Brains over brawn: Orbea argues for smart integration over power for new Rallon RS

Electric mountain bikes are better than ever and more popular than ever. But what the ideal eMTB looks like is far from settled. Orbea is pushing back against the “more power” crowd with its new smarter and lighter Rallon RS.

Now, Orbea already has several well regarded eMTBs out there. The Rise and Wild serve the enduro and trail crowds with significant added watts. Orbea’s chosen to go with the Rallon name, its line of non-electric enduro bikes, for the Rallon RS for a reason. The Basque brand wants this bike to feel as much like a mountain bike as possible, just way smarter. And… more expensive.

Rallon RS: A mountain bikers eMTB?

Aside from the motor and RS integration system, the Rallon RS is a Rallon. It uses a carbon fibre frame, delivers 170mm rear wheel travel with a 170mm fork. There isn’t a downhill version of the Rallon RS yet, but this is the same general layout as the DH/Enduro convertable frame Orbea earned serious kudos for last year.

There are two main features of the Rallon RS that set it apart from the Rallon and the Wild. One is integration and the other is, obviously, power. The whole idea behind Orbea’s RS system is that these two elements should work together with the Rallon’s existing downhill performance as seamlessly as possible. That’s what sets the Rallon RS on its own as more than just another light eMTB.

Rallon + TQ = Rallon RS

We’ll start with power. While there are some wildly powerful e-bike motor systems out there, Orbea opts for less. In fact, TQ’s HPR40 system is one of the least powerful currently available. It’s “just” 200 watts max with 40 Nm torque. Just is in quotations because, as Orbea points out, that’s still like having a World Cup racer helping you up every hill. Or, as Orbea puts it, a “helping hand” that doesn’t “dominate the rider experience.”

Orbea goes further, giving the TQ a “RS Tune” that sees it ease into its power band and “never exceed the rider’s power”. That’s pretty much the opposite of a lot of systems that try to deliver as much power as quickly as possible. Orbea suggests the intent is to help out when help is needed most, on the hardest bits of climbs, not all the time and not instead of a riders power. I.e. it adds to, instead of overwhelming the rider’s power.

Purposeful power not more power

This low power approach flies in the face of 2025’s endless search for more power, obviously. Orbea justifies it quite succintly:

“Many…