Road Cycling - Orbea pics (It's a work in progress)

Well, UPS decided to play with my derailleurs for an extra couple of days, but I decided to go ahead and move the stuff off of the old Dale and onto the new O. So, last night, as rain of Biblical proportions came down outside, I got the O built up as much as I could. Outside of needing some little stuff to finish other than the derailleurs, the build went well. I learned that Campy stuff comes out looking much cleaner but can be interesting to set up the first time. So, here (hopefully) is the first of a few shots of the birth of the bike. (I don't have any of the bare frame, those are on my film camera.)

Here's the bag o' shifters and cables.

Here's the rear stays. Columbus Carve carbon to match the Columbus Ultrafoco triple butted steel.

And the crankset...

And bars...

(You really forget how much of an art bar wrapping is until you do it again.)

And, finally, how she sits in the living room right now. The derailleurs should be here tomorrow, just in time for me to finish the build and take her to Telluride for the weekend. Cross your fingers for me.

I'll post a pic of her once she's built up.

Very sweet,,,,,,, I was going to ask what tires were going on her, but then you posted the last pic. :D Congrats on the sweet bike.

That is a beautiful bike!!!! I love the FSA cranks and campy parts gives it that extra touch.
Enjoy riding it, if you get tired of it I will take it off you're hands :)

Very nice looking ride.
we do expect a review, report etc. about it by, say, 1:30am
Sunday.

Marty

Impreza, I came to the first picture you posted here, and saw the black box and it said Campy record, I was like ahhhhh record record, very good!! and nice:)

But really that bike is just totally cool!! seeing even the carbon FSA cranks, make it look 2 mph faster!!:D You're really going to have a blast on it, and hey if you're ever up north here in the michigan area, let me know and maybe we could go for a ride, I'd love to do a ride with you on that bike!!, it just looks super fast and great!...I know it's not the bike that makes somebody fast, but the body/ability of that rider, but I think you get what I'm saying here..

Enjoy her!!

Benjamin

Gorgeous frame! The cranks and campy parts look awesome - can't wait to see the completed pic.

Enjoy Telluride... :beer:

A review will probably have to wait until Monday, and hinges enitirely on the derailleurs being delivered to my work no later than tomorrow.

Telluride should be good times. Beer. Good friends. Whiskey. New bike. More beer. And whiskey. Good stuff.

OMG shes going to hit the roof when she sees that rug... :D :rolleyes:

Bike looks awesome by the way!

QB

Very nice. You'll need to post again after you've put some mile on it.

I'm hoping to get a team deal on an Orbea frame this winter. I'm pretty sure I'll go standard Starship without the carbon stays. They also have a custom geometry program I'll be using.

Enjoy the bike. It's SHARP!!

Nah, I put that spot on the rug last year when I changed the oil in my MTB shock. It's not much worse than it was when we moved in.

I just love the look of raw carbon fibre on a bike :)

smooth ride...

are you planning on racing with it?

ok...you did it. I'm jealous. nice bike.

Great looking bike!! She will surely ride as sweet as she looks. I see why you recommended Orbeas to me.

Man... that's LOVELY. Good work.

Thanks for the porn, ImprezaDrvr! Nice ride indeed. Congratulations on building her up yourself, and with some nice parts. The next step would be to take her to the Pyrenees. :beer:

what kind of bars are those??? anybody?

Originally posted by djbowen1
what kind of bars are those??? anybody?

If I am not mistaken, it is a Ritchey Pro handlebar. Looks like mine, except for the bar tape. And the Campy Record levers, of course.

Bruco, amen to you comment on taking her to the Pyrnees..You are soo right..Hey Impreza made sometime you'll get the oppt. to do that eh??:)

Benjamin

The best I can do this year is Colorado's mountains. I'll be breaking her in over Lizard Head Pass outside of Telluride this weekend. The derailleurs are on their way and scheduled to get here today, so I can slap them on before we drive up tonight.

Yep, Ritchey Pro bars and WCS stem. I really like the feel of the bar a lot.

Brakes are set up and I moved the computer over to the new ride in anticipation of being able to finish it today. I'll try to get a pic of it all finished tonight, but it might have to wait until Monday after I get back in town.

vegas- Racing where I live is tough. I have yet to see another roadie on the roads out here. There's not any racing close by, but I'll probably race her someday. I'm big for a road racer, but I can hang in and could probably do alright with enough training and time in the gym over the winter.

Edit: The chainstays on this bike are SHORT. I'm running a bit wider tire for winter and it's within 1cm of the frame. It should take off like a rocket in spite of its being steel. Just an observation I made last night.

Well Impreza, you've certianly got a good start to the mountains there being in Colorado, I'm sure those will provide you with some excellent training, and who know's, maybe one day you'll get to do the really HUGE ones over there in Europe!!

Benjamin

Well, I got her built up on Thursday but, due to a series of events beyond my control, wasn't able to take her to Colorado. This turned out to be a good thing in the end. At any rate, I've been out on the bike twice and am amazed. It's incredibly smooth, but still quick to respond to any pedal input. Anyone that has made the switch from Shimano to Campy or vice versa would probably agree that there's a little bit of adjusting required, and I'm still getting used to the new bits but it's been pretty smooth to this point. The bike climbs really well and is stable at speed, but I haven't crested 40 mph yet. The front end is more active, but still tracks very well. I think it's a matter of getting used to a different frame geometry as much as anything. I'm not much of a weight weenie, but I had to at least do the home scale weigh-in and she comes in at under 19 pounds with bottle cages, in a 60c. It's lighter than my Cannondale by about a pound and a half, which impressed me.

Back to geometry, I was concerned about the semi compact frame, but it fits really well. I'm still tweaking a bit, as is expected with a new bike. My saddle was too far back, but I moved it up about 1cm and it should be better. Setting this bike next to the old Dale shows how different it is. The seat and head tube angles are dramatically different than on the Cannondale. I've moved the stem down quite a bit, but need to get some different spacers to give me some more flexibility in positioning it. It'll be interesting to see today what moving the saddle forward a bit has done for the ride.

Overall, though, I'm insanely pleased with the ride of the frame. Night and day difference between it and the Cannondale. The parts pick is impressive, but no one really questions Record stuff. I'll get a digital pic today of the bike fully built and get it up here.

Originally posted by ImprezaDrvr
I'll get a digital pic today of the bike fully built and get it up here.

Oh please, oh please!!! :D :D :D

Here she is, as ridden about an hour ago.

The completed drivetrain:

And, the final touches really count:

Impreza thanks for the pics here!! that is just one awesome bike, and the background you took the pic with, makes that frame color and the whole bike look even better!!...Very sweet, and cool job on the skull man on the valve head!!:)


Benjamin

You could also shave some weight by using a short cage rear der, since you're not using a triple chainring setup.

Sweet ride, when can I visit to test ride??:D