The Laufey H-LTD is the range-topping trail hardtail from the Spanish brand, Orbea. It’s a fantastic hardtail that I’ve come to adore thanks to its wisely selected and somewhat unique geometry that results in a thrilling and confidence-inspiring ride. However, its price makes it a tough sell against steel and other alloy-framed rivals.
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Orbea Laufey H-LTD mountain bike – Technical details
Orbea says the Laufey is the ‘master of fun’, stating that riding a hardtail is more often a choice than a compromise or necessity, which I agree with aside from the great value hardtails provide. To meet those claims, the Laufey is equipped with all of the technological goodness you would expect from the brand with the most notable being Powerspine.
Powerspine is Orbea’s method of adding compliance to the aluminium frame and, on a hardtail, the right level of flex within a frame can make a good hardtail, excellent. With it, the brand claims to balance rigidity with vertical compliance and this has been done through the careful sculpting of the top tube, seat tube and chainstay in a way that’s not too dissimilar to what we saw on the Factor Lando HT. Of course, all of this has been tuned without upsetting the bike’s pedalling ability, so the head tube and downtube have been crafted to be stiff.
Another key feature comes in the form of Lockr or down tube storage. Whether this is of use is debatable (given there’s a handy accessory mount under the top tube) but it’s great to have the option. This bike would welcome big days in the saddle, so a place to shove a thin waterproof is always handy.
Other neat bits and bobs include the vinyl installed from the factory to provide some frame protection, the threaded bottom bracket and the rather neat-looking internal cable routing.
Orbea puts quite an emphasis on strength, having adorned the bike with its ‘advanced’ aluminium frame. All of the tubes are either double- or triple-butted to add strength to high-stress weld areas while saving weight. The chainstay is forged and machined at the bottom bracket, which clears up to a 29 x 2.6in tyre.
The Laufey runs 29-inch hoops at both ends, and there’s a 140mm travel suspension fork.
Onto the geometry and it’s very clearly a trail mountain bike with its 64.5-degree head tube angle and 77-degree seat tube. On this large frame there’s a 475mm reach and, on all sizes, the chainstay measures a rather lengthy 440mm (for a hardtail).
While common on full sussers, the chainstay length is a very interesting subject because it’s a fair bit longer than other hardtails. Most brands take full advantage of the fact that there’s no suspension geometry to account for when designing their hardtails, so they tuck the rear wheel in as close to the BB as possible. This usually results in figures south of 435mm (and 425mm at the sharp end of cross-country). Whether that’s for tyre clearance or other reasons, the Laufey’s measurement certainly stands out from the crowd.
Orbea Laufey H-LTD mountain bike – Componentry
The H-LTD build of the Laufey is the poshest and priciest of the range at a hair under £2,700 and, for that, you get a Fox 34 Performance fork with 140mm of travel.
The bike is driven by a mixture of Shimano’s drivetrains. This comprises the XT Shadow Plus mech paired with the SLX M7100 shifter. I would prefer an XT shifter with an SLX mech, which opens the buyer up to Shimano’s Rapidfire Plus tech that allows the user to shift multiple gears down the block, which I love.
Shimano also handles braking duties with its Deore M6120 disc brakes which do an excellent job for the money and those are paired with small-ish 180mm rotors. For a bike of this ilk, a larger rotor at the front wouldn’t go amiss.
Finally, the Laufey H-LTD rolls on a pair of Race Face AR 30c wheels with a set of 2.6in Maxxis Dissector tyres with EXO casings. I’m a big fan of the Dissector as it rolls quickly while hooking up well in equal measures. Though in softer terrain, something with a more aggressive tread inflated onto the front wheel will instil a little more confidence.
This Laufey build is sorted with an OC Mountain Control MC21 dropper post, although Orbea doesn’t mention its travel. Regardless, I reckon the brand could have been more generous with the travel on offer as I’m riding with the seatpost quite high at max extension (I have an inseam of 72cm).
All this tips our scale at 13.97kg.
Orbea Laufey H-LTD mountain bike – Performance
Orbea has a wealth of mountain bike crafting experience and it’s clear that every ounce of that has been thrown at the Laufey. It’s far from an afterthought or a hardtail built to fill a gap in the range. It’s a serious entry into the more aggro trail hardtail market that’s earned itself its little spot in my heart but some areas let the bike down and in my books, rather considerably.
But first, it’s a comfortable bike for an alloy hardtail. Orbea has nailed the saddled geometry for starters. The seat tube, while not the steepest in the world, places weight centrally and keeps some over the rear wheel. It’s quite an upright position but with that comes comfort.
Climbing is one area in which that longer chainstay helps make the bike. Planting the rear wheel slightly further out the back aids traction while working to keep the front wheel grounded during steeper efforts – this despite the head angle and tall 655.5mm stack. Like the best cross-country mountain bikes, the Laufey does a good job when it comes to climbing, especially when the relatively low rolling resistance of the Maxxis Dissectors comes into play.
Orbea puts a large compliance claim behind the Laufey having graced it with Powerspine. After asking, I was reassured that this tech is essentially the clever forming of the flat-ish top tube and triangular seat stays to introduce flex for a more comfortable ride.
When saddled, the Laufey provides a surprisingly smooth ride. It dulls down the constant battering a hardtail can deliver through its saddle, making it a comfortable bike to climb, and this is where diligent shaping works best.
