[Closed] New bike day! Orbea Occam

Lovely looking bike mate.

I can't really justify one for the little off road I do, but I have spent a lot of time on the LBS loaner and I'd have one in a flash, to such an extent that I'm avoiding the shop at the moment. Enjoy it!

Bought Mrs wynne the alloy version of this and she loves it. Yours looks a beauty (although it seems a touch small for you - let me know if you're thinking of selling it...).

nice

Very appealing! Did you just build up from frameset, or is this off the rack?

Nice. I like your garden.

Nice looking build and frame there bud.

What a bike to see the Spring in! 😀

Your train track needs polishing it looks a little rusty and your snow looks a bit patchy and need some tipex on the picture to make it look maw mountainous.

Great bike! I´ve got one of them which I haven´t ridden for a few weeks. That´s just inspired me to take it out tomorrow. They ride so well, you´ll surprise yourself at what it´s capable of / comfortable with. Love mine.

Oh and double chainset. ppppfffftt. what are you thinking.

[quote=wynne ]Bought Mrs wynne the alloy version of this and she loves it. Yours looks a beauty (although it seems a touch small for you - let me know if you're thinking of selling it...).

There's no way I'd be riding a Large. The seatpost looks long but that's a Fox Transfer and it would only go in by another 10mm or so anyway.

[quote=SaxonRider ]Very appealing! Did you just build up from frameset, or is this off the rack?
Almost as spec (though Orbea do let you upgrade components so mine came with the XT brake option). I added the front mech (again some come with this) and shorter cranks as I like 165mm. I'm used to buying frame only and going from there so this is quite a change for me.

[quote=singlespeedstu ]Your train track needs polishing it looks a little rusty and your snow looks a bit patchy and need some tipex on the picture to make it look maw mountainous.
Don't mention the lack of snow. At least we didn't make the mistake of buying season tickets for uplift this winter. I'd have been gutted.

The train tracks belong to the Strathspey Railway. As I was getting ready to head off, this guy came along.
[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2915/32994557275_59aeb33275_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2915/32994557275_59aeb33275_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/SgBJna ]2017-02-19_05-16-28[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/ ]Colin Cadden[/url], on Flickr

[quote=singlespeedstu ]Oh and double chainset. ppppfffftt. what are you thinking.
What can I say? In a couple of years, all bikes will be like this 😉

What can I say? In a couple of years, all bikes will be like this

agreed. Once these new fangled front mech thingys catch on.

Nice looking bike Colin

It's Orbea Occam weekend!

I picked up my Occam AM M30 on Friday and had my first rides on it over the weekend in fantastic conditions for February.

TL:DR is the bike is fantastic and well worth considering if you're looking for a new trail bike.

I've been looking at getting a new bike to replace my 5 year old Vitus which is a 120/100 FS. It's been a great bike but it's showing its age and needs money spending on it that I decided I'd rather put towards a replacement so started to draw up a short list and get some demos in over winter. Ended up demoing the Boardman FS Pro, Bird Aeris 120 and Whyte T130 S before settling on the Occam. They were all great bikes and I'd probably have been happy with any of them but the Occam was the pick of the bunch for me, especially with the deal I ended up getting - £1800 for the 2016 full carbon model.

As mentioned by Scotroutes, it looks like a lot of bike until you get on it. I've gone for a large at 5' 9" and I'm glad I did. The LBS had the alloy version in large which is what I demoed and it felt perfect. I did a bit of geometry comparison and noticed that the Occam in large with a 70mm stem has pretty much the same wheelbase as the large Whyte T-130 but the reach is the same as the medium T-130 with a 40mm stem.

Early days obviously but my initial impressions of the bike having now ridden it on my local trails are really positive. It rides light and feels very lively and manoeuvrable but is also very stable. I'm not one for massive air but when I've hit small jumps and drops it really pops and the extra travel was noticeable compared to my old bike. I've also set the fork and shock to the recommended settings and they seem spot on so far. The Fox 34 fork and Float DPS shock are really impressive and plush. Also, when in the firm mode the bike rides like a hardtail. Absolutely no noticeable movement. Even with the suspension fully open it's a really efficient climber and is one of the reasons I preferred it over the others I demoed.

