The Orbea Occam LT M10 – In our big 2024 trail bike group test

Let’s cut straight to the chase: Orbea’s bikes deliver top trail performance straight out of the box! With their extensive MyO configurator, the Basque bike manufacturer allows you to customise both the spec and look of your bike down to the smallest detail. Top trail performance and a high degree of customisation in one bike? Sounds like a recipe for success. But can the Occam LT M10 deliver?

One bike, two characters? That’s Orbea’s plan for their new Occam trail bike. Alongside the 160/150 mm LT version we tested, Orbea also offer a short travel SL variant, which generates 140mm of travel at the front and rear, with the only difference being the suspension components. Both variants are available either with an alloy or a carbon frame. We tested the Occam LT M10 mid-range carbon model, which might not be the top spec version, but in our opinion offers the best value for money. At € 6,038, it’s one of the cheapest bikes in this test, but at 15.2 kg, it’s also one of the heaviest ones.

For an overview of the test fleet head to the group test: The best trail bike 2024 – 15 of the most exciting trail bikes in our 2024 comparison test

The 2024 Orbea Occam LT M10 in detail

The latest descendant of the Occam dynasty inherits the asymmetric cross brace of its predecessor, giving the frame a unique silhouette. The carbon lay-up is tuned specifically for each frame size to suit the expected weight range of the riders. In addition, the new Occam features Orbea’s proprietary LockR storage compartment in the down tube, which can be opened with the help of an easily accessible lever, allowing you to stow away a spare inner tube, tire levers and CO2 cartridges without having to put up with annoying rattling noises on the trail. There’s also a mini tool with four Allen keys (2–5 mm) hidden inside the main pivot of the rocker link, while the removable lever of the rear thru-axle doubles up as a 6 mm Allen key – Orbea really have you covered for basic trailside repairs! The cables are routed internally and disappear into the frame through Orbea’s proprietary headset, which has been redesigned for the new Occam to prevent the cables from chafing. Moreover, you can order your new Occam with a protective film, choosing between a plain, transparent tape or several design templates, with all options available in either a matt or a glossy finish. A generously sized chainstay protector prevents chain slap and paint chips. That said, the shift cable emerges from the top of the chainstay, where it gets constantly hit by the chain – the cable on our test bike was already slightly damaged after only a few days of testing. A small rubber mudguard above the main bearing prevents small rocks from getting jammed in the gap between the main frame and swingarm.

The spec of the 2024 Orbea Occam LT M10

Despite being the mid-range model in the Occam lineup, our LT M10 test bike comes with a solid spec. FOX supply the suspension, consisting of a 36 Factory GRIP2 fork and matching FLOAT X Factory shock, with the fork’s superior GRIP2 damper offering countless adjustment options. While we also tested the Occam with a coil shock, the poppier air shock is a better match, at least in the context of this trail-oriented test field. Orbea’s in-house component brand supplies the OC Mountain Control MC21 dropper post, which offers a whopping 230 mm of travel, and can be fully inserted into the frame across all sizes. If that’s too much for you, you can also pick a shorter-travel dropper post (min. 125 mm) from Orbea’s online configurator – awesome! Shifting and braking are taken care of by a Shimano XT groupset. The brakes are paired with a big 200 mm front rotor and a smaller 180 mm disc at the rear. With a capable trail bike like the Occam, we recommend running two big 200 mm rotors to prevent the brakes from overheating on long descents. For the wheels, Orbea rely on an OQUO Mountain Control MC32TEAM alloy wheelset. This is coupled with MAXXIS tires, combining an ASSEGAI at the front and Minion DHR II at the rear, both in the soft MaxxGrip rubber compound and bombproof DH casing. This tire combination delivers tremendous performance downhill, but is almost too extreme for a trail bike. While the tread pattern is great, we recommend running the slightly harder MaxxTerra rubber compound at the rear to minimise rolling resistance and wear. While you’re at it, it might be worth swapping to the lighter EXO+ casing (or Doubledown if you shred hard!). Unfortunately, the only alternative Orbea offer in their configurator is the super-thin EXO casing and hard MaxxTerra compound at the front – it would be great to have something in between!

With its new flip chip, and the integrated storage compartment and tools, the Occam features some very useful, clever frame details.

