To quote a line from Matt quoting a line from someone who’s not a mountain biker: For $8,000, you could buy a motorcycle! Yeah, but could you lift it over your head with one arm? And would that motorcycle look as beautiful as the new Orbea Alma?
Orbea pulls out all the stops with the Alma, starting with their proprietary OMX carbon fiber frame manufacturing process and materials. The brand says the Alma frame weighs just 830g for a size medium, making it about 50g heavier than the Specialized Epic hardtail introduced last year.
The rigid “Spirit” carbon fork on the standard Alma M Ltd build keeps the weight way down, and its carbon layup and design is said to be tuned specifically for the Alma frame. Orbea offers the ability to customize the fork and frame colors and accents through their MyO program. Or, buyers who order the Alma through the Orbea website can opt to swap the fork for a Fox 32 Factory model for an extra $549, which inches the price closer to $9,000.
Orbea says the bike features an “all-new integrated look with a completely unique OC headset/spacer/stem design” with a built-in steering limiter to prevent damage to the frame in the event of a crash. The $8,000 build comes with a carbon seat post to save weight (naturally) but buyers can make the bike more capable with an 80mm-travel, 27.2mm diameter dropper post for $119. For an additional cost, a brake upgrade is also available.
More info at Orbea.com, or shop other Orbea Alma models at JensonUSA.
