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

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.

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.

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.

Size

Front DR

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.