Tuning tip: Swap the tires for a more trail friendly model with lighter casing (EXO+ or DoubleDown)

The geometry of the 2024 Orbea Occam LT

The Orbea Occam LT is available in four sizes, S to XL. Our test bike in size L combines 480 mm reach and a very short 430 mm seat tube, which, together with the long-travel dropper post that can be fully inserted into the frame, ensures plenty of freedom of movement on the bike. The latest Occam model also has a cleverly designed flip chip, which allows you to change the geometry of the bike in no time. Simply loosen the bolt and pull the frame up to switch into the higher position (or push it down to put it into the lower setting). Now just tighten the bolt and you’re done! Fiddling with inserts and dropping them on the floor is a thing of the past with the new Occam. The geometry adjustment steepens up both the 77° seat tube angle and the 64° head tube by half a degree, while at the same time raising the bottom bracket height by 8 mm. This can be easily done using the 6 mm Allen key in the thru axle! We rode the Occam mainly in the low setting. Moreover, Orbea’s alignment system ensures that the shock is always perfectly centred, reducing wear on the suspension hardware. Unfortunately, chainstay length is 440 mm across the board and doesn’t grow with the frame size.

The 2024 Orbea Occam LT M10 2024 on the trail

A Spanish Reinhold Messner on wheels? When riding uphill, the Occam LT M10 is arguably one of the best climbers in this test, placing you in a very comfortable, central pedalling position both on level ground and on steeper climbs. The weight is evenly distributed between the front and rear, while the rear suspension is pleasantly firm without feeling overly stiff. However, the aggressively profiled tires rob the Orbea of liveliness, making the climb a means to an end. If you like climbing, we recommend changing the tires.

The Orbea Occam is a rowdy trail machine and therefore the perfect choice for those riders who can’t decide whether to get a trail or enduro rig.

As soon as you drop into a trail to shred your way back down into the valley, you’ll quickly realise that the Orbea plays in a different league – for better or worse. The Occam doesn’t require any familiarisation time and makes you feel at ease from the get-go, integrating you nicely between its wheels. All you have to do is look ahead and think how you’re going to slice through that berm, while the Occam takes care of the rest, carving through corners almost by itself. At the same time, the bike feels extremely composed, inspiring huge amounts of confidence in all situations and taking on whatever you throw at it, whether you’re ploughing through nasty rock gardens or bombing down the side of the mountain in a straight line. However, the composed character comes at the expense of agility, and as a result, the Occam falls back behind the competition in terms of liveliness, lining up right next to the SCOTT. And while the Occam still allows you to thread your way through tight trail sections without too much effort, it can’t keep up with the nimblest trail bikes in this test. Even with the air shock, the suspension is very plush, although the coil shock takes the plushness to a whole different level, providing even more composure. However, since the Occam already offers next-level composure, we preferred running the air shock, which provides more pop and agility, allowing you to bomb down the trail at full send, building up speed by pumping through rollers and berms. Additionally, the suspension generates excellent traction, contributing to the excellent feeling of safety the Occam inspires.

Who should take a closer look at the 2024 Orbea Occam LT M10?

With their unusual sales model, which allows you to customise your bike using the extensive online configurator and get it delivered to your nearest dealer, Orbea offer the best of both worlds, combining the outstanding value for money typical of direct-to-consumer brands with the perks of an authorised dealer. With its awesome trail performance and composed character, the Occam LT M10 spec variant we tested is particularly suitable for those riders who want the liveliness of a trail bike and the composure of a potent enduro bruiser – because the Occam is the perfect compromise between the two.

Our conclusions about the 2024 Orbea Occam LT M10

The Occam LT M10 is built around a clever, versatile frame platform that allows you to customise the spec and look of your bike using Orbea’s extensive MyO configurator. With its comfortable pedalling position and pedal-neutral suspension, the Occam is an excellent climber and, as soon as you point its nose into the valley, delivers the finest downhill performance in the entire test field, impressing with predictable, confidence-inspiring handling – though this comes at the expense of agility. Overall, the Occam is an outstanding trail bike with its foot in the enduro door.

Tops

• Incredibly composed
• Super intuitive handling
• Top suspension performance

Flops

• Chain hits the shifter cable housing

You can find out more about at orbea.com

The test field

For an overview of the test fleet head to the group test: The best trail bike 2024 – 15 of the most exciting trail bikes in our 2024 comparison test

All bikes in test: Cannondale Habit LT 1 (Click for review) | Cube ONE55 C:62 SLT 29 (Click for review) | Ghost RIOT Trail Full Party (Click for review) | Merida ONE-FORTY 10K (Click for review) | Mondraker Neat RR SL (Click for review) | Nicolai Saturn 14 Swift HRZ (Click for review) | Orbea Occam LT M10 | Santa Cruz Heckler SL XX AXS RSV (Click for review) | Santa Cruz Hightower X0 AXS RSV (Click for review) | Scor 2030 X01 (Click for review) | SCOTT Genius ST 900 Tuned (Click for review) | Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo SL (Click for review) | Trek Fuel EX 9.9 X0 AXS T-Type (Click for review) | Yeti SB140 LR T3 X0 (Click for review) | YT JEFFSY CORE 5 CF (Click for review)

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Words: Simon Kohler Photos: Peter Walker