Orbea

Orca Silver/Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 Complete Bike - 2012

There is something tireless about Samuel Sanchez aboard his Orbea Orca. We don't know a soul who wouldn't want to attack climbs, slice descents, and mix it up in sprints the way the Euskatel-sponsored 2008 Olympic Champ does. Those are the ways you "win" those gentlemen rides with friends. Of course, if there's a way to achieve that kind of ProTour performance without having to either pay for a ProTour bike or contrive to get ourselves a contract with the Orange Armada out of the Basque Country, we'd give it serious consideration. This Orbea Orca Silver/Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 Complete Bike is that way.

The Orca Silver shares geometry and frame shapes with the Orca Gold. There are the Attraction stays that help absorb road vibrations. There is the oversized bottom bracket shell. There are the aero fork legs that lead to the oversized crown race. There's the sleekly integrated seat post. And for those who love clean lines, there is internal cabling and an integrated front derailleur mount. And the Silver does it for much less bank and a mere 130g more weight, compared to the Gold.

The group is Shimano Dura-Ace 7900. This is 7900 everywhere, not just the rear derailleur and shifters. You have the STI levers, the brakes, the derailleurs, the cranks, the chain, the cassette all Shimano's top-flight mechanical group. The shifting is activated by Gore cables running through Direct Cable Routing (DCR) co-developed by Orbea and Gore. The 7900 cassette is 12-25. The cranks have the compact bolt circle and 50/34 rings. You may have noticed the Orca Silver comes with a BB30 bottom bracket shell. Orbea is supplying FSA's BB30 adapter so that you'll have the ease of installation and ease of service with a Shimano Dura-Ace bottom bracket. Crank lengths are sized to the frame with 48 getting 170mm cranks, 51-53-55 getting 172.5mm, and 57-60 getting 175mm.

The bike rolls on 700c Mavic Aksium wheels wrapped in Vittoria Diamante tires. Aksium is a wheel you can race on and train on, swap in knobby tires for cyclocross, and slicks when cross is over. There are 20 spokes front and rear laced with steel straight-pull spokes threaded into brass nipples to hold the 24mm deep rims straight and true. Claimed weight is 800g front, 935g rear. The tires are Vittoria Diamante Pros in a 22mm width. It's a 195g (claimed) racing tire similar to the vaunted Corsa CX, but with a 220TPI casing for greater durability.

The Selle Italia SL saddle is 143mm wide by 275mm long with manganese rails weighing in at a light 230g. The saddle is affixed to the frame via Orbea's proprietary two-bolt aero-shaped carbon-fiber seat post. The saddle is black.

The steering is provided by Orbea. The handlebars are Orbea Pro and they're a traditional bend bar fabricated from aluminum. The stem is also an Orbea Pro and it is carbon-wrapped aluminum. The stem has a six-degree tilt that can run at either 84 or 96 degrees, depending on how low you want to reach. Bar width and stem length are sized to match the frame. Sizes are as follows: 48/90mm, 51/100mm, 53 and 55/110mm, 57&60/120mm. The handlebar widths are: 48 and 51/40cm, 53 and 55/42cm, 57 and 60/44mm.

The Orbea Orca Silver/Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 Complete Bike comes in two colors and six sizes.