Couple of things I'd look to change from the stock build. The Fizik Gobi saddle lasted one ride before I swapped it for my old charge spoon. It was like a park bench. Horrible. The high roller / ardent tyres will be perfect for summer but don't quite cut it in the clay clag we have locally for 2/3rds of the year. My preferred winter combo is shorty / dhr2. I'll probably make do with the high roller for now as we're hopefully coming out of the worst of the mud and it was decent apart from clogging a bit at times but I'll be getting a dhr2 on the rear asap as the ardent was pretty dreadful. Mine is 2 x 10 with a mix of XT/SLX. I prefer Sram and was really impressed with the GX 1 x 11 on the other bikes I demoed. I'll probably move to that in the long run once this drivetrain is worn. I will say though that the side swing front mech is great. Very light action compared to my old x9 10 speed which feels like you need two hands to push the shift lever in comparison. Lastly it needs a dropper. If I'd paid RRP I'd be a bit pissed it didn't come with one but for what I paid I can't complain.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I'm really pleased with the bike! Yours looks great Scoutroutes - I think both colours look good but they only had this colour in stock so that made my mind up for me.

Some pics from my first rides

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Nice looking bikes these, not really seen much of this model before.

I've been playing with the 29 carbon version of the occam ans I am well impressed. If I had the cash I would.

Yeah, I'm not sure about the saddle. It's certainly a lot narrower than I'm used to but I reckon these bikes aren't really made for long seated rides.

I almost got a 2016 model but there was a stock error and the promised medium turned out to be a large (with a small mark on the frame).

Some nice wee touches too - like the frame saver behind the chainrings - and a lifetime frame warranty (remember to register right away!!).

I did a short 10 mile ride on Saturday to play with lever position, shock settings etc and when I got on for my ride this morning my arse was killing. Swapped the saddle there and then, couldn't have carried on!

There are some nice touches. It's a lovely looking bike.

Ohh nice. I've found a Large for £1800 but I need a Medium..
If anyone sees one please let me know.

Still toying with An Orbea Loki ,have yet to arrange a long demo off road with the LBS.Got the forms from work for the cycle to work scheme /on line application so just got to top up the rest once march pay day comes.

Got side tracked by buying upgrade brakes for the Cannondale 29er ,Damm those e-mails from the German discount shop :

Doing lots of night shifts this month too so that provides the income but impacts ride time. Ahh well such is life ...

Very nice.

If they had bigger wheels I would be all over these at the current discounted price.

Yes me too last Saturday at Glentress. I got the AM M30 and it was my first ride on it on the Red and then some of the Blue

This replaced my 2011 Stumpjumper and I come at this from not having test ridden either of them before buying and do not know too much about the intricacies of a mountain bike

In saying that I loved it, it was easier to climb including step ups and balancing on logs and while I like to descend as fast as I can, I felt more in control on bends and in the very brief amount of time I spend air borne.

Got the medium in Orange. I'm 5'10. Out of interest the bar is 3cm closer than my stumpy but not sure if that's why I feel more in control

The build is lovely but the grips are being replaced and the saddle will follow shortly after.

Couldn't resist the £2099 price and think I am going to have it for a long time.

Is there any reason I should extend the bar back, it feels good where it is but I do feel more 'over' the bar

I've had an Occam 29er m Ltd for about 15 months. Best bike I've ever had. I can't fault anything about it. Light, fast and expensive and this year £800 more expensive after brexit!.

Just went to swap the Ardent for a DHR2. First problem - how do you remove the rear wheel? There's no lever on the thru axle? I'm sure I'm being thick but not seen this before as my last bike was simple QR.

Allen key in the NDS.

Had mine at Glentress yesterday. Conditions were pretty shit but still good fun.

Bars need to be narrower, certainly for my local woods.

I've already fitted orange Race Face grips (the Orbea lock-on colors fitted).

Saddle actually seems to be OK.

Rear tyre..... hmmmm. Ardent might be fine come the drier months so just got to figure out if it's worth putting on something else temporarily. And set both wheels up tubeless.

