Orbea Orca 2012

andytee87

new pics on page 2


Nice to be able to change this over for some summer wheels, just hope it isn't a bit premature!
Sorry about the shadows, but I'm not going to complain about spring sunshine

Any thoughts are welcome- like cutting the steerer tube (its on the list)







Frame: Orbea Orca Bronze 2012
Forks: Orbea Orca Bronze 2012
Bars: Orbea Alloy
Stem: FSA OS190 Alloy
Headset: FSA
Bar Tape: Fizik Microtex

Brake Calipers: Shimano Ultegra
Brake Levers: Shimano 105
Front Mech: Shimano 105
Rear Mech: Shimano 105

Saddle: Specialized Romin Comp 143
Seatpost: Orbea Carbon wrapped

Cranks: Shimano 105 50/34
Cassette: Shimano 105 11-25
Pedals: Look Keo Easy

Wheels (top pic)
Mavic Cosmic Elite
Mavic Aksion

Accessories:
K-Edge Chain Catcher
K-Edge Garmin Mount
Elite bottle cages.

Wheels (bottom two pics)
Campagnolo Bullet 50
Continental Gatorskins

upperoilcan

Oh i like that.

James Q

Looks really nice!

temitchell1987

Just bought the 2013 Orbea Orca Silver. Wonderful wonderful bike, smiling just thinking about riding it again on Friday!! I'm thinking the same as you have done with ultegra front brake clipers, did they fit the forks ok or did you need to do some fiddling?

dwanes

Very nice frameset. Prefer it with the mavic wheels. The campags dont do much for it.

andytee87

The ultegra brakes went on no trouble, there wasn't a huge amount wrong with the 105's but I got the ultegras cheap on eBay so why not.

Dwanes, if I could have justified the extra for cosmic carbones at the time I would have gone with them, they look amazing. As it is I'll stick with the campagnolo ones when I want some depth, I may de sticker them though :shock:

Edit: the stock brakes were orbea own label. Just wanted the reliability of ultegra. You're right though, it's a lovely frame to ride

oldredpinarello

I think I said it all on Saturday. Beaut. Now get some miles in and get over to Norway for a visit!

ashburton1

Seriously nice!

fevmeister

Looks great - good job!

RideOnTime

nice one...

andytee87

Cheers guys, definitely fun riding this setup, but I may have to switch back to the mavics if this constant wind in south wales doesn't stop. Do a loop near the coast and seems to be a constant cross headwind- gets a bit twitchy with the deep sections :!:

michaeleccles

Hi, have just bought a B105 over the internet on the strength of the fact that I loved my Onix tour of four years ago. Had intended to buy a Merckx EMX1 pelaton and upgrade the wheels. Had ridden it, liked it and searched high and low for a great deal, then, at the last minute, plumped for the B105 instead (always wanted an Orca!).
So, can you tell me how it rides?
The Onix (with Mavic Ksyrium SL's) was brilliant on the climbs and I got a lot of urgency from the wheels, they always wanted me to go faster! The ride was harsh but I didn't care about that too much. What can I expect from the B? (Gone for some Fulcrum 3's this time and GP attack/force tyres)

temitchell1987

I'm watching this thread, as previously mentioned I bought one a few weeks back. I'm over 15 stone (ex-rugby player)and it still climbs like a Colombian montain goat on EPO. What wheels are people recommending these days? I'm riding aksiums I transferred from my old bike with gatorskins. Considering something like fulcrum race 1 or zipp 404. Talk to me.......

Vandiesel

Very very sexy Andy! And btw the stock Orbea brakes are now fitted and a nice improvement over the Tectro jobbies!
Enjoy your ride

andytee87

It was a similar story for me. I went to the LBS which is a De Rosa, Pinarello, Orbea and Merckx dealer, and was pretty much set on a De Rosa R838, but the waiting time was a couple of months (this was last July). Anyway, the owner got me on to this beaut, went for a quick ride, and that was that basically, rode it home that day and havn't regretted it for a moment.

Ride wise, it is fairly harsh on poor road surfaces, but it isn't exactly a sportive geometry- similar to the EMX-1. Can always reduce the tyre pressure a smidge if you need. Good tarmac though (when you can find it!) is super smooth. The handling is great on it, I find it quite a compact frame so I guess thats why, fast corners are a huge amount of fun! Climbing wise, I have no complaints, can be a bit heavy with the Bullet 50's on it, but when I swap for Shimano DA c1380 its a different matter. It isn't the lightest frame out there, but I wouldn't say its a deal breaker. Swapped out the Orbea brakes for Ultegra just for familiarity rather than any faults with the stock pair.

I like the look of it with deep section rims, think the angularity of the frame gives it quite an aggressive look which isn't something I normally find with white paint schemes. Seems to do pretty well on rolling strava segments. Only change I'd make is swapping the Bullets for Cosmic Carbones, but that is cosmetic rather than performance driven. Running on gatorskins until the rubbish from hedges has washed off the roads, then I'll stick some michelin pro race 4s on.

