Orbea Laufey H30 Vs Grand Canyon SL 7.0

ckeng

Hello all,

I was looking at gravel bikes up to about 10 days ago but I was strongly encouraged to look at hard tail MTBs - by some hardtail mountain biker friends oddly enough. I think the shortlist is down to the two bikes in the title. Laufey is pretty scarce so the decision may be out of my hands anyway but, assuming both are available, would anybody have a strong preference either way?

My (inexperienced) take on it based on the table below, is:

• Much of a muchness in terms of components. Canyon a bit better on the drivetrain, Orbea better fork and seat post.
  
• Canyon's geometry more geared towards XC, Orbea more trail friendly.

Does it boil down to what sort of riding I want to do or am I missing something that makes one an obviously better bike?

On sizing - the size guides put me in an Medium to Large Orbea, but firmly in a Small Canyon. Would that be down to a different riding position between XC and Trail? Or just that the Laufey has a more modern geometry with longer reaches etc? Stack and reach look pretty similar between the mediums in both bikes so it looks the standover is the only thing that would keep me out of a Medium Canyon.

Any thoughts appreciated.

|Orbea M|Orbea L|Canyon S|Canyon M
Reach|435|459|415|435
Stack|636|645|596|626
Top Tube (effective)|606|632|586|614
Seat Tube C-T|432|470|395|440
Head Angle|65.5|65.5|68|67.5
Seat Angle|75|75|74|74
Head Tube|100|110|100|100
Chainstay|435|435|423|428
Wheelbase|1174|1202|1105|1150
Standover|714|726|760|813
BB Drop|65|65|47|65
||||
Frame|Hydo Triple Butted AL||Triple Butted AL|
Fork|RockShox Recon RL 140 mm||RockShox Judy Silver 120 mm|
CRANKSET |OC1 Alloy forged Integrated spindle Boost 32t 11S||SRAM Truvativ Stylo 6K DUB 30T|
HEADSET |"FSA 1-1/8 - 1-1/2"" Integrated"|||
HANDLEBAR |OC1 35mm 12mm Rise 780mm ||Iridium Flatbar - 5mm rise|
STEM |OC1 3D Forged 35mm interface 7º||Iridium 60 mm|
SHIFTERS |Shimano SLX M7000||SRAM NX Eagle Trigger 12s|
BRAKES |Shimano MT201 Hydraulic Disc ||Shimano MT400|
CASSETTE |Sun Race CSMS8 11-46t 11-Speed||SRAM PG-1230 Eagle 11-50 12s|
REAR DERAILLEUR|Shimano SLX M7000 GS Shadow Plus||SRAM GX Eagle|
CHAIN |KMC X11||SRAM NX Eagle 12s|
WHEELS |Orbea Tryp 30c Disc Tubeless ready||Alexrims MD25|
TYRES |"Maxxis Forekaster 2.60"" FB 60 TPI Dual Exo TR"||"Schwalbe Tough Tom 2.25"""|
TYRES |"Maxxis Rekon 2.60"" FB 60 TPI Dual Exo TR"||Schwalbe Rapid Rob 2.25''|
PEDALS |N/A||Canyon VP-536|
SEATPOST |OC2 Dropper 31.6mm ||Iridium - don't think it's a dropper|
SADDLE |Selle Royal 2043 HRN ||Iridium Trail|
CHAINGUIDE |N/A |||

rizzodun

What height are you?

Large bottle small glass

https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bike-archive/clockwork-137-s/2018

Interested in a near new one of those?

In a Large so might not suit, although it fits me at 5'11"

ckeng

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bike-archive/clockwork-137-s/2018

Interested in a near new one of those?

In a Large so might not suit, although it fits me at 5'11"

Yeah, 173 cm with an 81-82 in seam so pushing it I'd imagine. It's on the bike to work too so I'm assuming I'm constrained to new bikes, though I've never actually checked that out.

rizzodun

You're a medium at least in the Canyon.
I'm 176cm and was advised on a medium by canyon before and I regretted it, size up, I've ridden large frames from YT, Orbea and Trek since and every bike fitted great.

Orbea also advised medium for me but the LBS advised large and it sits perfect, if you height is in the upper end of the recommended frame size my advice is size up.


What type of trails are you riding?

The Orbea Laufey is almost the trail hard tail version of their Occam, slack and long reach, the canyon is slightly steeper but not sure if you'd notice the difference unless planning to run some steep techy trails.

ckeng

rizzodun wrote: »

You're a medium at least in the Canyon.
I'm 176cm and was advised on a medium by canyon before and I regretted it, size up, I've ridden large frames from YT, Orbea and Trek since and every bike fitted great.

