Last week saw staff member Molly Weaver set a new FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the iconic Lakeland 200 route. With an original aim of bringing the women’s record below 20 hours, she ultimately smashed this target and completed the loop in a stunning time of 18 hours 54 minutes.
Her third record breaking ride through the Cumbrian mountains in as many years, and over 3.5 hours faster than her initial FKT, this one required a pretty special bike. Thankfully Orbea had created what could just be the perfect machine for a loop like this.
With long hikes over the ascents of Black Sail Pass and High Street, seemingly endless climbs up rough and rubbly terrain, from short and sharp max efforts to long draining drags, singletrack stretches, iconic mountain passes, nail biting descents, and a few ‘easy’ kilometres on road and forestry track thrown in there, the best bike for the job needs to be as capable and comfortable as it is lightweight and agile.
Step in the Orbea Occam SL.
Aside from a couple of positional changes to make the bike a little more fitting for an ultra endurance effort like this, and a few switches such as tyres to shave the seconds off, Molly rode the bike in its original spec. Detailed below is the full Epic LL200 build.
- FRAME: Orbea Occam OMR. Concentric Boost 12×148 rear axle. Pure Trail geometry. Internal cable routing. Asymmetric design. 29″ wheels
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- SHOCK: Fox Float Factory Remote Push-lock Evol Kashima custom tune 210x50mm
- FORK: Fox 34 Float Factory 140 FIT4 Remote-Adjust Push-lock 2-Position QR15x110 Kashima
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- CRANKSET: SRAM XX Eagle Dub Black 32t
- SHIFTERS: SRAM AXS Pod Ultimate
- CASSETTE: SRAM XX-1297 Eagle 10-52t 12-Speed
- REAR DERAILLEUR: SRAM XX Eagle AXS
- CHAIN: SRAM XX Eagle 12-Speed
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- BRAKES: SRAM Level Ultimate 4 piston Stealth Hydraulic Disc
- REMOTE LOCKOUT: OC Squidlock MC20 Remote, Dropper, Suspension 2 Pos
- WHEELS: Oquo Mountain Performance MP30LTD carbon
- TYRES: Vittoria Mezcal TNT Graphene 2.0, 29×2.35
Molly’s thoughts on the bike:
The Lakeland 200 is of course doable on any form of MTB, or a gravel bike if you’re feeling especially sadistic, but having ridden it twice on a hardtail I knew I didn’t want to do that again. I’m not sure if that’s partly because I’m now used to racing on a full sus in the Orbea Oiz, but I was sure that the slight weight penalty you take with some added bounce would easily be countered by the vastly increased capability of the bike, and the reduced impact on the body over such a long distance would ultimately pay off big time.
It’s rare you have a direct comparison of how you have ridden on a ride of this scale before; what it feels like on a climb 10 hours into the effort, how much of that technical descent I could confidently ride, whether that rubbly flat section would mean more hiking as the surface gave way.
The Occam made it easier at every turn. I was fresher, faster, and I had more fun. The amount of the route that was rideable certainly increased, in some places quite considerably, and the risk that came with this felt far more controllable. The combination of having 140mm travel front and rear, and the dropper meaning I could shift my weight back over the bike, made for a much more controlled descent rather than the fingers crossed freefall I had experienced on these trails before.
I’m a good bike handler generally speaking, and I’ve never shied away from stepping outside my comfort zone when it comes to techy terrain, but I would never call myself a mountain biker when the going gets really technical and rough. It’s definitely my third discipline after road and gravel, and this route shines a spotlight on every bit of missing skill. The Occam SL made up for the mistakes and slightly overconfident moments with ease.
Not that I can take credit for the custom paint job on this bike, but it was definitely a boost to hear the calls of ‘nice bike’ with almost every group of hikers and riders I passed. I think I’ll miss that when I return the Occam to its rightful owner.