Weight is about 7.8 kgs, its a solid feeling frame, which I guess is why Orbea will do lifetime frame replacements...not a bad thing.

andytee87

Vandiesel wrote:

Very very sexy Andy! And btw the stock Orbea brakes are now fitted and a nice improvement over the Tectro jobbies!
Enjoy your ride

Great stuff! Hope they serve you well

RideOnTime

Like these Orbea's.

FransJacques

Looks great, Orbeas are pretty bikes.

Am impressed you got the Campy wheels with work with 10sp 105. What freehub did you get?

You really need to rotate your handlebars up at the stem about 5 degrees. Your back will thank you.

andytee87

Thanks, glad you like it!

Free hub is just the shimano one that it was supplied with and without a spacer for the cassette. Seems to work fine with no adjustment needed swapping between the cosmic elite and bullet 50 wheelsets.

Handlebars have been rotated. Swapped the stem for an Orbea Orca carbon jobby. Bit of a brute weight wise but not to bothered about 50g. Will try and get an updated photo of the front end on here soon

andytee87

Heres a photo of the updated front end. New bars, stem, tape and bars rotated slightly

FransJacques

Bars are much better, do you notice the hoods are easier to rest on?

The tricky part with bar angle is if you raise them too high you have to really cock your wrists up to grab the brake leves from the drops. i.e. not safe. To remedy this you need to drop the levels down the bars about 3-5 mm. Not much more than that.

andytee87

Yeh the hoods are more comfortable, and feel like they give a bit more leverage when needed as well.

Levers seem fine where they are, will give them a few rides to see if I need to tweek them a bit. Don't need to have my wrists can be relaxed and still reach them.

andytee87

The Campagnolo Bullet 50 wheels are now for sale. c 250km covered, mostly dry, caught out by the odd shower. Theres a topic over on road parts called stuff where there is more info. Basically looking for £550 collected from Vale of Glamorgan, will consider reasonable travel.

Let me know if you're interested.

Andy

andytee87

Made a few changes to the bike recently.

As interesting as the Orbea Orca Carbon stem was, it weighed a tonne and was a nightmare to access the faceplate bolts from underneath/behind, so it and the Specialized carbon bars have gone, replaced by 3T Arx Team 110mm stem and Ritchey WCS bars. Steerer tube has been cut, but needs a bit more off yet

Romin saddle has been replaced by a Fizik Antares Carbon braided with matching Fizik microtex bartape (thought about white, but it think it would have been too much white), and a SRAM outfront added for Garmin 510. Wish it held the computer lower like my K-Edge, but it does the job.

Other changes have been Keo Easy changed to Keo Carbon, upgrading rear derailleur from 105 to Ultegra, and swapping 105 cranksets due to a scuff on the non drive side crank. Realised as well that I put compact in the original specs, but it is 53/39t. Bullet 50 wheels swapped for Dura-Ace C1380 wheels- so much lighter now!

Hope you like!

slam that stem

Stem = slammed. I'm so proud. And what a stem that is - che bello! It mates to the Antares beautifully.

How are the bars compared to the others? The drops look deep...

The new wheels look great, do you miss the aero effect of the Bullets?

andytee87

slam that stem wrote:

Stem = slammed. I'm so proud. And what a stem that is - che bello! It mates to the Antares beautifully.

How are the bars compared to the others? The drops look deep...

The new wheels look great, do you miss the aero effect of the Bullets?

Thanks, I'm happy with how it looks now. I like the bars, I moved them over from another bike after a change, so I was used to them anyway and knew what I was getting drop wise (144mm) and have no problem with them. The carbon bars I had before just didn't give me much confidence (creaking) when pulling on them, and I wasn't a huge fan of the flat top profile.

Sometimes I do wish I had the Bullets fitted, but as soon as I get to any climb I'm glad I have the dura-ace wheels on. For the type of riding around here you are up and down a fair bit of the time, and have strong coastal wind most of the time, so the dura-ace fit better, and hold speed well anyway. I havn't sold the Bullets yet, so I can put them back on if I want, but I don't see the need right now.

RideOnTime

Not sure the block wall is growing on me...

andytee87

RideOnTime wrote:

Not sure the block wall is growing on me...

You're not wrong there... Needs rendering

Dai Thom

Do it next time you are home instead of riding the bike,

asjc

I have a 2006 orca , 1st generation one in jelly belly colours, its my favourite bike, they are great bikes, the build quality of the frame is lovely and happy to report after 12 years, I have only had it 6 years, riding it in all sorts of weather, it still shines up as good as new, few chips but no peeling of paint or laquer. Your does look newer and sleeker though, not too many carbon bikes that I like the look of nowadays but yours I do like.