Orbea also advised medium for me but the LBS advised large and it sits perfect, if you height is in the upper end of the recommended frame size my advice is size up.


What type of trails are you riding?

The Orbea Laufey is almost the trail hard tail version of their Occam, slack and long reach, the canyon is slightly steeper but not sure if you'd notice the difference unless planning to run some steep techy trails.

Thanks, that's very useful to know. It looks like the standover height is potentially a bit tight in the M - I'm 830 mm in shoes. The jump in standover between Canyon sizes is massive compared to other brands.

I can't see myself on steep techy trails for a while - combination of easy stuff and XC for the most part. Just as well since there isn't a laufey to be had as of this morning.

rizzodun

ckeng wrote: »

Thanks, that's very useful to know. It looks like the standover height is potentially a bit tight in the M - I'm 830 mm in shoes. The jump in standover between Canyon sizes is massive compared to other brands.

I can't see myself on steep techy trails for a while - combination of easy stuff and XC for the most part. Just as well since there isn't a laufey to be had as of this morning.

I understand you may feel the standover is tight but I'm not too sure many people would ever choose standover over reach.

There's nothing worse than a bike that you realise is too small.

Is it possible to find someone who has one, or something with similar numbers to jump on and check?

ckeng

rizzodun wrote: »

I understand you may feel the standover is tight but I'm not too sure many people would ever choose standover over reach.

There's nothing worse than a bike that you realise is too small.

Is it possible to find someone who has one, or something with similar numbers to jump on and check?

I bit the bullet and ordered the Medium last night. Worst case, it feels horrendous and I swap it. Small did look too small in every other respect though.

rizzodun

Best of luck, hoping the sizing works out, update us when you get it delivered.

iwillhtfu

ckeng wrote: »

I bit the bullet and ordered the Medium last night. Worst case, it feels horrendous and I swap it. Small did look too small in every other respect though.

Good choice with the medium, I find canyon frames come up small. Enjoy

oinkely

Was going to say I just picked up a Laufey (albeit the H10) on the BTW scheme last week. Ordered it a few weeks ago and had to wait for the payment to go through from work. Had it out on one brief spin so far, and feels great. Nice balance, climbs well and goes down better than I am prepared to push it!

ckeng

Bikeology had a H10 until Wednesday and The Sports Room sold their last H30 on Friday afternoon so that decision was made for me. Still, pretty happy with the Canyon on paper at least. Payment just gone through so I'm done looking at bike reviews for a couple months - I get terrible buyers remorse.

oinkely

ckeng wrote: »

Bikeology had a H10 until Wednesday and The Sports Room sold their last H30 on Friday afternoon so that decision was made for me. Still, pretty happy with the Canyon on paper at least. Payment just gone through so I'm done looking at bike reviews for a couple months - I get terrible buyers remorse.

Modern mtbs are very different to anything i'd ridden in the past so absolutely delighted with it. I'm sure you will be too. As far as research went i read a recommendation on here for the laufey, phoned the sports room, popped in to try the medium and then ordered the large. Never sat on anything else, so my lack of education should help with buyers remorse! I'm coming from a 17" viper frame i built up about 12 or 13 years ago with a medley of parts from adverts and here with marzocchi all mountain 3s on it. Was always too small for me but liked the ride anyway. This is a giant step up. The dropper seat post is a revelation, the wide bars are a bit weird! I did have sram XO gears on the old bike as I loved the grip shift, and would prefer to have a twist shifter on this one, but beggars can't be choosers.

ckeng

It arrived today. Standover is very snug but otherwise feels and looks fine so medium was the way to go alright. Appreciate the input folks.

rizzodun

ckeng wrote: »

It arrived today. Standover is very snug but otherwise feels and looks fine so medium was the way to go alright. Appreciate the input folks.

Glad to hear it, throw up a few pics when you get out on it.

ILikeBoats

ckeng wrote: »

It arrived today. Standover is very snug but otherwise feels and looks fine so medium was the way to go alright. Appreciate the input folks.

How did you find assembling it?

Took delivery of a GC SL 8.0 yesterday so will put it together later, doesn't seem too difficult

iwillhtfu

ILikeBoats wrote: »

How did you find assembling it?

Took delivery of a GC SL 8.0 yesterday so will put it together later, doesn't seem too difficult

Assembly is usually just putting the wheels and bars on. Canyon usually include a basic torque wrench in the bike pack.