Orbea Carrera

Price Paid:  $600.00 at spokesman, santa cru

Model Year:
2005

Favorite Ride:
San Ramon Valley Blvd,

Bike Setup:
Slightly different than web descriptions:

Steel Fork, sealed Headset,
Salsa Poco bar (a good part!)
forged Alloy Stem,
Shimano Sora 7-Speed Shifters
• Zeus Brake
• Forged Alloy Micro-Adjust Seatpost
• Selle Italia Junior Saddle
• Vuelta Airline 24" Wheelset
• Schwalbe 24" Tires
Miche 15-21 7-Speed Cassette (not 14-21)
Miche Junior 152mm Crankset (stamped chainrings, not "miche monolithic"
Sealed Mechanism Bottom Bracket (english/tapered),
Crappy Shimano Front Derailleur
Shimano Sora, nor RX-100 Rear Derailleur
Shimano HG-53 Chain
41cm Frame Size
37cm Seat Tube at 66.9°
47.2cm Virtual Top Tube
95mm Head Tube at 70.1°
355mm Chainstay

Summary:
One of the few road bikes that would fit my 10 yr old. Some alternatives are Trek KDR, Felt F24, and Giant TCR Jr (very hard to find in the US), and the Cnaadion Argon18 D2 (also hard to find). Of the bunch that I've seen, the Giant has the best component group, but has hideous paint jobs; the trek has ok parts but
kind of cheesy paint. The Orbea has some curious part selections, stunning paint, and a higher list price. A dealer who has one is likely to be a lot softer on the price, making it more an even-up choice. We chose to get one with better style and cachet, and deal with parts later.

The kids has rideden it for about a weak now on rides with me and an older brother, so we think we know what's up with it.

Strengths:
Fits; style; good handlebars, seems mechanically sound. Did I mention the paint is stunning?

I mean, STUNNING.

Weaknesses:
Pricy if you don't shop hard.

7 speed, not 8, but 130 mm width and wheel may support 8 or 9 cassette (would need new shifter/chain, but I have a spare ultegra 9 lying around. I will probably put on a 12-25.

No top-tube cross brake lever.

Unimpressive front DR, though it works;

15-21 cluster not wide enough.
46/36 crank may be too low.

Crank quality is worst of the bunch - it works, but is stamped/riveted gear unit, not as good as the units on the others.

I may end up replacing it with a 48/36.

Similar Products Used:
Trek KDR has top tube brakes and bontranger cross crank in what looks like MTB BCD.

Giant TCR has a normal 110 BCD crank.

Price Paid:  $650.00 at Gran Fondo Bicycles

Model Year:
2004

Favorite Ride:
Percy Warner Park

Summary:
My son received this as a birthday gift at age 8. Just a fuzz big for him at that time but has grown into it nicely.
Brake levers have adjustable reach. Front DR was awful on 04 model, replaced it with Sora. 05 has much better front DR.

Strengths:
Size

Weaknesses:
Front DR