13 October, 2017

Orbea wins a record number of awards in Germany

Our bicycles have recently stacked up several different awards from the specialized German press, which is known for being among the most demanding in Europe. The latest has been for Gain, winner of the Design & Innovation Award 2018. This seal recognizes bicycles that represent an achievement in the bicycle industry in terms of their design, innovation and performance.

The German magazines Granfondo CyclingE-MountainBike and Enduro Mountain Bike Magazine have recognized the “pioneering” nature of our hybrid road bicycle. In their own words, Gain “will change the life of many cyclists.”

The Design & Innovation Awards are given by experts, professional testers and journalists from the magazines GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine, E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine and ENDURO Mountainbike Magazine, who performed more than 6,000 hours of tests to reach their verdict.

A few months back, the Alma also conquered Germany after earning the “Sehr Gut” (“Very good”) rating from Bike magazine, the leading MTB publication in Germany.

Magazine test editor Stefan Loibl says, “You never get tempted to just ride – the second the trail goes uphill you feel like you're sitting on a rocket with full temper and extraordinary acceleration”.“Bike” points out that “Even the riding position itself is designed only for speed,” concluding that “Even in times of best working suspension and electronic setup, a rigid bike might come in handy. The light green climbing-rocket tames steepest the uphills and gives new sensations to any climbing that you encounter”.

The same “Bike” magazine gave this same “Sehr Gut” rating to the Occam, emphasizing that “its 29'' wheels and a first class geometry make this bike go downhill so fast that it can more than compete with some of the aluminum AM models”.

The M10 Modell is (carbon) is equally convincing and is obviously lighter. Instead of the traditional chain blade it will be outfitted with a 1×11 XT. No mountain is too steep, no downhill to difficult. Those who will carry the 150 mm of travel uphill will be awarded with lots of fun downhill – on any kind of mountain”.

Our Keram Asphalt 30 also earned the “recommended product” label from Elektrobike, the leading publication in the e-bike sector in Germany, and one of the most important in Europe.

The Keram Asphalt 30 is one of our most versatile e-bikes: designed for pedaling on trails or asphalt, the “Kauftipp!”(“recommended product”) label awarded by Elektrobike placed special value on its “powerful motor”, “ease of handling” and “sportive looks”. Other strong points of our e-bike are its light weight, smooth functioning motor and its overall good value for money.

All this makes our bicycle the perfect option for those who are looking for an electric bicycle for either fun or urban transportation. And now it comes with German certification!

All this makes our bicycle the perfect option for those who are looking for an electric bicycle for either fun or urban transportation. And now it comes with German certification!

Katu, a “magnificent piece of engineering.”

In 2016, this same magazine gave our Katu 20 the highest score it awards on its tests:“Sehr Gut” (Very good).This score was also accompanied by its official recommended product distinction.

In this case, Elektrobike highlighted that the Katu “lets you move about the city quickly, thanks to the magnificent engineering work that went into it.”After emphasizing once again that it is a good value for the money, the magazine reported that “in the city, it is a fast bicycle that is easy to pedal, thanks to its geometry.” Finally, it defined it as “compact, stable and with balanced pedaling.”

And if our bicycles with assisted pedaling as getting good reviews in Germany, our MTB bikes have earned ‘four aces’: Occam (in its double Trail and All-Mountain version), Loki and Rallon all earned very high scores on the tests conducted by experts from such demanding magazines as Bike, Freeride and Mountain Bike.

Occam, the favorite bike of the testers

For Bike magazine, our Occam TR H10 simply became “the favorite bike of the entire team conducting the test.”Not surprisingly, it was the test winner and was named the recommended bicycle by BIKE magazine. The reasons why: its “modern geometry”, “different configurations” and “great manageability”:

“The heart of this model is its brilliant Fox shocks, which make perfect use of its 120 mm travel as opposed to the many competitors that have more. This is not to mention its modern geometry with short chainstays (thanks to Boost), its horizontal tube length and perfect front angle that provides excellent feeling on descents. The position of the seat tube also makes the bicycle very comfortable when pedaling uphill,” it concluded.

As far as the All Mountain version of the Occam, Bike gave it its maximum score, calling it “a cool bicycle, and very well equipped, intended for an ambitious, experienced rider.”MTB magazine also spotlighted its rear boost, which “allows for shorter chainstays and a more compact geometry.” Finally, the test indicated that “instead of a traditional telescopic seatpost, Orbea has mounted the Digit seatpost, with great results.”

Rallon: Top enduro bike.

From the Rallon X Team, Freeride magazine (which gave it a score of 9.5) emphasizes “its modern geometry, a long horizontal tube, a flat head angle and shorter chainstays that other similar bikes. A combination that works very well.”This geometry permits the Rallon to “accelerate fast and handle curves and high velocity very well, even on rough ground.”

The Freeride test concluded that “this model is fast, practical and rugged. This Rallon has become much more focused on descending, but without losing its all-round skills. In one sentence: a top enduro bike, with nice optics and well-engineered suspension set-up.”

Loki: Fluid and agile at the same time.

Completing our hand of four aces is our Loki HLTD, the winner of the test by Mountainbike:“Fantastic handling, great components and lots of fun on all sorts of terrain,” are the three reasons that make our bike more fun and also worthy of the “Sehr Gut” rating. For the German magazine, what was “really impressive, though, is the geometry of the bicycle with its plus-size tires”, which translates into “a terrific riding experience: it is smooth and agile, all at the same time.”On ‘normal’ terrain or quick descents, on rocky, root-traced trails, the Loki provides top level performance.”

Thanks to all the bikers and the specialized press in Germany for rating our work so positively! We’re proud to receive this response from a country so enthusiastic about bicycles. Remember that in Germany there is almost one bicycle for every person (78 million bikes for 81 million residents) and more than 40% use them as their everyday vehicle…