Welcome Orbea: Our New Bike Brand is One of the Oldest in the World!
It’s an exciting day for us here at The Inside Line because we can finally share the news about our new bike brand: Orbea!
Known widely across Europe and now into North America, they have an impressive roadie following, but for us, the real excitement lies in their mountain division (obviously). Orbea also has an impressive history as one of the oldest bike brands still making bikes... in the world!
The 185-year-old company from the Basque Country in Spain started as a rifle manufacturer in 1840. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the company splintered off after the effects of the First World War to start manufacturing steel-frame bicycles. Soon after, Orbea launched itself into the world of road racing with riders competing in the Tour de France during its early days.
After some tough economic times in the late 1960s, the warehouse workers banded together to purchase the company from the original Orbea family and have run the organization as a co-op ever since. It makes for an interesting dynamic as all workers have their own stake in the business as partial owners. The current factory, where all of their high-end bikes are made from start to finish, is only 9km from the original location, and they have since opened an additional production facility in Portugal to fabricate some of their lower-end models. They even have their own custom paint and parts spec division, called "MyO", which gives riders limitless options for builds and custom paint for their bikes!
As mentioned, they are well known for their road bikes, but in the eighties, when mountain biking was starting to take off around the world, Orbea dove right in. They introduced models like the "Sherpa", which set the ball in motion for what is now the fleet of mountain bikes we see from them today.
Their commitment to innovation is evident with bikes like the Rallon, which is what caught our attention! The Rallon has seen about 7 different iterations from when it was first released in 2013 as a 130mm travel 26er. The newest iteration now comes in two different models: a 170mm travel enduro bike and the newly released 200mm downhill rig!
The DH version is the first of its kind from Orbea, and is a full-on race-ready machine - collecting wins on the downhill World Cup circuit in its first season. We’re pumped to see the new Rallon bikes make their way to the shop and expect to see some this fall, so keep your eyes peeled for those to arrive.
We're also going to stock the Occam, their trail-oriented bike with 140mm of front and rear travel. Plus, a couple of models from their eMTB lineup, including the Wild and Rise. The electric-assisted bikes come equipped with the current generation of Bosch motors. The best part of an Orbea bike is the ability to customize most everything during the ordering process.
We have a few models on the floor that you can test ride and fall in love with, but ultimately, the real fun is ordering a bike that you can pick and choose exactly what spec you want, even down to the custom paint! We're looking forward to the fun and creative bikes that will be coming through the shop from this.
If you want to learn more about how to get an Orbea for yourself, you can contact us or pay us a visit at our shop in Calgary - we'd be happy to talk bikes with you!
