Strengths: Stiff, smooth. The steering/handling is solid in every situation. Cool badge at the base of the seat post. Definite WOW factor.
Weaknesses: Not as light as I'd like for the cost. Poor "hand painted finish". Fuzz stuck in the paint in 2 prominent places. The black paint was laid down first and the red stripe outline was taped. The taped edge has a very noticeble ridge of red paint on one side of the top tube and is blended on the other at the seat post. Kinda like they forgot to sand one side of the tube down. The break cable is exposed underneath the length of the top tube. You can't use a lot of bikes racks and keep the paint right. These factors prevent a 5 rating.
Bottom Line:
For comparison, I rode a steel GIOS Lite Campy 8 sp, carbon front fork record hubs since 1996... The new bike is FAST! Where I ride there are a lot of tractor tire tread washboard roads. The first thing I noticed was...This thing rides right over the top of the bumps! My old bike would sink in the washboard ruts and slow down, not this bike! This thing is soooo smooth I laugh! Sometimes I'd swear that I was floating in air. I stand up and this thing jumps forward. The lighter frame and more efficient geometry (73 degree seat tube) let me recover from hard efforts much faster. Frame welds are sanded smooth the aluminium looks like one piece. The integrated headset is a beauty. What can you say about campy but awesome! The mavics are lookers but the bladed spokes catch a lot of crosswind and can be scary. The hubs are slower than campy record. An Eurus upgrade would fix both problems very well. (Orbea offered that as an option in 04)
Strengths: Weight (although at this price point they are all light)
Responsiveness (with forgiving ride on bumpy roads)
Looks - It definitely turns heads.
Price - For ride quality and looks it can't be beat.
Weaknesses: None. I had tested it and several bikes. At this price you should get something w/o weaknesses.
Bottom Line:
This is a review of the Lobular Carbon Frame (w/ carbon fork). I love this bike. I was looking for a high-end frame/fork that I would like for several years. I wanted a bike that could perform, but was also forgiving on bumpy roads. I looked at the Giant TCR Composite, LeMonde Buenos Aires, and Seven Axiom. I chose the Orbea based on ride, price, and looks. The ride was as soft as the Giant TCR, but noticeably more responsive to increases in speed and tightness on decents. You can tell there is strength in the BB. I felt the price relative to the quality of the ride was very good (the Seven was just too expensive compared to a bike that rode this well). The looks are also hard to beat. I have the Euskaltel orange paint job. Since everyone in my group seems to ride a Trek 5200. It is a good change of pace. With this bike, you get the Euro look w/o the Colnago/Look price. If you are looking in this price range, you need to test ride it. I test rode several bikes before buying it. I am 400 miles into this bike and it is everything I expected it to be. The ride is outstanding. I am completely satisfied.
