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Submitted by
David Yakaitis
a Racer
from Oakland
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Weight, stiffness, geometry. | | Weaknesses: | Its a hard tail.
| | Similar Products Used: | Older steel and ti hard tails. | | Bike Setup: | Fox 100 RLT, SRAM, Magura, WTB wheels. XTR Cranks.
| | Bottom Line: | ***This review is for the Carbon Alma*** I love to race this bike. Its geometry is nice for cornering and its stiffness is great for explosive out of the saddle climbs. Its head tube slack says 71.5 but it felt like less (more slack) w/ the fox 100 RLT. This bike does fine in rocky terrain given its stiffness. The issue is whether you want a light hard tail or the comfort of a full suspension. I am a bigger racer that does well in rockier terrain. My weaknesses are more in cornering therefore I prefer to use the a hardtail with a lower BB and the Orbea Alma is the way to go. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
noD
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque, NM
Date Reviewed: February 23, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Foothills | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$650.00 | | Purchased At: | Fat Tire | | Strengths: | Very light and compliant hardtail frame | | Weaknesses: | Very light frame = very weak frame. Orbea "warranty" is essentially worthless | | Similar Products Used: | Airborne Liberator, Niner Sir 9, Stumpjumper HT | | Bike Setup: | XT/XTR drivetrain, Avid Mechanicals, Reba Team 85mm | | Bottom Line: | I was real happy with this bike for the 4 months it did its job. The frame really absorbed the trail and it was fast. Then came the problem - the down tube developed a huge crease and folded on itself, right at the water bottle braze-on. There was no damage to the metal indicating a hit, just metal fatigue. So I stripped the parts and built up a FS Titus and sent the frame to Orbea to replace. The bike shop didn't think it would be a problem. Well, Orbea decided that since they couldn't explain how the problem occured, they weren't responsible. They sent the frame back to me so I could sit and look at it and get angry about it. Although I am now out $650, I guess it was a small price to pay to learn about the character of this fine company. I would recommend that if you are looking into buying an Orbea, that you plan on buying it without a warranty, because thats what I got. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
isra gonzalez
a Racer
from chihuahua mexico
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | creel | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$3000.00 | | Strengths: | is very light an amazing climber, and when you go downhill is very smooth; the back of the frame is very flexible | | Weaknesses: | none so far, but i have seen bikes with orbea graphics faded maybe too much sun where they store them | | Similar Products Used: | GT hardtail, giant nrs carbon, specialized epic, titus racer X | | Bike Setup: | Thompson seat post and stem, shimano xt v-brakes, derailleur, crank; pro-taper carbon fiber handlebars | | Bottom Line: |
This is a very light and fast race bike, you can make it climb rocks that you never imagine to climb, I pushed this bike to its limits and it amazed me, I am an aggressive rider and my orbea had never let me down, it help me trough all this race season ( I won a few first places thanks to this bike ) if you are a mtb xc racer you must try this bike, I don’t recommend it for big drops, and you may found it uncomfortable for long rides if you are not used to a hard tail.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nod
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque, NM
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2004 | | Favoriate Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | Fat Tire Cycles | | Strengths: | Light (sub 3 lb frame) Absorbant frame, climber, fast | | Weaknesses: | Hard to use Mechanical Discs on rear, need to switch to V-Brakes or Hydraulics | | Similar Products Used: | Giant XTC, Cannondale F600 & F900, Stumpjumper Team | | Bike Setup: | Minute 2.0 Full XT Drivetrain, Avid Mechanical Brakes, Ritchey Tires | | Bottom Line: | This is the fastest and most comfortable hardtail I've ever ridden. It's light and handles so smooth. You can manuver it where you need to go. It stays on the ground unless you want to get airborne. You could easily build this bike to a sub 20 lb race machine. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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