It's completely different than anything I've been on for sure. I haven't been on a road bike in awhile so my first impression is that carbon fiber and composite bikes have come a long way since I was on some earlier CF bikes.
Most recent past I had a Trek 5500, and I didn't like it. Felt dead and didn't care for the geometry much. It was a 2002ish model, I forget exactly, so not too recent. I then moved to a Tomassini steel with a Look HSC fork. That bike was great, although a bit on the heavy side. It didn't climb so well or sprint well, but it was a serious comfort machine.
I test rode several bikes before ordering this one...the Scott seemed a bit too stiff and almost twitchy in the front, the Kestrel had the dead feel to it, at least to me. When I rode the Orca I knew I was on to something. I was a bit concerned about it being a bit whippy(probably an unnecessary concern), I'm 180lbs, and the LBS told me about the Opal.
Gave it a go blindly knowing it would be stiffer, but the geometry is identical to the Orca so I figured it was a safe bet. When I say it's stiff, it's not overly stiff, just real racey if that makes sense. I'm mainly a 25-60 miler with the occasional benefit century thrown in so I'll have to defer to someone else on the long ride feel. It does a killer job of soaking up the vibrations though, so I have a feeling it will be very comfortable for the longer stuff.
