Any short Orbea riders out there?

[Ogresse]

I second that sentiment! The discussions have been so informative and helpful. What a great community.

So here's another Orbea question, or maybe will read like a rambling nonsensical rant, but I really am looking for your $.02: I'm 5'2" with 28.5" inseam (yes, short!), and have been riding a 2001 aluminum Giant TCR for the past 3 years. I loved it - what a spunky upgrade from my old Trek hybrid (I thought at the time)! I wanted to see if I'd get the road biking bug and I absolutely have. So now...time for an upgrade (plus, I broke my hip while biking last August and after 8 months of rehab and recovery want to treat myself to a new(er) bike!). My LBS has Specialized and Cannondales, primarily. They suggested I try a Cannondale WSD e.g. Optimo or low-end Synapse (my budget maxes at $2000, I'm afraid). I was/am seriously considering these bikes.....but keep hearing comments (primarily from short ladies!) about how great the Orbeas are. Spunky, quick, nimble, light, great fit (espec. for the non-tall), more bang for the buck, etc. So I drove 100 miles to try a couple out. The 2006 49cm Aqua fit like a glove but only had Shimano 105 and 53/39, not compact cranks (a must for our hilly region!). The 2006 Lobular / Dama Race (not sure which it was but it was the creamsicle orange color!) had full Ultegra but also a 53/39 (i.e., $200-$400 to replace with compact). So...I'm still mulling that over. Wish I could afford the "made to order" option on the Orbea website (drool). Mainly I would like to upgrade from the 105 on my Giant that is now mixed up with an FSA compact and a SRAM 11-26 cassette to at least Ultegra w/compact crankset, and also would like a very light aluminum frame with carbon fork and/or stays -- or even full carbon if I can afford it (not). I'm eager to buy now that spring is sort of here, but am holding out for the right combo of components and frame. Not surprising, I'm sure. I don't care to swap crank and cassettes around like I did with the Giant, resulting in parts not quite working well together, shifting probs, etc. As far as Orbea, I'm a bit confused by the Diva/Dama Race/Aqua/Mitis Dama (older version of Dama Race?) delineations. Is the Diva that much better than the D.R.? Would buying a 2005 Mitis Dama be fairly close in quality to buying a used 2006 D.R.? is the D.R. from one year significantly better than earlier years (am finding 2006 and 2005 new and used models at reduced prices). Are the aluminum Orbeas with carbon fork and cranks a significant improvement and different riding feel over plain alumnim models? Oh, so full of questions. The more models there are per brand, the more confusing it gets. Basically, buying a bike requires endless hours of mind-boggling research and simultaneous testing of different bikes...........as you all know.

Anway, I thought I'd add those comments to this thread and see if you Orbea riders have any advice re: purchase (even used!) of one of the Orbea 49cm models, with my parameters/goals in mind.

Last note: "unfortunately", I got to ride the LBS' fully carbon Cannondale unisex Synapse SL full Dura Ace w/compact cranks demo bike (~$4500!!) today for a couple of hours. O.M.G. I rode like the wind, with 50% of the effort required on my Giant -- or same effort but double+ results - whatever, it was mind-blowing! I could have kept the bike for a few more days but any more exposure to that bike and I will only ever be able to consider carbon, which I won't be able to afford for quite a while, so back to the shop it went...

Those are a few of my thoughts for now, from deep in the bike-buyers jungle... Thanks for listening!

Hi,

just joined the group. So hi to everyone here. Wonderful bb. Anyway, I'm 5' 4" with 30" inseam.

I have a slightly used Orbea Dama Race, which I picked up on e-bay.

The bike is really forgiving in that you don't get jarred around over rough bumps. It's very stable yet responsive. I've taken sharp turns at high speed and it never felt "squirrly" like some bikes do. And, the frame was sitff enough for a quick acceleration and hill climbing.

If you are interested in touring, this bike would be great.
and if you are interested in entry level road race, it would be great.
and if you want to do serious crits or TT, this is not the bike.

Needless to say its very comfortable unlike
Bianchi-- harsh ride, "squirrly" (good for crits) atleast the model I rode.
Litespeed bikes -- harsh ride (noticeable exception was the Tachyon)

I rode on Tachyon for several years and loved it.

But the most important thing, is see how the bike feels to you. If all possible take it for a trial ride of about 20 miles. And ride fast, ride slow, ride over rough terrain etc.

Enjoy your search,
Shawn