydro Triple Butted Alloy
- Fork: Fox 34 Float Performance 140mm
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT M8100 SGS 12spd
- Shifters: Shimano SLX M7100 I-Spec EV
- Bar: OC Mountain Control MC20 Alu S
- Crankset: Race Face Aeffect 32t
- Seatpost: OC Mountain Control MC21, Dropper
- Saddle: ERGON SM Enduro
- Brakes: Shimano M6120 Hydraulic Disc
- Wheels: Race Face AR, 29”
- Tires: Maxxis Dissector 2.60"
- Color: Tanzanite-Blue Stone, Blue Stone-Spicy Lime and Metallic Olive Green-Titanium Black
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $2,999 / £2,699 / €2,499
Laufey H10
- Frame: Orbea Laufey Hydro Triple Butted Alloy
- Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z2 140mm
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano SLX M7100 SGS 12spd
- Shifters: Shimano Deore M6100 I-Spec EV
- Bar: OC Mountain Control MC30
- Crankset: Shimano MT512 32t
- Seatpost: OC Mountain Control MC21, 31.6mm, Dropper
- Saddle: Selle Royal 2058
- Brakes: Shimano M6100 Hydraulic Disc
- Wheels: Alloy, 29”
- Tires: Maxxis Dissector 2.60"
- Color: Tanzanite-Blue Stone, Blue Stone-Spicy Lime and Metallic Olive Green-Titanium Black
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $2,499 / £2,099 / €1,899
Laufey H30
- Frame: Orbea Laufey Hydro Triple Butted Alloy
- Fork: RockShox Recon RL Boost Solo Air 140mm
- Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore M6100 SGS 12spd
- Shifters: Shimano Deore M6100
- Bar: OC Mountain Control MC30 Carbon
- Crankset: Forged alloy 32t
- Seatpost: OC Mountain Control MC21, 31.6mm, Dropper
- Saddle: Selle Royal 2058
- Brakes: Shimano MT201 Hydraulic Disc
- Wheels: Alloy, 29”
- Tires: Maxxis Dissector 2.60"
- Color: Tanzanite-Blue Stone, Blue Stone-Spicy Lime and Metallic Olive Green-Titanium Black
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $1,899 / £1,599 / €1,499
Don't buy a budget hardtail! The full-sus Calibre Bossnut is the best-value MTB right now with a massive £500 price cut in this Black Friday MTB deal
Continental’s Olympic and World Championship XC winning Race King Protection is the fastest rolling MTB tire I’ve ever ridden, but it’s not for the nervous
