Any road cyclist who hasn’t noticed the rise and rise of the lightweight/aero bike must have been living under a stone. Almost all lightweight bikes have gained aero tube profiles over the last few years, to the point where full-on aero road bikes were looking like an endangered species. Long live the Specialized Venge.
Changes to the UCI’s tube profile rules have breathed new life into the aero bike sector, but now, Orbea has gone in the other direction entirely with the new 2024 Orca range, returning to rounded tube profiles for its high-spec Orca OMX bikes.
Orbea says that there are too many compromises necessary when designing a lightweight aero bike. It’s never going to be as aero as a true aero bike and the construction complexities and the extra material needed to make a lightweight bike more aero mean that it’s never going to be as lightweight as a bike that doesn’t try to be aero.
“This is why increasing the weight of a light bike in exchange for aero features doesn’t make any sense. On the climbs, the lighter the bike the better, and at high speeds, the more aero the better. The middle-weight bike with aero features doesn’t win anywhere,” claims Joseba Arizaga, Road Product Manager at Orbea.
An 83g reduction in frame weight
To prove his point, the top spec 2024 Orbea Orca OMX frame in size 53 has a 750g claimed weight while the fork weighs 360g. Contrast that with the 833g claimed weight for a size 53 frame in the outgoing Orca OMX, which includes aero profile tubing in the seat tube, down tube, seat stays and seatpost.
Orbea says that its change of direction provides the new Orca with easy climbing and acceleration, as well as the agility and responsiveness which only a true lightweight bike can offer. The round tubing is also said to reduce vibration transmission to the rider, saving energy.
Orbea’s tests suggest that the 500g reduction in frame weight for a lightweight bike over an aero bike will save around three watts at a gradient of 5%, or six watts at 10%.
Orbea hasn’t totally thrown aero out though, nominally in areas where it could achieve aero gains without gaining weight. The Orca OMX includes integrated cable routing, a new seatpost clamp and a fork profile…
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