Orbea Onix

Price Paid:  $1000.00 at bike shop

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
around my house in Spain

Bike Setup:
Shimano 105 Shimano wheels. (works fine)

Summary:
I agree with the guy below who said it is kind of clunky like a huffy. There is also something that I love about this bike.
For many years I rode a steel frame Pinarello. It has a much more racy feel. Like changing from a Ferrari to a Chevy. I felt like joining the 20th century and took advantage of the sell out of the old frames. But this bike is very comfortable and you may be going fast, but you don't feel it. Mkaes me want to try a carbon Pinarello to get back the racy feel withoput the drawbacks of the old bike.

Strengths:
comfortable

Weaknesses:
boooring

Similar Products Used:
Pinarello and other steel frame italian road bikes. Tried a Cervelo once.

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Price Paid:  $900.00 at Oregon

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Dogwood

Bike Setup:
Campy Record grouppo, Reynolds wheels, Fizik Arione,Speedplay Zeros.

Summary:
I had previously reviewed this bike and gave it glowing marks. Well, this thing cracked through and through at the seat tube - BB junction. I am a big guy (6'4" and 205) and this is the 5th frame I have broken - 2 Litespeed Ultimate Ti's, 1 Litespeed alu,1 Spedialized alu and now this carbon thing.When I made a warranty claim Orbea USA, based in Little Rock, Ark., weasled out by saying I had crashed it. How would they know that??? Well, this bike was never crashed, but that was how they honored their "lifetime warranty". What a joke!

Strengths:
Comfortable ride

Weaknesses:
No warranty - horrible, nasty "customer service"

Similar Products Used:
Litespeed Ultimate, Hyperion, etc.

Price Paid:  $1300.00 at Buho bike madrid

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
nyack 501 from manhattan

Bike Setup:
full 105 and shimano sh-500 wheels.

Summary:
in spain they are closing out 2008 onix bikes with 105 cheap, so i bought one. As a former road racer i was excited to get back into road riding after 2 years riding around on a rockhopper(great bike). One a louse frame. It feels slow and slugish, like ride 50 pound bike. you get out of the saddle and it´s feels like you have you break on. Yes it´s stiff, but it feels like it can´t get out of its own way. My rockhopper feels much more responive. And here is the kicker, it´s uncomfortable. Every little bump wants to catapult me off the bike! the only good is that it handle very well and decends like a champ.

Strengths:
looks nice, and handles great

Weaknesses:
feels like a 500 dollar huffy used for casual rides to the beach. Makes you feel slow and out of shape. very uncomfortable ride.

Similar Products Used:
colnagos, first generation cannondale race bike, 2 landsharks, basso slx, lemond zurich, fuji team pro.

Price Paid:  $1995.00 at Jim's Bike Shop, Cin

Favorite Ride:
local country roads w hills, curves, and nice scenery

Bike Setup:
2008 TDF with all Ultegra SL components, Mavic Aksium Race wheels, Victoria Rubino tires

Summary:
I absolutely love this bike. I used to ride a lot years ago on a steel Bianchi but not much recently. So I went shopping for a light fast bike for riding on my local country roads up to 2 hours. I test rode 11 models from 9 different manufacturers and liked nearly all of them. But when I rode the Onix for the first time, I knew within a block, this was THE bike for me. For the price I paid during a summer clearance sale, all carbon and Ultegra components , it was really a no brainer.

After buying the bike and riding it for awhile, it’s an even better bike than what I expected after my test rides. The Ultegra components are great w very smooth shifting and very good brakes. It’s reasonably light (19 ¼ # w store’s street pedals), fast, great on climbing serious hills, with good comfort . It’s always eager to go, more like surging when I push. Handling is quick but not twitchy.

Bikes I checked out include Cannondale Six 13 which was possibly my second choice w excellent performance though ride isn’t as smooth as the all carbon bikes, Cannondale System Six 4 which is an excellent bike and possibly my other second choice, Cervelo Solist (while very fast, also very harsh ride feeling every imperfection in the road. Two Cervelo shops discouraged me from the Solist since I’m not a racer), Jamis Xenith Comp (very nice sport bike), Specialized Roubaix ( very good ride but not as fast as the others), Pinarello FP2, Kestrel Talon, Felt Z35, Scattante R660 (great price for its performance), and Scattante CFR road bike.
While we all want light weight, all of the above bikes weighed in a narrow range w street pedals 18 ¾ # to 19 ¾ #. My TDF Onix is 19 ¼ #.
I also rode an Onix w Campy Mirage components which shifted smoothly, better than Shimano 105. But the Zeus brakes on Onix models TDA & TDE are only adequate while the Ultegra brakes are very good.

Strengths:
fast, climbing ability, stiff frame with comfort, ultegra components, reasonably light, beautiful looks, everything feels solid and well put together, excellent value for what you get

Weaknesses:
Sella SLK SE seat didn’t work for me, painful after 45 minutes. I sold it to a friend and he said it is the most comfortable saddle he’s ever used.
I got an E3 Gel saddle that I like. Saddles are very personal on what works for each person.

Similar Products Used:
steel Bianchi

Price Paid:  $1800.00

Favorite Ride:
smooth twisties

Bike Setup:
2008 Orbea Onix TDA, stock FSA Gossamer compact crank, FSA headset, Zeus Cat 1 stem and handlebars, Selle Italia Orbea seat, Ultegra/105 mixed components.
Upgrades: Michelin Pro 3's, Ultegra brake calipers w/ Koolstops.
Future upgrades: lighter wheels.

Summary:
Coming from mountain bikes, I decided it was high time for a road bike since 99% of my riding is on the street these days. My budget was $3k max.
After a few months of research and demo rides on several bikes, I realized carbon was my preferred frame material. Before I made that decision I tried a couple of steel Bianchis, an aluminum Kona, a titanium Litespeed, a Look 566, and a Trek madone 5.2.
The last bike I test rode on a fluke was an Onix and instantly knew it was the one for me. I couldn't believe the quality for under $2k. For an entry level carbon bike, the Onix gives you a lot for not that much $$.
It was as stiff as the Look but with a lifetime warranty(Look only has a 5 year warranty--WTF) plus I hate the way the taller head tube/geometry of the Look "looks", and had better acceleration than the Trek Madone. The Orbea "felt" just as light as either of these even though its claimed weight is heavier. On paper the Trek and the Look should have kicked the Orbea's backside, but they just didn't.
Bottom line is don't believe all the internet/magazine hype; try as many bikes and decide for yourself what YOU think the best bike is for you.

Strengths:
Stiff, light, excellent value, lifetime warranty, aesthetics, not another Trek/Specialized/Cannondale.

Weaknesses:
The stock Orbea brand brake calipers aren't up to the task. Wheels could be better, but there are bikes out there that cost twice as much w/ these wheels.

Similar Products Used:
Trek madone 5.2, Look 566, Cervelo RS, Specialized Tarmac, any other carbon framed entry level bike I'm missing.