Orbea Orca Aero (2021)

[ArtifactsInMotion]

Replying to my own post in the event it helps someone else in the future....I found the source of the problems described above that I was having with the seatpost wedge and the cracked/warrantied frame: the bike was built up with the wrong seatpost wedge. It came with the seatpost wedge for the Orbea Terra, not the Orbea Orca Aero. They look fairly similar, but have separate part numbers and obviously fit differently.

Would one be able to tell by a quick glance or referencing the bluepaper? Would like to check mine to be sure.

[bowtieguy]

Replying to my own post in the event it helps someone else in the future....I found the source of the problems described above that I was having with the seatpost wedge and the cracked/warrantied frame: the bike was built up with the wrong seatpost wedge. It came with the seatpost wedge for the Orbea Terra, not the Orbea Orca Aero. They look fairly similar, but have separate part numbers and obviously fit differently.

Would one be able to tell by a quick glance or referencing the bluepaper? Would like to check mine to be sure.

Correct part number XA48. Mine came with XA57 for the Terra. The curved portion of the XA57 is grey and has the 8nm marking on the top; the XA48 does not have a torque setting printed on it and the curved portion is black.

[HJKHJK]

After 2 months of cycling Orca I can write some words about the bike.

This machine is definitely fastest I ever own. Keeping the speed in a easy way, flows fast on flats and small hills, is also very fun to ride and likes to take fast corners. Predictable, fast, giving confidence, precise, joy machine. Doing PRs almost everywhere I go. The comfort is ok, not harsh for sure.
I switched from Emonda 2019 (both bikes mechanical Ultegra and both with the same 50mm /28mm wheels) and the only area where Trek was faster were steep hills. However where I live I’m doing usually ~500-600m uphill /100km of ride so that’s not an issue, this is not a very hilly place.
I am very happy with the bike.

Pros:
+ Fast and keeping the speed with relatively small effort. I was buying an aero bike (after some time with climbing bike) but didn’t expect such a difference. Really fast and inspiring to ride even faster.
+ Fun to ride, like the speed feeling, steering and power transfer
+ Predictable, giving confidence on descents and in fast corners (once again comparison to Emonda 2019: Orca is much more stable, never experienced any twitchy moments with Orbea but I did these with Trek)
+ Build and paint quality
+ Good comfort
+ The box on downtube is great, not using saddlebag now. Spare tube, small pump and some other stuff – everything is in downtube box

Cons:
- Side winds are moving me left or right with the bike (cycling with downtube box)
- There are some better choices for steep hills and mountains
- Aero bottle which comes with bike is just 550ml cpaacity

[bowtieguy]

After 2 months of cycling Orca I can write some words about the bike.

This machine is definitely fastest I ever own. Keeping the speed in a easy way, flows fast on flats and small hills, is also very fun to ride and likes to take fast corners. Predictable, fast, giving confidence, precise, joy machine. Doing PRs almost everywhere I go. The comfort is ok, not harsh for sure.
I switched from Emonda 2019 (both bikes mechanical Ultegra and both with the same 50mm /28mm wheels) and the only area where Trek was faster were steep hills. However where I live I’m doing usually ~500-600m uphill /100km of ride so that’s not an issue, this is not a very hilly place.
I am very happy with the bike.

Pros:
+ Fast and keeping the speed with relatively small effort. I was buying an aero bike (after some time with climbing bike) but didn’t expect such a difference. Really fast and inspiring to ride even faster.
+ Fun to ride, like the speed feeling, steering and power transfer
+ Predictable, giving confidence on descents and in fast corners (once again comparison to Emonda 2019: Orca is much more stable, never experienced any twitchy moments with Orbea but I did these with Trek)
+ Build and paint quality
+ Good comfort
+ The box on downtube is great, not using saddlebag now. Spare tube, small pump and some other stuff – everything is in downtube box

Cons:
- Side winds are moving me left or right with the bike (cycling with downtube box)
- There are some better choices for steep hills and mountains
- Aero bottle which comes with bike is just 550ml cpaacity

After 2000kms with the bike I would echo much of what you've said. It is crazy fast on the flats and rollers; noticably less effort to hold speed once you hit > 35kph. I really only start to notice the additional weight when the gradients reach >10%, which I don't have a lot of where I am. Plus, you are getting to the climbs faster and fresher. As a lighter rider, it's not the hills I need help with anyway. I'm looking forward to racing the bike in a few weeks.

For an aero bike, the ride is very compliant. Surprisingly, I find it just as stable in cross-winds as my 2018 Orca OMR, which is running slightly deeper wheels. I'm not running the downtube box or aero bottles though. About those aero bottles....big disappointment. As you mention, they are small. Also, I also found them really hard to hold on to at speed. Due to their square shape, they catch a lot of wind in the hand and are easy to drop. They are also not practical in a longer race situation if you need to swap bottles from a musette.

[ArtifactsInMotion]

I am waiting on a Giant Propel downtube cage to see how well that matches up with the OA profile. I've also toyed with the idea of making my own cages similar to the BMC TMR, but extend the profile of the downtube rather than matching it (but that's further into 2023 for prototyping and printing)

Bowtie and HJK: let me know if you're interested in any 3D printed OA specific parts. I am just wrapping up my one piece Wahoo Elemnt 2 mount for the stock stem. Happy to design, print, and ship as long as you're okay covering postage costs.

