After a couple of years trying to make a Specialized Diverge my do-it-all bike, I really wanted to get back on a real road bike. I like tinkering and rebuilding, so my summer plan was to get a quality steel frame with 130 dropouts that fit me well, and separately to find a quality 10 speed groupset, then build it up into my dream bike. I thought the whole project would approach $1000 and take a few months. But, a few weeks ago, this appeared on the market near me:
We met at a Sinclair station a couple hours from my home. The owner had built it up when it was new.
It is a 2005 Orbea Spirit, built with Columbus Spirit tubing, with a Campagnolo Chorus Carbon 10 speed groupset, Zeus carbon fork and seatpost, and Mavic Open Pro rims. And it was way, way less than budgeted for the frame and groupset!
After some messing around with it to make it more suitable to me - older and fatter than the guy who built it - IFL this bike. Swapping in a 50/34 crank I had made the gearing pretty good for me, so I'll probably hunt down a prettier one someday. My preferred Fabric Line saddle. New Open Pro UST wheels with GP 5000s; 28mm just does fit. For a test, I put the stock handlebar from the Diverge on there and like the reach and drop, so will find a suitable keeper bar soon. It weighs a hair over 19 lbs as you see it.
It's an interesting bike. Columbus Spirit came out in 2004 and Orbea tried this model for just one year. The tubes are so thin and of such a variety of shapes, I had to use a magnet to persuade myself it was steel. It does ride like steel, though, if maybe a bit stiffer than others I've had. I'm well below budget, with a better frame than I had hoped to find and a great groupset (once I get used to those damn thumb shifters things!).
Catalog pages below for the curious.