The Laufey’s frame isn’t as supple as you might expect and certainly not close to the beautiful damping a steel frame can provide. This is an alloy bike after all and alloy isn’t a material known for its ability to flex. Out of the saddle especially, the frame had me questioning the efficacy of Powerspine. Where comfort and compliance play a role in the Laufey’s ride, that’s mainly down to the large 2.6in rear tyre.
There may well be a smidgeon of compliance in the frame when saddled and the seat tube is weighted but out of the saddle, it’s more the rear tyre doing the work to resist harshness. However, the 2.6in tyres are another arguable aspect of the build kit. On a hardtail, fat rubber is a valid choice as it adds damping but as the Laufey encourages some pretty hard riding the rear tyre can feel wibbly on the rim. A tyre insert would add much-needed stability to the tyre sidewalls and is something I would recommend.
And the Laufey is a proper rebel of a machine. With its geometry that’s a shock away from a full-suspension trail bike, the Laufey begs to be ridden like one.
At first, because of the comparatively lengthy chainstay, the Laufey took a little getting used to simply because it’s unexpectedly long for a hardtail and, because the rear wheel isn’t moving vertically through the joys of suspension. This relays a feeling of being central on the bike when in the attack position and got me thinking harder about where my weight was when cornering.
The downside of the long chainstay is that it’s not as whippable or agile as a hardtail with a shorter measurement. That said, the 440mm figure is one that I ended up appreciating and loving. Through long, sweeping corners the Laufey is sure-footed where it rustles up decent levels of grip and simply hangs on. What improves cornering further is its bottom bracket height. It’s low enough to place the centre of gravity in a confidence-inspiring spot without leaving the pedals susceptible to strikes when climbing techy stuff.
Back onto that chainstay, it’s not all about cornering smoothness as it adds a heft of predictability to the Laufey’s ride. It’s simply more stable and comfortable at speed than hardtails with shorter stays and because of that, it doesn’t throw any surprises. Because of that, and the low BB, the bike has instilled in me enough confidence to charge hard into roots and rocks with reckless abandon.
Although it would be nice to see a longer dropper post installed. Orbea is tight-lipped about the length provided but I’ve got a fair bit of the post exposed and the bike would be even better with more travel. This would open up the bike for freer movement and changes in weight distribution.
The head angle is slack enough to provide support when the gradient drops, and push the front wheel over trail obstacles without hanging up but it’s not so aggro that it adds vagueness to the steering, which is very well balanced.
Where the Laufey makes for an excellent all-round trail bike, one ‘feature’ severely marrs a nearly perfect score sheet – the door on the Lockr downtube storage. It creaks. All of the time, at least during my time with the bike anyway. Having spoken with Orbea about this, I’m told that a replacement will be offered under warranty.
Orbea Laufey H-LTD – Verdict
The Laufey is a great bike with an exceptional ride quality but at £2,700 it’s certainly pricey.
A serious threat comes in the form of Merida’s recent Big.Trail 600. It’s £2,000 and I’ll admit, its drivetrain isn’t quite as high-end but Shimano Deore 12-speed is very good. It also gets seriously sized rotors and a set of Shimano XT four-piston brakes which far supersede the Laufey’s brakes in power, feel and adjustability. It doesn’t get the Lockr door and comes with Merida’s own-brand wheels.
The Big.Trail’s geometry stacks up impressively, too, with a longer reach, a slacker head angle and a lower bottom bracket.
Where my money would go is the Stif Squatch V1.1 in its AM Kit build. It’ll set you back £2,500 but grants you a compliant Cro-Mo steel frame with a decent geometry. It takes a bit of a hit in the spec department as it’s built with a SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain which isn’t as slick as the Shimano XT group on the Laufey. Geometry-wise, it’s a little more aggro with a 64-degree head tube and 480mm reach on a large frame. Its chainstay is shorter, too, at 430mm but the damping and compliance of the frame aids stability much in the way that the longer chainstay of the Laufey would.
For a more serious build, £3,100 will get you the Squatch in its PRO kit that features a RockShox Pike Ultimate fork, SRAM GX Eagle shifting and Hope/Burgtech goodies. Of course, this is £400 but you’re getting more for the cash.
But therein lies the issue. The Orbea Laufey H-LTD will appeal to the hardtail fanatic but, by placing it north of £2.5k, Orbea is putting the Laufey up against some impressive steel hardtails. These include the Stif Squatch and Bird’s Forge that’ll set you back £2,448 with a better build kit including a RockShox Lyrik Ultimate. Cotic’s BFeMAX can be picked up for as little as £2,075, granted with a RockShox Revelation fork which isn’t quite as sophisticated but its Shimano SLX 12-speed drivetrain is impressive.
The Orbea Laufey H-LTD is a solid trail hardtail that does things differently. Its lengthier chainstay adds a welcomed level of stability and predictability to the ride and makes momentum more tolerable to maintain when hitting lumpy stuff quickly. In fact, it’s tough to fault any of Orbea’s geometry choices as the designers have totally understood the assignment. It just needs to offer more for the outlay, sort its creaky door and come with a longer travel dropper.
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About the bike
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Aluminium frame, fox float 34 performance fork, race face aeffect crank, Shimano SLX shfter, Shimano 10-51t 12-speed cassette, Shimano XT derailleur, OC cockpit, Shimano M6120 brakes, Race Face AR 30c wheels, Maxxis Dissector tyres,
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