[Manlycookiebear]

Replying to my own post in the event it helps someone else in the future....I found the source of the problems described above that I was having with the seatpost wedge and the cracked/warrantied frame: the bike was built up with the wrong seatpost wedge. It came with the seatpost wedge for the Orbea Terra, not the Orbea Orca Aero. They look fairly similar, but have separate part numbers and obviously fit differently.

Would one be able to tell by a quick glance or referencing the bluepaper? Would like to check mine to be sure.

Correct part number XA48. Mine came with XA57 for the Terra. The curved portion of the XA57 is grey and has the 8nm marking on the top; the XA48 does not have a torque setting printed on it and the curved portion is black.

Wow! Thank you for this post and the warning! I have two new Orbea Orca Aero frames here and both came with the wrong wedge (XA57 from Orbea Terra). I'm contacting my dealer right now.

I don't understand why those frames get shipped with the wrong wedges and I'm really disappointed in Orbea, that the problem wasn't fixed after they got notice of your cracked frame and wrong wedge.

At this point every Orbea Orca owner should check the wedge to be on the safe side.

[FatLadAtTheBack]

I am waiting on a Giant Propel downtube cage to see how well that matches up with the OA profile. I've also toyed with the idea of making my own cages similar to the BMC TMR, but extend the profile of the downtube rather than matching it (but that's further into 2023 for prototyping and printing)

Bowtie and HJK: let me know if you're interested in any 3D printed OA specific parts. I am just wrapping up my one piece Wahoo Elemnt 2 mount for the stock stem. Happy to design, print, and ship as long as you're okay covering postage costs.

For the bottle situation, I use 2 x the Cannondale Regrip Aero bottles and cages.

The aero profile of the bottle and cage matches the frameset well, but the bottle is much better than the Orbea stock one.

The cage also accepts regular round bottles too if you found you forgot the bottle.

It's the best solution I've found to wanting to carry over a litre in water in proper bottles but not wanting to sacrifice the aero benefits of the frame.

[trilocus]

I would appreciate if someone could help me as I have a problem with the seat post wedge. When I tighten to the recommended torque it tends to rise and be at the same height as the frame, I understand that it should be a little lower to be able to put the rubber protector on the seat post.

[bowtieguy]

I would appreciate if someone could help me as I have a problem with the seat post wedge. When I tighten to the recommended torque it tends to rise and be at the same height as the frame, I understand that it should be a little lower to be able to put the rubber protector on the seat post.

See my posts above concerning the two different seat post wedges and the cracked frame I had a result. Interestingly, I subsequently ordered a replacement XA48 just to have a spare and the one that arrived was the one with the grey coloured wedge that I (and others?) had such a problem with. Sooooo, either Orbea believes these are interchangable when they are NOT, or they have a labelling problem at source.

[trilocus]

Yes mine its the same than yours. Grey with 8 Nm printed. I will go to the bike shop to check it. Thank you very much


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[bowtieguy]

If they are an Orbea dealer it would be great if you could post their response. My dealer wasn't of any help--I had to get to the bottom of it myself, so I'd be interested to know if it is now a known issue.

[alexanderp1991]

Is the correct wedge fully black then? Where did your frame crack?

[bowtieguy]

Is the correct wedge fully black then? Where did your frame crack?

Screenshot 2024-02-11 174257.png (36.22 KiB) Viewed 601 times

This is the pic from the Orbea website of the correct, all black XA48. Using the other one caused the wedge to rise up to sit "proud" of the frame, not recessed, and a crack developed at the top tube, measuing approximately 2cm. The frame was replaced under warranty but at the time I hadn't determined the cause, so the new frame did the same thing (but didn't crack). It was only when I found the all black wedge on eBay and noticed it was different from the one the bike had shipped with that I put it all together.

[alexanderp1991]

Thanks. Mine is all black so should be good.

[branih]

I would appreciate if someone could help me as I have a problem with the seat post wedge. When I tighten to the recommended torque it tends to rise and be at the same height as the frame, I understand that it should be a little lower to be able to put the rubber protector on the seat post.

See my posts above concerning the two different seat post wedges and the cracked frame I had a result. Interestingly, I subsequently ordered a replacement XA48 just to have a spare and the one that arrived was the one with the grey coloured wedge that I (and others?) had such a problem with. Sooooo, either Orbea believes these are interchangable when they are NOT, or they have a labelling problem at source.

Screenshot 2024-02-10 113214.png

I got quite concerned that I might have the wrong wedge as well, so I looked at what my Orca Aero(bought roughly a year ago) has and it's the one with the grey color. However, it might be just fine by looking at the official pictures of the XA48 and XA57 wedges. The XA57 for terra has a bit curvy top and less curvy part which pushes towards the seatpost whereas the XA48 has flat top without curves and more roundy part which pushes towards the seatpost. My wedge definitely doesn't look like the XA57 even though it has a grey colour and a 8nm label printed on top and looks very much like the XA48 on the official picture. So even if the colour is different, Orbea might have simply produced two different versions of the XA48 wedge and there might not be any problem with Orbea's labelling at source(just my guess).

See the attachted pictures for better understanding of what I mean and also the pictures of my wedge.
Official XA48:

XA48.jpeg (11.02 KiB) Viewed 273 times

Official XA57:

My wedge(supposedly XA48):