ORBEA - the great unkown

[AndyRad]

I've been back cycling this year after a 10 year gap - I bought a Claud Butler Road Bike for £250 and have covered about 2000 miles since May.

Now I know i'm a roadie for the next few decades I'm ready to but a bike at just over £1,000. The two options that i'm considering are a Orbea Vitesse or a Trek 1500. They both seem about the same spec and you can't miss Trek bikes in shops so I'm pretty sure how that would perform.

The ORBEA seems a great price for a ultegra equip bike with several other good features - I've never seen one though and I don't know anyone who has an Orbea.

Does anyone out there own this model or have any experiance of Orbea bikes?

Thanks

 

[XLR8R Man]

Originally posted by AndyRad
I've been back cycling this year after a 10 year gap - I bought a Claud Butler Road Bike for £250 and have covered about 2000 miles since May.

Now I know i'm a roadie for the next few decades I'm ready to but a bike at just over £1,000. The two options that i'm considering are a Orbea Vitesse or a Trek 1500. They both seem about the same spec and you can't miss Trek bikes in shops so I'm pretty sure how that would perform.

The ORBEA seems a great price for a ultegra equip bike with several other good features - I've never seen one though and I don't know anyone who has an Orbea.

Does anyone out there own this model or have any experiance of Orbea bikes?

Thanks

I own an Orbea XLR8R model road bike with Campy Record. The 2003 is the last year for the XLR8R frame. This is the US name so I don't know compared to the British name. I have ridden this bike about 4 months this year and love it.

I researched Orbea and found all great things about the bike. Is it better then a Trek? I have no idea since bikes are subjective to the owner. I bought one for several reasons. 1. Great bike for the money. 2. Life time warrenty on the frame. 3. I wanted a bike that not everyone else owned. 4. Orbea has by far one of the best paint jobs of any bike made. 5. Hand made frame.

The Orbea company has been building bikes for many years. Mostly sold only in Spain and France but have now moved into other countries. There are a number of pro teams that race the Orbea bike, Spanish Team Eusketel in the TDF being one. I wrote to several pro riders and felt I got honest opinions on the frame and they all loved this bike.

As a proud Orbea owner, I love the bike, it handles better then any bike I have raced over the past 20 years. It's built well, looks great, handles like a dream. Because Orbea doesn't give away a lot of frames to the pro teams it doesn't have to charge the consumer as much to purchase it's bike. So if you want a great bike that has a great price and not everyone ownes buy an Orbea!

 

[Nels Stewart]

Another happy Orbea owner here and I'll concur with XLR8R Man's endorsement. Orbea seems to be in the early days of a major push to gain a greater international profile, so they're offering great value to gain a toehold in the marketplace. The lifetime warranty on the frame is a very nice security blanket. And there's something to be said for riding something that stands apart from the pack

 

[Paul J]

XLR8R is the top of the line Columbus tubing I think. Very nice. I personally have just put money down on a Mitis frame which is Orbeas inhouse tubing. It's the entry level but still comes with life time warranty and has all the attention to detail and hand painted too. I'm looking forward to a ride.

 

[jmcmillanut]

I am also the proud owner of a 2002 Orbea (Altec2 frame, carbon fork, full Ultegra, Shimano R540 wheelset). It's fast, and it corners and accelerates well. My Orbea set me back US$1500

I've used my bike on centuries, double centuries, club/training rides, and for the daily commute to work in the summer (they let me take my baby inside, so it won't disappear). Fortunately, I've built-up a commuter bike to save my Orbea from all the salt they use on the roads (I live in SLC, UT, home of Morton Salt) -- but that's another story.

I would suggest you get the Orbea. Everyone and their uncle has a Trek. Orbea materials and construction are superb, and their no-stickers frames are absolutely gorgeous. Check out the attached photo of my bike and me doing the LOTOJA bike race.

Hope this helps. And sorry about my president.

 

[jstraw]

Ok, I came across something interesting and I'm trying very hard not to read too much into it. I have a Taiwanese, Martec made carbon monococque frame sold by Pedal Force. This production line also makes the BP Stealth frames, the Kestrel Talon (and I think the new Kestrel Evoke), The Supergo Scattante carbon frame, the EPX 303 and others.

If you visit http://www.martec.com.tw/ and look at the flash animation you will see four icons you can click.

Click the helmeted head in the fourth position and see what appears in the lefthand area of the flash animation.

The picture is flipped left to right but it's of a member of the Euskadel/Euskadi team riding an Orbea.

Could it be that some Orbea frames are also coming out of that Martec plant?

 

[Azulene]

I also have a 2004 Orbea Lobular with Shimano Dura Race compo. Zicos carbon front fork and Zeus Zaccs carbon rear fork. Mavic wheels and Continental tires. I just love my bike but being a 60 year old Basque Lady I have to ride a Basque Bike don't I. I been riding about 100/130miles week this winter in Portland OR. on my Orbea it fit's me like a glove.

Eskerrik asko

 

[bigfloppyllama]

Originally posted by Azulene
I also have a 2004 Orbea Lobular with Shimano Dura Race compo. Zicos carbon front fork and Zeus Zaccs carbon rear fork. Mavic wheels and Continental tires. I just love my bike but being a 60 year old Basque Lady I have to ride a Basque Bike don't I. I been riding about 100/130miles week this winter in Portland OR. on my Orbea it fit's me like a glove.

Eskerrik asko

Anyone know of a price list for the various complete bikes? I've heard they're trying to break into the American market and are offering some very competitive prices.

 

[Sprinter_989]

I know many Orbea owners, their bikes ranging from top of the line models to bottom of the line and I've only heard praise for thier frames.

 

[angrydave]

Originally posted by Sprinter_989
I know many Orbea owners, their bikes ranging from top of the line models to bottom of the line and I've only heard praise for thier frames.

there are some very fast guys in the local group here that ride and love their Orbeas. A lot of locals are down on them because the local dealer is Sun and Ski, but hey, they used to carry cannondale too.

They are beautiful frames, and very well detailed. They look nice as they zip past me repeatedly...

 

[dhk]

Originally posted by jstraw
Ok, I came across something interesting and I'm trying very hard not to read too much into it. I have a Taiwanese, Martec made carbon monococque frame sold by Pedal Force. This production line also makes the BP Stealth frames, the Kestrel Talon (and I think the new Kestrel Evoke), The Supergo Scattante carbon frame, the EPX 303 and others.

If you visit http://www.martec.com.tw/ and look at the flash animation you will see four icons you can click.

Click the helmeted head in the fourth position and see what appears in the lefthand area of the flash animation.

The picture is flipped left to right but it's of a member of the Euskadel/Euskadi team riding an Orbea.

Could it be that some Orbea frames are also coming out of that Martec plant?

Don't know about the frames, but I'd bet the stays are Martec. On a club ride last weekend, I noticed that a new Orbea bike has almost the same carbon rear as my Sano frame (built by the local frame shop here in HSV, AL). When I was going through frame decisions, my builder told me my rear seat stay and monobox chainstay comes from a Taiwan factory, and would say Orbea is using the same source. The stays I have (and the Orbea's) look like a couple of their photos on the webpage.

I can post a photo of my bike showing the rear stays if you'd like.

 

[Julian Radowsky]

I love my Giant TCR Composite, but I would rather have an Orbea Orca if I could afford it!

 

[tricketts]

The carbon rear fork of Orbea bikes are, indeed, not from Spain.