Orbea

Alma 29 Silver S70 Complete Bike

There is little about the Orbea Alma platform that isn't compelling -- from its sharp, angular lines, to its nimble visage. But more importantly, with the well conceived build kit found on this Alma Silver S70, there are few who could dispute the Alma's natural ease as perhaps the ideal all-around hardtail.

Aside from being the world's first production carbon 29er, the Alma stands as a model of sharp design. We don't just mean those aforementioned sharp angles, though the Alma 29 has a few of those. We mean thoughtful, like a downtube that's oversized for stiffness and shaped to provide some protection for the rider from mud and spray from the front tire, acting like a fender. We also mean well-engineered. Take the 4x4 design; both the front and rear triangles are actually quadrangles, with four corners. The reasons for this are simple -- to increase the comfort for the rider.

The 4x4 design is based around the understanding that a triangle is nature's stiffest geometrical design because any forces on its points simply become tension or compression in the members (think chainstays, seatstays, and seat tube in the case of the rear triangle). By adding a short fourth member, which you can see in front of the dropout, Orbea's engineers have designed the rear end of the Alma to deflect some of the harsh input from the trail by way of the joints, or nodes, flexing slightly. The carbon lay-up is designed to allow a small degree of movement here without losing any torsional stiffness. This is the beauty of carbon in comparison to metals; where metals exhibit the same characteristics in all directions, carbon fiber can be tuned for different mechanical properties along different axes. The Alma front triangle is built in the same way to maximize your comfort and efficiency.

Orbea does all this with a monocoque molding process. That's to say that they make each Alma 29 frame as a one-piece homogenous structure. Without bonded joints where failures can occur and with fibers running continuously along the length of the tubes and through the intersections, the total strength of the bike is increased along with the durability. This version uses Orbea's Silver grade carbon fiber, and it's a material that offers great impact resistance and toughness -- two desirable characteristics for a bike frame that's made to hammer.

The Alma 29 is also designed and built in accordance with Orbea's SSN (size specific nerve) technology so that it offers the same comfort and performance characteristics across the size range. More specifically, each frame size has specific carbon lay-ups and tube dimensions. While optimization of the ride qualities is paramount, it would be pointless if the bike didn't shift flawlessly. This is why the Alma uses DCR (direct cable routing). It's made to use Gore's slick-shifting cables, and it comes with a complete set. The inner wires are sealed from start to finish and the routing on the underside of the top tube keeps them protected from the ravages of the trail.

The Alma uses a BB30 bottom bracket shell. While you can use standard cranksets with the included FSA adapters, you'll enjoy a 30% stiffer and lighter aluminum spindle if you use a BB30 crankset. The Alma 29 also uses a tapered head tube with a 1.5in lower bearing. When paired with a tapered fork, this increases the stiffness and stability of the front end. This is a big part of what makes it feel solid over rutted or rocky trails and through sketchy corners. Both of these details add performance by increasing stiffness right where it counts.

The S70 comes with a well-rounded selection of offerings from SRAM, starting with SRAM's battle-tested Reba 29 RLT front fork. The Reba 29 strikes that perfectly reliable balance between tunability and durability -- equipping you with everything you need and nothing you don't. An intelligent mix of SRAM's upper-tiered groups handle drivetrain duties, while a pair of Elixir 7 brakes provide plenty of stopping power for even the longest rutted-out descents. Mavic XM 317 wheels and Geax AKA XC tires are optimized for fast and twisty hardpack, but you might find this pair more than capable of handling whatever else your trails throw at you.

The Orbea Alma 29 Silver S70 is available in Small, Medium, and Large and comes in four colors: Yellow/Silver, White/Blue, White, and White/Red. All Orbea bicycle frames come with a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defect.