Orbea Alma Review: The Better Gravel Bike 

Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate it.

He’s the gold standard in my book!

Yeah, he's one of the few reviewers who is not an enduro bro doing Evel Knievel jumps.

Hey thanks!

Yo! Thanks!

@@bikersedge bro you have to review this bike with the lighter rigid fork and slightly less tire

Hey thanks!

Amazing. So glad the video helped.

@TheBaldTruth1 Any glaring problems you've found with your Alma? I'm getting a good deal on a M30 (1800usd) and I'm thinking about getting it to complement my gravel or perhaps even replace it with the Alma

@@esavirtanen6418 No problems at all. My full suspension bike is gathering dust. I love my Alma M30 so much. I added a Oneup V2 dropper and swapped out the saddle to an Ergon. Also, I am very surprised at how well the Alma descends and absorbs chatter and bumps. I still have my gravel bike but I view it mostly as a road bike now. I prefer flatbar handling and braking on the trails/fire roads I ride.

Now you can put a spirit fork and voila

@@dastreak2152 got a lauf siegla, converted the alma back to normal hardtail.

@@KwadSkwad I want to convert my alma m20 but I cant find the Spirit Fork anywhere... Can you help me please ? lol

@@dastreak2152 i’ve got the 100mm air fork on mine. if you can’t find the orbea fork maybe just get a whiskey no9 carbon fork if you want rigid.

Enjoy!

Personal preference but I will always take a set of Sram or TRP brakes over Shimano. The power is there and the modulation is way better. Plus there's no wandering bite point like you mentioned. The rear must have had a bad bleed. I got home, bled it and it was perfect for the rest of the time I had it.

It’s a shorter stem with riser bars.

@@bikersedge I am 1.97 tall on xl how long is your new stem the old 1 is 100 but I think it is to long And do you still use the factory sadle

@@Rich-me5eb The one in the video looks like around 60-40mm. Can't be 100% certain because gopro.

Yeah it’s the quarry. The other trails are park city trails.

Ha. Same here.

Huh? Iteresting. My "Gravel bike" collects dust since I got my XTC and found another use for it (gravel) beyond single-track. I find it butter-smooth vs my Gravel bike.

Hey thanks. Im right in the middle of the XL range. Id be right at the top of a L. If you go watch our “what size bike should I buy” video you can hear why I almost always go with an XL.

Watched the video, really helpful. Need your opinion on this.. I'm thinking of getting the alma m30 and I'm 167cm. According to the size guide, my size falls in between s (155-170cm) and m (165-180cm). Size s will be at the very edge, while m will be at the front edge.

@@zaeidihjberudin5167 I make a point to not give out specific size advice over the internet. Its a bit of a crapshoot without seeing someone on the bike.

Yeah. For a mountain bike it would be pretty good on the road.

Omx custom build

Omr did not have the myo paint from orbea when I bought mine

It will commute a lot better than a lot of other mountain bikes. Not sure about the trailer. I have no experience with that.

Id like to know if the Orbea Alma H20 year 2022 is a good commuter bike to be riden on bike paths? Is it confortable? Would it be okay to put a kids trailer on it with 2 small toddlers? I want to use it on trail as well but dont want to own 2 seperate bikes like a hybrid bike and a MTB. thanks!

I’d be worried about that seat tube angle. Also the frame might not be designed for that (head tube strength and warranty issues)

Yeah but I think this one does XC bike things better than most other XC bikes.

@@bikersedge Ahh, ok. I like that! I have really liked the looks of this bike as I lean towards Xc riding. Really like that you can get it with a solid fork! Wish it was set up for a single speed option as well. Oh well. Great video!

@@arlanhowe91 glad you liked it. You could convert it to single speed for sure if you hate your knees. Ha.

Yeah. A flat bar gravel bike would be very similar. Basically what this bike rides like.

i disagree. it seems to me that similarly specced carbon gravel bikes always cost more than a hardtail.

@@jonamcc I’m sure either a carbon XC bike or a carbon adventure gravel bike would be expensive either one but I think gravel bikes would cost less since carbon XC bike have a higher entry point. More carbon gravel bikes seem to be available now.

Hey thanks! this is a custom build.

The saddle is still higher than the bars. If you look in the into footage you can match the lines in the fence and see the saddle is a bit taller than the bars. This bike does have a short stem 35-40mm on it and a 20mm rise bar which helps a lot with that fit. My proportions are close to yours. All legs and no upper body.

@@bikersedge massive thanks, i will give it a few weeks and if still not comfortable i may try the 20 mm side bar ... excellent content - thanks

Hey Connor, apologies one more question. When you hit the top of the trail i see you thumb a control on the underside of left grip. is that drop post or lock out ? if dp then where do you log the lock out ? ... only i dont have a dp, but thinking that with the riser bars i may as well have the shop fit one too.. never had one before so just looking for advice.

@@johnbeckett4173 there’s a lockout and a dropper over there on the left.

Orbea says it won’t clear more than a 34

If you have Deore XT you can put 36 max, If you have XTR you can put 38

Hey thanks. Glad you liked it! That’s quite a bit slacker. I wonder if just bumping the fork 10mm would be better? My concern would be the seat tube angle getting really slack with the Slackr kit.

