ORBEA ORCA OMR M20TEAM (2022) – MILITARY GREEN/DARK GREEN METALLIC

Orbea’s latest Orca premium road bike is designed for comfort, speed and superb road handling. But there’s so much more to the Orca M20 Team and in this preview we’ll explain it in a little more detail.

WHO ARE ORBEA?

A brand that has been in existence for over 100 years. Yep.

They are ultra focused on being a mid-size brand; opting to deliver exceptional craftsmanship, service and quality. There’s no compromise. No cutting of corners.

Speaking of craftsmanship, every Orca is still hand painted and built in Spain. Every Orca frameset comes with a Lifetime Warranty.

WHO SHOULD CONSIDER THE M20TEAM?

If you’re considering the common brands but they are just a little too common for your taste.

You search for something that is a little different to the norm, super polished from a design and engineering perspective, and has deep pedigree.

Perhaps you’re riding an outdated aluminium road bike, an old carbon racer or this is your first performance road bike.

You require Shimano Ultegra, a clean carbon frame that can deliver a superb bike fit and excellent wheels.

Lastly, you’re focused on comfort and balanced road handling. By balanced, we mean it’s not slow but neither does it require the complete attention of a razor-sharp handling race bike; making it super easy to ride for inexperienced road riders.

THE ORCA FRAME

The Orca OMR is designed for comfort and more importantly balanced handling. This means the handling always feels stable but without feeling slow.

And there’s 2 factors that contribute:

First, the geometry is bang in the middle of an aggressive race bike (like the Giant TCR) and a full-on endurance road bike (like the Giant Defy).

Nerd time:

Things can quickly get out of control here and we could never come out of the rabbit hole that is Bike Geometry – so we’re gonna keep it simple.

Reach on a size 53 Orca sits in between a medium Defy and TCR. Simply, you’re not as aggressively positioned as a TCR and a little more sporty than a Defy.

Stack is how high/low the front of the bike is. As you can see the Defy is 8mm higher and the TCR is a massive 14mm lower; this lower position requires more flexibility. It’s a harder position to maintain if you’re not conditioned but it is more aerodynamic. The Orca sits closer to the Defy.

Chainstay length is how long the back of the bike is. It’s also what (partly) makes the bike feel a little more alive and engaging to ride.

And in this case, it’s closer to the TCR. Too long and the bike loses its response time – it’s reaction to rider input – and it feels slower to move forward. But it does feel more stable at speed.

Second, is the Orca’s frame material – Orbea’s OMR carbon.

OMR carbon layups are designed to deliver a comfy ride. On our site we’ve labelled all the Orca’s that use the OMR frames.

Side Note:

OMX carbon is reserved for Orbea’s top-spec race bikes. Any name that ends in a LTD is OMX.

OK, now we’re back:

Tube shapes are slimmer and more rounded than the OMX versions. Shapes like the seatpost and (as you can see below) the seat stays are slimmer and more rounded to encourage flex and absorb road vibrations.

One thing to remember is: Not all carbon is made the same.

One reason Orbea stays midsize is because of the control they can have over their carbon production.

Ugly imperfections like wrinkling, voids and bubbles and excessive resin can be passed by larger high-volume brands. For Orbea, these would be considered defects and rejected.

Lastly, the M20Team can accommodate tyres up to 35mm wide. This enhances the Orca’s smooth ride, especially over rough roads.

ORCA M20TEAM BUILD

This build is really going to suit riders who are seeking an upper mid-range performance road bike.

The M20Team comes with a complete hydraulic disc brake Shimano Ultegra mechanical groupset.

A 50T/34T crankset paired to a 11-28 tooth cassette is going to deliver plenty of gearing range to climb serious elevation and still be fine for cruisy Beach Road rides.

Vision Trimax 35 wheelset use 35mm deep rims and precision bearings within the hubs that are completely sealed against water and dirt.

Like all high end wheels, these are built by hand ensuring correct spoke tension and radial true, not just lateral.

Orbea uses Italian brand Vittoria tyres. The Rubino (in 28mm wide) is built with graphene. This eleastices the rubber; allowing the tyre to deform more easily over the road and really delivering a smoother ride.