Cheers! Thought it probably was, and I did stick one in but it didn't seem to engage properly and didn't want to force it in case it was wrong.

Front wheel went up tubeless really easily. Tube out, sealant and superstar valve in and up first time with track pump.

Sorted. The Allen key I originally poked in seems to be slightly rounded hence it didn't engage properly (now binned!). Tried with my Topeak Hexus and it came off fine. Rear DHR2 just went up tubeless really easily too.

Sounds like you got good deals on these, anyone still got 2016 stock?

I got mine from Cycle Surgery. They've only got Small left now.

Ah, too bad

Had a few more rides now on my local trails. The bike just gets better. I was a bit concerned it might be overkill for the woods but those fears are well and truly unfounded. It's quick handling, accelerates and carrries speed and is just a blast. I've had numerous strava PRs and a couple of top 10s already, and this is March! The trails are running very well but it's not summer dry so that's been a real pleasant surprise.

The DHR2 has been an improvement but if this warm dry spell continues here I might've jumped the gun on that. I also swapped a spacer out from under the stem to lower the bar a bit which seems better. Still need a dropper. Hoping to get that sorted soon.

I´ve been riding mine a lot recently, it´s so much fun. I´d sort of stopped using it for the last few weeks as I got the new Rallon which is also fantastic but after reading this post I´ve taken the Occam out a lot again. Just watch out for heel rub on the rear nds chain stay, worth putting a wee protector on there as I´ve scuffed mine a bit.

Mountainman - I've just bought myself a Loki after a year and a bit away from riding bikes. Absolutely love it. I'm usually a medium but went for a large and the bike handles great, ploughs through anything and grips really well, very impressed with it! Changed the tyres to nobby nic front and rocket ron rear, and set them up tubeless - Saves just under a kilo and the standard tyres are useless in the scottish border at this time of year.

@rkearsey, I bought the Loki after I´d done testing it. Love that bike, it´s so much fun. Handles amazingly and it´s just fun. Interested to hear about the tyres because the normal ones are quite easy to puncture. I was hoping to pick up a set of the new Maxxis HR´s but man they are expensive! .

The Loki´s angles are pretty similar to the Occam which is cool too.

Yeah its a great bike, very happy i got it in the end! There isn't alot of choice for tyres but the nobby nic and RR have been great so far for me, kept the chronicles as ive just ordered a set of hope 35ws so ill stick them on the old wheels when the hopes arrive.

Took it to Laggan today.

[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3838/33539496395_f3d655f929_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3838/33539496395_f3d655f929_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/T6LFMe ]Laggan2[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/ ]Colin Cadden[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3894/33382505622_be65915c90_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3894/33382505622_be65915c90_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/SRU4TL ]Laggan1[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/ ]Colin Cadden[/url], on Flickr

Everything seems to be working well. I'll potentially drop suspension pressures a wee bit front and back. Ardent rear was struggling at times but we'll soon be into drier weather.... right?

Nice bikes!

Surprised your parachute didn't deploy on that second one Scotroutes......it looks like it's about to ! 😀

I thought it was a small dirigible giving him lift 😀

Another fine day out in the Gorms yesterday, but are any other Occam owners experiencing stiff gear changing? I'm finding it needs quite a push. The cable routing between the frame port and the chainstay does look a little tortuous and I'm wondering if it's just that.

Edited because I realized I was talking about the Rallon!

Mine definitely isn't stiff so it must be a problem rather than something designed it.

On the Rallon you can over tighten the cable guides but of course the Occam is internal. Maybe worth swapping in inners?

Ah - could be that the entry/exit ports need opened out a wee bitty. Thanks for the feedback though - it means it's fixable 😉

They come off really easily. Take them off and see how it works? Those plastic bits I mean, it's just a screw and they are loose.

No problems with mine so far. Had to tweak the barrel adjuster to index them after a few rides but only what you'd expect from new cables.

Getting out a fair bit on mine and continuing to love it. It's helping me do more than I normally would on descents and to do it a lot better. Glad I made the move to this bike it feels a better fit than my Stumpjumper.