@@bikersedge Thanks for reply! Those slackR Kits shouldn't affect seat tube angle nor elevate BB, it's an asymetric headset so you can get the same fork a little slacker into the steering tube. Tad wider wheelbase. The idea would be to harvest a light but little trailier bike as she's only 45kg. That said she has done well on the Trek Kids Neko 26" and that's 70° head angle but she smiled less and was more fatigued than her 9yo cousin on a 68° Ghost Lanao 24". Also the Neko was rigid and the Ghost had at least 50mm steel spring. So while it's often stated those forks don't help much i think depending on the terrain and riding time they do. I try to upload a vid of our multi-day ridge-line ride soon. 6yo on a 20" rigid qubike was also with us. Hikers jaws were often dropping. Planning to do it again in august 23 :)

@@bertrandolf9733 You're right. Early morning with the kids and my brain wasn't working right. Should be ok then.

That will depend on the model for sure.

@@bikersedge orbea alma h30

Thanks! Glad you like them so much.

Haven’t ridden the Scott. Can’t say.

Orbea has the updated geometry for better descents

I will if I can.

A road or gravel bike will do better but I’d argue this is more comfortable.

@@bikersedge is it efficent on roads? Will i stuggle on road hills. Id quite like this bike

It’s efficient but the big tires are going to drag a lot compared to a road or gravel bike. I personally wouldn’t hate pedaling it on the road, but I don’t really care about road riding.

With modern drivetrains you don’t really lose any gear range compared to 2x MTB setups.

I think on actual gravel rides/racing it will have an advantage. Aero will be big. We just don’t have a ton of true gravel riding by us. That’s why I think this is a more versatile option.

Its a custom build. Very similar to the M-LTD

I avoid giving out specific size advice over the internet. It’s tough to say without seeing you on the bike. I’d recommend a test ride.

Little cottonwood quarry

It’s a custom build.

The Ribble Urban. Since being fixed with a white industries eno. Its a thoroughbred fo sure. Without being a road bike. Not a bike expert though.

Probably way better. Haha.

It’s in the video

@@bikersedge I don't find

@@niyocaz somewhere around 20-21

So fast

Very.

Venga

I don’t really know the first thing about bikepacking. Could be great though. It’s light and efficient

The video isn’t about a gravel vs MTB comparison. It’s about the alma. For our area I think it’s a better option than a gravel bike.

You missed the point of the video. Yes, it’s an XC bike. But I’m also arguing that it’s so XC that it borders what a gravel bike can do. It’s also a better option than a gravel bike in my mind.

​@Bikers Edge Hardtails make great Gravel bikes!

Id like to know if the Orbea Alma H20 year 2022 is a good commuter bike to be riden on bike paths? Is it confortable? Would it be okay to put a kids trailer on it with 2 small toddlers? I want to use it on trail as well but dont want to own 2 seperate bikes like a hybrid bike and a MTB. thanks!

No it’s a custom build.

@@bikersedge 😞 So Its not Worth buy new one ...

Not sure what you mean.

@@bikersedge i just want good lightweight xc bike.

@@28yearsoldd I mean this would still fit the bill. Obviously the higher priced the build the lighter it gets but even the H20 will ride like this one - Just a bit heavier.

Especially with the rigid fork it makes sense to compare with a gravel bike.

I think gravel riders should strongly be considering a bike like this. It's a hell of a lot more comfortable after three hours in the saddle. I rode a Specialized Chisel with a rigid fork and after a few gravel rides, I never went back to my dedicated gravel bike. The Chisel was so much more capable, versatile and comfortable.

It's in the mtb category for sure.

Gravel riding is turning into mountain biking so quickly that now they are trying to call hard tails gravel bikes

Yo tengo la Orbea Alma M 50, le puesto neumáticos de Gravel, y he de decir que es una gozada, porque tengo una bici súper Gravel y yo no necesito una Gravel para disfrutar del Gravel, ya lo hago con mi Alma M 50 y los neumáticos de Gravel que le he puesto. Son los WTB Riddler, y van de lujo.

That’s exactly why I’m saying this is a better option than a gravel bike. I’d argue it’s as fast on unpaved roads, similar on paved roads and obviously way better on singletrack.

@@bikersedge I'm 100% with you ! I've been harping on about this since I first saw a gravel bike. People talk about gravel bikes being more efficient, but if you look at what makes a bike efficient, 1. Riding position (wind resistance), 2. tyres 3. wheel mass, 4. Stiffness of back end, and in a distant 5th total mass of bike.... then the only advantage a gravel bike has is drop bars, and no one wants to ride anything more than a canal tow path with drop bars. Bloody pointless things :)

Not sure how the geo is better. Its within a few MM and tenths of a degree on all the key numbers.

@@bikersedge HT 68 degrees longer wheel base short chainstay frame weights 1500gr aluminium

@@pepeanza6187 this has the same HTA, steeper STA and the WB is a couple MM shorter. Tough to say one is better than the other in that regard. This frame is almost half the weight of the Chisel at 830g.

It always seems to go that way. I think it’s a sign from the universe telling us that we shouldn’t take things so seriously. Ha.

Kinda. Kinda not.