Rarely finishing outside of the top 10 throughout her first two years racing the UCI World Cup downhill circuit, FMD rider Phoebe Gale has quickly cemented herself as one of the riders to watch this year. After FMD’s move from Canyon to Orbea, we caught up with Phoebe at Bike Park Wales to talk about her daily driver, the Orbea Rallon.
- Bike check: Nathan Haas’ Colnago G3X
- Bike check: Connor Swift’s race-winning Pinarello Grevil F
- Bike check: Sam Pilgrim’s Canyon Torque:ON CF 9
Although she’s been seen throwing Orbea’s latest Rallon downhill bike weekend in, weekend out, and is likely riding the enduro-going version day-to-day, we managed to get a quick catch-up in with Gale a week or so ahead of the launch of that very bike. Despite this bike being the previous generation Rallon, Gale praises it for its capability. “It’s a pretty big trail bike, but it goes well”, she tells off.road.cc.
For this bike, she’s chosen a medium frame and a mullet wheel setup, so that’s a 650b hoop at the rear and a 29in wheel at the front.
Running a 170mm fork with 160mm of suspension at the rear, damping is provided by Fox’s 38 Factory fork, and Gale is running a DHX2 coil shock. That’s complemented by a wireless Fox Transfer Factory Live Valve Neo dropper post.
Gale’s Rallon rolls on Oquo wheels, the same model as on her downhill bike. Those are wrapped with a pair of Schwalbe Magic Mary tyres adorned with the brand’s ‘First Ride’ hot patches, which hint that the brand is working with Gale behind the scenes on something new. Phoebe was quick to mention that these are last year’s First Ride tyres, so it’s likely the tech is already out on the market, although she told us that the tyres use an experimental rubber compound.
Much like we saw on Laurie Greenland’s Santa Cruz V10, Phoebe Gale is a fan of Shimano’s XTR kit, choosing the XTR four-piston brakes and 12-speed drivetrain.
Moving to the cockpit, there’s a Renthal Fatbar with a 31.8mm clamp diameter with ODI grips, and atop that dropper post is a Fizik saddle. Gale then runs Crankbrothers Mallet DH pedals.
When talking about her aspirations for this season, Gale is determined to get her first elite World Cup win under her belt, saying that a win at Les Gets is the goal.
“Les Gets would be the top of my list. I think the crowd, the vibe there, is pretty incredible and definitely a top destination.”
Commenting on FMD’s move from Canyon to Orbea, she praises the Basque-based outfit: “They’re a very enthusiastic company… really keen to make bikes that really work well and win races.”
