botto 

bdcheung

I've miffed up a couple sets of shifters in crashes. i've never done any (visible) damage to a crank though.

skipmcne

... plus they're magnesium. perfect for keeping the fingers warm on those cold winter rides.

CrimsonKarter21

Don't play coy with me. I know you've done it.

waterrockets 

Crazy. My first set of Brifters from 1993 are still in daily use.

botto 

botto 

timmyquest

dgearhart

My 1st, I mean 2nd love.....wife may see this post! First race with my new tubulars (used, new to me) is this weekend!

kesa101

just got her back from the shop... frame is a year old, as is the group, but wheels and forks are new. she`s a billboard no doubt but, well she turns me on! and the ride is something else...

ZeCanon

New team bike - Orbea Opal w/Red. We get opals because they are supposedely stiffer than the Orca... I guess that's why Team Type 1 rides them as well. Whatever, I love it!






Which means this bike is now for sale!:


Any takers?

Ratfish

Looks awesome. The decals work on this bike.

ninjaman

Did you drop down a size on your new frame? The Orbea looks smaller.

ZeCanon

The orbea is actually a 57 and the Specialized is a 56. The headtube on the Orbea is almost too tall, but the next smallest size is a 54 and I would have needed a 140 stem I actually had to hack the FSA headset cone in half to get the bars low enough.

Flatballer

You gotta get some black zip ties canon.

umd

What about a -17d stem?

Zurichster

ZeCanon please give me a brief ride report on the Opal if you can vs. the Tarmac. I am looking at building one of the 2 bikes you have...an 09 Opal or 09 Pro SL. I have the Opal currently on hold. Thank you and what is the overall weight on your Opal build?

ZeCanon

Already on the way I want the bars a wee bit lower than they are right now.

FB - yeah eventually.

Zurichster - I've only had two rides on the Opal so far, and the first one sucked majorly because I didn't have the fit right yet. I went out today for leadout practice and then some riding after. It feels just as stiff as the Tarmac. The seatstays are huge, the downtube is huge. Only difference is the non-tapering headtube (tarmac goes from 1 1/8 - 1.5 I think) but honestly stem/handlebar combo has 1000x more effect on front end stiffness than the headtube. I couldn't feel a difference between the two bikes in all-out sprints. I personally think the Opal is better looking and there aren't already a million of them on the road.
The Opal definitely rides 'softer.' The whole "laterally stiff vertically compliant" thing is true for any nice carbon frame, but the Opal really is more vertically compliant than the Tarmac. Easy for me to compare because I have the exact same wheelset/tires swapped onto the new bike. I hit many of the same rough roads I've ridden a million times today with the new bike and they were smoothed out a tiny bit. Like I said, the bike still feels just as stiff as the Tarmac did under power.

The verdict? I like the new bike. I liked my old bike. They both ride really nicely, they're both very stiff. Pick the one that you think looks better and comes with better parts for the price. I have no idea how much the Orbeas cost. My Opal is under 15lbs with race wheels. Not sure exact weight, only hung it from a non-digital scale and could see the arrow was a bit under 15. Plenty light for me.

If you have any more specific questions just ask

hocker

Well, at least one other Opal on the road, hopefully by tomorrow when mine is FINALLY built-up by my LBS. I opted for the blue/black frame, Rival, Cat II stem III bars and Assaults. Love the fact that you can mix/match/build your bike on Orbea's Website and you get estimated weights with each build. I went through about ten different builds until I felt I got it right, then emailed the specs to my LBS.

This comment comes as a pleasant surprise to me. I was a little concerned with the ride quality considering the bike is being marketed as a crit specialist. Since ordering it (three weeks ago) I have been going back and forth about my decision to not get the Orca. This is just becuase it is said to be "softer". I guess I will find out soon enough. I test road both the '09 Onyx and Orca (couldn't find an Opal locally) to get a feel for Orbea's geometry. I hear the carbon is quite different on with the Opal, thus a different ride.

Anyways, your bike is sweet and looks really cool.

ZeCanon

I was frankly pretty surprised as well considering the enormous tubes on the thing. They must have done some tricky stuff with the layup. I even checked tire pressure when I got home because I thought I might have under-inflated, but the pressure was the same as I always ride. The Opal is going to be a fantastic road race machine.

timmyquest

Here it is in all its glory. My Taiwanese CF dream machine.

I've been working my core and stretching a lot this winter; I'd like to drop the spacers by mid summer but i don't think i'm there yet.

hocker

Just got it yesterday after three weeks of waiting. There are a few adjustments I need to make before racing on Saturday, but I am going to wait until after my fit on Wednesday before I make adjustments to the stem, etc. I am totally not worthy of this bike given that I am just a beginner racer, but I got a solid deal.

I rode it last night and this morning before work and it's fast, light and smooth. I dropped three pounds from my old bike and got aero wheels, so I am very happy right now. Maybe this weekend I won't get pulled like on Saturday...that's my goal for this weekend.

fatallightning

this may or may not turn a wheel in anger if im feeling saucy.

outofshape

a tad over 15 lbs

timmyquest

Oh how i wish i went for that American aluminum instead of the Taiwanese CF.