Orbea Frames

[Duckwah]

Does anyone here ride an Orbea?

I'm planning on upgrading from my OCR3 in the next few months and i really like the look of an Orbea frame i saw yesterday. I'm hoping to build it up with Chorus so that it doesn't look out of place next to my flatmates record equipped cinelli

Its a Team Jelly Belly replica frame in lobular tubing with carbon seat stays.

Apparently the lobular tubes are made of the same alloy as the starship tubes but they have thicker walls and a different profile to suit sprinters and heavier riders (like me)

I'm after any opinions on this frame or similar orbea frames

 

[Nels Stewart]

I'm riding an '03 Orbea XLR8R, carbon stays, carbon fork, Euskaltel team colors. Other than a bit of creaking here and there that I'm still trying to isolate, and a slipping seatpost that I was able to correct with a couple of pop can shims, the fit and build quality are quite good. The paint job is very nice, no decals.

Being an old-school steel guy, I was a little dubious of the durability of AL/carbon frames, but Orbea warranties their frames for life so, should anything go wrong, I'll be looked after. The bike accelerates very smoothly, if not quite as quick from a standing start as some of the all-AL rides I tested. It's a good climber and a stable, steady descender.

I spent a couple of months shopping before finally opting for the Orbea. I tried Trek, sampled Specialized, gave Giant a go, oggled Olmo, considered Crammerotti, dreamed about Pinarello and Colnago, but the Orbea seemed to offer the best value. They also have a bit of a curiousity cachet, as their international dealer network still seems a bit modest, so you just don't see a lot of them around.

 

[Duckwah]

Thanks for that

I've got two options on buying the frame

I can buy it with fork and headset from a dealer for $2900 Aus

or i can buy a brand new second hand frame (no fork) from a guy who works in one of the local bike shops for $2000